Gold mining and exploration company Caledonia Mining reports that there is significant gold mineralisation potential that has not been mined by the existing underground operation at its Blanket mine, in Zimbabwe.

The company’s exploration programme has identified both oxide and sulphide mineralisation, with geological interpretation indicating the mineralised system lies about 200 m east of the nearest projected underground orebody and suggests it may represent a new orebody.

Caledonia adds that metallurgical testwork is under way to assess the suitability of the oxide mineralisation for conventional heap leaching, with preliminary results described as encouraging.

The company expects to publish an updated Blanket mineral resource statement in August, incorporating more details regarding the surface exploration programme and recent underground drilling results.

Follow-up drilling from both surface and underground platforms is planned to test the continuity and extent of the mineralised system at depth.

The K-Pits exploration programme, Caledonia says, was designed to evaluate underexplored near-surface targets within the Blanket mining lease. The company adds that trenching and reverse circulation drilling confirmed significant gold mineralisation associated with shear structures and lithological contacts.

“We are well advanced in our work to incorporate the results of this surface exploration programme into a revised resources statement expected to be published in August 2026, which will reflect the results of surface and underground exploration at Blanket alongside the exploration programme at Motapa, where we recently announced encouraging initial drilling results.

“If the conclusion of the testwork shows an acceptable recovery, we intend to commence a trial heap leach operation on an initial sample of 10 000 t of material during the second half of 2026.

“The potential to develop a low-cost processing route for this near-surface mineralisation could provide an attractive opportunity to complement Blanket's existing underground operations and unlock additional value," says Caledonia CEO Mark Learmonth.