Chronicle Editor
KAVANGO Resources is making significant strides in Zimbabwe’s mining sector by commissioning a state-of-the-art gold processing plant located at their Hillside project site.
This modern facility is designed to process 100 tonnes daily, reflecting Kavango’s commitment to enhancing its regional operational capabilities.
The company is currently in close discussions with an experienced South African manufacturer to oversee the plant’s design, construction and installation.
As part of the preparation, Kavango has sent rock samples from Hillside to the manufacturer for metallurgical testing, with the results expected to guide the plant’s design.
This ambitious project underscores Kavango’s rapid progress in Zimbabwe, having commenced gold production at Hillside in March 2024, just a year after entering the country.
Recent reports indicate that Kavango has made notable progress in its exploration activities. The company has received 582 assay results from soil samples collected over a 1.5 km² area at its Hillside project, revealing deeper gold mineralisation beyond initial surface workings.
This discovery is promising, as it suggests that the potential for significant gold deposits exists, which could enhance the company’s production capabilities and overall market position.
The swift development has already yielded a gross profit of US$41 000 from mining activities, as reported in their recent interim results. Furthermore, Kavango has recently brought a new five-stamp mill into operation at Hillside, positioning itself well to meet its target of producing three kilogrammes of gold per month by December.
Speaking in an interview with investment group, Stockbox, Kavango chief executive officer, Mr Ben Turney said they aimed to bring the plant into operation by the first half of next year.
He said the company had already been introduced to a manufacturing company based in Johannesburg, South Africa who are specialists in designing and building gold processing plants, who have done work throughout Africa and particularly done a few successful plants in Zimbabwe.
“So, the strategy we have been pursuing is to commission a 100-tonne-a-day processing plant at Hillside that we can bring into production during the end of H1 in 2025. Now, the math on this is really quite simple if we have a 100 tonne-a-day plant running at 25 days per month, which I think is fairly conservative running at 200grams a tonne-per-day, which works out, on 25 days we will have at about five kilograms a month.
“Now, this is what we think at the moment of what’s impossible for us to achieve that contains contents mark that will take us including the full scale mining or adding the full-scale mining that we expect by that stage will be at the three kilograms a month level,” he said.
Mr Turney noted that bringing the plant into production would make the company genuinely profitable at the PLC level, as they wouldn’t have to come back to market and would be completely self-financing unless there are any projects they want to bring in that are much bigger.
“Our current goal price is that we will be generating over US$640 000 a month in revenue, which for a business of Kavango size is a dream situation, for us to be in that will make us genuinely profitable at the PLC level meaning we wouldn’t have to come back at the market, we will be completely self-financing unless of course we have projects that we will bring in that are much bigger or accelerate any drill programs as we are exploring the course of our ground,” added Mr Turney.
He revealed that by their projections, the company, will by next year be in a strong financial shape and the results they were receiving couldn’t be better than the open pit they have identified.
“We drilled the first hole, which put its results back in May, the market completely ignored those and we didn’t announce that we had 40metres running on either half a gram a tonne, which an open pit model worldwide is quite good.
“In Zimbabwe, you can actually do better than that so we stepped out 200 metres to the hole, we took a risk with the second hole that we drilled but that ran us into a really good-looking grade and more importantly quite wide.
So, we are looking at something that is not only quite substantial and meaningful for a company like Kavango but is eminently achievable,” said the Kavango CEO.
“We can bring something into production for a relatively modest capital requirement and for the 100 tonne a day plant that we are going to build at that point our business is going to be absolutely fine. It is a major threshold for us today.”
Looking ahead, Kavango aims to begin production at the new processing plant in Q2 2025, which is expected to significantly increase both gold output and profitability.
The company plans to enhance its ore sourcing through bulk mining, with its primary target being Hillside Prospect Three, where multiple zones of gold mineralisation have been identified along a strike of at least 200 metres.
Kavango’s goal is to define a resource at this site during its next drilling campaign. Kavango’s plans to list on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFex) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) reflect its ambition to attract investment and expand its operational footprint.
By tapping into international markets, Kavango aims to bolster its financial resources, which are essential for funding exploration and development projects.
This move is indicative of the company’s commitment to growth and its recognition of Zimbabwe’s competitive advantages in gold mining.
With these developments, Kavango Resources is not only advancing its operational footprint in Zimbabwe but also setting a strong foundation for sustainable growth in the gold mining sector.
Overall, Kavango Resources is demonstrating a proactive and strategic approach to its operations in Zimbabwe. With a clear focus on both immediate and long-term objectives, coupled with promising exploration results, the company is well-positioned to capitalise on Zimbabwe’s rich mineral resources.
As it continues to navigate the complexities of the mining sector, Kavango’s performance will be closely watched by investors and industry stakeholders alike, particularly as it seeks to enhance its contributions to the country’s economy and the global gold market.
Online Reporter