CALDEONIA Mining on Tuesday approved construction of the 200,000 ounce per year Bilboes gold mine – a $484m project the company said would help restore Zimbabwe’s reputation as “a major gold mining destination”.
Production was due to start in 2028 ramping up to nameplate capacity a year later, said Caldeonia. This was in terms of a feasibility study, also published today, which assumes a consensus gold price of $2,548/oz and a project payback of about 1.8 years.
Caledonia CEO Mark Learmonth said his the firm would become a mid-tier gold miner with the completion of Bilboes. Caledonia’s total gold production for the 2025 financial year has been guided to 75,000 to 79,500 oz from its Blanket mine, also in Zimbabwe.
Caledonia shares were less than a percent higher in New York trade on the news today. Year-to-date the stock is 189% higher.
Caledonia said in its announcement it could issue convertible shares as part of its funding for the project. It had hedged some 3,000 oz of gold production aimed at potentially accelerating the project. The hedge underpinned cash receipts by Caledonia from Blanket of about $200m over the three years of peaking funding from 2026 to end-2028
The majority of funds, however would be sourced through debt instruments as well as internally generated cash from Blanket. Caledonia said it would also consider a potential streaming deal, a royalty, as well as mezzanine funding to finance the project’s balance.
Learmonth said Bilboes, which had been on Caledonia’s books for years and had been “decades in the making”, was a major boost for Zimbabwe’s international standing. “Bilboes should deliver substantial benefits to Zimbabwe: a project of this scale should help Zimbabwe to reclaim its position as a major gold destination in the eyes of the international investment community,” he said.
