The Albany Gazette - Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc: Blanket Exploration Results

SAINT HELIER, JE / ACCESS Newswire / July 23, 2026 / Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc ("Caledonia" or "the Company") is pleased to announce results from its surface exploration program at the Blanket mine ("Blanket").

The results demonstrate the presence of significant near surface gold mineralisation in a previously unknown mineralized horizon. This mineralized zone has not been exploited in the underground mine and represents an opportunity for low-cost heap leaching operations of the near surface oxide material, with potential for a sulphide extension below any potential oxide open pit. The exploration results suggest the mineralisation may represent a new orebody that has not previously been exploited by the underground mine. Further drilling is planned to assess the continuity and extent of the mineralised system at depth.

Highlights

• Surface drilling confirms continuity of gold mineralisation below surface over the K-Pits target area.

• Both oxide and sulphide mineralisation have been identified, supporting potential near-term development opportunities as well as longer-term exploration upside.

• Metallurgical test work is underway to evaluate the amenability of the oxide mineralisation to conventional heap leaching, with encouraging preliminary results.

• Work is well advanced on an updated Blanket resource statement incorporating the surface exploration programme as well as recent underground drilling. The Company expects to publish the updated resource statement in August 2026.

• Follow-up drilling is planned from both surface and underground platforms to test potential extensions of the mineralisation at depth.

Selected drilling highlights for Blanket surface (as extracted from the full results in the Appendix) include :

• Hole KPT0EX2553 - 23.00m** at 2.61g/t from 0m downhole, RC, Oxide

• Hole KPT0EX2561 - 6.00m** at 1.97g/t from 14m downhole, RC, Oxide

• Hole KPT0EX2545 - 15.00m** at 1.69g/t from 0m downhole, RC, Oxide

• Hole KPT0EX2545 - 4.00m** at 2.08g/t from 15m downhole, RC, Transitional

• Hole KPT0EX2567 - 20.00m** at 1.22g/t from 19m downhole, RC, Transitional

• Hole KPT0EX25124 - 12.00m** at 1.20g/t from 23m downhole, RC, Transitional

• Hole KPT0EX2510 - 16.00m** at 6.04g/t from 29m downhole, RC, Sulphide

• Hole KPT0EX2542 - 7.00m** at 5.96g/t from 13m downhole, RC, Sulphide

• Hole KPT0EX2576 - 5.00m** at 3.96g/t from 40m downhole, RC, Sulphide

**all intersections above are down hole intersections; estimated true widths are quoted in the tables later in this press release.

Why this discovery is important

• The K-Pits programme was originally designed to evaluate near-surface targets within the Blanket mining lease that had received little exploration attention. Results from trenching and reverse circulation drilling have confirmed the presence of significant gold mineralisation associated with shear structures and lithological contacts.

• Importantly, geological interpretation suggests the mineralisation may represent a separate mineralised system located approximately 200 metres east of the nearest projected underground orebody. This raises the possibility that the K-Pits target represents a previously unrecognised mineralised horizon that has not been exploited by historic underground mining activities.

• The presence of near-surface oxide mineralisation is particularly significant because it may be amenable to conventional heap leach processing, potentially offering a lower-cost route to extracting gold compared to underground mining. Metallurgical test work is underway to assess this opportunity.

Chief Executive Officer, Mark Learmonth, said:

"This is an exciting development at Blanket and further demonstrates the significant exploration potential that exists within the mining area. We are well advanced in our work to incorporate the results of this surface exploration programme into a revised resource statement expected to be published in August 2026, which will reflect the results of surface and underground exploration at Blanket alongside the exploration programme at Motapa, where we recently announced encouraging initial drilling results.

"We have commenced metallurgical test work on the oxide material at Blanket to evaluate its amenability for conventional heap leaching and the preliminary results are encouraging. If the conclusion of the test work shows an acceptable recovery, we intend to commence a trial heap leach operation on an initial sample of 10,000 tonnes of material during the second half of 2026. The potential to develop a low-cost processing route for this near-surface mineralisation could provide an attractive opportunity to complement Blanket's existing underground operations and unlock additional value."

Enquiries

Overview of the Blanket Surface Exploration Program

• The Blanket surface exploration program commenced in 2024 with geological mapping, geophysical surveys, trenching, and historical data collation.

• The initial work informed targets for wide spaced surface trenching to understand the geology, both structural and lithological, for the area.

• During 2025, a total of 2,304.1m of trenching from 13 trenches and a total of 7,063 of shallow RC drilling was completed at the K-Pit target, focused primarily on examining the area for oxide gold mineralisation that may be amenable to low-cost surface heap leaching operations.

Location of the activities

The exploration area is located within the mining lease boundary of Blanket. Blanket is located in the southwest of Zimbabwe, approximately 15 km northwest of Gwanda, the provincial capital of Matabeleland South. Gwanda is located 147 km southeast of Bulawayo, 197km northwest of the Beitbridge Border post with South Africa, and 560km from Harare.

The Blanket locality is shown relative to other material Caledonia properties in Figure 1. Caledonia's Bilboes property, currently in the development stage, and the Motapa exploration property is located further to the north of Blanket.

Blanket is situated on the north-western limb of the Archaean Gwanda Greenstone Belt in south-western Zimbabwe, along strike from several other gold deposits. The Gwanda Greenstone Belt is approximately 7km in length (west to east) and 15 km wide (north to south). The belt is typical of greenstone belts of the Zimbabwe Craton consisting of mafic to felsic volcanics with intercalated sedimentary units. Repeated strong deformation affected all lithologies. Structurally, the Gwanda Greenstone Belt is dominated by a major periclinal synform, plunging 60° NW in the western half of the belt and flanked on both sides by major deformation zones. Gwanda Greenstone Belt metamorphism reaches upper greenschist to amphibolite facies and is higher than in the typical Zimbabwean greenstone belts. The local geology of the Blanket lease area showing the locality of the K-Pits is provided on Figure 2.

Details of the Program

Following a prolonged period of limited exploration activity, Blanket commenced with a surface exploration strategy in 2025. A phased surface exploration programme was launched within the Blanket mining lease, targeting the Banded Iron Formation (BIF) that trends north-northwest and has historically been mined at the nearby Vubachikwe and old Sabiwa mines.

The programme commenced with trenching at the Sabiwa North Extension. Lithological mapping showed discrete, discontinuous BIF lenses with sporadic mineralisation. Subsequently, attention shifted northwards to the K-Pits prospect, located along the same strike of the lithological units in the footwall of Blanket Mine's current production area.

Trenching at K-Pits comprised 13 trenches to a maximum depth of 1.50 meters and totalling 2,304.1 meters in length. All trenches were mapped for lithology and structure and sampled at 1.0-meter intervals along the sidewalls. Samples were sent for fire assay analysis at independent laboratories, and a sub sample was sent for bottle roll analysis at independent laboratories. Figure 3 shows the mapped lithology while Figure 4 shows the related fire assay values of the K-Pit trenches.

On the strength of anomalous assay results, a grid on an approximate spacing of 25 meters x 25 meters was drilled utilising Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling. A total of 155 drillholes totalling 7,063 meters of drilling was completed. All drillholes were inclined at approximately 60 degrees to the west to an inclined depth of 45 meters resulting in an approximate 40 meters vertical depth. Figure 5 provides the localities of the RC drillholes with fire assay results.

Figure 6 is a cross-section view along section line A - A depicting the oxidation surfaces logged in the drillholes together with the fire assay grades and the interpreted mineralised horizons. All samples were subjected to fire assay and to bottle roll assay at an independent laboratory with the requisite Certified Reference Material ("CRM's") and blank samples inserted into the sample chain.

Analysis and interpretation of the results shows that the mineralisation is related to strong shearing and silicification on the contacts of the talc chlorite schist and the surrounding metabasalts.

Further Potential

The delineation of the mineralized zones at the K-Pits may potentially represent a new orebody that has not been exploited underground at Blanket. When examining the underground workings and the locality of the K-Pits it is evident that the mineralisation is located approximately 200 meters to the east of where the nearest, projected to surface, underground orebody would outcrop. Figure 7 shows an oblique view of the K-Pits in relation to the underground orebodies at Blanket.

A cross section through the K-Pits and Sheet vertical shaft is provided in Figure 8. The orebody dip and dip directions at Blanket are fairly uniform and further drilling is planned, both from underground on 9 level and from surface, to probe the potential extension of the K-Pits mineralized zone at depth.

The drilling and trenching procedures together with an analysis of the Quality Assurance and Quality Control ("QAQC") procedures followed are provided further in the text.

Qualified person

Craig James Harvey, MGSSA, MAIG, Caledonia Vice President, Technical Services, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Craig James Harvey is a "Qualified Person" as defined by each of (i) the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and (ii) sub-part 1300 of Regulation S-K of the U.S. Securities Act.

Trenching and trench sampling methodology

After the geologist has noted that the trench has successfully been excavated to bedrock, the sample intervals are set out on the side walls. At the start of the sample line, a peg is installed onto the floor with the trench number. A clean, exposed side of the trench is chosen and maintained throughout the sampling process. The sidewall is cleaned with a shovel to ensure an uncontaminated face is exposed for sampling. Thereafter sample localities are marked on the sidewall.

Sampling is done at one-meter intervals respecting lithological contacts, alterations and structures. A minimum sampling width of 0.3m and maximum of 1m are observed throughout the sample interval marking. A clean sample mat is placed on the floor of the trench and samples are chipped from the bedrock sidewall into a sample pan. Samples are ticketed and placed in a sample bag closed with twine. Sample tickets, locality and weights are recorded on the sample sheet record for each trench.

The compositing of samples is guided by lithology as well as alteration domains; no sampling will be done across different domains. Outliers with anomalously high grades are not composited unless they are part of a homogenous lithological and alteration domain. When compositing in wider ore zones, a composite sample is made by combining five samples, whilst in narrow ore zones two samples will make up a composite sample. The homogenized sample is split using a riffle splitter to get two 2kg samples to be delivered to the external laboratory for bottle roll analysis and the other for fire assay.

RC methodology

Checks for rig outlet and splitter cleanliness are conducted prior to the commencement of drilling activities and continuously throughout the drilling activities to avoid sample contamination.

Sample bags are pre-numbered with unique sample numbers (drill hole number and drill hole depth intervals) before the drilling commences. Sample depths recorded are relative to the ground surface at the drillhole collar. If no sample is recovered, such as when voids are intersected, the numbering sequence is continued uninterrupted with empty numbered bags inserted into the sample sequence. This will avoid possible confusion in sampling. Sample bags are immediately sealed to effectively prevent external contamination.

A sample bag is tied to the sample outlet of the rig in preparation for sample collection before sampling commences. Bulk samples are collected at 1m intervals and split using a riffle splitter to three samples. One sub-sample of 2kg will be taken to the lab for assaying, the second remains as a field duplicate for storage at the core shed and the third is prepared as chips for traying. The sampling crew will sample at the designated (one meter) intervals down the hole. The geologist verifies the intervals from the driller's marks on the mast or pull-down chain. For samples sent to the laboratory, the sampling quality is monitored continuously as the geologist ensures the samples for QAQC monitoring purposes are inserted in each sampling stream batch of 20 samples with CRMs being alternated from batch to batch from low, medium and high grade.

QAQC Procedures

A comprehensive QAQC program was implemented for the K-Pits drilling and sampling campaigns to ensure the reliability and integrity of assay data.

The QAQC program includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of:

• CRMs

• Blank samples (certified and field blanks)

• Duplicate samples (field, coarse reject, and pulp duplicates)

QAQC samples were inserted at regular intervals within the sample stream and submitted to the same laboratories as primary samples. Analytical work was conducted primarily by accredited laboratory, Antech Laboratory Services, located in Zimbabwe, following industry-standard fire assay and/or appropriate multi-element analytical techniques.

A comprehensive QAQC programme comprising CRMs, blank samples and other control samples was implemented throughout the drilling programme. The results indicate that the analytical data are generally reliable and suitable for future mineral resource estimation. The majority of CRM populations demonstrated acceptable to excellent accuracy and precision, with the higher-grade standards (AMIS0559, AMIS0872 and G912-2) and several low- to medium-grade standards (AMIS0772 and AMIS0924) consistently reproducing certified values within expected control limits.

Three independent blank datasets (AMIS0865, BLANK0939 and BLANK0991) returned values at or near detection limits, indicating no evidence of significant contamination during sampling, sample preparation or laboratory analysis. This conclusion is supported by the absence of elevated blank failures and by the consistent performance of the blank standards reviewed.

Some of the CRM populations contained isolated catastrophic failures. These failures occurred as discrete events rather than systematic trends and were not associated with elevated blank values or evidence of analytical drift. The observed patterns suggest that the failures are more likely attributable to sample handling, sample identity, CRM insertion, preparation or reporting issues rather than deficiencies in laboratory analytical performance.

Appendix 1: Drillhole collar positions, fire assay and bottle roll assay results.

Table 1: Reverse Circulation drilling co-ordinates, dip and dip direction of drilling

Appendix 2: Fire assay and bottle roll assay results for weathered (oxide) zone.

Table 2: RC Fire Assay and Bottle Roll Assay results for the Weathered zone only (oxide).

Notes :

1. Weathered (oxidized) intersections only.

2. Drillholes are reported using a 0.30 g/t cut-off grade.

3. True widths are approximate calculations.

Appendix 3: Fire assay and bottle roll assay results for transitional zone.