Own Correspondent|Caledonia Mining Corp PLC said Tuesday it entered into a legally binding sale agreement with Fremiro Investments Ltd to acquire its 15% stake in Blanket Mine Ltd. After the purchase, Caledonia Mining will own a 64% stake in the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe.

Back in August, Caledonia agreed to acquire Fremiro’s interest for USD16.7 million to be settled through the cancellation of a USD11.5 million loan between the two firms and the issue of 727,266 new shares in Caledonia at USD7.15 per share.

After the deal, Fremiro will own a 6.42% holding in Caledonia.

The conditions to complete the purchase include, amongst other things, approvals from various Zimbabwean regulatory authorities.

In a separate release on Tuesday, Caledonia Mining confirmed that production at the Blanket Mine has continued without interruption despite a lack of foreign exchange to purchase key inputs in Zimbabwe.

The company was prompted to issue the statement after several reports referring to certain Zimbabwean gold miners having suspended production were published.

The firm said: “Caledonia confirms that, although the availability of foreign exchange in Zimbabwe appears to have reduced in recent weeks, production at the Blanket Mine has continued without interruption.

“The monetary situation in Zimbabwe is receiving the highest levels of attention from Zimbabwean monetary and government authorities with whom Caledonia are actively and constructively engaged on a regular and ongoing basis.”

Currently, Zimbabwe is undergoing a currency crisis, which has seen the country’s currency devalued, prices increase and businesses shut down.

A presidential election in July was seen as a chance for Zimbabwe to move on from Robert Mugabe’s repressive 37-year-rule. However, the victory by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe enforcer turned reformer, was disputed by the opposition and led to a police crackdown on protests.

Caledonia Mining shares were trading up 4.5% at 438.0 pence each in London.

— Alliance News