The Evolution of Caledonia Mining and Its Journey in Zimbabwe
In this episode, we chat with Mark Learmonth, CEO of Caledonia Mining, who are a gold producer with a 64% stake in Blanket Mine and other assets in Zimbabwe. Mark has over 25 years experience in corporate finance and investment banking, predominantly in the resources sector in Africa and has been with Caledonia Mining for over 15 years and tells us about the history of the company, their project and how Zimbabwe is as a mining jurisdiction. KEY TAKEAWAYS Caledonia Mining has shifted its focus primarily to gold production in Zimbabwe, particularly through its flagship asset, Blanket Mine, which has been operational since 1907. The company initially explored cobalt in Zambia but pivoted to gold after acquiring Blanket Mine in 2006 for $4 million. The potential of Zimbabwe's gold resources was recognised as largely untapped due to historical challenges in the country. Navigating Zimbabwe's complex bureaucratic and foreign exchange control systems poses significant challenges for mining companies. Caledonia Mining has developed expertise in managing these complexities, which has contributed to its success in the region. Caledonia Mining is advancing the Bilbo's project, which has a resource endowment of 2.5 million ounces of gold. The project is expected to produce 150,000 ounces annually over ten years, with plans to upgrade its preliminary economic assessment to a feasibility study. BEST MOMENTS "Zimbabwe is incredibly prospective for gold... it's pretty much elephant country." "The biggest challenge comes down to foreign exchange controls... if you don't know what you're doing, you just go round and round in small circles." "We have this unique ability to navigate the administrative channels to make it work." "Our approach... is to maximise the NPV per share of Caledonia." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail: rob@mining-international.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ X: https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast Web: http://www.mining-international.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/condor-resources/ Website: https://www.caledoniamining.com/X - https://x.com/CaledoniaMiningYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@caledoniaminingcorporation9285Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/caledonia-mining-corp-cal-/ ABOUT THE HOST Rob Tyson is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first-world to third-world countries from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We source, headhunt, and discover new and top talent through a targeted approach and search methodology and have a proven track record in sourcing and positioning exceptional candidates into our clients' organisations in any mining discipline or level. Mining International provides a transparent, informative, and trusted consultancy service to our candidates and clients to help them develop their careers and business goals and objectives in this ever-changing marketplace. CONTACT METHOD rob@mining-international.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.