KEFI Gold and Copper says the remaining finance syndicate board processes are on track for final approvals this month, while project launch preparations have commenced at the Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia.
It said this coincides with construction works commencing at another Ethiopian industrial-scale gold mine development, west of Tulu Kapi, and the beginning of a modernisation programme at the only pre-existing large Ethiopian gold mine, south of Tulu Kapi.
“Closing this $320 million international project finance package will be a notable accomplishment in today's tough capital market conditions for the junior mining sector and will be a testament to KEFI's persistence and hard-won position within Ethiopia, which itself has withstood the many widely publicised challenges in recent years,” said KEFI executive chairperson Harry Anagnostaras-Adams.
“The timing of our launch is fortuitously coinciding with the improved conditions in Ethiopia and the increased gold price. The Standard and Poor's consensus long-term forecast for the gold price is now $1,965/oz, and the spot is higher.”
Ethiopia's top five gold development projects look likely to raise Ethiopia's aggregate annual gold production from about 400,000 oz per annum at present to an estimated 1.5 million oz per annum within the next five years, which today would rank Ethiopia amongst Africa's top 10 gold producers.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
