London-listed Kavango Resources PLC has raised US$2.9 million to establish pilot-scale mining and processing operations at its Hillside Gold Project in Zimbabwe. The capital was secured through the issuance of more than 227 million new ordinary shares, with UK-based investment vehicle Purebond Ltd acquiring over 111 million.
The company’s chief executive, Ben Turney, described the development as a decisive step in demonstrating Zimbabwe’s viability as an investment destination within Africa’s mineral economy. He stated that Kavango had identified four promising gold discoveries in the past two years and would now focus on commissioning a 250-tonne-per-day facility in the first half of 2026. According to Turney, the objective is to “prove to the international market that Zimbabwe is a mining-friendly jurisdiction that is open for business.”
This latest capital raise comes shortly after Kavango became the 17th counter to secure a secondary listing on Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX), a dollar-denominated platform designed to attract foreign direct investment and deepen regional capital markets. Kavango’s shares debuted on the bourse on 8 September following its listing on 5 September.
As part of the VFEX subscription, the company issued a total of 330,455,092 new ordinary shares. Of these, approximately 69 million were allocated to a consortium of nine Zimbabwean pension funds, 1.8 million to local residents, 259 million to Purebond, and the remainder to Kavango’s employees. The allocation signals a notable blend of domestic institutional participation alongside foreign capital commitments, which regional analysts suggest may support longer-term capital market integration across Southern Africa.
While gold remains Zimbabwe’s largest export earner, the country has sought to diversify inflows by positioning its mineral sector as both regionally embedded and globally relevant. The VFEX has played an instrumental role in this ambition, offering investors a US dollar-denominated entry point into Zimbabwean assets, in contrast to the local Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), which trades predominantly in Zimbabwe dollars.
Kavango’s project is expected to serve as a pilot for scaled-up production, with implications that extend beyond the company’s portfolio. If successful, the venture could reinforce Zimbabwe’s strategic efforts to attract investment into its mining industry and contribute to broader African debates on how resource-rich economies can reframe extractive activity to balance local participation, regional capital flows, and international market access.
