Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc cuts Blanket gold ceiling to 72,500 ounces

Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc LONCMCL NYSEAMERICANCMCL said Friday it cut 2026 gold production guidance for its Blanket mine in Zimbabwe to 69,000 to 72,500 ounces. The previous range was 72,000 to 76,500 ounces, leaving the upper end 4,000 ounces lower.

Caledonia's NYSEAMERICANCMCL shares rose 1.08 per cent to US$24.41 at the Oct. 8, 4 p.m. EDT close on NYSE American. That close preceded the company's Friday production update.

Blanket produced 17,030 ounces in the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from 19,106 ounces in the same 2025 quarter. Output for the first nine months of 2026 was 49,158 ounces, against 58,846 ounces a year earlier.

Caledonia attributed the shortfall to delayed compressors needed at deeper mining levels and problems commissioning equipment in the gravity circuit, which left about 1,100 ounces of gold in the plant. Its revised all-in sustaining cost range is US$2,650 to US$2,850 per ounce sold, up US$150 at each end.

The mill processed 215,539 tonnes of ore in the third quarter, compared with 212,504 tonnes a year earlier, even as recovered gold fell. The reported gold recovery rate was 92.2 per cent, down from 93.3 per cent in the year-earlier quarter. Caledonia said the production totals remain subject to final assays by the refiner.

Two of four new compressors have been deployed, while the remaining two have cleared the port and are being transported to Blanket, Caledonia said. The equipment is intended to improve compressed-air supply at the mine's deeper, higher-grade areas, where delays had restricted production in September.

Caledonia said its revised annual guidance implies approximately 19,800 to 23,300 ounces of production in the fourth quarter of 2026. It expects improved access to higher-grade ore, more processing at its Lima satellite plant and recovery of gold held in Blanket's metallurgical circuit to benefit output.

"Production in the third quarter was below our expectations, principally due to insufficient compressed air capacity in deeper, higher-grade mining areas and the temporary retention of gold within the processing circuit," chief executive Mark Learmonth said in the release.

Before the revision, all-in sustaining cost guidance was US$2,500 to US$2,700 per ounce sold. Caledonia also raised on-mine cost guidance to US$1,700 to US$1,900 per ounce sold, from US$1,600 to US$1,800, citing lower expected volumes.

Caledonia cut group capital expenditure guidance for 2026 to US$94.3 million from US$103.3 million. The company said the reduction largely reflects spending on a power line shifting into 2027 and does not reflect any material reduction in the overall scope of planned capital projects.

Caledonia owns 64 per cent of Blanket, while the production figures in Friday's release are presented on a 100 per cent basis.

Caledonia expects to begin recovering the approximately 1,100 ounces held in the plant in mid-October, after commissioning additional elution capacity.