Gold miner Caledonia Mining produced 17 360 oz of gold from its Blanket mine, in Zimbabwe, in the quarter ended June 30, an 18% increase from the 14 767 oz produced in the previous quarter, reflecting improving access to higher-grade mining areas.

Grades delivered to the plant have improved steadily since January, further reflecting progress in restoring access to higher-grade ore, the company points out.

The average grade for the second quarter was 2.88 g/t, while the grade for July to date is 3.05 g/t.

Caledonia has reaffirmed Blanket’s full-year production guidance of 72 000 oz to 76 500 oz.

In line with its initial production guidance published in January, and the 2025 results published in March, the company expects production at Blanket to be weighted towards the second half of the year as access to higher-grade mining areas improves.

Production in the period was lower than in the comparable period last year, which benefitted from exceptional grades and resulted in a record second quarter.

The lower performance so far this year reflects the planned mining sequence and constrained access to higher-grade areas during the first half of the year, as previously indicated.

Operational measures to restore access to higher-grade ore are gaining traction, as reflected in improving grades quarter-on-quarter.

Production in the quarter was an improvement on the previous one and is consistent with the expected recovery for the year.

This improvement reflects early progress in restoring access to higher-grade areas, with further benefits expected in the second half of the year.

Looking ahead, production is expected to increase further in the second half of the year, supported by improved access to higher-grade mining areas; the completion of the elution plant upgrade, enabling the processing of stockpiled fine grain loaded carbon from September onwards; and the processing of about 200 t/d of additional ore following the successful implementation of a seven-day working week from June.

These initiatives are expected to support a stronger production profile through the remainder of this year.

CEO Mark Learmonth points out that the company is now tracking a grade of about 3 g/t, a level it anticipates maintaining for the remainder of the year. 

“With the introduction of a seven-day working week and the completion of the elution plant upgrade due in the third quarter, we expect production to further increase in the second half of the year, in line with our guidance. We therefore remain confident in our full-year production guidance for 2026.”