In a company release Caledonia stated that they have completed all of the underground installations at the Number 4 shaft project at the Blanket Gold Mine in Zimbabwe. So even though they have been fighting an unstable political and economic climate with frequent power outages, they are still on schedule to make their target production rate of 40,000 ounces of gold per annum from the Blanket Mine.
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TORONTO, ONTARIO, Aug 26, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Caledonia Mining Corporation ("Caledonia") /quotes/comstock/11t!e:cal (CA:CAL 0.06, 0.00, 0.00%) /quotes/comstock/11k!calv.f (CALVF 0.06, -.00, -2.50%) (AIM: CMCL) is pleased to announce the completion of all the underground installations relating to the No. 4 Shaft Project at the Blanket Gold Mine in Zimbabwe.
"Dry commissioning" of the automated skip loading system from 789m level to surface and the 765m level crushing station will commence at the end of August after which work will commence to widen the 750m level haulage above the grizzly tips which will be followed by the excavation of the first of three underground storage bins located between the 750m haulage and the 765m crushing station. The waste from these operations will be used to "wet commission" the entire shaft-bottom crushing and loading system. This process is planned to be completed by end of September, 2010. The flexibility to handle and hoist ore and waste rock separately to surface is intrinsic to the underground design and new installations.
Blanket will then commence the progressive production ramp-up to a target rate of 1,000 tonnes per day, or approximately 40,000 ounces of gold per annum. This is planned to be completed by the end of December 2010, although the ability to meet this target within this timeframe will depend on the availability of power. Work has already started on developing new mining production panels to allow for a rapid increase in the tonnes of ore mined per day.
Read the rest of the release here
