Mark Learmonth, CEO of mining company Caledonia Mining, said that the successful international fundraising for the Bilboes gold mine project demonstrates Zimbabwe’s renewed potential as an investment destination.
According to a Reuters publication, the company raised $150 million last January through a seven-year convertible bond to finance the Bilboes project, which, when operational, will be the largest gold mine in the country. Caledonia already operates the Blanket mine, with an annual production of around 80,000 ounces.
“It’s not just a watershed moment for us, it’s a watershed moment for Zimbabwe,” Learmonth told Reuters on the sidelines of a mining conference in Cape Town, South Africa. According to him, projects of this size and quality show that the country can no longer be seen as an unviable investment destination.
The Bilboes mine is expected to start production in late 2028 and reach an annual production of 200,000 ounces from 2029, for an initial period of ten years. The total estimated investment is $584 million, with maximum financing requirements of $484 million.
The bond issue attracted more than $600 million in demand from institutional investors in the United States (US), making it the largest international capital raising for Zimbabwe in more than a decade, following years of economic and political instability.
Learmonth also said that while risk exists everywhere in the world, Zimbabwe is becoming relatively less risky while offering high-quality assets, creating an attractive combination of risk and return.
Driven by the sharp rise in the price of gold, gold production in Zimbabwe reached a historic high of 47 metric tons in 2025, recovering from a low of just 3 tons in 2008 during a period of severe economic and political crisis.
