LONDON (Alliance News) - KEFI Minerals PLC Wednesday said it has increased the total JORC compliant resources at its newly acquired Tulu Kapi project in Ethiopia.
The gold and copper exploration and development company, with operations in Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia, updated its total indicated and inferred resource to 24.1 million tonnes at 2.64 grams per tonne, increasing its total resource to 2.1 million ounces of gold at the site from 1.9 million ounces previously.
The company holds a 75% interest in the site, while Nyota Minerals Ltd holds the other 25% interest after selling down its 100% holding in the site for GBP1 million cash and just under 107.1 million shares in KEFI during December.
KEFI said the indicated resource now stands at 21.2 million tonnes at 2.73 grams per tonne for 1.9 million ounces of gold and, as a result of the upgrade, its inferred category has been reduced to 2.9 million tonnes at 2.03 grams per tonne of gold for 189,000 ounces of gold.
The company said it updated the resource by including results from 71 exploration drill holes, drilled by Nyota in 2012, which missed the cut-off for its previous resources estimate in October 2012.
KEFI said revisions to the previous definitive feasibility study of the site to conform to more selective mining at the Tulu Kapi site has been initiated, and the modifications aim to reduce the capital expenditure on site by downsizing its plant from 2 million tonnes per year to 1 million to 1.2 million tonnes per year and reducing the size of the mining fleet.
The company said it plans to introduce an ambitious exploration programme at the site in stages and the definitive feasibility study for Tulu Kapi is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter.
KEFI shares were flat at 1.98 pence, while Nyota shares were up 12% to 0.570 pence, putting them in the top ten AIM risers Wednesday.
By Tom McIvor; tommcivor@alliancenews.com; @TomMcIvor1
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