REG - Caledonia Mining Crp - Acquisition of the Motapa gold exploration project

Caledonia MiningAnnouncement

02/11/2022 07:00

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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 gold 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)

 Adrian Hadden                                              Tel: +44 207 397 1965

 Neil McDonald                                              Tel: +44 131 220 9771

 Pearl Kellie                                               Tel: +44 131 220 9775
 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

 Lloyd Mlotshwa                                             Tel: +263 (242) 745 119/33/39

 

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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