Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc released initial results from its Zimbabwe exploration program at the Motapa project, revealing significant gold mineralization below historic open pits. The combined drilling efforts showcased highly encouraging outcomes, particularly in areas such as Jupiter, Pluvious, and Mpudzi. These results will support the company’s goal of developing a new opencast gold mine adjacent to the existing Bilboes project.
Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc has announced the initial findings from its exploration program at the Motapa project, which was acquired in November 2022. This project is situated adjacent to the company’s Bilboes Gold Project in southern Zimbabwe. The exploration involved a combination of diamond drilling (DD) and reverse circulation drilling (RC), which aimed at assessing the extent of sulphide mineralization beneath historical oxide open pits, yielding notably positive outcomes. Furthermore, investigations in new target regions have provided promising results in both oxide and sulphide zones. The program has met its preliminary objectives, involving extensive trenching and drilling efforts totaling 12,724 meters of trenching, 4,143 meters of DD, and 5,433 meters of RC. The drilling indicated broad intervals of gold mineralization across a significant strike length exceeding 9 kilometers. Key highlights from the drill results included impressive high-grade gold concentrations, particularly in the Jupiter, Pluvious, and Mpudzi areas. These promising locations are expected to be prioritized for follow-up drilling aimed at establishing an opencast mineral resource. Noteworthy results include intervals showing significant gold grades, exemplified by: – Hole JPRC01 – 12.00 m at 6.36 g/t from 81 m downhole, RC – Hole JPRC05 – 13.00 m at 5.17 g/t from 88 m downhole, RC – Hole PLVRC06 – 7.00 m at 3.27 g/t from 64 m downhole, RC – Hole MPZRC02 – 4.00 m at 10.95 g/t from 12 m downhole, RC – Hole JDD08 – 14.00 m at 3.20 g/t from 63 m downhole, DD – Hole PLVDD01 – 8.00 m at 4.00 g/t from 74 m downhole, DD Mark Learmonth, the Chief Executive Officer, expressed his satisfaction with the results stating that they reflect encouraging metrics in terms of both strike width and grade. He emphasized that Motapa, being adjacent to Bilboes – a site earmarked for a new high-grade opencast gold mining operation – will play an integral role in the company’s strategic growth endeavors.
Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc operates primarily in the gold mining sector, focusing on exploration and resource development in Zimbabwe. The acquisition of the Motapa project fits within a broader strategy to expand their mineral portfolio and enhance production capacity at their adjacent Bilboes Gold Project. The exploration efforts aim to identify and develop viable gold deposits that can be economically extracted, which is essential for sustaining growth and shareholder value in a competitive mining industry.
In conclusion, Caledonia Mining Corporation’s recent exploration results at the Motapa project illustrate substantial potential for gold mineralization and align with the company’s strategic intentions of expansion within the Zimbabwean gold mining sector. The encouraging high-grade results from multiple drilling locations indicate a strong prospect for establishing a significant opencast mineral resource that will bolster the operational framework of the adjacent Bilboes project.
Original Source: www.globalminingreview.com
