JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The indicated resource at Zimbabwe-focused gold miner Caledonia Mining’s 49%-owned Blanket mine has increased by 343 000 t.
“The upgrade of approximately 343 000 t from inferred resource to indicated resource underscores the overall confidence level of Blanket's resources. The significant increase in new inferred resources occurred at depth and paves the way for the Phase 2 expansion programme to extend mining below the current target depth of 990 m level,” president and CEO Steve Curtis said on Thursday.
An additional 1.28-million tonnes of new inventory have also been added to the mine’s inferred resources.
The higher indicated resource, combined with the resources upgraded during 2015, increased the quantum of reserves and indicated resources that may be used in the life-of-mine plan from 2.93-million tonnes used for the technical report prepared by Minxcon in December 2014, to 4.89-million tonnes.
This represents an increase of 67% in terms of mineable tonnes and hence in the life of the mine.
“I am confident that the life-of-mine will be further supplemented by resource additions and upgrades as a result of the increased exploration activity, both at Blanket and also at the satellite projects,” said Curtis.