Caledonia Mining has revised its 2026 production and cost guidance downward following a weaker-than-expected third quarter at its Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe, though the company expects a stronger fourth quarter driven by operational improvements.
Gold production for the third quarter (Q3) 2026 totaled 17,030 ounces, down from 19,106 ounces in the same period last year, it said.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, production reached 49,158 ounces, compared to 58,846 ounces in the prior year period.
Caledonia said the decline was primarily due to a shortage of compressed air at certain high-grade, high-volume mining areas and a temporary increase in gold inventory within the metallurgical plant.
Mining activity in September was increasingly focused on the deeper 30 and 34 levels (990 and 1,110 meters below surface).
While four additional compressors were procured to facilitate mining at these depths, delays in their delivery and deployment severely impacted production.
Two of the new compressors have now been deployed, with the final two released from port and being transported to the mine.
In September, equipment was also installed to improve efficiency, recovery, and security in the gravity gold circuit.
Approximately 45 to 50 percent of Blanket's gold is free-gold recovered from the gravity circuit.
Difficulties encountered in the commissioning of the new equipment meant that approximately 1,100 ounces of free-gold were retained in the metallurgical plant, which is expected to be recovered starting mid-October.
Caledonia said it reduced Blanket's financial year (FY) 2026 production guidance to a range of 69,000 to 72,500 ounces, down from the previous range of 72,000 to 76,500 ounces.
Production in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2026 is expected to benefit from increased compressed air capacity, the recovery of the retained gold, the processing of additional ore from the Lima satellite plant, improved mining flexibility, and increased elution capacity.
This includes the processing of 58.04 tonnes of accumulated activated carbon, which contains approximately 1,166 ounces of gold at an average grade of 625.0 grams per tonne.
“Production in the third quarter was below our expectations, principally due to insufficient compressed air capacity in deeper, higher-grade mining areas and the temporary retention of gold within the processing circuit. We are addressing these issues through the installation of additional compressor capacity and the commissioning of increased elution capacity,” said company chief executive Mark Learmonth.
“Although we have revised our guidance for 2026 to reflect the third-quarter performance, Blanket remains a robust and cash-generative operation. We remain focused on delivering a stronger performance in the fourth quarter and implementing the operational improvements required to support production and cash generation in 2027.”
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
