Gold and exploration company Namib Minerals has set out the defined pathway and targeted milestone schedule for the restart of the Redwing mine, in Zimbabwe, and says the technical programme of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) is fully funded through to completion.

The restart of the Redwing mine follows five sequential steps. Each step gates the next and the company says it will report progress against each step in its operational updates.

The steps include dewatering; a DFS technical programme; resource definition and bankability; construction; and restart, respectively.

In parallel with the pathway, and not gated by it, Namib explains that two site workstreams are under way at Redwing which are enablers to the execution and implementation of the five-step approach.

This includes a power infrastructure upgrade and existing equipment refurbishment.

Achievement of these milestones is expected to unlock further funding for subsequent steps of the pathway and represents the gating sequence toward the larger, staged capital required to bring Redwing mine back into production.

With step two – the DFS technical programme – fully funded, step three – resource definition and bankability – is the company’s next funding stage.

The company says it continues to engage with strategic investors, lenders and development finance institutions to secure funding for step three, consistent with the phased and systematic funding approach set out in the company’s 2025 financial year results announcement.

Step three will advance the DFS to full bankability through various workstreams.

The company says it regards step three as a critical milestone, noting that its purpose is to assess whether Redwing’s mineral resource base, together with its significant strike extent and potential down-dip extensions, support a redesign of the operation from its current configuration to a larger-scale, sustainable mining operation.

The company reiterates that it intends to advance its growth in disciplined, milestone-linked stages, with a continued focus on securing nondilutive funding where possible, consistent with its previously communicated strategy. Namib notes that it will make further announcements at the appropriate time.

Moreover, to date, the company has funded the DFS technical programme from internally generated cash flow, which governed the pace at which the work could progress.

Bulawayo Mining Company, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary and the owner and operator of the producing How mine, has now secured a $5-million, 36-month nondilutive term facility from Ecobank Zimbabwe, following the bank’s own independent assessment, to finance capital works at How mine.

With How mine’s capital works financed on dedicated terms, Namib says the internally generated cash flow previously absorbed by those works is released and is committed to funding the technical programme – step two – through completion. The facility is expected to be serviced entirely from How mine’s existing production revenue.

OUTLOOK

With the restart pathway defined, the technical programme of the DFS fully funded and the milestone schedule published, Namib says Redwing mine is expected to enter the execution phase.

The company says it remains focused on positioning the project for an efficient, expanded and sustainable return to production.

As development progresses, the programme is expected to support employment, drive local procurement and contribute to long-term growth in gold production.

Namib Minerals says it will continue to provide market updates as technical and feasibility milestones are achieved and will concurrently evaluate additional funding opportunities as it advances its disciplined, phased growth strategy across its portfolio.