Business
Saudi Arabia Operational Update
Saudi Arabia Operational Update.
About this update from Kefi Gold And Copper Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n6 August 2024\nKEFI Gold and Copper plc\n(\"KEFI\" or the \"Company\")\nSaudi Arabia Operational Update\nKEFI (AIM: KEFI), is pleased to provide an update on operations undertaken in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by KEFI's 25%-owned joint venture company Gold and Minerals (\"GMCO\") covering the Jibal Qutman Gold Project, the Hawiah Copper-Gold Project and regional exploration.\nJibal Qutman Gold Project\nOperations at Jibal Qutman (\"JQ\") have been split into two areas of focus:\n1) Development of the existing Mineral Resource areas; and\n2) Exploration for Resource expansion in the remaining and untested 75% of the licence areas.\nDevelopment Studies on the existing Mineral Resource areas\n· GMCO recently completed infill-drilling programmes including 18,000 metres of diamond drilling and 10,000 metres of RC drilling, increasing aggregate drilling at Jibal Qutman from 109,252 metres. The latest assay results are expected in the near term.\n· A new Mineral Resource Estimate (\"MRE\") will be reported in conjunction with MSA Group (South Africa), in Q3 2024. It will incorporate recent discoveries such as Asfingia and Red Hill 2, as well as reclassify the previous MRE as a prelude to reporting Ore Reserves.\n· As part of optimising process flow sheets selected core samples have been sent to:\no TOMRA in Germany for assessment for ore sorting plant-feed upgrading tests; and\no GSL in the UK for leaching tests\n· The pursuit of lower-cost solutions for water and power has led to:\no an intensified search for ground water within the recently expanded extensive licence areas; and\no a review of the recently expanded range of hybrid power generation options.\n· Completing a trade-off study of utilising (for at least for parts of the orebody) heap leaching to extract gold instead of carbon-in-leach.\n· Integrating the next stages of metallurgical testing, mine planning, hydrological surveys.\nA staged development approach predicated on the updated MRE may be adopted. Such an approach could see the initial project followed in due course by an enlarged project based on a larger Mineral Resource once the currently untested 75% of the prospective structural strike length is drilled and prepared for development.\n...