Caledonia Mining Corporation has announced the purchase of Motapa Mining, as it continues to grow its mining footprint in Zimbabwe.

According to Caledonia, Motapa carries high potential and is strategically important to the company in terms of size and location.

Motapa mine has a registered mining lease over exploration property in Southern Zimbabwe adjacent to Caledonia’s Bilboes gold project.

The transaction price was however not disclosed but it was below the regulatory disclosure threshold, Caledonia said.

“We are pleased to have concluded the purchase of Motapa. Given its large scale, excellent geological prospectivity and its strategic location adjacent to Bilboes, Motapa was a high-priority acquisition for Caledonia.

“We look forward to developing an exploration program for Motapa as we target a large-scale gold belt surrounding the Bilboes project.

“The acquisition of Motapa following the signing of a sale and purchase agreement to acquire Bilboes and the acquisition of Maligreen demonstrates that over the last 12 months Caledonia has established a pipeline of high-quality exploration and development projects.

“This is in addition to the potential for further growth at Blanket where we are optimistic about its exploration potential,” said Mark Learmonth, the Caledonia Chief Executive Officer In his remarks on the acquisition.

With a mining lease covering approximately 2,200 hectares, Motapa mining is located 75km north of Bulawayo having been owned by Anglo American Zimbabwe before its departure from Zimbabwean gold sector in the late 1990s.

According to Caledonia Mining the Motapa asset has been mined throughout most of the second half of the 20th century, and the company understands that the region has produced as much as 300,000oz of gold.