BRITISH miner Kavango Resources Plc has announced a maiden gold resource estimate of 33 900 ounces at its Bill’s Luck Gold Mine, valued at US$179,26 million at current market prices, as production plans advance.
Bill’s Luck is one of four key prospects within Kavango’s Hillside Gold Project, alongside Britain, Nightshift, and Steenbok. The Hillside Project covers 44 gold claims over 503 hectares, while Kavango also operates the Nara Gold and Leopard Projects in Zimbabwe.
It said a preliminary Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code compliant mineral resource estimate (the JORC MRE) totalling 33 900 ounces of gold (oz/Au) at 2,68 grammes per tonne (g/t) was declared at Bill’s Luck. This comprise 2 600 oz/Au at 3,3 g/t in the measured category, 13 400 oz/Au at 2,7 g/t in the indicated category, and 18 000 oz/Au at 2,6 g/t in the inferred category.
“The resource is reported at a cut-off grade of 0,5 g/t, based on reasonable prospects for economic extraction at a gold price of US$3 000/oz. This brings the total JORC-compliant gold resource within Hillside to 52 900 oz, building on 19 000 oz at Kavango’s Nightshift project, announced October 2025,” Kavango said in a statement.
At current prices, the declared amount at Bill’s Luck puts the total value of 52 900oz at US$265,69 million.
JORC is internationally recognised set of rules that governs how mining companies report exploration results, mineral resources, and ore reserves.
“Bill’s Luck is a historic, operating gold mine that Kavango is redeveloping and re-equipping, and will support its soon-to-be commissioned 50 tonnes per day (tpd) Carbon-In-Pulp (CIP) plant,” Kavango said.
Kavango will use the JORC MRE to de-risk development and accelerate gold production, ensuring low dilution through appropriate mining methods. The team is also exploring small-scale trial mining at Nightshift to boost output further.
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Kavango interim Peter Wynter Bee said the company always believed Bill’s Luck Gold Mine has the potential to become a meaningful, long-term contributor to gold production at Hillside.
“Having been mined intermittently for over a century, today’s announcement represents the first step in modernising operations at Bill’s Luck with the declaration of its maiden JORC-compliant MRE,” he said.
Bee said delineation of this resource paved the way for a process of longer-term mine planning and efficient gold extraction to unlock further value.
“We are well-positioned to ramp up production and capitalise on the strong gold price environment as our CIP plant comes online,” he said.
Kavango’s strategy focuses on modern CIP plants, which deliver higher throughput and gold recovery than the traditional stamp and roller milling methods widely used in Zimbabwe.
The first 50 tpd CIP plant at Hillside is expected to be commissioned in Q1 2026, using ore from Bill’s Luck and contractor-mined sands.
