The Bilboes gold mission, a big, high-grade gold deposit positioned about 75 km (47 miles) north of Bulawayo, additionally makes of Caledonia Mining a multi-asset, mid-tier producer.
In response to the newest feasibility examine, the asset has the potential for an open-pit gold mine producing a median of 168,000 ounces per 12 months over a 10-year lifetime of mine.
Caledonia stated it plans to conduct its personal feasibility examine to find out the “most considered means” to commercialize the deposit. One strategy that will likely be thought-about is a phased improvement, which might decrease the preliminary capital funding and scale back the necessity for third get together funding, the corporate stated.
Ore manufacturing from the Bilboes oxides will begin in early February, chief govt officer, Mark Learmonth, stated within the assertion.
Caledonia anticipates starting to get well gold from the heap leach in March. As soon as full manufacturing price is achieved, the web smelter royalty would generate round $2.6 million a 12 months for the corporate at present gold costs, the miner stated.
The full consideration payable for the Bilboes acquisition is, topic to adjustment, 5,123,044 shares representing roughly 28.5% of Caledonia’s totally diluted share capital and a 1% web smelter royalty (NSR) on the mission’s revenues.
Based mostly on the final buying and selling day’s closing value for Caledonia shares on the NYSE of $12.82 per share, the worth of the utmost variety of new shares that may very well be issued as consideration if there isn’t a adjustment is at the moment $65.7 million.