PRESS RELEASE
27 June 2025
KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC
("Kavango" or "the Company")
ZIM: 50t/d gold processing plant at Bill's Luck
Kavango Resources plc (LSE: KAV), the Southern Africa focused metals exploration and gold production Company, is pleased to announce it has commenced construction of a 50 tonne a day ("t/d") Carbon in Pulp gold processing plant (the "CIP Test Plant") at the Bill's Luck Gold Mine ("Bill's Luck") at the Hillside Gold Project ("Hillside"), Zimbabwe.
Further to the recent discovery of new gold reefs (announced >>> 24 June 2025), Kavango's geology and mining teams now anticipate that the Bill's Luck gold system is much larger than was originally appreciated. Since the Company is already mining at Bill's Luck, the Company is currently focused on growing production capacity at Hillside collectively in the short-term.
The Bill's Luck CIP Test Plant is expected to boost the Company's overall gold production within three months and be cash flow positive shortly after successful commissioning, when steady state nameplate throughput has been reliably achieved.
Highlights
· Kavango intends to feed the CIP Test Plant solely with ore produced from the Main Shaft at Bill's Luck, mined by Kavango's mining team.
o Current mining at Main Shaft delivers roughly 30t/d of ore.
· Current available processing capacity at the Company's milling centre at Hillside (3 x stamp mills and 12 x in-ground VAT leach tanks) is fully consumed by the volume of ore production from local contract miners.
o As at the time of this announcement, there exists an 820 tonne ("t") ore stockpile at the Main Shaft produced by Kavango's mining team, with a weighted average gold grade of 2.55 grams a tonne ("g/t"), that is unable to be processed due to capacity constraints as outlined above.
o Processing capacity at the existing Hillside facility will also be increased in the milling circuit with the planned installation of a roller mill, which will increase the milling capacity from 30t/d to 60t/d.
· Construction of the CIP Test Plant will include a 3 tonne per hour ("tph") crushing circuit, 2 x 2tph ball mills, 10 x CIP leach tanks (0.5m3 capacity each), plus a 10-hectare tailings storage facility.
· The Main Shaft's hoisting system is scheduled to be upgraded with a new 5tph head gear and hoisting system, rails and coco pans.
o This will enable the increase in daily ore production to 70t/d.
o It is forecast that a 3,500t ore stockpile will be available for processing in the new 50t/d plant at the time of commissioning.
· Work has commenced on re-equipping the Roscor Shaft located approximately 100m to the East of the Main Shaft along strike at Bill's Luck.
o The existing 2tph headgear and hoisting system currently at the Main Shaft will be transferred to the Roscor Shaft.
Everjoy Ngomamiti, General Manager of Kavango Resources, commented:
"I joined Kavango with the explicit mission to increase gold production.
"Our primary objective over the next 12 months is to build a 200t/d gold processing plant at one of Kavango's projects. While we still have to decide which of our three main projects we will place that plant at, it is clear that a test plant at Bill's Luck can provide a more immediate impact for the Company.
"We've now upgraded our mine development plan to include the 50t/d test plant at Bill's Luck. This plant promises to be cash flow positive shortly after successful commissioning and ramp up. Given our current rate of mining, we are already growing a stockpile of ore (with an average grade of 2.55g/t). With a few slight improvements to our mine infrastructure, I am confident our mining team can comfortably start mining more than 50t/d of ore within the coming months.
"In parallel to this, the 50t/d test plant will give our production team the opportunity to work on a more ambitious capital project. This will be valuable experience in preparation for installing the 200t/d plant early next year.
"Overall, I am extremely happy to have joined Kavango and have been impressed with the team already in place. We are all looking forward to what we can achieve together, as we start pulling much greater volumes of profitable ore from the ground."
Construction and Planned Commissioning of CIP Test Plant
Kavango has started construction of the CIP Test Plant. The Company expects to commission the CIP Test Plant within 3 months. Sterilisation drilling has been completed and Kavango has identified a suitable site to locate the CIP Test Plant.
The CIP Test Plant will comprise of a 3tph crushing circuit, 2 x 2tph ball mills and 10 CIP leach tanks, plus a 10-hectare tailings storage facility.
Kavango intends to feed the CIP Test Plant with ore produced from the Main Shaft at Bill's Luck. Mining at the Main Shaft currently delivers 30t/d of ore. Ore is currently being stockpiled, owing to limited throughput capacity at the Company's Hillside Processing centre. The Company has taken the decision to dedicate production at the Hillside Processing Centre to the local contract miners due to their increasing productivity, and to reinforce the strong local community relations that have been built. Kavango believes this is highly important to the Company's strategic goal of building a substantial gold business in the Filabusi Greenstone Belt. A further announcement about this will be made in due course.
To upgrade mining capacity at the Main Shaft, Kavango intends to install a new 5tph head gear and hoisting system. The Company will improve underground mining operations through the installation of rails and cocopans. Kavango's mining team expects that these improvements will increase ore production capacity at Main Shaft to 70t/d.
In parallel, Kavango's engineering team will move the 2tph headgear and hoisting system from the Main Shaft to the Roscor Shaft. Kavango intends to bring Roscor into production in the coming months, with an initial ore production target of 30t/d.
Kavango anticipates growing a 3,500t stockpile of gold ore by the time the CIP Test Plant is commissioned and becomes operational. The current ore stockpile is roughly 820t, with an average weighted grade of 2.55g/t. As such, the Company is confident the CIP Test Plant will cash flow not long after successful commissioning and attainment of steady state nameplate throughput.
In the event that mining operations at the Main Shaft and the Roscor shaft are successful and produce a surplus of ore, the Company is also evaluating other measures to increase production capacity. Further updates will be provided on this in due course.
Kavango's Operations in Zimbabwe
Kavango is exploring for gold deposits in Zimbabwe that have the potential to be developed into commercial scale production quickly through modern mechanised mining and processing. The Company is targeting both open-pit and underground opportunities.
Kavango has two projects on the Filabusi greenstone belt, Hillside and Nara.
Kavango owns 100% of Hillside, having exercised its option in April 2024. Here, the Company has three high priority targets it aims to bring into production over the next 18 months: Bill's Luck (Prospect 1), Steenbok (Prospect 4) and Nightshift (Prospect 3). At Nightshift, Kavango is investigating the potential for a selective open-pit mining operation, followed by underground mechanised mining. Meanwhile, at Steenbok, Kavango is pursuing a high-grade mechanised underground mining opportunity. Kavango is currently analysing the latest drill data from Bill's Luck and will provide an update shortly.
In parallel to this, Kavango holds an option to acquire the Nara Project that has an exercise date towards the end of June 2025. Here, the Company is exploring for a large-scale, mechanisable underground deposit. The primary target zone is around the historic N1 mine, where the Company is assessing the potential to expand artisanal workings both at depth and along strike.
Click the following link to view a video, introducing Kavango's new General Manager for mining in Zimbabwe, Everjoy Ngomamiti >>> Here.
Further information in respect of the Company and its business interests is provided on the Company's website at www.kavangoresources.com and on Twitter at #KAV.
For further information, please contact:
Kavango Resources plc
Ben Turney
+46 7697 406 06
Shard Capital (Broker)
Damon Heath
+44 (0) 207 186 9952
BlytheRay (Financial PR)
Tim Blythe/Megan Ray/Said Izagaren
Tel: +44 207 138 3204
Kavango Competent Person Statement
The technical information contained in this announcement pertaining to mining and processing has been compiled by Mr Craig Hatch, a Competent Person and a member of a Recognised Professional Organisations (ROPO). Craig Hatch has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mining and processing the type of deposit under consideration and to the activities being proposed to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC 2012). Craig is the Principal Mining Engineer of Minorex Pty Ltd and a consultant to Kavango Resources and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), a recognised professional organisation.
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