RE: Directors talk12 Jul 2020 19:27
Directors talk best snippets;
Saudi Arabia
Our most recent discovery, in late 2019, was of copper-zinc-gold-silver mineralisation at Hawiah in Saudi Arabia. The first 69 drill holes identified three distinct massive sulphide lodes which vary in thickness from 3 metres up to a maximum of 19 metres. The overall results to date were encouraging and we are working towards reporting a maiden Mineral Resource for Hawiah in accordance with the JORC Code shortly.
For the purposes of indicating the potential economic importance for KEFI shareholders, the in-situ metal content of the initially interpreted 12 million tonnes at Hawiah, at current metal prices, would approximate the analogous in-situ metal content of the 1 million ounce reserve in the open-pit at KEFI’s Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia. This reflects an assumed 2% copper-equivalent average grade, which initial assay results would suggest is reasonable. The system has significant exploration potential at depth where it remains open. It also has exploration potential in the oxidised zone at surface and, more speculatively, in the original feeder or stockwork zone which has not yet been located.
In Ethiopia, the most advanced and immediately significant exploration target is also at depth below the known deposit, in this case focused on the continuation of the Tulu Kapi deposit below the planned open pit. In our view, the potential to expand Tulu Kapi’s Mineral Resource is high as it remains open along strike, down plunge and at depth. The economic potential is also enhanced by the gold grades increasing with depth as well as the ore lenses thickening, making underground mining potentially attractive. The average grade of the Mineral Resource below the planned open pit is 5.7g/t gold.
The potential of the Arabian-Nubian Shield has recently been more widely recognised and the world’s two largest gold companies, Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining, are now active in Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia respectively.
Sign In
Follow the stocks
