Story by Tapiwa Machemedze
EUREKA Gold Mine is on track to produce nearly two tonnes of gold by the end of this year, underscoring its steady recovery and growth following its revival under the Second Republic’s “Zimbabwe is open for business” policy.
After spending several years under care and maintenance, the Guruve-based mine was resuscitated in September 2021 by Dallaglio Investments, the mining subsidiary of Victoria Falls Stock Exchange-listed Padenga Holdings. Since resuming operations, production has increased consistently, supported by expanded processing capacity and favourable global gold prices.
According to mine management, milling capacity has risen to 120 000 tonnes per month, enabling a sustained increase in gold output.
“We started operations in September 2021, since then we have been doing very well in terms of gold production. We quickly hit our capacity in terms of plant production, we are now milling 120 000 tonnes per month. In terms of gold, that has also been going up. We are now approaching 2 000 kg, which is 2 tonnes. We started off around 1 600 kg. The gold price is also assisting us. When we started, it was around US$1 600 per ounce and now it is above US$4 000 per ounce, which is very good,” Nelson Banda said.
Despite the success, the Guruve-based gold mine has faced power supply challenges, leading it to commence construction of a 20-megawatt solar farm and the initiative has just kicked off.
“The target is to make sure by the end of next year we will be off the grid in terms of our requirements during daylight, so the project has just started. By January we will have the first power, moving to 5 megawatts by mid-year. For our requirements, we need 10 megawatts and we are working on that,” he added.
Dallaglio invested in a successful exploration programme that has seen the gold mine’s life being extended from 2032 to 2039. Beyond 2039, there is potential for underground mining.
Production figures are on target and by the end of the year, nearly 2 tonnes of gold will have been mined from this place, keeping the wheels of the Zimbabwean economy turning.
