Tag Archives: Steve Curtis

Caledonia Mining heads for Central Shaft commissioning at Blanket gold mine

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Caledonia Mining says it has fully equipped the Central Shaft from its base to the surface collar at the Blanket gold mine in Zimbabwe, with commissioning on track for the March quarter of 2021.

This milestone has been completed considerably below budget and within a time frame to underpin the company’s expectation of delivering production of 80,000 oz of gold in 2022, it said.

The Central Shaft project, which extends Blanket’s life of mine to the current time horizon of 2034, was initially slated to reach a depth of 1,089 m, however, was extended to 1,204 m.

Steve Curtis, Caledonia Chief Executive Officer, said: “Shaft sinking is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous activities in mining and I am proud to report that over more than five years the crew achieved 1,850 fatality free shifts to date with only two loss time injuries (LTI) and achieving more than one million LTI-free man hours worked since the last LTI.”

He added: “Central Shaft is one of the largest gold mining investment projects in Zimbabwe and will be transformational to our business: our target production is set to increase by 45% to 80,000 oz by 2022 while our long-term all-in sustaining costs are expected to drop to $700-$800/oz. Central Shaft will also position us to step-up our deep level exploration which, if successful, may extend Blanket’s life of mine, which is currently to 2034.”

The capital cost of the project to date is around $60 million, compared with initial sinking contractor quotes received of about $100 million. The shaft work was completed by Blanket crews with supervision from Sinking Engineering Mining Construction, Caledonia said.

Caledonia breathes new life into Blanket gold mine

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Caledonia Mining says it has successfully installed and commissioned a new oxygen plant at its 49%-owned Blanket gold mine in Zimbabwe.

The new oxygen plant is expected to improve metallurgical recoveries and reduce cyanide consumption at Blanket. Test work indicates the plant will improve overall metallurgical recoveries at Blanket to around 94%, up from the 93% average recorded for 2019 so far.

Steve Curtis, Caledonia Chief Executive Officer, said the oxygen plant commissioning was the latest in a series of investments to increase production and improve operating efficiency at Blanket as it looks to reach 80,000 oz/y capacity by 2022. One of the other projects that will contribute to this increased output is the sinking of the Central Shaft, which was completed earlier this year.

Curtis said: “The new oxygen plant will provide up to 6 t of improved oxygen supply to the Blanket carbon-in-leach plant, which is expected to increase recoveries to approximately 94%.

“We also anticipate that the oxygen plant will result in slightly lower operating costs as cyanide consumption is expected to be reduced as a result of the improved oxygen supply; and the operating costs of the new oxygen plant are predicted to be lower than those of the previous two tonne plant.”

Blanket produced 54,512 oz of gold in 2018 and is expected to produce 53,000-56,000 oz in 2019.

Shaft sinking almost complete at Caledonia’s Blanket gold mine in Zimbabwe

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Caledonia Mining says it has now reached a depth of 1,150 m at its Central Shaft project, within the Blanket gold mine in Zimbabwe, with the shaft set to be commissioned in mid-2020.

The deepening of the Central Shaft at Blanket is aimed at increasing group production to 80,000 oz/y of gold.

On announcing the company’s 2018 financial results – a year when Blanket produced 54,511 oz of gold – CEO Steve Curtis said: “The Central Shaft has reached a depth of 1,150 m – only 54 m from the planned shaft bottom.”

He said work was focused on horizontal development of the loading station and he expected the shaft sinking to be completed by the end of June. After this, the shaft would be equipped prior to commissioning, scheduled for mid-2020, he said.

Work on the Central Shaft has been adversely affected by power outages and insufficient foreign exchange, Caledonia said. “These factors have resulted in less development being achieved than planned, which will result in a slower production ramp-up,” the company said.

Production is now expected to be around 75,000 oz in 2021 increasing to approximately 80,000 oz in 2022.

The company added: “Further progress on the Central Shaft depends on the continued availability of sufficient foreign currency.”

The extension of the Central Shaft will add two further production levels on 34 (1,110 m) and 38 (1,230 m) levels, in addition to the two levels that are already planned on 26 (870 m) and 30 (990 m) levels.