Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc: Acquisition of the Motapa gold exploration project in Zimbabwe

ST HELIER, Jersey, Nov. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (“Caledonia” or the “Company”) (NYSE AMERICAN: CMCL; AIM: CMCL; VFEX: CMCL) 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 year¹ 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:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/52fac47f-2ddc-4da1-bf48-8963d107b64c

Note that the Bilboes claim boundary is not limited to the area highlighted in the image

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.