Africa-Press-Ethiopia
the gold and copper exploration and development company with projects in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, announced today that it has now assembled the full funding package of US$356 million estimated to be required for the development of the company’s Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia.
In its statement, KEFI said that this package is designed to fund all infrastructure, the start-up of the open pit mine and the initial development of the underground mine.
The Tulu Kapi gold project in western Ethiopia is being progressed towards development, following a grant of a Mining Licence in April 2015. KEFI plans to start production in mid-2023.
At Tulu Kapi, the company expects gold production of 190,000 oz annually, with all-in sustaining costs of between $800/oz and $900/oz. Tulu Kapi’s ore reserve estimate totals 15.4Mt at 2.1g/t gold, containing 1.1 Moz. The NPV of KEFI’s beneficial ownership in the two main projects is estimated at £274 million (US$376 million) or 12.6 pence per KEFI share in issue.
KEFI is focused primarily on the advanced Tulu Kapi gold project development project in Ethiopia, along with its pipeline of other projects within the highly prospective Arabian-Nubian Shield. KEFI targets that production at Tulu Kapi generates cash flows for capital repayments, further exploration and expansion as warranted and, when appropriate, dividends to shareholders. KEFI has 70% ownership in the project.
