Kavango Resources has received statutory approval to run its 50 tonne per day pilot gold processing plant at the Hillside Gold Project in Zimbabwe, taking the London- and Victoria Falls-listed explorer a step closer to commercial gold production.
The company said on 2 November that Zimbabwe's Ministry of Mines and Mining Development declared the plant and its tailings storage facility commissioned and operational on 30 October 2026. The decision followed a review of documents and site visits in the week of 26 October, which found both units compliant with mining, safety and environmental requirements.
Gold output climbing
"Achieving statutory commissioning of the processing plant and TSF is a significant milestone for Hillside and an important step towards commercial-scale operations." Jasper Musadaidzwa, CEO, Kavango Resources
The plant treats ore through crushing, milling, gravity concentration and a carbon-in-leach circuit. During commissioning it processed a mix of run-of-mine ore, previously stockpiled gold-bearing sands and freshly milled sands from Hillside.
Kavango said gold production rose from 397 g at the first elution in August to 539 g in September.
The Bill's Luck Underground deposit hosts a JORC Mineral Resource of 33,900 ounces of gold at 2.68 g/t. Laboratory test work on blends of Nightshift and Bill's Luck ore, announced in May, returned recoveries above 95%, and the company expects 90–93% under commercial plant conditions.
A proof-of-concept plant
Kavango describes the facility as a concept-phase plant. Its job is to confirm the processing flowsheet and metallurgical recoveries, and to generate the data needed to design, build and install a larger commercial-scale plant. The company has not yet given a capacity, cost or timeline for that plant.
"Achieving statutory commissioning of the processing plant and TSF is a significant milestone for Hillside and an important step towards commercial-scale operations," said chief executive Jasper Musadaidzwa.
He said the 90–93% recovery expectation gives the project "the potential to become a meaningful and scalable gold production centre" within Kavango's portfolio, and that the focus now is on operational efficiency and the technical data for a commercial plant.
Site work continues
Alongside commissioning, Kavango is installing a 13 m headframe at the Bill's Luck Main Vertical Shaft, upgrading power and water supply, planning further exploration and building improved employee accommodation at the site.
The milestone was also reported by Mining Review Africa and Mining Technology.
Why it matters
For a junior moving from exploration into production, a licensed, compliant plant with tested recoveries is the base needed to fund and design a larger operation. If Hillside scales up, it would add another formal gold producer in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South, with the jobs and local spending that come with it.
Source: Kavango Resources RNS, 2 November 2026.