JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold exploration and development company Kefi Minerals on Wednesday announced that a scoping-level review of the Tulu Kapi gold project, in Ethiopia, which it acquired on December 30, indicated potential for further improvement in the project’s economic performance.
Through its scoping-level review, Kefi confirmed that the targeted openpit mine production for the project could be increased to 1.2-million ounces a year, as opposed to the company’s preacquisition estimate of 800 000 oz/y.
The review also confirmed the project’s estimated all-in costs of around $700/oz, while the maximum amount of ore processed yearly still stood at 1.2-million tonnes a year.
"We are delighted with the sustained progress at Tulu Kapi. This increase in targeted openpit mine production further validates our strategy in acquiring the project five months ago,” Kefi MD Jeff Rayner said.
The company added that a revised Tulu Kapi mine plan had been developed reflecting Kefi’s selective mining approach. This mine plan would be further refined within the scheduled definitive feasibility study (DFS), which would take place later this year, following the completion of Kefi’s current drilling and trenching programme.
“[The mine plan] will then be integrated into a refined DFS that will take into account Kefi's metallurgical testing, engineering, cost verification and economic optimisation,” the company stated.
"As we continue to refine the selective mining techniques, we expect to report further improvements during the following months and to reactivate the mining licence application by the end of 2014. As a result, we remain confident of fulfilling our commitment to the Ethiopian government that production will start in 2016," Rayner concluded.