Beehive and Babs Gold Mines, Midlands Goldfield

Project Overview

The Babs & Beehive Mines are former gold production properties situated respectively about 10km north and 30km northwest of Kwe Kwe. The mines were developed by African Gold PLC of London between 1997 and 1998 at a cost of approximately $4.5 million and operated for nine months before being placed on care and maintenance in early 1999 as a result of falling gold prices and increasing costs in Zimbabwean currency.

The inferred mineral resource for both mines is 360,000 tonnes at a grade of 5.7gm/t gold. A further open pit potential of 400,000 tonnes of low grade mineralisation may be amenable to heap leach gold extraction. The mines are considered to have excellent upside for additional reserves to be delineated following completion of drilling and underground development programmes.

As part of the acquisition Conquest acquired a 300 tonne per day processing plant located at the Beehive mine site which was constructed in 1998.