KEFI Gold and Copper PLC (AIM:KEFI, OTC:KFFLF) said it remains on track for all three of its projects to be in operation by 2026 starting with Tulu Kapi in Ethiopia in 2025 and followed by Jibal Qutman and Hawiah in Saudi Arabia in 2026.
Conditions in both countries for the mining industry are improving, said Harry Adams, KEFI’s chief executive, with the group lifting its exploration as a consequence.
At KEFI, final details of US$320 million in financing are being worked through ahead of the start of construction later this year.
In Saudi, Jibal Qutman's Definitive Feasibility Study is evaluating the economic and technical feasibility for building a set of adjacent open-pit mines and a centrally sited Carbon-in-Leach processing plant, to recover more than 500,000 ounces of gold, rather than the 169,000 ounces of gold originally envisaged in the 2015 Preliminary Economic Assessment.
Adams added: "KEFI's third quarter was one of our having our heads down clearing many conditions precedent for the launch of Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia and, likewise in Saudi Arabia, our team has continued clearing the checklist for shaping the development plans for the Jibal Qutman gold project and the Hawiah gold-copper project."
KEFI estimates it has 4.7 million ounces of gold equivalent across its three projects, of which 2 million is its beneficial interest.