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Sikhulekelani Moyo, Business Reporter
GIANT global investor, Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc, which owns Blanket Gold Mine in Gwanda has expanded its footprint by purchasing Motapa Mining Company UK Limited.
Caledonia said it made the purchase from Bulawayo Mining Company Limited, a privately owned UK company.
The mining firm said it considers Motapa to be highly prospective and strategically important to its growth ambitions.
“We are pleased to have concluded the purchase of Motapa. Given its large scale, excellent geological prospectively and its strategic location adjacent to Bilboes, Motapa was a high priority acquisition for Caledonia.
“We look forward to developing an exploration programme for Motapa as we target a large-scale gold belt surrounding the Bilboes project,” said Caledonia chief executive officer Mr Mark Learmonth in a statement.
The purchase price is undisclosed but is below the regulatory disclosure threshold. The project was formerly owned and explored by Anglo American Zimbabwe prior to its exit from the Zimbabwean gold sector in the late 1990s.
“With the central shaft at Blanket now fully operational and production targeting 80,000 ounces of gold per year, we anticipate that we will deploy the incremental cash flow arising from Blanket into our exciting exploration and project development portfolio in Zimbabwe,” he added.
This new development comes a few months after Caledonia signed a US$53,2 million agreement to buy Bilboes Gold Limited as part of its expansion drive.
Bilboes Gold is a gold mining entity that owns three major gold mines in Matabeleland North and was once ranked among the country’s 10 biggest gold producers.
“The acquisition of Motapa following the signing of a sale and purchase agreement to acquire Bilboes and the acquisition of Maligreen demonstrates that over the last 12 months Caledonia has established a pipeline of high-quality exploration and development projects.
“This is in addition to the potential for further growth at Blanket where we are optimistic about its exploration potential,” said Mr Learmonth.
“Motapa asset has been mined throughout most of the second half of the 20th century, Caledonia Mining understands that during this period the region produced as much as 300,000oz of gold. Whilst none of the mining infrastructure remains, the evidence of historical mining will provide guidance to our exploration team in best understanding the prospectivity of the region.” — @SikhulekelaniM1
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