Shamva Mine Production Increases by Over 30%
Production at the Kuvimba Mining House (KMH) owned Shamva Mine has increased by 30.9% on a month-to-month basis in 2024 compared to 2023, the Mine’s General Manager, Eng. Gift Mapakame has said.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking to Mining Zimbabwe, Eng. Mapakame said production at Shamva has been on a recovery streak since January, increasing production from 42,000 tonnes per month, which was the average last year and at the beginning of this year, to around 55,000 tonnes per month that the mine is now mining and processing.
Eng. Mapakame said that the Shamva-based gold mine had been struggling with excessive power cuts at the beginning of the year but has since invested in backup power capacity to sustain vital infrastructure, equipment, and production operations during power outages.
“As a mine, we’ve also been addressing issues related to our performance parameters, namely grade. Our grade was not performing as expected in the underground sections, and our efforts have been focused on unlocking flexibility in the underground section. We’ve also taken the opportunity to optimize our big project in the pipeline, which is the Shamva Hill open pit project, by starting the starter pits that were designated in the optimization. These have already begun contributing to our production.
“Our tactical approach is twofold, we are unlocking flexibility in the underground section and scaling up our starter pits on the surface. As a result, we have managed to increase our production from 42,000 tonnes per month, which was our average last year and at the beginning of this year, to around 55,000 tonnes per month that we are now mining and processing. This results in a production of upwards of 60 kg of gold or over 2,100 ounces per month. The combination of this strategy is well-timed, as we are also benefiting from a favorable commodity price in the market,” he said.
This increase in production has allowed Shamva Mine to realize a net increase in revenue, with some of these revenues being utilized to fund capital expenditure projects internally.
The mine has faced challenges with financial institutions and fundraising markets. The management believes that the company’s growth, in terms of staying business capital and development capital, can only be organic. With the current performance, the mine is channelling a significant portion of its retained cash towards staying business capital and development capital.
For staying business capital, the focus is on the replacement and refurbishment of equipment and machinery. For development capital, the mine is investing in exploration, including infill drilling on the surface resource and exploration drilling in the underground section.
In pursuit of unlocking flexibility, this exploration is essential for developing the mineral resource.