Last checked at 5 Feb 2018 07:00
5 February 2018
KEFI Minerals plc
("KEFI" or the "Company")
Additional tenement applications
And
Presentation at Indaba
KEFI Minerals (AIM: KEFI), the gold and copper exploration and development company with projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, announces that it has recently assembled and submitted applications for over 1000km2 of strategically selected copper and gold tenements near the Company's Tulu Kapi development project in Ethiopia (via its wholly-owned subsidiary KEFI Minerals Ethiopia) and also a similar-sized area near the Company's Hawiah exploration project in Saudi Arabia (via the Company's 40%-owned Joint Venture with ARTAR).
Presentation at Indaba
KEFI has been invited to present at the Investing in African Mining Indaba Conference base metals session, being held in Cape Town this week, as well as giving its corporate presentation. The presentation being given at the conference has been uploaded to the Company's website at http://www.kefi-minerals.com/ alongside the Company's corporate presentation.
ENQUIRIES
KEFI Minerals plc
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams (Executive Chairman) +357 99457843
John Leach (Finance Director) +357 99208130
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser)
Ewan Leggat, Jeff Keating, Soltan Tagiev +44 20 3470 0470
Brandon Hill Capital Ltd (Joint Broker)
Oliver Stansfield, Jonathan Evans +44 20 7936 5200
RFC Ambrian Ltd (Joint Broker)
Jonathan Williams +44 20 3440 6817
Beaufort Securities Ltd (Joint Broker)
Elliot Hance +44 20 7382 8300
IFC Advisory Ltd (Financial PR and IR)
Tim Metcalfe, Heather Armstrong +44 20 3934 6630
NOTES TO EDITORS
KEFI Minerals plc
KEFI is the operator of two advanced gold development projects within the highly prospective Arabian-Nubian Shield, with an attributable 1.93Moz (100% of Tulu Kapi's 1.72Moz and 40% of Jibal Qutman's 0.73Moz) gold Mineral Resources (JORC 2012) plus significant resource growth potential. KEFI targets that production at these projects generates cash flows for further exploration and expansion as warranted, recoupment of development costs and, when appropriate, dividends to shareholders.
KEFI Minerals in Ethiopia
The Tulu Kapi gold project in western Ethiopia is being progressed towards development, following a grant of a Mining Licence in April 2015.
The Company has now refined contractual terms for project construction and operation. Estimates include open pit gold production of c. 140,000oz pa for a 7-year period. All-in Sustaining Costs (including operating, sustaining capital and closure but not including leasing and other financing charges) remain c. US$800/oz. Tulu Kapi's Ore Reserve estimate totals 15.4Mt at 2.1g/t gold, containing 1.1Moz.
All aspects of the Tulu Kapi (open pit) gold project have been reported in compliance with the JORC Code (2012) and subjected to reviews by appropriate independent experts.
A Preliminary Economic Assessment has been published that indicates the economic attractiveness of mining the underground deposit adjacent to the Tulu Kapi open pit, after the start-up of the open pit and after positive cash flows have begun to repay project debts. An area of 1,100 square kilometres adjacent to Tulu Kapi has been reserved for exploration by KEFI upon commencement of development, with a view to adding satellite deposits to development and production plans.
KEFI Minerals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
In 2009, KEFI formed G&M in Saudi Arabia with local Saudi partner, Abdul Rahman Saad Al Rashid & Sons Company Limited ("ARTAR"), to explore for gold and associated metals in the Arabian-Nubian Shield. KEFI has a 40% interest in G&M and is the operating partner.
To date, G&M has conducted preliminary regional reconnaissance and has had five exploration licences ("ELs") granted, including Jibal Qutman and the Hawiah EL that contains over 6km strike length of outcropping gossans developed on altered and mineralised rocks with all the hallmarks of a copper-gold-zinc VHMS deposit.
At Jibal Qutman, Mineral Resources are estimated to total 28.4Mt at 0.80g/t gold for 733,045 contained ounces. The shallow oxide portion of this resource is being evaluated as a low capital expenditure heap-leach mine development.
ARTAR, on behalf of G&M, holds over 20 EL applications. ELs are renewable for up to three years and bestow the exclusive right to explore and to obtain a 30-year exploitation (mining) lease within the area.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced policies to encourage minerals exploration and development, and KEFI Minerals supports this priority by serving as the technical partner within G&M. ARTAR also serves this government policy as the major partner in G&M, which is one of the early movers in the modern resurgence of the Kingdom's minerals sector.