BNC completed shaft deepening in April, a project that first started in 2003 but had been abandoned for lack of funding. The deeper shaft will extend the life of mine and cut costs.
At Freda Rebecca, the company says it has broken a 20-year production record this year. Over the past decade, the mine averaged between 1,500kg and 2,100kg annual gold output. In the year to March this year, production rose to 2,690kg, and the company targets 3,215kg this year.
The mine reaches the end of its life in five years, and the company is exploring resources to find the next location for the next mine to replace Freda Rebecca.
At Shamva, Kuvimba plans to start construction of a new mine in early 2022 after completion of a detailed feasibility study and raising capital to exploit resources at Shamva Hill.
Says Brown: “Once fully developed, Shamva has the potential to become the largest gold mine in Zimbabwe by output and will target an annual production of 3 500kg of gold per annum.”
This would be a big turnaround for Shamva, formerly owned by Metallon. The mine had been shut down in 2019 and was sold to Kuvimba last year.
According to the Herald Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said the US$5.2 million will be distributed as follows:
- Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe – US$520 000.00;
- Public Service Pension Management Fund – US$560 000.00;
- Deposit Protection Corporation – US$400,000.00;
- Insurance and Pensions Commission – US$400 000;
- Datvest Nominees – US$ 1 million;
- National Venture Capital Company of Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd- US$600 000; and
- Government of Zimbabwe US$1.720 million.-NewZWire/Herald
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