10th Feb 2023 09:49
(Alliance News) - Caledonia Mining Corp PLC on Friday said its solar project at the Blanket mine in Zimbabwe is generating "slightly more power than was anticipated", amid power supply issues in the southern Africa country.
The Zimbabwe-focused gold producer said its 12 megawatts project, which was connected to the Blanket electrical grid back in November, is currently providing around 27% of Blanket's average daily electricity demand.
There also has been a substantial improvement in the Zimbabwe grid's power supply in recent months, which has substantially reduced the amount of diesel consumed and the frequency of interruptions to production, Caledonia said.
"As an initial early stage indicator, in January 2023, Blanket consumed 18,000 litres of diesel, which compares to approximately 120,000 litres per month for the whole of 2022," said Chief Executive Officer Mark Learmonth.
"Whilst we can't be certain that this quantum of improvement will be fully maintained as the year progresses, we are confident that we will continue to see an ongoing meaningful reduction to our diesel usage month on month, fully justifying our investment in solar power and delivering on our [environmental, social and governance] strategy."
On Monday, Caledonia Mining provided an updated mineral resources and reserves estimate for the Blanket mine, saying the total measured and indicated mineral resource estimate has increased by 52% to 1.1 million ounces of gold.
Total mineral reserves estimate increased by 1% to 395,000 ounces of gold.
Shares in Caledonia Mining were up 0.5% to 1,120.00 pence each in London on Friday morning.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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