Kavango in Further High-grade Gold Discovery

Online Reporter Chronicle  

July 23, 2025

Nqobile Bhebhe, Zimpapers Business Hub

Kavango Resources plc has discovered a second high-grade gold intercept at its Bill’s Luck Gold Mine, part of the firm’s Hillside Gold Project in Matabeleland South Province, in a major boost to Zimbabwe’s rapidly expanding mining sector.

This comes after the mining company announced in June this year that it had intercepted a high gold deposit of 11,79 grammes per tonne during the ongoing drilling campaign at the Bill’s Luck Gold Mine.

The latest discovery is expected to accelerate Kavango’s exploration activities and strengthen the country’s position as a producer of gold and other precious metals and a destination for mining investment.

Gold is an integral element of Zimbabwe’s economy. It is the country’s single largest export, while mining in general generates more than 80 percent of Zimbabwe’s economy and provides employment to thousands across the country.

Zimbabwe has set a gold production target of 40 tonnes this year, after a record 36,4 tonnes was achieved last year.

Kavango Resources is a United Kingdom-head-quartered exploration company with a strategic focus on unearthing world-class base and precious metal deposits in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Kavango chief executive officer Mr Ben Turney, said the latest underground drilling results at the Bill’s Luck Mine continue to exceed expectations.

“This is the second high-grade intercept we have encountered, a short distance below our current mining level,” he said.

“This result confirms that the main Bill’s Luck ore shoot remains open at depth and appears to be increasing in grade. Our team is highly encouraged by this, having demonstrated such strong potential with relatively limited drilling.

“We will now move forward confidently into the next phase of surface exploration.”

The company intends to launch an aggressive surface drilling programme aimed at defining a gold resource large enough to sustain mining and processing operations for at least three years.

“We will seek to confirm the width of the main Bill’s Luck ore shoot and test the next inferred ore shoot at Roscor. If successful, this work will underpin the investment case for the 200-tonne-per-day (tpd) pilot production plant,” said Mr Turney.

“In parallel, we will continue underground drilling at Bill’s Luck for near-term mine planning. Construction of our 50tpd test production plant is already underway, with commissioning expected later this year.”

He noted that if the exploration and test production plans proceed according to schedule, the company aims to scale UP gold production capacity at Bill’s Luck to 250 tonnes per day by the first half of 2026.

Kavango’s footprint in Zimbabwe includes two major projects on the Filabusi greenstone belt, Hillside and Nara, which will give impetus to its growing commitment to the country’s resource-rich terrain.

The company exercised its option for 100 percent ownership of the Hillside Gold Project in April 2024.

At Hillside, three high-priority targets, Bill’s Luck, Steenbok, and Nightshift, are being aggressively explored for near-term development.

At Nightshift, Kavango is considering a phased operation beginning with selective open-pit mining, followed by underground mechanised extraction.

Meanwhile, Steenbok is being evaluated for a high-grade mechanised underground mining operation.

The latest drill data from Bill’s Luck is under analysis, with further update expected soon.

The company also fully owns the Nara Gold Project, after exercising its option in June 2025.

The latest development comes as Zimbabwe’s mining sector records significant growth, spurred by increased investment, improved exploration technologies, and a conducive policy environment.

The gold subsector remains a cornerstone of this growth, contributing the largest share of mineral exports and employment within the extractive industry.

Kavango’s continued success at Bill’s Luck adds momentum to Zimbabwe’s gold rush and reaffirms investor confidence in the nation’s vast mineral endowment.

Zimbabwe has been actively supporting the growth of its mining sector through various policy and investment initiatives.

These include comprehensive mining law reforms, investment policies that attract foreign direct investment, exploration support and geological data availability, and infrastructure development.

The Government has also fostered public-private partnerships and focused on responsible mining practices and stakeholder engagement.