Caledonia declares maiden 379,000oz Motapa resource and lifts Blanket estimate 22%

Caledonia Mining Corporation has published two resource updates in Zimbabwe that together extend the growth runway beyond its planned Bilboes mine: a maiden estimate for the Motapa property and a substantial upgrade at its producing Blanket mine.

Motapa: 510,000oz in total

At Motapa, which adjoins Bilboes, Caledonia declared measured and indicated resources of 7.8 million tonnes at 1.51g/t, containing 379,000 ounces, plus inferred resources of 2.7 million tonnes at 1.48g/t for a further 131,000 ounces, both at a 0.5g/t cut-off. The company said it had spent $7.08 million on exploration and $8.25 million to acquire the property, which works out at about $40 per measured and indicated ounce.

Chief executive Mark Learmonth said the acquisition should be seen in the context of Caledonia's ownership of Bilboes next door. The company believes the combined properties could eventually support a larger operation, or lengthen the Bilboes plan of about 1.5 million ounces over 10.8 years. The immediate priority remains bringing Bilboes into production, with first gold targeted for late 2028, while exploration at Motapa continues during construction.

Blanket: deeper and wider

In a separate statement, Caledonia raised Blanket's underground measured and indicated resource by 22% to 2.18 million ounces, contained in 17.7 million tonnes at 3.83g/t. Measured resources alone rose 48%, reflecting conversion of lower-confidence material. Learmonth said the company had spent $3.73 million on deep drilling at Blanket over six years, adding 1.28 million measured and indicated ounces before depletion, a discovery cost of under $3 an ounce. The drilling shows mineralisation continuing at depth with generally better grades and widths.

A technical study on deepening Blanket below its current depth of about 1,100 metres is advanced and is expected towards the end of the year. It will inform a revised life-of-mine plan and future reserve update.

The surprise was near surface. Caledonia declared indicated resources in newly identified oxide and transitional material of 22,000 ounces in 1.02 million tonnes at 0.69g/t, and a small sulphide resource beneath it of 8,000 ounces at 1.07g/t. Heap-leach testwork on the oxides has shown recoveries of up to 67%. Caledonia plans to build a trial heap-leach pad, mine a 10,000-tonne sample and has applied for environmental approvals. If those evaluations succeed, oxide mining could start in the first half of 2027 at about 40,000 tonnes of ore a month.

What it means

For a company whose single producing asset has been battling grade and access constraints this year, the updates are an important signal: Blanket's ore body is growing with depth, and small, cheap near-surface ounces could add flexibility. At Motapa, the maiden resource gives Caledonia a concrete basis for planning a bigger Bilboes complex once the first phase is built.

Sources

• Mining Weekly: Caledonia announces MRE for Motapa, increases Blanket's estimates, 28 Aug 2026
• FinanzNachrichten (ACCESS Newswire release): Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc: Blanket Mine Underground Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources Estimate Increases by 22% to 2.18 Million Ounces, 28 Aug 2026

Photo: Gold ore samples displayed in a mining museum. Викидим, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.