Caledonia Mining’s recent in-fill deep drilling yielded grades and widths that exceeded initial projections, suggesting that the Blanket Mine's lifespan in Zimbabwe will be extended.
Drilling is currently focused on the Blanket and Eroica ore bodies, where crosscuts have been mined to allow optimal access to drill the deeper zones of the steeply dipping ore bodies.
"Our ongoing drilling campaign continues to demonstrate encouraging results, further improving our confidence in the Blanket resource,” said Caledonia chief executive Mark Learmonth.
“We anticipate that the positive grades and widths will result in an increased overall resource, which in due course should result in the extension of the existing life of the mine.”
A total of 7,652 metres of drilling from June 2023 to the end of December 2023 indicates that the existing Blanket and Eroica ore bodies have grades and widths that are generally better than expected.
Gold grades at depths of about 1,000 metres beneath the surface at the Blanket and Eroica ore deposits varied from 3.62 to 8.8 grammes per tonne (g/t) across widths of 4 to 16 metres.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
