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INDABA PREVIEW
Kefi lines up Tulu Kapi
Ethiopia’s next commercial mining pro-
ject is just months away from the start the prospective bond holders have con-
of construction.
Kefi Minerals plc’s Tulu Kapi has been
looked at in a number of ways, with re-
cent re-workings of project design indi-
cating viability of expanded production in
years 1-3 from 115,000 ozpa to 145,000
ozpa gold. At a gold price of $US1,250/
oz, project finance can be repaid within
three years.
A consortium of financiers including
Oryx, the Ethiopian Government, Kefi,
Ausdrill Ltd and Lycopodium Ltd were
close to finalising details for the $US245
million project at the time of print.
“We have been working for about six
months on draft documentation with the
Government for financing, plans for re-
settling the community, various plans
for building the infrastructure that the
Government has to build for us for equity
in the project,” Kefi executive chairman
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams said.
“We are at the stage now where we
have a shortlist of outstanding matters,
which are being dealt with at ministerial
level, so it appears from a government
timetable point of view they are working
to approve the package and financing ar-
rangements in the next month or so.”
Once the relevant documents are
signed off by government, which can
Tulu Kapi has undergone another facelift and is now poised to deliver
144,000 ozpa gold in the first three years of production
PAGE 90 DECEMBER 2017 - JANUARY 2018 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT
earn a 25% interest (5% free-carried),
firmed finance issuance and drawdown
of facilities can arrive within 2-3 months. tlement, which will pave the way for the
Anagnostaras-Adams expects the for-
malities of finance drawdown to coincide
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams
with the first stages of community reset-
construction team to start mobilising
equipment to site.
“What we are doing is lining the nuts
and bolts of the various timetables so
that construction can commence in the
new year,” Anagnostaras-Adams said.
Maiden production is likely in early
2019 at a rate of 1.9-2.1 mtpa for 144,000
ozpa @ 2.1 g/t gold for the first three
years, with all-in costs of $US1,051. Cur-
rent life-of-mine gold production from
Tulu Kapi is 980,000oz.
“The plan to expand the plant by 25%
came out of motivation on two fronts;
one was to give the plant capacity to run
down low-grade stockpiles that other-
wise would sit there for some years. Sec-
ondly, it was to give the plant the capacity
to process from the high-grade satellite
deposits ASAP,” Anagnostaras-Adams
said.
“We saw that as an opportunity and it
was only really when we worked through
the costing of that with the project team
and the financing of it with the bond fi-
nanciers that we realised it was all quite
feasible and an attractive opportunity,
plus the flow sheet doesn’t change.”
– Mark Andrews