JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwe-focused Caledonia Mining has reached certain important milestones as part of efforts to increase production at its 49%-owned Blanket mine to 80 000 oz/y by 2021.
The dual-listed gold miner noted on Thursday that it had completed the development of a tramming loop 750 m below surface, as well as the sinking of the No 6 Winze shaft.
The tramming loop was expected to contribute to increasing production at the mine to 42 000 oz/y of gold by the end of this year.
Preparations for equipping the No 6 Winze shaft had also begun, with the shaft to be fully equipped by the end of July, after which horizontal development towards the two main resource bodies would start.
First production from the shaft was scheduled for January 2016 and would reach the target rate of 500 t/d in May 2017.
Further, surface earthworks had been completed at the Central shaft, which had been sunk to 8 m.
This six-m-diameter, four-compartment shaft would eventually be sunk to 1 080 m below surface, providing access to the current inferred mineral resources below 750 m, as well as allowing for further exploration, development and mining in these sections along the 3-km-long Blanket strike.
These activities formed part of Caledonia’s revised development plan for the Blanket mine, which would see the company investing $50-million from this year to 2017 and a further $20-million from 2018 to 2020.
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“We are pleased with the ongoing implementation of the revised plan, which is proceeding as scheduled and within budget.
“The completion of the tramming loop and sinking of the No 6 Winze are significant steps towards incrementally increasing production from 2016 onwards to achieve an annual rate of 80 000 oz of gold by 2021,” commented CEO Steve Curtis. – Mining Weekly.
