Gold miner Caledonia Mining’s Central shaft at the Blanket gold mine, in Zimbabwe, is now fully operational.
“I am delighted to announce that our new Central shaft, which is the deepest shaft of any gold mine in Zimbabwe, is fully operational. We can now start to hoist rock, men and materials on a daily basis, which will solve our hoisting constraints and facilitate the planned expansion in mine capacity targeting 80 000 oz/y of gold production,” says CEO Steve Curtis.
He adds that commissioning the Central shaft has been the culmination of a six-year project costing about $67-million, all funded through internal cash flow.
“This has been an owner-funded and built project by the Blanket team and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work and especially for achieving the completion of the shaft without any serious accidents, recording only two lost-time injuries,” Curtis acclaims.
The scheduled ramp up in production, a firm gold price and good cost control give Caledonia the confidence that the business can sustain a higher level of dividend.
Caledonia has declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.12.
This is a 9% increase from the previous quarterly dividend that was paid in January; and a 75% cumulative increase from the level since October 2019. This is also Caledonia’s fifth increase in the quarterly dividend since October 2019.
“As we reach the end of the six-year investment programme at Blanket mine, the anticipated combination of rising production and declining capital investment gives us confidence to further increase the dividend payment in addition to providing funding for investment in new projects. . .” Curtis says.