TIDMCMCL
RNS Number : 9896E
Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC
02 November 2022
Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc
Acquisition of the Motapa gold exploration project in
Zimbabwe
(NYSE AMERICAN: CMCL; AIM: CMCL; VFEX: CMCL)
St Helier, November 2(nd) , 2022 - Caledonia Mining Corporation
Plc ("Caledonia" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it
has purchased Motapa Mining Company UK Limited, the parent company
of a Zimbabwe subsidiary which holds a registered mining lease over
the Motapa g old exploration property in Southern Zimbabwe
("Motapa" or the "Project"). The Company has made the purchase from
Bulawayo Mining Company Limited, a privately owned UK company. The
purchase price is undisclosed but is below the regulatory
disclosure threshold.
Highlights
-- Caledonia considers Motapa to be highly prospective and
strategically important to its growth ambitions in Zimbabwe in
terms of both location and scale.
-- Motapa is a large exploration property which is contiguous to
the Bilboes gold project in respect of which Caledonia announced
that it had entered into a binding sale and purchase agreement in
July 2022.
-- The Project was formerly owned and explored by Anglo American
Zimbabwe prior to its exit from the Zimbabwean gold sector in the
late 1990s. The Project is approximately 75km north of Bulawayo
with a mining lease covering approximately 2,200 hectares.
-- The Motapa asset has been mined throughout most of the second
half of the 20th century, Caledonia Mining understands that during
this period the region produced as much as 300,000oz of gold.
Whilst none of the mining infrastructure remains, the evidence of
historical mining will provide guidance to our exploration team in
best understanding the prospectivity of the region.
Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Learmonth, Chief Executive
Officer, said:
"We are pleased to have concluded the purchase of Motapa. Given
its large scale, excellent geological prospectivity and its
strategic location adjacent to Bilboes, Motapa was a high priority
acquisition for Caledonia. We look forward to developing an
exploration program for Motapa as we target a large-scale gold belt
surrounding the Bilboes project.
"With the central shaft at Blanket now fully operational and
production targeting 80,000 ounces of gold per year[1] we
anticipate that we will deploy the incremental cash flow arising
from Blanket into our exciting exploration and project development
portfolio in Zimbabwe.
"The acquisition of Motapa following the signing of a sale and
purchase agreement to acquire Bilboes and the acquisition of
Maligreen demonstrates that over the last 12 months Caledonia has
established a pipeline of high-quality exploration and development
projects. This is in addition to the potential for further growth
at Blanket where we are optimistic about its exploration
potential."
The image below illustrates the location of Motapa in comparison
to the Bilboes project:
Note that the Bilboes claim boundary is not limited to the area
highlighted in the image
Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc
Mark Learmonth Tel: +44 1534 679 802
Camilla Horsfall Tel: +44 7817 841793
Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad and Joint
Broker) Tel: +44 207 397 1965
Adrian Hadden Tel: +44 131 220 9771
Neil McDonald Tel: +44 131 220 9775
Pearl Kellie
Liberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker)
Scott Mathieson/Kane Collings Tel: +44 20 3100 2000
BlytheRay Financial PR
Tim Blythe/Megan Ray Tel: +44 207 138 3204
3PPB
Patrick Chidley Tel: +1 917 991 7701
Paul Durham Tel: +1 203 940 2538
Curate Public Relations (Zimbabwe)
Debra Tatenda Tel: +263 77802131
IH Securities (Private) Limited (VFEX
Sponsor - Zimbabwe)
Dzika Dhana Tel: +263 (242) 745 119/33/39
Lloyd Mlotshwa
Note: The information contained within this announcement is
deemed by the Company to constitute inside information under the
Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR") as it forms part
of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations
under Article 17 of MAR.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Information
Information and statements contained in this news release that
are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" within
the meaning of applicable securities legislation that involve risks
and uncertainties relating, but not limited, to Caledonia's current
expectations, intentions, plans, and beliefs. Forward-looking
information can often be identified by forward-looking words such
as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "goal", "plan", "target",
"intend", "estimate", "could", "should", "may" and "will" or the
negative of these terms or similar words suggesting future
outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives,
assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or
performance. Examples of forward-looking information in this news
release include: production guidance, estimates of future/targeted
production rates, the execution of a sale and purchase agreement,
the satisfaction of all conditions precedent in connection with the
acquisition, the completion of the acquisition and the issuance of
the acquisition consideration, our plans regarding a modified
development plan with a phased approach with lower initial
production and a lower peak funding requirement and our plans and
timing regarding further exploration and drilling and development.
The forward-looking information contained in this news release is
based, in part, on assumptions and factors that may change or prove
to be incorrect, thus causing actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by forward-looking information. Such factors and
assumptions include, but are not limited to: the establishment of
estimated resources and reserves, the grade and recovery of
minerals which are mined varying from estimates, success of future
exploration and drilling programs, reliability of drilling,
sampling and assay data, the representativeness of mineralization
being accurate, success of planned metallurgical test-work, capital
availability and accuracy of estimated operating costs, obtaining
required governmental, environmental or other project approvals,
inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity
prices, delays in the development of projects, the assessment of
the existing capital intensity of the Bilboes gold project and
Caledonia's experience of project development in Zimbabwe and other
factors.
Security holders, potential security holders and other
prospective investors should be aware that these statements are
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
suggested by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include,
but are not limited to: risks relating to the completion of the
acquisition, risks relating to estimates of mineral reserves and
mineral resources proving to be inaccurate, fluctuations in gold
price, risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral
exploration, development and mining, risks relating to the credit
worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other
parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance,
or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards,
employee relations; relationships with and claims by local
communities and indigenous populations; political risk; risks
related to natural disasters, terrorism, civil unrest, public
health concerns (including health epidemics or outbreaks of
communicable diseases such as the coronavirus (COVID-19));
availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and
labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and
development, including the risks of obtaining or maintaining
necessary licenses and permits, diminishing quantities or grades of
mineral reserves as mining occurs; global financial condition, the
actual results of current exploration activities, changes to
conclusions of economic evaluations, and changes in project
parameters to deal with unanticipated economic or other factors,
risks of increased capital and operating costs, environmental,
safety or regulatory risks, expropriation, the Company's title to
properties including ownership thereof, increased competition in
the mining industry for properties, equipment, qualified personnel
and their costs, risks relating to the uncertainty of timing of
events including targeted production rate increase and currency
fluctuations. Security holders, potential security holders and
other prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking information. By its nature,
forward-looking information involves numerous assumptions, inherent
risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute
to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and
various future events will not occur. Caledonia undertakes no
obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any
forward-looking information whether as a result of new information,
future events or other such factors which affect this information,
except as required by law.
National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule of the Canadian Securities
Administrators which establishes standards for all public
disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information
concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all
reserves and resource estimates contained in this press release
have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Classification
System. These standards differ from the requirements of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and reserve and
resource information contained in this press release may not be
comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. The
requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of reserves and
resources are also not the same as those of the SEC, and any
reserves or resources reported in compliance with NI 43-101 may not
qualify as "reserves" or "resources" under SEC standards.
Accordingly, the mineral reserve and resource information set forth
herein may not be comparable to information made public by
companies that report in accordance with United States
standards.
This news release is not an offer of the shares of Caledonia for
sale in the United States or elsewhere. This news release shall not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy,
nor shall there be any sale of the shares of Caledonia, in any
province, state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation
or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification
under the securities laws of such province, state or
jurisdiction.
[1] Refer to the technical report entitled "Caledonia Mining
Corporation Plc NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Blanket Gold
Mine, Zimbabwe" dated May 17, 2021 prepared by Minxcon (Pty) Ltd
and filed by the Company on SEDAR on May 26, 2021.
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