CANADIAN mineral exploration company Zephyr Minerals Ltd has appealed a decision by Zimbabwean authorities to reject its applications for Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) covering about 124,000 hectares of gold-prospective ground.
An EPO gives a company the exclusive right to search for specified minerals over a defined area of land.
In July 2026, Zephyr Minerals’ local subsidiary, Sutter Mining (Pvt) Ltd, received a notice from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development rejecting its EPO applications.
The ministry did not provide specific reasons for the rejection.
The applications, numbered 17/2021 and 33/2021, were originally submitted in 2021 and cover roughly 124,000 hectares of gold-prospective ground.
The area comprises a 61,000-hectare block in the Manicaland Mining District and another covering 63,000 hectares in the Mashonaland Central Mining District.
Zephyr expressed disappointment over the rejection and the lengthy delay in processing the applications, and has now formally appealed the decision.
“In Zimbabwe, Zephyr has appealed the rejection of its Exclusive Prospecting Order applications covering roughly 124,000 hectares and is awaiting a response, leaving its regional diversification strategy there in limbo.
“To support working capital and permitting activities at Dawson, the company is launching a non-brokered private placement of up to C$200,000 through unit issuance with attached warrants, a modest funding move expected to involve insiders and subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval,” the company said in an update.
Meanwhile, Zephyr has completed the fourth quarter of its groundwater monitoring programme at the Dawson Gold deposit in Colorado.
The company expects to complete the fifth and final quarter by the end of the year, alongside additional environmental and technical studies required to support a new mining permit application.
Zephyr plans to submit the application to state regulators as early as January 2027 as it seeks to advance the Dawson Gold project towards potential development.
The company said the work is intended to support development of the project under an environmentally responsible and technically robust framework.
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