Caledonia Mining reports strong Q1 2024 performance as production and gold prices improve
May 17, 2024 at 03:11 am EDT
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Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC chief executive Mark Learmonth takes Proactive's Stephen Gunnion through the company's first-quarter performance.
Caledonia increased gold production from over 16,000 ounces in the same period in 2023, to 17,500 ounces. This boost in production, coupled with a favourable gold price, resulted in gross profit rising from under $6 million to nearly $14 million. However, despite a reported net profit of $2.1 million, this figure included a substantial foreign exchange loss, specifically due to the devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar. Adjusted for this loss, the earnings per share (EPS) shifted from a loss of $0.29 in Q1 of 2023 to a profit of $0.27 in Q1 of 2024.
Learmonth also addressed issues from the previous year, notably the Bilboes project, which had underperformed due to low-grade ore and resulted in its placement on care and maintenance from October 2023. Additionally, the company has managed a reduction in all-in sustaining costs from $1,400 an ounce to the mid-$1200s. Learmonth expressed hope regarding the new Zimbabwean currency, the ZiG, backed by gold, which was introduced in early April 2024 to stabilise and potentially appreciate the financial landscape.
Furthermore, the company announced a significant resource update, indicating a doubling of reserves and a 60% increase in measured and indicated resources. The life of the mine for the Blanket Mine has now been extended to 2034 and potentially into the 2040s with inferred material.
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Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc is a gold production, exploration and development company focused on Zimbabwe. The Company owns a 64% stake in the gold-producing Blanket Mine (Blanket), 100% stakes in the Bilboes mine and the Motapa and Maligreen gold mining claims, all situated in Zimbabwe. The Blanket Gold Mine is a Zimbabwean gold mine, which operates at a depth of approximately 750 meters below surface and produced approximately 55,000 ounces of gold. Blanket also holds brownfield exploration and development projects both on the existing mine area and on its satellite properties which are within trucking distance of the Blanket metallurgical recovery plant. It also holds Motapa gold exploration property in Southern Zimbabwe. The Maligreen project is a property situated in the Gweru mining district in the Zimbabwe Midlands. The Bilboes is a large, high grade gold deposit located approximately 75 kilometers (km) north of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.