Caledonia Mining (CMCL) Mining Forum Americas 2026 summary

Strategic growth and asset portfolio

• Targeting production increase from 75,000 to over 200,000 ounces annually by 2029, driven by a diversified portfolio of four assets in Zimbabwe.

• Blanket Mine, acquired in 2006, has grown its resource base from 60,000 to nearly 3 million ounces and currently produces 70,000–75,000 ounces per year.

• Recent initiatives at Blanket include a 7-day work week and new oxide resource commercialization, expected to boost annual output to nearly 90,000 ounces.

• Bilboes, the immediate development focus, was acquired in 2023 and holds 2.5 million ounces M&I at 2.3 g/t, with first gold production targeted for late 2028 and full production in 2029.

• Motapa, adjacent to Bilboes, recently announced a maiden resource of over 500,000 ounces, supporting future production smoothing.

Financial performance and stakeholder value

• Over the past decade, more than $250 million has been distributed to Zimbabwean stakeholders, including government, workers, and the community.

• Shareholder returns have reached approximately 1,200% over 10 years, outperforming sector benchmarks and gold itself.

• Blanket Mine's cash generation supports dividends, head office costs, and contributes to funding new projects.

• The company has maintained quarterly dividend payments since 2012.

Bilboes project economics and funding

• Bilboes project has an NPV of over $1.5 billion at a $4,000/oz gold price, with an ungeared post-tax IRR near 60% and an 11-year mine life.

• All-in sustaining cost is about $1,145/oz, yielding around $3,000/oz profit at current prices; first full year of production expected to generate $600 million in disposable cash, tax-free.

• Peak funding requirement is $484 million, with a payback period of less than one year.

• Funding strategy includes gold price hedging, a $150 million convertible note (four times oversubscribed), $150 million from Zimbabwean banks, and a planned $300–350 million project finance facility.

• As of end Q2, $172 million cash on hand and $13 million in bullion provide strong liquidity for project initiation.