Caledonia Mining (LON:CMCL) produced 10,927 ounces of gold from its Blanket mine in southern Zimbabwe during the third quarter of 2015, a 5% increase on the previous quarter and a 10% increase on production in the corresponding period in 2014.
The third quarter output keeps Caledonia on track to hit its full year production target of 42,000 ounces.
The production increases come against a backdrop of an intensive programme of modernisation at Blanket that has resulted in the installation of a new tramming system several hundred metres underground to allow for improved efficiencies in the way ore is moved around.
In addition, a new shaft has been sunk, and work on fitting this out is now nearing completion.
The sinking of a second, much bigger shaft, is also underway, and is expected to reach a depth of 90 metres by the end of this year.
This work, said chief executive Steve Curtis, will result in “progressive increases in production from 2016 onwards.”