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London Stock Exchange-listed Kavango Resources plc, a Southern Africa-focused metals exploration and gold production company, has announced a second high-grade gold intercept at its Bill’s Luck Gold Mine within the Hillside Project in Zimbabwe.
By Ryan Chigoche
The latest underground drill hole intersected a gold-bearing structure at a vertical depth of 111.5 metres below surface, delivering a repeat assay grade of 13.60 grams per tonne (g/t) over 10.40 metres.
This includes exceptionally high-grade sections such as 98.74g/t over 0.77 metres and 48.50g/t over 2.81 metres. Additionally, a secondary zone graded 1.10g/t over 3.10 metres, revealing two distinct reefs.
This strong result builds on earlier promising findings from a drill hole announced in July 2025, which intersected 11.79g/t over 4.36 metres.
Kavango believes the main intercept represents the down-dip continuation of the Bill’s Luck Main Reef, while the secondary zone corresponds to a parallel reef within the hanging wall, confirming consistent mineralisation patterns from previous drilling.
Together, these findings confirm the presence of at least one high-grade “ore shoot” at Bill’s Luck that remains open at depth. This highlights the area’s strong exploration potential and bolsters plans for expanding the resource base.
Kavango Chief Executive Ben Turney highlighted the company’s progress at Bill’s Luck, saying:
“The ongoing underground drill programme at Bill’s Luck continues to deliver impressive results. This is the second high-grade intercept we’ve encountered, a short distance below our current mining level.
The hole intersected gold mineralisation grading at 13.6g/t over 10.40m, with two distinct reefs, following the 11.79g/t over 4.36m from hole BLDDUG004. This 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, especially given the relatively limited drilling done so far. We are now moving confidently into the next phase of surface exploration.”
He added details on the next steps:
“The objective of the surface drilling will be to define a gold resource large enough to support mining and processing operations for at least three years. We will also test the width of the main Bill’s Luck ore shoot and explore the next inferred ore shoot at Roscor. If successful, this work will underpin the investment case for the 200 tonnes per day (tpd) pilot production plant.
In parallel, we will continue underground drilling for near-term mine planning. Construction of our 50 tpd test production plant is already underway, with commissioning expected later this year. If all goes to plan, our goal is to scale gold production capacity at Bill’s Luck to 250 tpd in the first half of 2026.”
The planned 250 tonnes per day (tpd) production represents a modest but meaningful scale for a junior miner like Kavango.
This scale offers several advantages, including lower upfront capital costs, quicker access to revenue, and the flexibility to expand production should the resource base grow. As Turney explains, this approach reflects the company’s intent to establish steady, small-to-medium scale commercial gold production within the next year.
With back-to-back high-grade drill results and clear production plans progressing, Kavango is positioning itself as a leading junior gold producer in Zimbabwe.
The company’s use of modern exploration techniques, phased production scaling, and promising resource potential fits well within Zimbabwe’s growing mining sector.
Kavango’s strategy focuses on exploring gold deposits in Zimbabwe with the potential for rapid development into commercial-scale production through modern mechanised mining and processing. The company is targeting both open-pit and underground opportunities.
Its two main projects lie on the Filabusi greenstone belt: Hillside and Nara. Kavango owns 100% of the Hillside Gold Project, having exercised its option in April 2024. At Hillside, the company has three high-priority targets it aims to bring into production within the next 18 months: Bill’s Luck, Steenbok, and Nightshift.
Bill’s Luck focuses on high-grade underground mineralisation, Nightshift is being investigated for a selective open-pit operation followed by underground mechanised mining, and Steenbok is targeted for high-grade mechanised underground mining. Kavango is currently analysing the latest drill data from Bill’s Luck and expects to provide further updates soon.
In June 2025, Kavango also secured 100% ownership of the Nara Gold Project. At Nara, the company is exploring a large-scale mechanisable underground gold deposit around the historic N1 mine, assessing opportunities to expand artisanal workings both at depth and along strike.
