CALEDONIA Mining CEO Mark Learmonth said on Wednesday that the company’s $150m international capital raising for its Bilboes gold project had demonstrated Zimbabwe’s renewed credentials as a mining investment destination.
“It’s not just a game changer for us, it’s a game changer for Zimbabwe,” Learmonth told Reuters on the sidelines of a mining conference in Cape Town. “For a project of that size and that quality, people can’t continue to believe that Zimbabwe is uninvestable.”
Caledonia raised the funds last month through a seven-year convertible bond — the largest international capital raise for Zimbabwe in more than a decade — after US institutional investor demand exceeded $600m.
The proceeds will fund Bilboes, which is expected to begin production in late 2028 and reach annual output of 200,000 ounces from 2029 over an initial ten-year period. Once operational, it will be Zimbabwe’s largest gold mine. The company already operates the Blanket mine, which produces around 80,000 oz a year.
Total capital requirements for Bilboes are estimated at $584m, with peak funding needs of $484m.
Learmonth said improving perceptions of Zimbabwe reflected a broader reassessment of risk. “People are beginning to remind themselves that risk is endemic all over the world. Zimbabwe actually is becoming, relatively speaking, less risky, but the quality of the asset is just outstanding.”
Zimbabwe’s gold output hit a record 47 metric tons in 2025, buoyed by bullion’s historic price rally, recovering sharply from a low of just three metric tons during the economic and political turmoil of 2008.
