The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
Q Thanks for an excellent Investor Meet presentation that was very insightful though I have comments on two of the questions I asked. Firstly Harry suggested I had my figures wrong when I asked about the recently announced $182m Saudi incentive fund with a potential $2m being available for each licence a company holds up to 15 licences. He thought I hadn’t done the currency exchange and that it would be much lower when converted to SAR. He’ll be pleased to know I had done the exchange and it’s 7.5m SAR per licence. Please let him know as it could provide a useful source of funds. I agree there are often small print obstacles but someone from Kefi needs to check that as given Kefi's 14 licenses it could be material.
A. Saudi Arabia’s Exploration Incentives Program is a very good initiative and is yet another example of the Saudi Government's efforts to fast track development of its mining sector. You are right - the fund provides up to $2M per EL and you're also right that like similar programs globally, the devil is in the details such as only EL's which are within their first 5 years of tenure qualify.
We are in the process of preparing applications for ELs which qualify for this program and also worthwhile for GMCO to do the required exploration prior to being reimbursed for a portion of those expenses. We are hopeful that our planned exploration programs at several ELs will qualify.
Q. Harry Adams mentioned that Kefi is carried by its partner in GMCO for its exploration costs in Saudi. This is excellent news but please can shareholders have clarification on how this ‘carry’ works in practice. Is it a complete carry of all costs that are deferred until revenues arrive after the anticipated mines are operating? If so, is it interest free ‘carry’ or in effect a low interest loan?
A. The terms of the 'carry' will be reported when formalised. In the meantime, ARTAR is funding GMCO exploration programs to maintain momentum and KEFI is not diluted.
Posted 09 April 2024
Q..Where do the resettlers get sent to on the island? And what if they refuse?
A: Ethiopia is not an island and is a country the size of Spain and France combined in which the Government has plenty of land to assign to the resettlers. This is compulsory expropriation implemented in the same manner as in any established mining jurisdiction and certainly in accordance with World Bank IFC Performance Standards. These standards are publicly available and are worth perusing and understanding. The Company has always respected what are today promoted internationally as ESG principles.
Posted 03 April 2024
Post from telegram,"Appears to show the previously published deepest drill results for Hawiah to be around 590m.
So, if they have now continued to hit metals down to a depth of around 1,000m, this could end up being pretty positive for the overall resource estimate. Here's hoping..."
How can Tulu Kapi launch mid-year if the community has not been resettled?
A: Pre-launch we prepare the community for resettlement. Resettlement is amongst the first steps after we launch the development of Tulu Kapi, i.e. one cannot move the people without having launched. Putting it another way, project launch means drawing the funds, moving the 350 households and triggering development works.
Posted 21 March 2024