CANADIAN-listed miners Pambili Natural Resources Corporation and Zephyr Minerals Limited are intensifying efforts to secure approvals from Zimbabwe for their gold and lithium operations.
Last week, Pambili announced it had received approval to convert a 50-hectare milling site at Golden Valley Mine in Mashonaland West to five 10-hectare bullion claims. This follows Zephyr's recent successful non-brokered private placement, which raised CA$200 000 (approximately US$146,1 million). Both companies are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Venture Exchange (TSXV), a public venture capital marketplace for emerging companies.
“Confirmation of the conversion of our 50-hectare milling site to mining claims is fantastic news,” Pambili CEO John Harris shared with shareholders.
“This development means our planned resource drilling programme can now cover a much larger area than the initial 10-hectare mining claim.
“This supports our ongoing goal of generating shareholder value by sourcing ore for on-site processing and production at Golden Valley.”
While awaiting TSXV approval for the Golden Valley Mine acquisition announced in November 2023, Pambili has continued its work on the project and is ready to commence its planned underground drilling programme. The conversion enables Pambili to explore Golden Valley over a much larger, highly prospective area.
“Golden Valley is Pambili’s flagship project, located on the Bulawayo greenstone belt in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland province,” Harris said.
“The project has a history of high-grade gold production and includes a gold processing plant, a stamp mill, and two historic adits.”
Harris noted that the project has been underexplored but holds potential for shallow sources of ore for near-term gold production, along with larger underground discoveries. Zephyr’s private placement aims to ensure the company is adequately capitalised to explore opportunities.
“Net proceeds from the offering will be used to undertake drilling and monitoring water wells at its Dawson gold property in Colorado, and for general corporate and working capital purposes,” the company stated.
Zephyr is currently waiting for the Zimbabwe government to grant two exclusive prospecting orders covering 124 000 hectares, applied for in 2021. These areas are prospective for gold and lithium.
“The company continues to review gold properties for potential acquisition and/or joint venture throughout Zimbabwe,” Zephyr stated.
The increased interest in Zimbabwean mining aligns with the local government’s push to make the sector a US$12 billion per annum revenue earner.
