Kavango Plans to Boost Gold Production at Zimbabwe’s Prospect 4
London-listed Kavango Resources is focusing on increasing high-grade gold production at Prospect 4 within its Hillside project in Matabeleland, southern Zimbabwe.
Currently, high-grade gold is being extracted by contract miners on a small scale at Prospect 4. The material is then trucked 20 km to Kavango’s processing facility at the main Hillside site.
However, production is limited due to the mining methods, the long distance to the processing plant, and the facility’s capacity, which can only process 40-50 tons per day (t/d).
Given the current low production volumes, Kavango sees significant potential to boost output at Prospect 4. To support this growth, the company has partnered with an experienced South African manufacturer to design a new gold production plant with the capacity to process between 100 t/d and 200 t/d of mineralized material.
The plant will be modular, allowing it to be relocated to other Kavango projects if needed. The company notes that if technical economic assessment (TEA) studies at Prospect 4 suggest the need for a larger plant, this design will accommodate such a shift.
Kavango has already completed preliminary exploration at Prospect 4 and plans to begin further drilling in the New Year. Four additional holes, ranging from 500 m to 600 m in depth, will test the continuity and depth extent of visible gold-bearing quartz-vein shears. To date, more than 12 subparallel vein sets have been identified.
Kavango CEO Ben Turney shared his optimism about the next phase of exploration: “Following our recent announcement of resource drilling at Prospect 3, we are advancing quickly at the Hillside gold project, with plans for an underground high-grade gold operation at Prospect 4.
We’re excited about the drilling results at Prospect 4, which have included a 2.53 m mineralized section grading at 29.08 g/t in Hole SKDD001.”
Turney continued, “After completing drilling at Prospect 3, we will move our two rigs to Prospect 4 for the next phase of exploration. In addition to assaying the samples, we will conduct metallurgical testwork on the core samples from these holes, which will guide the TEA for the project.”
He added that Kavango will begin working on the specifications for a more advanced processing plant while continuing exploration. “We are confident that production at Prospect 4 can support a plant with a minimum capacity of 100 t/d, and potentially 200 t/d in the near term.
The cash flow from the new plant will help fund the TEA, which could ultimately provide a blueprint for significantly higher gold production at Kavango.”
