Kavango Confirms Open-Pit Gold Deposit at Nightshift Prospect, Zimbabwe

Kavango Resources PLC (LSE: KAV, KAV.VX) has taken a decisive step forward in its Zimbabwean gold strategy with the confirmation of a JORC-compliant open-pit gold deposit at the Nightshift Prospect, part of its Hillside Gold Project. This milestone represents a major breakthrough for the company, establishing its transition from explorer to emerging gold producer in Southern Africa. The maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (JORC MRE) not only validated Kavango’s exploration model but also revealed significant upside potential, positioning Nightshift as a cornerstone asset for the company’s near-term production plans.

The newly defined resource includes 20,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.86 grams per tonne (g/t), comprising 11,000 ounces classified as Indicated and 9,000 ounces as Inferred. This estimate, though based on drilling across only 15 percent of the deposit’s total strike length, already supports a three-year open-pit mine life in Phase 1, with substantial room for future expansion. The Nightshift mineralisation extends over 700 metres in strike length and 200 metres in width, and remains open along strike and at depth, indicating strong exploration potential for both lateral and underground extensions.

Situated just 800 metres west of Bill’s Luck Gold Mine, where Kavango is building its first Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) processing plant, Nightshift will directly benefit from the project’s infrastructure and planned upgrades. The plant’s processing capacity is being increased from 200 tonnes per day (tpd) to 300 tpd to accommodate higher ore throughput from both Bill’s Luck and Nightshift. The company plans to commence grade control drilling in 2025, with shallow open-pit mining expected to begin in the first half of 2026. The deposit’s geometry, strong ore continuity, and favourable strip ratio make it ideally suited for low-cost open-pit extraction.

Kavango CEO Ben Turney described the Nightshift discovery as a “defining moment” for the company, affirming the success of its fast-track production strategy in Zimbabwe. He noted that the deposit’s early confirmation and economic potential demonstrate the viability of the company’s phased approach, moving from small-scale open-pit operations toward scalable production supported by modern Carbon-in-Leach processing. In parallel, Kavango is finalising a resource definition program at Bill’s Luck, aimed at de-risking its 2026 mining plan and laying the groundwork for sustained multi-year output growth.

This discovery signals the rapid emergence of Zimbabwe as a competitive destination for modern gold development. With projects like Nightshift leveraging low-cost infrastructure, strong geological potential, and improved regulatory conditions, the country is attracting renewed investor interest in its mining sector. Kavango’s progress from exploration to defined resource within two years underscores how agile junior miners are helping revitalise Zimbabwe’s gold industry and driving its integration into the broader African mining economy.

Mini-Glossary

• JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee): A professional code that sets minimum standards for public reporting of mineral resources and ore reserves.
• Indicated Resource: A mineral resource with sufficient geological confidence to support mine planning and economic evaluation.
• Inferred Resource: A lower-confidence estimate of mineral content based on limited sampling.
• g/t (Grams per Tonne): A standard measure of gold concentration in rock; higher values indicate richer ore.
• Carbon-in-Leach (CIL): A gold extraction process where gold is leached and adsorbed onto activated carbon in a single continuous process.
• tpd (Tonnes per Day): A measure of plant processing capacity, indicating the volume of ore that can be treated daily.
• Grade Control Drilling: Short-spaced drilling conducted before mining to refine the ore body model and optimise extraction efficiency.