- Caledonia reports high-grade drill results from ongoing resource expansion at Blanket Mine, enhancing gold production prospects
- Current annual production of approximately 75,000 ounces expected to increase
- New potential orebody discovered, with significant intersections including 31.8 metres at 6.71 g/t gold, supporting future resource growth
Harare- Caledonia Mining Corporation has reported promising high-grade results from its ongoing resource expansion drill programme at its owned Blanket Mine.
This will improve gold production at Blanket, which currently stands at approximately 75,000 ounces per year, by enhancing resource confidence and potentially extending the mine’s life.
The drilling programme, targeting the Blanket, Eroica, and Lima orebodies, aims to increase confidence in the existing mineral resource and expand the resource estimate below the 34 level (1,110 metres).
Results from 6,976 metres of underground drilling between January 2024 and April 2025 show that the Blanket and Eroica orebodies have grades and widths surpassing expectations, while the Lima orebody extends below the 22 level (750 metres).
A new potential orebody was intersected in the Blanket orebody area, yielding impressive results, including 31.8 metres (24.73 metres true width) at 6.71 g/t gold and 10.8 metres (5.93 metres true width) at 17.73 g/t gold.
Mark Learmonth, Caledonia’s Chief Executive Officer, expressed optimism about the results:
“Our ongoing drilling campaign continues to demonstrate encouraging results, further improving our confidence in the Blanket Mine mineral resource and pointing to additional future mineral resource growth.
“The grades and widths are as good as, and in some cases considerably better than, previous campaigns, which is highly encouraging.”
These findings are expected to increase the overall mineral resource estimate, supporting an extension of Blanket Mine’s life.
Caledonia’s significant investments over the past seven years have bolstered the mine’s infrastructure, enabling sustained production beyond the current horizon.
The company anticipates publishing an updated mineral resource estimate by the end of 2025.
Drilling continues to focus on the Blanket and Eroica orebodies, with crosscuts providing access to deeper zones. The programme seeks to upgrade inferred resources to the indicated category, strengthening the foundation for long-term mine planning.
Exploration is ongoing to evaluate orebodies down to the 38 level (1,230 metres) and beyond.
In addition to underground efforts, Blanket Mine has initiated a surface exploration project targeting the Banded Iron Formation (BIF) within its mining lease.
Initial geophysical surveys, including Induced Polarization and Ground Magnetic surveys, identified anomalous zones over a 600-metre strike length.
Surface reconnaissance and pitting revealed quartz-filled shear zones, with grab samples assaying between 0.59 and 32.12 g/t gold.
These developments highlight Caledonia’s commitment to maximising the potential of Blanket Mine, positioning it for enhanced production and longevity.
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