RE: Tulu Kapi 2 & 318 Jun 2026 14:22
So...that led to the obvious question, how big could it be?
'To understand how big this could actually get, you have to look at the numbers Kefi is currently banking on, and then layer on what the "underground" and "regional" targets could add. Right now, the project is a defined, mid-sized gold asset, but the geology suggests it has the DNA to become significantly larger.
The Baseline: What is Already Locked In:
Kefi’s official numbers for the open-pit mine (mostly Lodes 1 and 2) shape the foundation of the project:
Total Mineral Resource: 1.7 million ounces of gold.
Proven & Probable Ore Reserves: 1.05 million ounces of gold.
The Baseline Scale: The open pit is designed to process around 2 million tonnes of ore per year, producing roughly 140,000 ounces of gold annually over an initial 8-to-10-year mine life.
Phase 2: How Big is the Underground (Lodes 3 & 4)?
This is where the new geologist comes in. Right now, the open-pit ore has an average grade of about 2.1 g/t (grams per tonne). However, as you go deeper into Lodes 3 and 4, the geology changes significantly.Beneath the planned floor of the open pit, the gold hits a structure called the Bedele Shear Zone. Here, the gold isn't just deeper—it is much higher grade.
The Current Underground Estimate: Kefi has already done preliminary modeling on a fraction of this deep zone, identifying a modest 220,000 ounces of high-grade gold.
The Grade Jump: While the surface mine is 2.1 g/t, the underground resource averages 5.2 g/t. In gold mining, doubling your grade completely changes the economics.
The Expansion Potential: Kefi’s internal geological studies state that they have the immediate structural potential to triple the current underground ounces just by drilling out the depth extensions of Lodes 3 and 4, which are completely open (meaning they haven't found the bottom of the gold yet). Success here could add 600,000+ ounces of high-grade ore to the life of the mine.
Phase 3: The Regional "Satellite" Scale:
If the geologist strikes gold 3.5 km away at the Guji Trend or 13 km away at the Dina Trend, Tulu Kapi ceases to be just a single mine—it becomes a central processing hub for an entire district.Because Kefi is already building a large 2-million-tonne-per-annum processing plant, any extra gold found nearby doesn't require a new $400 million dollar factory. They can simply truck the high-grade satellite ore back to the Tulu Kapi plant.
The "Blue Sky" Outlook:
If the new geologist successfully proves the depth extensions of Lodes 3 & 4 and pulls open a couple of high-grade satellite pits along the Guji trend, Tulu Kapi could realistically scale from a 1.7-million-ounce deposit to a 2.5 to 3.0+ million-ounce district.Operationally, this would push the mine life from 8 years out past 15+ years, and bump annual production from 140,000 ounces closer to the 180,000–200,000 ounce per year mark by blending the high-grade underground ore into the mill.'