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KAVANGO Resources’ commitment to maximising Zimbabwe’s gold potential is evident in its dual strategy, where in the short term, the company is leveraging modern mining techniques to generate profitable and scalable revenues within its mining arm.
This proactive approach is not only driving immediate financial gains but also laying a solid foundation for sustained growth and development.
Simultaneously, Kavango is strategically positioning itself for long-term success by identifying and unlocking large, open-pittable, and bulk mineable deposits. By focusing on these substantial resources, the company is setting the stage for impactful, enduring contributions to Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector.
Kavango is spearheading a transformative journey to unlock Zimbabwe’s vast gold potential through a two-pronged approach, focusing on both short-term revenue generation and long-term deposit development.
With the strategic two-pronged approach, the company is not only focusing on immediate profitability through modern mining methods but also setting its sights on the long-term development of large-scale, open-pit and bulk mineable deposits.
This ambitious endeavour is poised to redefine Zimbabwe’s gold mining landscape and has garnered attention as Kavango seeks a secondary listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, providing local investment avenues for its groundbreaking initiatives.
Over the longer term, Kavango is focused on unlocking large, open-pittable, and bulk mineable deposits, bringing them into production. This strategy has the potential to transform Zimbabwe’s gold mining industry, which has historically been characterised by small-scale, underground mining.
Zimbabwe’s gold mining heritage is rich, however, many deposits remain unexplored for modern open pit and bulk mining potential due to historical under-investment. Kavango is capitalising on this untapped opportunity, consolidating historically producing land packages and leveraging its first-mover advantage.
This untapped potential mirrors geologically similar territories like Western Australia, where open-pit and bulk mining have catalysed exponential growth in gold production.
“Our two-pronged strategy ensures we are making as positive an impact as possible when it comes to supporting Zimbabwe’s mining industry and uncovering its true gold endowment,” said Kavango chief executive officer, Mr Ben Turney.
“We have made a strong start to both our mining and exploration efforts since entering the country, and look forward to bringing local investors along with us as we accelerate from here.”
This forward-looking approach underscores Kavango’s dedication to not only reaping immediate rewards but also shaping a prosperous future for the nation’s mining industry.
Kavango’s proactive stance as a first mover in Zimbabwe’s underdeveloped gold mining landscape is pivotal.
By consolidating historically-producing land packages and employing modern exploration techniques, the company is at the vanguard of harnessing this latent opportunity.
The strategic consolidation of claims into strategically-sized projects covering large ore bodies underscores Kavango’s commitment to maximising the nation’s gold potential and driving sustainable growth.
“Open pit and bulk mining have transformed the mining industry of territories like Western Australia,” said Mr Turney.
“The same opportunity is clearly present in Zimbabwe, with the country’s many greenstone belts holding enormous undeveloped gold discovery potential. This is what Kavango is targeting.”
Recent developments have underscored Kavango’s rapid progress and tangible impact in Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector.
The company’s maiden resource estimate for the Nara gold project revealed significant potential for near-term gold production and non-dilutive free cash flow.
Additionally, Kavango’s foray into revenue through gold production at the Hillside project marks a significant milestone, with plans to double current production to one kilogramme of gold per month in 2024.
Furthermore, Kavango’s exploration efforts have yielded promising results, with the discovery of substantial gold content at the
Hillside Prospect 4 gold asset in Matabeleland.
Earlier this year, Kavango’s first hole at Hillside Prospect 2 intersected a wide, high-grade gold zone beneath the centre of a series of historic and artisanal mine workings.
Kavango is drilling its two latest holes on either side of this hole to test the continuation of the mineralised zone along the strike.
The company believes this zone is much wider and deeper than its exploration has so far revealed.
Alongside its work at Prospect 2, Kavango is taking strong strides towards making open-pittable gold discoveries across its other Hillside target areas.
At Prospect 4, drilling earlier this year intersected high-grade gold, while IP surveying identified up to five potentially mineralised zones over a 700m width and 500m strike.
Kavango is also searching for open pittable and bulk mineable deposits at its Nara and Leopard projects in Zimbabwe.
At Nara, the company has interpreted a 200m wide shear corridor along 5km of strike coinciding with historic and current production.
Its first phase of drilling testing this shear is nearing completion.
Meanwhile, at Leopard, Kavango is assessing the discovery potential of two prospective areas.
One is located in a historically producing shear zone, while the other has a historic resource estimate.
“We’re making excellent progress at Hillside,” said Mr Turney. “The two holes we’re drilling stand to tell us a great deal about the project’s gold discovery progress and will guide our exploration efforts from here.
“Meanwhile, we are confident in the potential presented by Nara and Leopard. We look forward to seeing what the rocks have to tell us as we continue to gather drilling and exploration data.”
These achievements not only validate the company’s strategic vision but also underscore its pivotal role in reshaping Zimbabwe’s gold mining landscape.
Alongside its efforts to make open pittable and bulk mineable gold discoveries, Kavango has also begun to produce gold through its mining arm.
The company’s first focus has been Hillside, where it is using the site’s two stamp mills and processing plant as a means of production.
Kavango is well ahead of schedule for meeting its target of producing 1kg a month and anticipates this arm of its business being consistently profitable throughout 2024.
The company will use this strong foundation to scale up production at Hillside and beyond by increasing direct production, opening new ore sources, and investing in production capacity.
Kavango is also looking at ways to produce gold from its historical tailings dump at Nara.
The dump contains an estimated 5,984 ounces of gold in the Measured and Indicated categories.
“Our objective is to become a significant gold producer in Zimbabwe,” said Mr Turney. “Ongoing production from our mining arm is the first step towards achieving this goal.
“Work has got off to a great start, with Hillside well on the way to meeting our production targets. We look forward to increasing near-term production further by scaling up and pursuing other opportunities as our longer-term exploration efforts continue to progress.”
Kavango Resources’ unwavering commitment to realising Zimbabwe’s full gold potential is a testament to its pioneering spirit and dedication to sustainable growth. By combining immediate profitability with a long-term vision for large-scale deposits, the company is poised to redefine the nation’s gold mining landscape.
As Kavango seeks a secondary listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, it is clear that the company is not only making rapid progress but also laying the groundwork for a transformative era in Zimbabwe’s gold mining industry.
Online Reporter