KEFI Gold and Copper PLC (AIM:KEFI, OTC:KFFLF) chairman Harry Anagnostaras-Adams talked with Proactive about the company's recent advancements in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia. Anagnostaras-Adams provided insights into the early works program at Tulu Kapi in Ethiopia, emphasizing community engagement and safety measures. He highlighted the community's focus on job creation and the cascading effect of resettling 350 households to make way for development.
Proactive: So let's start with Tulu Kapi in Ethiopia because you're there at the moment. And you say you're making good progress with the early works program.
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams: Yes. Well, the early works is essentially demonstrating to all stakeholders, including ourselves, that the community and safety and security is all ready, and that's well and truly in trend now. That kicked off a couple of months ago. I was there only yesterday at the site, and, yeah, the feedback from the community at yesterday's meeting was jobs, jobs, and jobs. They really want to get on with it and get employment and development opportunities out of it. We were there to explain the details and show that we're serious.
Proactive: So the early works program runs through to September, and that's ahead of your major works, which are planned for October. So take us through how this moves forward, Harry.
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams: Well, there's a cascading effect, really. When you look at the photo, you can see the temporary construction camp to the left, and in front is where the plant will be. In the distance, where those little hills are, is where the mine will be. Today, it's a pristine agricultural site with only farming activities on it. What you're seeing is a pre-development site with hundreds of people running around talking about things and measuring things. The cascade effect will commence with the resettlement of 350 households on that site. The buildings in the distance will be moved to new host lands surveyed by the government. The sequence starts with the earliest movers, so we can get onto the ground in key positions in advance of others. The big yellow machinery will commence work around the end of the first quarter next year. Between October and the end of the first quarter of next year, the focus is on community engagement and equipment fabrication internationally. On a project without community resettlement, it might have been six months quicker, but the intense interaction with the community helps establish a social license and build a workforce of a thousand personnel.
Proactive: Harry, in the meantime, you've also announced an internal corporate reorganization to facilitate the closing with regional investors and the stock exchange listing. Can you take us through that reorganization?
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams: The reorganization itself is a bit mundane. A registered branch in the country needs to be turned into an incorporated entity. More importantly, we want to establish a local holding company to house our interest in Tulu Kapi and other projects we've been busy with. We've registered applications over gold, lithium, nickel, and copper. It's exciting because very little modern exploration has occurred here. We have a lot of work with local investors, and the equity risk component of our financing is tailored to subsidiaries of multinationals and local Ethiopian investors. We've appointed a new Ethiopian director and will make more appointments to the Ethiopian holding company. Ethiopia is a very proud country, never colonized, and Ethiopianization is a strong component of our long-term direction.
Proactive: Harry, can we move on to Saudi Arabia? Could you give us an update on your projects there?
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams: We became a minority shareholder against a majority right up front in Saudi Arabia. The two projects there are progressing under high pressure. We've made new appointments and are expanding our horizons. There's already a local holding company, and we're looking at creating new local subsidiaries for expansion and local listings. Although it might be difficult to see from the outside, internally, it's quite a frenzy of activity. We've been working in the Arabian Nubian Shield since 2008, and now that interest in the region is growing, we feel ahead of the pack. We plan to take advantage of our position and expand into various assets.
Proactive: Well, Harry, I hope you'll keep us posted on progress in both jurisdictions. Thank you very much for the update today.