The company has since 2009 installed generators to fend off incessant power shortages that had seen the debt-ridden Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority Holdings employ load shedding to deal with demand. Releasing the companys financial results for the first quarter of 2009, Stefan Hayden, Caledonia President and Chief Executive, said the company had defied the electricity outages and was on course to reach its target at Blanket Mine in Gwanda.
We have made significant progress during the current quarter to address the remaining constraints which, once solved, should enable us to reach our target of 10 000 ounces per quarter. A new ore pass was raise-bored and commissioned on May 13 2011. The commissioning of the complete standby generating system commenced on May 16 2011 and is expected to be completed by the end of May, after which Blanket will be able to maintain full operations during any interruption to the normal power supply. I am confident that Blanket will achieve its targeted quarterly production from the third quarter of 2011, he said in a statement to The Zimbabwean on Sunday.
He said output in the three months to March 31 was more than 7 300 ounces, a 17 percent increase on the previous quarter. Average production costs per ounce were down 18 percent at $648 compared to the first quarter in 2010 while prices hit $1,397 per ounce compared to about $1,107 over the same period last year.
The increased production coupled with the continued strength in the gold price and a reduction in Blankets cash cost resulted in a substantial improvement in Caledonias profitability and cash generation, said Hayden. Meanwhile, Caledonia was consulting with government ahead of Zimbabwes controversial indigenization project. On May 9 2011, Caledonia submitted its Indigenization Plan to the Government of Zimbabwe and awaits their response, he said.
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