KEFI Gold and Copper plc (LON:KEFI), the gold and copper exploration and development company with projects in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is pleased to provide an update in respect of the Company’s Tulu Kapi Gold Project, part of the KEFI-operated Ethiopia joint-venture Tulu Kapi Gold Mines Share Company.
Project Update
· Ethiopia’s civil war abated at the end of Q4-2021 and its State of Emergency is being lifted
· Security conditions at the Tulu Kapi site, district and transport routes are improving
· The Project finance syndicate remains in place to launch the Project as soon as normal conditions that govern the execution of such a project and its financing are satisfied
· TKGM is in extensive consultations with the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines (the “Ministry”), to provide the assurances being sought to minimise further project delays. Meetings have now been scheduled for next week, including high-level meetings on 7 February 2022
· Operationally our activities continue:
o this month’s Project priorities include reviewing detailed resettlement plans for the affected households with the newly-appointed local government administration and to complete all outstanding documentation with the Ministry and other Government agencies; and
o in the following few months to finalise documentation for execution whilst, on the ground, finish preparing the new lands for resettling households.
· All parties are acting in good faith to prepare to implement the Project launch. Progress is intended to be quick but will rely on the continued improvement of security and completion of all documentation and other standard confirmations, such as insurance, to the satisfaction of the Ministry and other authorities, the senior lenders and other syndicate members.
Investor Webinar
In light of the unavailability of certain members of the Company’s senior management team next week, due to official meetings due to take place in Ethiopia, the Company is postponing the Investor Webinar on the Investor Meet Company platform, which had been scheduled for 7 February 2022. The Company apologises for any inconvenience and will reschedule as soon as possible.
KEFI Gold and Copper Executive Chairman, Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, commented:
“We are proud to be continuing to work tirelessly on the ground in Ethiopia, alongside the Tulu Kapi community and the Ethiopian Government to progress the Project. This work has continued throughout the recent challenges, which are now rapidly abating, and we anticipate making further progress in the coming weeks.
“KEFI have exciting projects in both Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia and the minerals sector is taking off in both countries. We have lots of milestones to achieve in 2022 to further de-risk our projects and hopefully to start closing the valuation gap between the stock market price and the underlying fundamentals.”
