RE: Kefi Minerals - Q2 2019 Operational Update11 Jul 2019 13:08
All parties also recognise that keeping the Project schedule on track is now also important for the added reason of coinciding with the current gold price upswing so as to minimise financial risk and maximise economic benefits for all stakeholders.
At a gold price of US1,400/oz the following are the estimates for the open pit only:
· Project export revenues are projected at c. US$200 million per annum which would likely make it the country's largest single-enterprise export generator;
· TKGM NPV on start of production in 2021 is estimated at £196 million (US$249 million). And from KEFI's viewpoint, the Company's planned 45% beneficial interest in the Project NPV at start of production would be £88 million (US$112 million);
· Today, at start of construction, KEFI's planned beneficial interest in the NPV is estimated at £59 million ($74 million); and
· Project free cash flow is estimated at £31 million per annum (US$40 million), of which KEFI's beneficial interest would be c. £14 million per annum (US$18 million).
Ethiopian State Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Ato Assefa Kumsa, commented, "The Government welcomes the commitment by KEFI and TKGM to this priority project for Ethiopia and we are pleased to work closely with them to regulate, to protect and also to invest."
Director of ANS Mining, Ato Demissie A. Demissie, commented, "ANS Mining is pleased to be working alongside KEFI and the Government and is ready to proceed with its US$11.4 million (Ethiopian Birr equivalent) subscription to TKGM for the first stages of the Project development in accordance with the agreed terms upon satisfactory completion of the independent reviews and within this tightly disciplined framework."
KEFI and TKGM Chairman, Mr Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, said, "The decisions taken with our partners and the Government strengthen our preparations, tighten security and preserve production target of mid-2021. Overall, they shield our Project from heightened anxieties in the country at present, which everyone is nevertheless confident will abate quickly."