Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC has announced the production results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2023, and provided guidance for the year to December 31, 2024, in respect of production, costs, and capital expenditure. The company's CEO, Mark Learmonth, expressed satisfaction with the 2023 production, which saw 75,416 gold ounces produced, meeting the guidance. The 2024 guidance of 74,000 to 78,000 ounces assumes that Blanket will maintain the production rate achieved in 2023. This reflects the decision to suspend mining in lower margin areas and focus on higher-grade and lower-cost areas.
The company's significant investment in Blanket over the past seven years, including the completion of the Central Shaft, has nearly doubled production, extended the mine life, and allowed the restart of underground exploration in 2023. The company is progressing with the underground exploration program and expects to publish further exploration results in the first quarter of 2024 and a revised resource statement in the following quarter. Caledonia's capital expenditure program focuses on unlocking value and delivering its multi-asset growth pipeline in Zimbabwe with Motapa and Bilboes, while maintaining a disciplined focus on cost and capital allocation.
The annual gold production at Blanket for 2023 was 75,416 ounces, in line with guidance, with quarterly gold production at Blanket of 20,172 ounces in Q4 2023. The 2024 gold production guidance at Blanket is set at 74,000 to 78,000 ounces. The budgeted capital expenditure for the group in 2024 is $34.4 million, including planned exploration at Motapa and further work on the Bilboes feasibility studies. On-mine cost guidance at Blanket is between $870 and $970 per ounce, with all-in sustaining cost guidance of between $1,370 and $1,470 per ounce.
Caledonia continues to work on the feasibility studies for the Bilboes sulphide project to determine the optimal implementation strategy for the project. This includes updating the existing feasibility study for a project producing approximately 170,000 ounces of gold per annum and work on an alternative phased approach to the project. The company's group capital expenditure of $34.4 million includes approximately $20 million of sustaining investment and $14.4 million of expansion expenditure, which includes investment in a new tailings storage facility with a life of approximately 12 years and further underground development.
The company has also provided contact information for investor inquiries and has included a cautionary note concerning forward-looking information.