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Business Reporter

Blanket Mine parent company – Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc — has announced a 14 US cents a share dividend for the quarter to September 2021, more than double the dividend amount paid quarterly in October 2019, with the group’s local unit anticipated to boost gold production.

Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) listed Caledonia’s strategy to maximise shareholder value includes the quarterly dividend policy, which the board adopted in 2014.

During the previous quarter, Caledonia rewarded its shareholders with 13 US cents a share dividend, which was paid in July 2021.

Commenting on the dividend, Caledonia chief executive officer, Steve Curtis said: “We are pleased to announce an additional 8 percent increase in our quarterly dividend, the seventh increase in the past two years, which reflects our continued confidence in the outlook for our business.  This dividend represents a 104 per cent rise since October 2019.”

This comes as the resources group is upbeat of meeting its production target of 67 000 ounces of gold in 2021 and 80 000 ounces from 2021 as the group’s central shaft at Blanket Mine, in Zimbabwe, is now operational.

“The anticipated increase in production following the successful commissioning of the Central Shaft earlier in 2021 gives us confidence to further increase the dividend payment in addition to providing funding for investment in new projects, including the exploration prospects at Maligreen and Connemara North, as announced last month and at the end of 2020 respectively.

“The Board will continue to review the Company’s future dividend distributions as appropriate, while balancing the importance of returning money to shareholders and investing in the Company’s growth.”

Last month, Caledonia announced that it had entered into an agreement to purchase the mining claims over Maligreen, an asset situated in the Gweru mining district of Zimbabwe, Midlands Province, from Pan African Mining (Private) Limited, a privately-owned Zimbabwean company, for a total cash consideration of US$4 million.

According to Caledonia, the property is estimated to contain a National Instrument 43-101 compliant inferred mineral resource of approximately 940 000 ounces of gold.

Maligreen is a substantial brownfield exploration opportunity with significant historical exploration and evaluation work having been conducted on the property over the last 30 years including an estimated 60 000 meters of diamond core and percussion drilling, 3,5 tonnes of bulk metallurgical test work as well as aero-magnetic and ground geophysical surveys.