KEFI Minerals Plc (LON:KEFI), confirmed today that it has made considerable progress towards finalising the US$140 million infrastructure finance lease facility for the development of the Tulu Kapi Gold Project (the “Project”).
Major milestones achieved included the documentation having been lodged with the Ethiopian Government for approval and the Ethiopian Minister of Finance and Economic Development has formalised budget approval for the Government to proceed with their construction and investment roles for the Project.
The proposed financing structure has been refined in response to soundings with potential investors in the listed bonds and the placing of the bonds is now expected to commence during Q1 2018, with drawdown expected soon thereafter conditional on equity capital subscription. The c. US$20 million residual equity requirement will then be triggered and may comprise, in order of preference, equity issues at one or more of the intermediate, project, or parent company levels.
KEFI Minerals plc is the operator of two advanced gold development projects within the highly prospective Arabian-Nubian Shield, with an attributable 1.93Moz (100% of Tulu Kapi’s 1.72Moz and 40% of Jibal Qutman’s 0.73Moz) gold Mineral Resources (JORC 2012) plus significant resource growth potential. KEFI targets that production at these projects generates cash flows for further exploration and expansion as warranted, recoupment of development costs and, when appropriate, dividends to shareholders.