When Caxton Mangezi first set foot at Blanket Mine in 1969, Neil Armstrong was taking giant leaps on the moon, and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had just seized power in Libya.
Back then, Blanket Mine was little more than a small prospect with 200 workers scratching out a few ounces of gold.
Fast forward to 2025, and Mangezi is retiring as Caledonia Mining’s VP for Local Operations. He leaves behind one of Zimbabwe’s largest mines, now employing 2,000 people. Over his time, he oversaw the production of over 30 tonnes of gold.
“When I began in 1969, I remember clearly walking to Blanket and finding these few clusters of houses,” Mangezi reminisces. “There was a little hedge in the background, planted in the valley, and we were just managing to get out some rock from underground, treating it up and dumping the material somewhere there, with probably around 200 people in total.”
Mangezi has worked through major changes, both at the mine and the industry. “I look back at my career, and I marvel at how far the mining industry has come. Here I am in 2025, exiting Blanket with more than 2,000 employees. Mining has not been just a career, but it’s been my life.”
In 1993, Mangezi was promoted to General Manager. The role was to test his mettle during the 2008 economic crisis, when many mines closed. Blanket Mine too faced closure, but instead of sending workers home, the company made a bold decision.
“We knew that if we did so, we would lose good people for good,” he says. “We said to people, ‘stay, maintain the mine’. When we needed to resume operations in 2009, it was a matter of just turning everything back on. This was because we had everything; especially our people.”
One of Mangezi’s crowning achievements was overseeing the mine’s ambitious shaft-deepening project. This hoisted Blanket from producing 50,000 ounces of gold a year to 75,000 ounces. The project, which extended the mine’s life to 2041, involved sinking a shaft 1.2 kilometres deep — the deepest shaft in Zimbabwe.
“Deepening a shaft is dangerous work,” he says, “but we didn’t lose a single life throughout the project.”
Mark Learmonth, CEO of Caledonia Mining, has paid tribute to Mangezi: “For nearly 30 years — he held full responsibility for the day-to-day operations at Blanket. Over those nearly three decades, his leadership and his vision have played a pivotal role in shaping the success of Blanket Mine and cementing its position as the cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s gold mining industry. We are not just celebrating a career. We are celebrating a legacy.”
And what will Mangezi miss most? He smiles: “The sound of crushers, the siren waking me up in the morning—but mostly, the people. I’ll miss them the most.” – (NewZWire)
