en.Wedoany.com Reported - Caledonia Mining’s 2025 drilling program at the Motapa exploration asset in Zimbabwe has revealed significant gold mineralization across multiple zones. The company stated that these results indicate Motapa’s potential to develop into a strategic extension of the Bilboes mining complex, potentially increasing production and extending the service life of the Bilboes mine through the development of combined mining operations.
The Motapa gold project is directly adjacent to Bilboes. Caledonia Mining is advancing a large-scale open-pit mining plan for Bilboes based on proven and probable reserves, comprising 24.1 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 2.26 grams per tonne, with total gold reserves of 1.75 million ounces. The proximity of the two projects offers potential for shared infrastructure and operational synergies, which could enhance project economics and reduce capital intensity over time.
The 2025 drilling program aims to test the continuity of sulfide mineralization beneath historical open-pit oxide pits and identify new mineralized zones across the asset. Drilling has confirmed continuous mineralization over approximately 6 kilometers of strike length within the Bubi greenstone belt, and identified multiple mineralized shear zones in northern, central, and southern Motapa, with both oxide and sulfide mineralization types recognized, supporting near-term, medium-term, and long-term development prospects for the area.
Based on current results, Caledonia Mining expects to release an initial mineral resource estimate for parts of Motapa in the third quarter of 2025, a key milestone for assessing the project’s contribution to the broader Bilboes development strategy. To date, drilling highlights in northern Motapa include: hole JPRC52, 19 meters at 8.08 g/t; hole JDD11, 6.38 meters at 13.95 g/t; hole JPRC63, 12 meters at 7.12 g/t; hole PLV5RC4, 14 meters at 4.31 g/t; hole JPRC51, 17 meters at 3.25 g/t; hole PLV1RC10, 13 meters at 3.72 g/t; and hole PLV1RC15, 6 meters at 6.89 g/t.
Drilling highlights in central Motapa (Mpudzi) include: hole MPZRC79, 7 meters at 2.39 g/t; hole MPZRC64, 3 meters at 4.79 g/t; and hole MPZRC117, 2 meters at 5.25 g/t.
Caledonia Mining Chief Executive Officer Mark Learmonth stated that the promising results from Motapa indicate significant potential to enhance the long-term value of the company’s Bilboes project. He noted that the consistently high-grade intercepts in northern Motapa highlight opportunities to define substantial resources near Bilboes’ planned infrastructure. “While our current focus remains on developing Bilboes, with a target for first gold production in the fourth quarter of 2028, Motapa represents a compelling opportunity to extend mine life and increase future production from the entire combined mining complex,” Learmonth said.
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