Caracal Gold PLC High Grade Zone on Kilimapesa Hill (5866T)

TIDMGCAT

RNS Number : 5866T

Caracal Gold PLC

21 March 2023

21 March 2023

Caracal Gold PLC

('Caracal' or the 'Company')

High Grade Zone on Kilimapesa Hill

Caracal Gold PLC, the expanding East African gold producer with over 1,300,000oz of JORC compliant gold resources, is pleased to announce the discovery of a new high-grade zone above the current underground workings and above the areas drilled as part of the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) on the Kilimapesa Hill deposit.

Highlights

   --      360tpd of high-grade material with average grades from 3.31g/t to 4.74g/t being processed, 

-- A mining plan confirming 90 days of high-grade material has been prepared and is being actioned,

   --      Exploration to define the full potential of the high-grade zone underway. 

The area is being accessed from the current open pit, and with exploration drilling on hold at present, a decision was made to bulk sample the area and process the material through the milling plant.

Mining commenced on the zone on the 9(th) March 2023 and 360tpd is being processed through the milling plant. Current recoveries are 75% and plant availability over 85%.

At present 6 zones have been mapped, sampled and a bulk samples processed - these zones are numbered 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 3A, 3B. Each of these areas has then intensively sampled and the resulting information put into a mining plan which supports throughput of high-grade ore through the milling plant for the rest of March and for the 2(nd) quarter of 2023 (April, May and June).

The exploration team is now extending the work on the high-grade zone to define the full extent of the strike, this will be followed by trenching and sampling and ultimately drilling with the goal of defining high grade ore for long-term processing through the milling plant and to include the ounces into the Kilimapesa Hill MRE.

A map of the Kilimapesa Hill high-grade zone is attached at the end of the RNS.

The average grades for the period from 9(th) March to 18(th) March 2023 are detailed below:

Hourly belt cuts are taken on the mill feed conveyor and the daily summary sampling sheets for samples are attached. These samples are assayed in the Kilimapesa laboratory. Sampling and analytical procedures are subject to a comprehensive quality assurance and quality control program. The QAQC program involves insertion of duplicate samples, blanks and certified reference materials in the sample stream. Gold analyses are performed by standard fire assaying protocols using a 50-gram charge with atomic absorption (AAS) finish and a gravimetric finish performed for assays greater than 10 grams per tonne.

Robbie McCrae, CEO of Caracal commented:

"The Caracal and Kilimapesa exploration teams have always believed that significant high-grade zones exist within the Kilimapesa Hill deposit. As we open and expand the open cast mining pits, to support the expansion project, we expect to find more of these zones. The potential size of this high-grade zone is encouraging, and is further confirmation and validation of our understanding of the Kilimapesa Hill deposit and our development strategy. We have had a plan to expand the MRE on the Kilimapesa Hill deposit. The plan includes additional drilling along strike and at depth. The identification and extent of this high-grade zone now adds a 3(rd) leg to the drilling strategy. The exploration team can't wait to begin drilling. The strategy also includes the optimization and expansion of the current milling plant alongside the development of a 65,000tpm heap leach facility and these will get us to the 24,000oz per annum target.

In the past we used to process up to 1000tpd in order to achieve our target production of a 1000oz per month. Now, with the increased grade and reduced throughput of 360tpd, our current production monthly is estimated to be 790oz from the milling plant and 160oz per month from the heap leach pilot plant. These estimates will most likely improve as we have scope to increase tonnage, optimise recovery in the milling plant and the heap leach is expected to continue to improve. Caracal and Kilimapesa are bound to be in a strong operational and financial position as we progress the funding required for the Kilimapesa expansion project in the 2(nd) quarter of 2023."

* * ENDS * *

For further information visit www.caracalgold.com or contact the following:

 
 Caracal Gold plc                     [e-mail] 
  Robbie McCrae 
 Clear Capital Markets Ltd 
  Joint Broker                        [phone] 
  Keith Swann / Jonathan Critchley     [phone] 
                                     ---------------------- 
 VSA Capital Ltd 
  Financial Adviser and Joint 
  Broker 
  Andrew Raca (Corporate Finance)     [phone] 
                                     ---------------------- 
 DGWA, the German Institute           [e-mail] 
  for Asset and 
  Equity Allocation and Valuation 
  European Investor and Corporate 
  Relations Advisor 
  Katharina Löckinger 
                                     ---------------------- 
 

Qualified Person:

Mr. Franck Bizouerne, P.Geo., Group Mineral Resource Manager of Caracal Gold PLC, is the Company's Competent Person under JORC Code "Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects" and has reviewed and assumes responsibility for the scientific and technical content in this press release.

Notes:

Caracal Gold plc is an expanding East African focused gold producer with a clear path to grow production and resources both organically and through strategic acquisitions. Its aim is to rapidly increase production to +50,000ozs p.a. and build a JORC compliant resource base of +3Moz. The company is progressing a well-defined mine optimisation strategy at its 100% owned Kilimapesa Gold Mine in Kenya, where there is significant mid-term expansion potential and the ability to increase gold production to 24,000oz p.a. and the resource to +2Moz (current JORC compliant resources of approx. 706,000oz). Alongside this, Caracal is undertaking a targeted exploration programme at the Nyakafuru Project in Tanzania, which has an established high-grade shallow gold resource of 658,751oz at 2.08g/t contained within four deposits over 280 km2 and appears amenable to development as a large scale conventional open pit operation.

Caracal's experienced team has a proven track record in successfully developing and operating mining projects throughout Africa.

The Company is a responsible mining and exploration company and supports the positive social and economic change that it contributes to the communities in the regions that it operates. It is a proudly East African-focused company: it buys locally, employs locally, and protects the environment and its employees and their families' health, safety, and wellbeing.

Caracal's shares are quoted on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LON: GCAT) and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE: 6IK). The Company is also in the process of listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

 
          BELT CUT ASSAYS 
       Source: Central Pit 2A 
----------------------------------- 
       Field Grade; 4.6g/t Au 
----------------------------------- 
           9th MARCH 2023 
----------------------------------- 
 BELTCUT SAMPLES    ASSAYS(g/t Au) 
                   ---------------- 
     0000hrs        PLANT BREAKDOWN 
                   ---------------- 
     0100hrs        PLANT BREAKDOWN 
                   ---------------- 
     0200hrs        PLANT BREAKDOWN 
                   ---------------- 
     0300hrs             4,66 
                   ---------------- 
     0400hrs             5,87 
                   ---------------- 
     0500hrs             5,11 
                   ---------------- 
     0600hrs             3,69 
                   ---------------- 
     0700hrs              3,9 
                   ---------------- 
     0800hrs              4,4 
                   ---------------- 
     0900hrs             4,69 
                   ---------------- 
     1000hrs             4,64 
                   ---------------- 
     1100hrs             3,59 
                   ---------------- 
     1200hrs             3,91 
                   ---------------- 
     1300hrs             3,02 
                   ---------------- 
     1400hrs             4,21 
                   ---------------- 
     1500hrs              3,1 
                   ---------------- 
     1600hrs             3,38 
                   ---------------- 
     1700hrs             3,53 
                   ---------------- 
     1800hrs             3,72 
                   ---------------- 
     1900hrs              3,6 
                   ---------------- 
     2000hrs             3,07 
                   ---------------- 
     2100hrs             3,23 
                   ---------------- 
     2200hrs              3,5 
                   ---------------- 
     2300hrs             3,86 
                   ---------------- 
  Average Grade       3.94g/t Au 
                   ---------------- 
 

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March 21, 2023 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)