KEFI Minerals Plc (LON:KEFI) Executive Chairman Harry Agnanostara-Adams talks to DirectorsTalk about the signing of a deal for $135 million for funding for the Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia. Harry outlines the deal, explains what it means for the company, who Oryx Management are, what needs to happen for development to start and updates us on Saudi Arabian operations.
RFC Ambrian’s Jonathan Williams said, “There’s been some excellent news out on KEFI Minerals. Financing is near for the construction of its Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia. KEFI has agreed innovative, conditional arrangements for the provision of US$155m of its estimated financing requirement of US$193m. On-site infrastructure will be funded by an SPV that will raise US$135m through debentures, with construction of the project through a fixed-price contract with the construction experts Lycopodium. Off-site infrastructure to a value of US$20m will be provided by the Ethiopian Government.
Tulu Kapi is an attractive gold development project, with planned production of 980,000oz over a ten-year mine life at LoM average AISC of US$779/oz. The company just announced an updated DFS in May. Reserves at Tulu Kapi stand at 1.05Moz, grading 2.1 g/t. This conventional open pit and CIL-based project is expected to have a competitive operating cost structure. Construction capex is estimated at US$161m, of which US$16m is deferred for a year, resulting in net initial capex of US$145m. The total funding requirement of US$193m includes US$15m of corporate working capital and US$33m relating mainly to rolled-up interest during the construction period. We’ll have a full piece out after we’ve gone over the full announcement.”
