The full year production numbers for Zimbabwe’s 2^nd largest gold producer Caledonia are out and they point to a record annual financial performance for the miner. These set of numbers comes barely a week after Zimbabwe’s annual gold production numbers were made public and they were at an all time high.

Caledonia Mining Corporation runs Blanket Mine which is located in Gwanda. It also acquired Bilboes Mine, a few years ago, with the intention to extend the overall asset base’s aggregate mine life and net output.

For the 12 months period to December 2025, Caledonia’s gold output reached 2.16 tonnes which is marginally higher than the prior year. The most interesting part however is not the production outturn, but the earnings made over the year from the stable produce.

     Caledonia Mining Corporation Production and Revenue Performance 

Based on the half year income, full year volumes performance and the 30% firming of prices in the second half over the first one, the company is set to sweep past the US$200 million annual income mark, achieving a record US$260 million in topline performance from the 2.16 tonnes produced.

In 2025 gold rose by over 65% closing the year at $4335 an ounce. The gains were more pronounced in the second half period of the year. This is an all-time high price for gold which has extended its rally into 2025 on sustained uncertainty in geopolitics and the US dollar instability.

It would have been expected that Caledonia would take advantage of the price surge to scale up its production which however remained stable for the third year running. Over the fourth and final quarter of the year, the company said it produced just 17,367 ounces, way lower than the year quarterly average and 12.6% below the same quarter last year.

The company said production in the second half of 2025 was adversely affected by lower tonnages from higher grade areas and interruptions in the electricity supply at the end of the quarter.

This message simply means that the company has present difficulties in extracting produce from areas where the ore is of high-grade quality. While there can be a compensatory effect where the ore is higher and production is lower it remains to be seen what the net effect was but given the decline in production numbers, income is likely to have been lost overall.

Caledonia had earlier set aside the mining restart plan for Bilboes in 2025, which it has now determined will go ahead late in 2028 as planned. The mine is expected to scale up current production to levels 3 times higher. This means that from 2029 onwards the companies’ 2 mines may collectively produce above 250,000 ounces which is about 7.6 tonnes per annum.

Once Caledonia Mining Corporation starts to produce at the anticipated levels, it becomes a billion-dollar company demanding a huge realignment in its market valuation. The status will place it in the prestigious league of a few Zimbabwean companies such as Zimplats.

Likewise, the company will become the largest gold producer in the country, surpassing Kuvimba Mining House, which has an even larger number of mining operation under its armpit including top producer, Freda Rebbeca.

The Bilboes upgrade project requires half a billion dollars in investment which the company is raising through a combination of debt and retained earnings. For the period under review the company said it faced inflationary pressures on consumables and labour with higher operating costs across mining, milling, engineering, and administration. This remains one of the biggest operating environment challenges facing companies operating in Zimbabwe.

In 2026 the company expects to spend US$162.5 million 2 mainly relating to sustaining capital at Blanket and the planned commencement of the Bilboes development project. The Bilboes commitment will take up most of the funds at US$132 million

For the 2026 year, the production guidance remains in the 2025 range of between 72,000 - 76,500 ounces.