June Progress on Track
Tulu Kapi Gold Project Plans Updated with Reduced Capex
KEFI Minerals (AIM: KEFI), the gold exploration and development company with projects in the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is pleased to provide an update regarding the Company’s Tulu Kapi Gold Project (“Tulu Kapi” or the “Project”) and its progress towards the goals of closing full Project funding in October 2020 and for gold production to commence in 2022.
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, Executive Chairman of KEFI, commented: “I am pleased to report that development and financing activities have been adjusted following recent operational and global events, and plans remain on schedule for project finance closure in October 2020, acceleration of construction in 2021 and gold production in 2022.
“After inputs from all Project contractors, last week TKGM has now signed off all capital expenditure, operating and financing requirements as the final 2020 Tulu Kapi Plan. These detailed and comprehensive Project updates and revisions were within expectations and show a reduced overall Project funding requirement.
“The senior secured financiers are fully engaged in achieving our timetable and the final details of the finance plan await confirmation of the level of commitment from Ethiopian institutional investors, which we still expect will be clarified later this month.”
The following highlights the Project activities since the release of the last update on 24 April 2020.
Project Development Activities Continuing
As previously reported, despite COVID-19, the implementation of the Project development activities has continued as planned:
Infrastructure for connection of roads & power and security upgrade:
· This long-lead activity is on schedule, so that it does not hold up on-site construction over the next two years when new roads and electricity are required.
· Road now being built into new host lands for Tulu Kapi residents to be resettled.
· Security has been significantly expanded in the Mine License Area and surrounding district.
Infrastructure for ore processing:
· Process plant Front-End-Engineering-and-Design (“FEED”) was completed by principal contractors Lycopodium Limited (“Lycopodium”), after updating pricing from the plant fabricators and integrating the results of recent geotechnical drilling in final designs of foundations for plant and dams.
Capital Requirements
· The 2020 Tulu Kapi Plan shows total funding needs of c US$221 million, which is US$21 million less than reported in the 2018 KEFI Annual Report of US$242 million:
Full update Link http://www.share-talk.co.uk/announcements/rns/kefi-minerals-plc/tulu-kapi-gold-project-update/202006190700044325Q
