The takeover of Freda Rebecca Gold Mine by mining giants Kuvimba Mining House has seen millions being invested in more activities including the US$13m for mill number three which is dedicated to processing ore from sister Company Shamva Gold mine, the company’s MD Patrick Maseva Shayawabaya has said.

Shayawabaya said despite a few setbacks including the crippling power cuts, the company has registered a number of positives since the coming in of Kuvimba Mining House and was targeting pushing the life of the company to over five years.

He was speaking during a media tour of the company where he also revealed that the company has since produced 603 kilogrammes of gold in the first three months of its current financial year, up 2% on the prior period, despite losing many hours of production due to power cuts.

“In terms of gold production, we produced just over 19 000 ounces (oz) for the quarter to June 2023, which was marginally up on the quarter to June 2022. When you look at it in terms of kilogrammes produced, it was 603kg compared to 592kg for the same period last year,” Shayawabaya said.

The company said several projects were lined up for this year but they have only managed to secure US$10m from the needed US$25m.

“Of the US$25m, we have got a budget of US$10m for projects that will be funded from the company’s resources but we also got a project which is as yet unfunded which would cost US$15m.”

“Since Kuvimba Mining House took over, we commissioned in April 2022, mill number three at a cost of US$13m, it is a mill that is dedicated to processing Shamva Gold Mine ore,” he said.

Shamva Gold Mine is a sister company to Freda Rebecca Gold Mine.

Shayawabaya also outlined several projects that have also been undertaken since 2022 that seek to add to the lifespan of the mine.