Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc announced a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Motapa property in Zimbabwe, identifying 379,000 ounces of measured and indicated gold.

The estimate, filed under Canada's National Instrument 43-101, covers 7.8 million tonnes at a grade of 1.51 g/t using a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t. An additional 131,000 ounces were classified as inferred resources.

Resource Details

The mineral resource is predominantly located at Motapa North, adjacent to the company's Bilboes Gold Project. The estimate includes results from exploration in 2023, 2024, and 2025 but excludes the ongoing 2026 campaign.

What the Numbers Show

The company calculated a combined exploration discovery and acquisition cost of $40.45 per ounce for the measured and indicated resource. This figure derives from $7.084 million in exploration spend over three years and an initial acquisition cost of $8.25 million in November 2022.

Strategic Context

Mark Learmonth, Chief Executive Officer, noted the proximity to Bilboes creates potential synergies. Bilboes is currently in development with first gold production expected in late 2028. The company plans to continue exploration at Motapa during the Bilboes construction period.

Caledonia expects to file a technical report on SEDAR+ within 45 days.

Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (NYSE: CMCL) reported a 22% increase in underground measured and indicated mineral resources at its Blanket mine in Zimbabwe, driven by successful deep drilling programs.

The updated estimates, effective June 30, 2026, reflect the conversion of lower-confidence inferred resources into higher-confidence categories following extensive exploration since 2021.

Underground Resource Expansion

The company increased its underground measured and indicated (M&I) resources to 2.178 million ounces of gold contained in 17.674 million tonnes at a grade of 3.83 g/t. This represents a significant upgrade from the December 31, 2023 estimate of 1.789 million ounces.

Measured mineral resources saw the strongest growth, rising 48% to 1.090 million ounces. Indicated resources grew modestly by 3% to 1.088 million ounces. Conversely, inferred resources declined by 30% to 0.748 million ounces, primarily due to their conversion into measured and indicated categories rather than depletion.

Maiden Surface Estimate

Caledonia also announced a maiden surface mineral resource estimate for Blanket, identifying potential for low-cost heap leach processing. The surface indicated resources total 30,000 ounces of gold.

This includes:

• Oxide material: 5,000 ounces in 180 kt at 0.91 g/t
• Transitional material: 17,000 ounces in 844 kt at 0.64 g/t
• Sulphide material: 8,000 ounces in 228 kt at 1.07 g/t

Inferred surface resources add another 14,000 ounces across oxide, transitional, and sulphide zones.

What the Numbers Show

The data reveals a strategic shift in resource confidence. While total underground tonnes increased by only 16%, the grade improved by 5%. More significantly, the 48% surge in measured resources contrasts with the 30% drop in inferred resources. This divergence indicates that Caledonia’s $3.733 million investment in deep drilling over six years has successfully de-risked the deposit by converting speculative inferred zones into bankable measured categories, reducing geological uncertainty for future reserve estimation.

Operational Outlook

CEO Mark Learmonth noted that the discovery cost for the added 1.279 million ounces was $2.92 per ounce. A technical study to evaluate deepening operations below 1,100 meters is expected late in 2026. Additionally, metallurgical test work on surface oxide material showed recoveries up to 67%, with potential heap leach operations targeting commencement in the first half of 2027.