Kefi Gold and Copper (LSE:KEFI) — Investor Presentation

0:01 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the KEFI GOLD AND COPPER Investor Presentation. Throughout today's recorded meeting, investors online will be in listen only mode. Your questions are encouraged to be submitted at any time just using the Q and A tab situated on the right hand corner of your screen. Due to the significant attendance online today, the company will not be able to answer every question received during the meeting itself. However, the company can review your questions submitted today. And as usual, we'll publish those on the Investor Meet company platform. Before we begin, we'd like to submit the following poll. And if you give that your kind attention, I'm sure the company being most grateful. And Harry,

0:32 floor is yours. Thank you, Mark. I was asked by shareholders to make a special effort to allow you know, people to turn up and meet us in person in London, and I am told today that I made a big mistake of inviting everybody on a Friday afternoon. So, obviously, that didn't quite achieve that purpose, but thank you for those who did attend here today. And the attendance online, I appreciate. I'm told it's a very large number. The the timing of this particular webinar also, I suppose, it's fair to say, was quite deliberate because, you know, it's it's a bit challenging at times to have these sorts of sessions because it's not regulated, and I'm not really meant to step outside the bounds of what's public information.

1:29 And all I'm trying to do is, I suppose, help people understand public information. And therefore, was quite deliberate in that sense that we should time it to be between the annual report, which, you know, is meant to be fairly fulsome update, and the annual general meeting. So that we're in a, you know, in a in a time window, if you like, where the market should be fairly well informed already and or fully informed and, you know, to make it easier if you like to to, you know, to be expansive. The other thing is that we did put out a presentation this morning, which I assume people have seen on the on the website.

2:21 And, course, that gets checked by the regulatory system. So, you know, we've tried to be as up to date as possible just going into this webinar to, you know, make sure we're doing nothing improper. On that note, I'll kick off very briefly with a skip through this presentation. I don't think you're here to stare at a presentation you've seen on a website. But I'll just skip through it and maybe I'll try to pick up some of the bits that I think are perhaps the most sensitive or, you know, critical nuances. Now, obviously, you know, shareholder we have last count when we could work it out, there were 5,000 shareholders, and it's very difficult for shareholders, you know, to to try to read into the nuances of what's going on behind the scenes. And I'll I'll I'll try to, you know, help.

3:27 The first thing to say is that about a year ago

3:33 forgetting all the history up to a year ago. About a year ago, it started to pivot into an execution. And that's because the country had settled down. When I first arrived in Ethiopia ten years ago, it was all implementation. We had to correct the technical plan, and it was all implementation. We had a bank lined up, and we were going like textbook case. And then the country started changing very rapidly around us, and it sort of with hindsight, you know, we didn't foresee all the things that happened, but with hindsight, it we lost a good five years realistically. And and that turned about a year ago, it turned into an implementation plan.

4:25 And our achievement, whether we like like it or not, it's just a fact, was that the only thing we really achieved in those five last years was defend the company, not lose the license, not lose people on the ground. And actually, we forged relationships with banks and government and contractors to the point where they were happy to stay with us because they saw how we behaved ourselves, and they were comfortable that we would do nothing stupid. That's all we achieved. We didn't achieve value adding. We didn't achieve all the things we tried to achieve. With hindsight, we didn't. And a year ago, it turned.

5:11 This is happening sort of feeling, you know. And, you know, we it was all on the back of security being deployed. It was ready to be deployed. It couldn't be deployed. It was deployed heavily. Not because we are attacked, not because, you know, anybody was against us other than underhanded people you can meet in any country, but because, you know, there are some risks out there that you've got to treat it as a red zone with, and we do. Now, what are the sensitive points on this?

5:53 It's fair to say, it's a criticism, you know, applied to me that some of the things I say are aspirational rather than factual. Well, when the when the thing's changing around you all the time and you're actually a shepherd shepherding 12 parties against a backdrop of political turmoil, yeah, it's aspirational. And I don't know that anyone can get away from that fact. When you get into signed contracts, it's contractual. And that's what we're, you know, looking forward to now. And the thing that really triggered this now into contractual is the parliamentary ratification in May. The world promised it, I don't know, was December or January imminently, and we had to keep pushing and shoving and pushing and shoving. And unfortunately, we don't control the parliament of the country, and it only came through in the middle of May. But that was the trigger.

6:58 On the back of that, we were able to trigger some of the certifications that you couldn't trigger before then. If you trigger them before then, you could run out of puff, you know, because they only last so long. So that was the key that triggered the sequencing of contract closing. That means that we are now today all planning closing. That's what we're doing. And the documents are assembled. The they have to be polished. Most costing updates are done, but the plant one, because it's fixed price lump sum, is gonna take into July now because we only triggered it after the ratification.

7:46 But, you know, it's it's all systems go in the sense of setting up to sign the contracts. Everyone's getting greedy and running their commissions and work, and, you know, the the the contractors need to mobilize their staff. They need to assign labor. You know? I mean, it it it's it's now getting to the stage of everyone having to plan their human and capital resources to be assigned to this this assignment now. Do I do I work this? Yeah. I know. I know. I took way too long on that first one, but I thought that was perhaps worthwhile because the frustration that I feel all the time from shareholders saying, why the hell can't you sign it and get on with it? You know? Why can't if you sign on one day, why can't you draw down the next day? And all this sort of stuff. You know?

8:35 There's a billion dollars of contracting being done here. And if shareholders put up the, you know, the money and did all the work, they could call the shots. But the reality is we're not in that business. We're in the business of com commandeering the capital and commandeering the contractors to make those commitments for us. So, you know, unfortunately, we don't just boss everybody around every day, we corral them. Now, as soon as they sign the contracts, it's different because they're on the hook contractually with liabilities if they don't perform.

9:17 Field activities this quarter, if you just scan your eye over that, I won't dwell on anything, but it's it's obviously being prepared for launch. There's construction of security camps and construction camps and so on. Next one, please. This isn't a new slide, but the points of sensitivity are nothing to do with the first $320,000,000, but all to do with are we gonna issue shares for 5,000,000 or $10,000,000 or something like that. That's all that I hear about from shareholders. Nothing to do with, you know, how the hell do you raise $315,000,000.

10:05 It's all to do with do we really have to put up $5,000,000? Well, I don't wanna sound in any way arrogant, but the reality is what percentage of 320,000,000 is 5,000,000? What is that? About one and a half percent? So shareholders need to understand this is a mining contract in Ethiopia, and a one and a half percent variance on budget is not outside the realms of possibility. I'm not saying it will be. I'm not saying. I'm not promising or guaranteeing anything. I'm just trying to be realistic here. You know, you you are investing investing as shareholders in a preproduction company in a frontier market in the first bankable deal in the country, and and really, are you intolerant of a one and a half percent variance on budget?

11:05 You know, I mean, I'm I'm saying that seriously with all respect, but I don't hear from 5,000 shareholders. I usually only hear from a handful, but but I I do make the point. I'm just trying to be common sense reasonable in this industry in the context of what we're doing. I think we've done well, I don't know anybody who's done this before. I don't know anyone who in London has raised so much capital without reliance on shareholders. I don't know. I mean, I'm happy to be corrected. Next one, please. The closing process, what should I highlight here? You know, worries me about the closing process?

12:01 Yeah. I've made the point of in the last few days talking to the owner of the mining contractor and boss of the mining contractor, the group managing director of the construction contractor, the lead banker,

12:17 the minister in Ethiopia, just to make sure that I'm not missing anything. I've done that very deliberately, and everyone's pushing so hard, you know, the the anxiety, the tension. And what I would say is that it's a normal thing, you know. Anxiety and tension when you're in the home stretch is is perfectly normal. And the important thing is to focus it on positive delivery, closing, not on not on taking shots at each other if we're all on the same side. It it's happening.

13:05 And we all just have to man up to it, and deal with it, and close. And that's what we're doing. And

13:17 that what's worrying me, apart from just the general air of turning energy into positive energy and closing, You know, I think we've got a first class structure, which is why the banks stuck with us, you know, the way we structured the contracts and surrounded this with first class people. You don't you you talk to me, you you know, but you don't see that first class team we've got on the ground, very experienced.

13:52 It's the it's the social side and the and the politics, you know, because everything else is perfectly controllable. And the social side is now not an uncontrollable thing. What I can say is that their excitement imagine imagine being people who've lived in the same land, on the same land, for millennia, not twenty years, but millennia,

14:18 and come and crossing the bridge mentally to be removed shifted. Imagine being in that position. Well, they just want to get on with it now. They're sick of hearing about it. And so we need to manage that extremely carefully so that I'm not perturbed by anything that's said or done, but that's I'm really concerned about doing that properly and we we will. And the politics of the country is so palpably driven to get this job on the road that we're under intense pressure, beaten beaten up relentlessly by the politicians to get this started. But we will insist on all the i's dotted and all the t's crossed on all the documentation before we press the button.

15:10 And I I could tell you stories about people who just get cajoled into proceeding without getting everything properly tidied. And we will do it properly. But they're good pressures, you know. They're they're they're not bad pressures. They just they just have to be dealt with properly.

15:31 You know, the structure in in Ethiopia is there's a new holding company being incorporated down in the country. I'm not sure. Is it already done, John? I don't I know. It's yeah. It's so that we can list down there for local investors to participate. One of our hallmarks, which I hope stands this company out over time and gives us more and more protection and more and more opportunity, is to be able to have local stakeholders, local owners involved in the structure. Having the government involved, I think, saved our bacon on the way through the last few years. And having the private sector involved through institutional investors, I think, will only reinforce that going forward.

16:22 And and over on the left hand, you know, the Saudi side, we're doing the same thing to give us more flexibility in how we structure either our remaining in Saudi or departure from Saudi, but but it gives us more more more opportunity. I'll talk about that a bit more later. Next slide, please. Yeah. I could easily wax lyrical about the development opportunity in in Ethiopia and the other things that we we can do. And I will understand that, you know, as soon as we sign for construction, everyone's questions will immediately turn to what next.

17:05 I will understand that. And there is, you know, a pipeline of things to address, but no one really wants to focus on them until we got this thing signed up, which is fair enough, and that's the way it should be.

17:25 But I, you know, I think it's obvious that the first thing is the underground development. If this was a large mining group, we we we would be planning to develop the underground access immediately and to co coproduce from underground as well as open pit immediately. It's not today's priority, but that's obviously the first cab off the rank. And we'll address that as soon as it's, you know, it's reasonable to do so from a cost of capital viewpoint. And, you know, of putting there a target of how we'll do it. But, you know, we'll do it when when it makes sense. And and there are other things in the pipeline that we need to address. And, you know, this thing will start at a 100 and I think year one in the open pit will be about a 160,000 ounces.

18:18 You can need and we we start the mining at two and a half million tons a year, the process here at only 2,000,000 tons a year, so we can rev up the plant when we want to. But, you know, that's that's all to come, and we we wanna get this thing up 200,000 ounces plus as soon as we can. Next one, please.

18:40 The Saudi pipeline, you know, I was one of the questions said why, which were the pre submitted questions, were why didn't you sell it in December? Well, we only announced a six month review in November, and the question was why didn't you sell it in December? I don't think you could sell your house in one month, let alone a venture in Saudi Arabia. You know, it it it put the spotlight on this, put pressure on this, and the pressure yielded a lot of positive developments already, which we put our RNSs out on. And we do have some choices emerging, not on the table, emerging, and we need to work them out.

19:32 The

19:34 the partner, if I may quote, because he says it to everybody he meets, is differential or is respectful enough to say everything we've achieved would be achieved because of KEFI. And I'm really sad to hear them say they would be interested to sell out. And, you know, we're so close to being completely self funding, I don't understand it. That's the partner's words. And what he means by that, I think, is the Jubo Kutman analysis of being a goal a goal fairly straightforward, you know, goal development where KEFI's development capital share might be as low as $5,000,000 or something like that.

20:28 And that that triggers a whole self funding exercise in the country.

20:35 And, yeah, he's a bit bemused by by the fact that KEFI can't doesn't have the wherewithal to just keep up with that. It's a bit bit weird to him. But we'll do what we have to do. Next slide, please.

20:54 Yeah. This slide is a standard slide. It it states the the critical sort of carrot, if I can put it that way. You know, if we have people who want to be part of this journey, people who stay in to be in this journey, the only reason they should be in such a high risk journey is if the multiples of upside warrant it. And I think they do, notwithstanding the terrible dilution we've suffered just to survive. I think the multiples do warrant it. And, yeah, the multiples on what we have today, the pipelines, are huge. And it doesn't take a lot of imagination to think of all sorts of ideas and possibilities.

21:43 But but, you know, they're good multiples. Next slide, please. The board the well, the two executive directors are in the room, and I do admit that photo of mine is a bit flattering. It's a bit old and better updated. The, you know, the other guys are all seasoned people. To be honest, you have to be a bit thick skinned and seasoned to be in this game, and I'm not good enough to do it by remote controllers if you think I sit martinis by the pool in Cyprus as my living. Simply don't understand.

22:28 I don't know why I don't know why my my wife and family have tolerated it, but I've barely seen them for years, and but I'm not complaining. And these non exec directors, I've known them for up to about five years, think, of them. They're all very decent people. One's been an operator in the mining game all his life. Before he retired, Rich Alastair has been an ESG specialist for the largest European development bank, and Addus is a director of a number of companies in Addus, basically protecting multinationals who operate in Addus.

23:17 Plus, he has his own businesses. Next slide, please. That's the end of the slide Thank you very much, dear. Thank you very much for the I'm sorry. I took much longer than I should have. No. No. That's that's fine. Well, look, we've as I said at the outset, you know, you've got good attendance on today's call. You had a lot of pre submitted questions. So let's dive straight into it, and then if I can push you on some of the timings on on the responses, that'd be great. So you asked me to ask all the questions in the way they were formatted, and some of them were quite direct. So let's get going. How generally independent are the NEDs on the board, especially those dealing with remuneration? All the NEDs deal with remuneration, and they're completely independent. I mean, they're they're all big boys, and there's no silly business. K.

24:03 With the CEO, that's you being 69 years old. Apologies if I'm putting your age in the public domain, there we are. With several additional roles outside KEFI, what measurable transition milestones exist for operational handover given COO's lack of board representation?

24:19 Well, thank you for reminding me how old I am. I have one non executive directorship outside KEFI, so that that's not an issue.

24:36 COOs are never on the board. You'd only have one executive responsible for operations on the board. And I think I've always been pretty clear that when we see this thing coming into production, a succession will have been implemented. And it's fair to say that that's a pretty important stability and commitment for all the stakeholders. You know, just imagine if you're a bank or a contractor or a local investor is putting up pretty well all the money, nearly all of the money, And you see this guy who's through thick and thin with a team, through thick and thin,

25:33 got through what we've been through. And then as soon as they sign contract, he's off to The Bahamas. Right? Imagine your response to that. And I don't expect anybody to invite that or to appreciate that nor would I ever think that. But having said that, as we move towards production, there there are plans, you know. There this company will be built fairly quickly. Today, it's about less than a 100 people on the ground in Ethiopia, and it'll be about 10 times that in twelve months' time. So this is, you know, it's gonna go like wildfire, And the the the management ranks will will grow accordingly.

26:25 And I'll, you know, I'll take off some of the hats that I wear and shrink them to just one or two. And that's just normal management. Thank you. Well, you asked me to roll the punches. Here's the next one. Please, can you try to justify your 2024 remuneration because shareholders consider it excessive? Ensure you feel humbled by the outrage it created amongst even some of your strongest supporters.

26:51 Yeah. I feel humbled. I felt humbled when it was raised to me last year as a gesture of recognition for what we've been through, what I've done, and I feel humbled that that was the reaction. But, you know, I I think, to be honest, the main thing is to apologize to shareholders for the very terse, almost shorthanded explanation in the in the, what do you call it, the annual report. Because it the annual report made it sound like all this money was handed over to me, and it it hasn't happened, you know. And so it it it it it, you know, let loose strident publicists who like to be, you know, strident and out there in the public domain before they even ask me to tell them what had happened or explanation.

27:45 But I blame them. I think the annual report was clearly statutorily compliant, but it didn't actually help people really understand. The actual essence of it is that about a year ago, we were pivoting. Right? We were pivoting from being in the dark ages to going into, you know, the good times. And the board sincerely offered some recognition of that, not for the event of last year, but for the previous twelve years.

28:21 And if you add up what happened over twelve years, I've been, so far, received a £150,000 a year, and a 100 and and about $80.87 or something thousand pounds of shares. If anyone thinks that's excessive pay for what we do, you just don't know. And anyone who tells me that whatever journeyings are in The UK and why do I get paid more, just doesn't know. And if anyone thinks I'll do it if anyone thinks I would have done it for that pay knowing what was coming, they just don't know. But, you know, the point is history is history, and I have no regrets.

29:08 I'm looking forward to what's coming up. What else would I say? Whether, you know, whether you think that's overpay or underpay. The, what do you call it? The the the charges of of the senior people were all charged down to the operation. So 75% of Harry is recharged because that's where the time is spent. You know, you you wouldn't you wouldn't have a Harry or a John, you know, or an Eddie on on some little show that's doing some exploration somewhere and scratching around, you know. But if you're lining up a billion dollars worth of OpEx and CapEx contracting, managing a country through managing a company through a country in civil war and defending it and doing all that stuff, you know, who would do it for nothing?

30:12 Yeah. Just sort of seeking just decency. I'm not suggesting that I don't want money. If I felt that this wasn't gonna work, I'd I'd I'd be out of here tomorrow. It has to work. If I don't see that, I can't do it. But I can see it. I can taste it. It's gonna happen. And that's what turns me on. That that's what really turns me on. Thank you, Harry. Well, they get softer from here. You'll you'll be pleased to hear. Do you plan to list the parent company in Ethiopia or the subsidiary? And if so, when? If it's not the parent company, are there other listings for the parent company that you might consider to hopefully bridge the valuation that the AIM doesn't seem to be doing? You know, I I well, first of all, on the Ethiopian thing, only the the Ethiopian holding company, not the parent, doesn't do anything for the company. Because Ethiopians can only invest in BER.

31:06 So, you know, it doesn't really do anything for for the stock market to have people who can only invest in Ethiopian Burr. But for locals, it's important, then we promised it. And it'll happen, I don't know, next year or something like that, you know. Let's get this deal closed and the there's only one listed company on the Ethiopian Stock Exchange and, you know, we can do it for them next year or whatever. I've I've been I've been, you know, the the boss of a company listed in Australia, Australia and England, Australia and Canada, And it's ephemeral. It comes and goes. One month, one six month period once it's Australia's a place to be, another it's Canada's a place to be, oh, London's a place to be, and, you know, it moves around.

31:54 If you ask me today, I'd say if you wanted to do a list, I'd put it onto the ASX. The guy sitting down here, Simon Francis, who writes reports on the company thinks, well, you know, maybe there's some merit in just being one of the very few counters in London when when the thing takes off. Aren't you better off just being in London? You know, I I think I think this will spring, you know, when when the market settles down and when greed overtakes fear, when whenever that is, you know, it's up to the market. And I don't think it matters where the where the listing is. I think it'll just take off when when the market's ready, whenever that is. So I think that's the more important question, you know. When does when does the market wanna get behind it rather than which listing it is. The the ASX people would list us tomorrow if we wanted to.

32:44 TSX people like to completely rebadge the whole thing and back in Canadian assets and do all sorts of things which I I just think we should stick to our stick to our focus and deliver. It's the main thing. Thank you. Question here around the legal case in in January. KEFI announced that legal claims were dismissed by the English high court and that all counterclaims were awarded in KEFI's favor. This was a notable milestone, yet it wasn't referenced in the June RNS. Has this legal resolution improved confidence among your financiers or partners? I think some of them didn't even notice it because I think they trust us. But I have to say, probably embarrassing now, one of our senior lawyers rang me and said, oh, it's great to hear that see the judgment. I read the judgment and said, hey. What a credible witness you were. I said, you've been a lawyer for all these years and you have to read a judgment to understand that we're a credible witness. You know, I I just thought this was a bit ridiculous.

33:43 But I no one mentioned it to me, to be honest. Nobody took that claim. How would I put it? Nobody feared that claim, but you can't be taken to the High Court of England and not treated so seriously, which we did. It was terrible distraction, and I've never been in such a situation before in my life, and I didn't enjoy it. But we had to deal with it and we did. But I think what was more influential on our, you know, big big stakeholders like banks is really how we conducted ourselves through that very challenging few years in Ethiopia. I think, you know, it's one thing to talk about. You can do this and you can do that. It's another thing to put a company under that sort of stress, kidnappings, civil war, lootings, you know, extortion attempts, corruption attempts, all those things. And they witnessed a test, if you like, a string of tests.

34:39 And I like to think that they thought, well, if they can behave themselves this way in bad times, and pretty reliable people in good times. That's what I like to think. But yeah. Mark? Thank you. Just a couple of questions and we've had a couple of similar questions in the live meeting about missing data perhaps in some of the materials that you issue. KEFI states the private investors and institutions were seeing the same same data. That's disappointing that the May 25 presentation deck admitted some core financial metrics. So just really just to try and get your views as to whether or not that could be improved. Yeah. I I I saw that question and looked up what that my presentation was, and it was a presentation on Ethiopian mining investments.

35:30 So it wasn't really talking about everything. It was how would I put it? It was sort of contaminated or whatever by the agenda of promoting Ethiopia and not promoting KEFI necessarily. So I'm sorry that that confused. But probably the more important point the question is asking is, you know, when do you start going hell for leather on laying out all the ratios and statistics on investor returns on on this? That's really the gist of the question. And and I think that up until now, felt that shareholders needed to see this thing coming together before we started bombarding them with the minutiae of IRRs and everything every time. But I think it's a fair suggestion that we should do that now because, you know, we we are about to close this off and get going, and therefore, I think people will actually pay attention now, and I think it's warranted to do so. So I agree.

36:29 Okay. Thank you. Question here. Can the signing of definitive agreements with the two lead banks proceed without definitive commitments from the Etho bonds and BCM? I mean, the the the the banks need to see before they they sign off that they're committed, they need to see that the whole package is financed. So they they they're not gonna there's not gonna there's not gonna be any binding commitments until everybody knows that the whole package is financed. So, you know, to I mean, the short answer is no. There's also there's always a little bit of grayness around the edges like, oh, you know, Fred's away for a week.

37:18 We'll sign subject to him signing later. Well, that sort of stuff always happens. But but the principle is that there's needs to be a whole package signed off before it's binding. Thanks, Harry. Just turning to, I guess, project financing. The the project financing is described as very close to completion. Could you outline the final steps that remain before this will close and whether a target drawdown window has been set for since syndicate partners? Yeah. I think I did that in that presentation on the slideshow today, and I won't I know there's a lot of questions, so I won't go over it again. I'll just mention that we're we're all pushing for finishing the the plant certification in July.

38:09 The independence, what do you call it, expert has to then sign off for the banks, and then everyone signs off and triggers within weeks of that Mhmm. In August, and then we draw down as soon as we can. And it it you know, I don't want anyone to think that you sign and money flows the next day, you know. Hundreds of millions of dollars just don't flow that way, you know. But it's the main thing is getting it signed off, and then money will flow with the normal drawdown procedures that take place over a few weeks. Just looking forward, I guess, here, the Edison Research note reference potential dividends from full year '28. I know we're a long way off from that, but can you clarify whether you've got any plans to introduce a formal dividend policy post production and when such guidance might be issued?

39:00 I I think all I can talk about is the philosophy of the of the leader of the company and of the people, you know, that run the company. It's premature to set dividend policy, obviously. But, you know, there's nothing I would enjoy more than achieving the sort of cash flows that we've published to run debt down by, you know, 50% like that, and pay out a big lump of dividends as a thank you to everybody, that would be a fantastic outcome. And nothing I'd enjoy more than that. It's too early to, you know, to, you know, make a formal policy. You have to build it first, but but that would be the the appropriate thing to do, I think.

39:48 Okay. Just a couple of questions around construction. How is the Ethiopian rainy season factored into your scheduling? What is the expected impact on works if the weather can conditions are unfavorable, and have you kind of anticipated the longest delay built into your plans? Yeah. I'm sorry I've even mentioned the word rainy season or wet season, to be honest, because it seems to have completely preoccupied some people. It's sort of like a nonevent, you know, relatively speaking for scheduling. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but, you know, it it really is factored in, it's scheduled, and it can be coped with no matter what's going on. Thank you. And just continuing on that theme, has the EPC contractor mobilization begun? If not, when is it expected? And could you also outline the intended construction consequence and whether revised Gantt chart will be released in 2025?

40:42 Yeah. We the Gantt chart summary I mean, there's a there's a thousand line Gantt chart, which is not for public consumption, but the summary level thing was in today's presentation. And, you know, I think I said earlier that I made the point of speaking with the bosses around the, you know, the table over the last few days. And, you know, the the the head of the the mining and the head of the plant construction, you know, it's all about assigning their labor, their their people. And they wanna know, you know, the question from the like a podium side was, do I assign now?

41:28 Are you ready? When do they move? All that sort of stuff because he has to assign, you know, the the team. The the engineering and scheduling and so on, we've got a boss in in in Canada working with them, but the actual people, the boots on the ground have to be assigned. And we discussed the timetable exactly as I've laid it out to shareholders, and that's what he's that's what he's doing. So the the answer to the question is no. They haven't mobilized. They don't mobilize until you've signed the contract, but, you know, they have to get ready for mobilization, and that's what we've been doing. I think that answered the question. Thank you. Can you explain more about what certifications are that you're waiting for? And is this something that is wholly in KEFI's hands, or does it rely on perhaps third parties, banks? So Well, independent certifications by definition is not reliant on KEFI. It's independent certifications.

42:26 And the the mining is is and so far as preparing for the independence to sign off, the mining's done, the the community estimations are done, The plant is half done. It couldn't be triggered formally until we had got the parliamentary ratification because it sort of runs out of applicability. You have to sort of start again if if it's not used quickly. And the the independent technical expert who signs off has already been to site to be ready so that they've witnessed on the ground everything to be ready to get the numbers and so on to update models and so on quickly.

43:24 So everyone is sort of preparing, you know, for for that certification exercise to be quick. Nobody is, you know, trying to be slow. But it's independent. It's not It's being prepared for so that it fits with that schedule that we had on the on the slide. Thanks. Question around funding here, I guess. What is the holdup with the second bank agreeing to the increased borrowing? Do you have any idea when this might be approved? Is it reasonable to assume that this would definitely be approved given time scales for commencement of major works will be dependent on funding approval? Yeah. I I think, you know, I'm confused. You know. I think I often wonder whether we're too transparent because it begs a thousand questions that wouldn't even be asked if we were not so transparent.

44:20 But the the first bank formally approved it all the way through to board approval early twenty four. The second bank approved it all the way through to board approval in March 25. On the agreement with the first bank that they would increase the facility together. And then the second bank waited for this parliamentary ratification before bothering their board again. They didn't wanna embarrass themselves again by not being ready to go on the second approval of the same deal. So I was speaking to the lead banker this morning again, bashing the hell out of each other and all sorts of things. But there's there's no problem, you know. It's just trying multi yeah. I there's a $15,000,000,000 bank. So we've got lots of things to do and having to approve it for the second time, you know, get your ducks in a row, lads, and and we'll approve it, and don't worry about it, Harry. Let's get on with it. You know, it's I wouldn't worry about it, really. I wouldn't worry about it. But it's it's being done, and it's built into that schedule.

45:39 Thanks, Harry. I I think you've touched on it, but it's in the the list of questions here. So I'm seeking clarification of what remains outstanding, who's responsible, sequencing downside risks, a GMCO update including annual burn from its continued holdings. Lots there for you, Harry, and and you have touched on some, but I didn't catch all of it. It was all over the place. The the you know, I've actually I think I've actually touched on all those things, to be honest. So let's move to the next question. Perfect. You had a meeting of of stakeholders in June to look each other in the eyes and say, let's go. If if it's not then, when will it be? And is there a fixed timetable from from then to measure the company's performance against?

46:27 Yeah. Yeah. The answer is yes, and I think I've done that this morning. Okay. Perfect. Well, look, I've taken a lot of time for for those submitted questions. Perhaps I could just come to the room and and ask if there's anyone here that would like to pose a question to Harry. If so, I'll provide you with a microphone. Yeah. Perfect. Thank you. If you just give Harry your name just in case he Hi. My name is Peter. I hold about a percent in KEFI overall of the issue share capital. I'd like to know about the e Ethio prefs. How firm are those commitments? Are they just soft commitments you've got at the moment, or have you got significant players that are willing to put in a lot and have made some firm commitments to you? Yeah. The the EFI prefs are not firm commitments yet.

47:13 They are they are soft commitments from about, I don't know, 15 institutions and high net worth offices. They they're timid people in the sense that this is a bit weird, a bit new. The capital markets sort of in the process of being opened for new securities and stock exchange listing. So this is a first for them. It is certainly right down their alley on what they need to do to diversify out of the burr, And it's been very well received, I think, out of maybe 30 conversations we've had, I don't know, maybe three or four have said no.

48:10 So I can't guarantee it, but I think, you know, we have the first investment banker team in the country working on it with us. We're doing it in collaboration with the Capital Markets Authority, people who asked us to do it. The central bank said if you get stuck on anything because regulations somehow thwart you or obstruct you, let us know. So it's a sort of an official effort. It's not a sort of a scurrying around half assed idea. But I can't guarantee it. It's it it is the weakest link, but I don't think it's weak. I'd be very surprised if it wasn't at least $15,000,000, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's $30,000,000.

48:59 That's my judgment, but that's about all I could sort of say at the moment, I think. Thank you. Any other questions from the room? No. Perfect. Harry, you've you've got, you know, as I said to you, a a number of other questions here, but I'm I'm mindful of just repeating things for repeating something. How how are we for time? Sorry. You're you're at fifty minutes. Fifty five minutes. Fifty. Okay. Yeah. So I I mean, I'll happily go on. I just don't wanna repeat things that you may Oh, you judge which questions to ask. Just scroll down. I I mean, normally, we try to wrap it up in in an hour, but I'm happy to go over it a little bit if you want. But I mean, there are questions around, you know, your thoughts about funding of the business, future funding of the business, the need for capital moving forward, maybe any comments that you can say that within the parameters of what you can and can't say. Well, I you know, I it's a it's a dilemma, isn't it?

49:58 It's a bit of a dilemma in the sense that we've survived a sort of a dark ten or fifteen years in the junior mining space in terms of capital allocation. If you look at any index, it just sort of goes like that. And I often wonder where I've got a genetic defect to be in this space. And probably all of you investors in this space often wonder it yourselves about yourselves. There's something in this space that turns us on. And surviving that ten or fifteen years, and throw on top of it all the things in these countries that that would hit us, you know, you sort of feel like you deserve a hell of a pat on the back and a huge reward.

50:56 That's how we'll feel, all of us. I think we're at the point, fortunately, that we've got a project ready to rock. So let's just do it. The rest will look after itself. That that's what I really think. No matter what I say or what everybody wishes, let's just get on with it, and the rest will look after itself. As soon as as soon as people see some key announcements, you know, all the publicists who like to pontificate on whether my salary is high or low or whatever, and all that stuff just disappears and it just focus on the real game. And the real game here is just to close this bloody thing and get on with it. And I think, you know, the cost of capital will relieve itself and will do what deserves doing. The answer will be in the in the in the results, you know. And if the market really still doesn't like it, well, I give up.

52:02 We'll just sell the whole thing, you know. Make 50% of our money instead of 10 times our money. That's all you can do. It's mean, you do what you gotta do. Yep. Sure. Thank you. Ashley Warden. You've got some new institutional investors on board. Do you see them adding to the business itself other than just being purely shareholders? Well, I don't think they expect to be involved in the business. They don't want to be involved in the business at all. And their compliance systems certainly keep them a thousand miles from being contaminated by business decisions. However, they're the first people to put their hands up if they're not happy about something. You know, no doubt about that.

52:59 You know, something substantive. I have no doubt that the leaders of those institutions would get on the phone and say, what the hell are you doing on this? What was that about? Or whatever, you know. Not that that's happened, but I've been around long enough not to take their presence lightly. The good thing to me, the excellent thing to me is that they really don't really care. The share price gyrations from day to day, week to week, month to month. That that, you know, really, that's not the issue. They're open eyed, investing in what they think is, you know, inflection point investing. That's what they're trying to do here. Contrarian mentality, if you like. And they're investing for the long term. And they've invested such small sums of money, they're there to follow their investment as things emerge.

53:49 And that's to me the important thing. And it's, you know, the the the small shareholders have been fantastic, you know, patient and beaten up like the management team have, but have been fantastic to carry this thing through. Most AIM junior miners have disappeared in the time we've been doing this. And our shareholders are still there. I'm not saying they're happy, but they're still there and engaging. But these institutions, you know, have a bigger prize and a longer term in their minds, and that's that's a good thing. Thank you. Are there any more questions in the room at all? No. Perfect. Harry, I won't keep repeating some of these questions. There are some different ones, but I'd like you to to take a look at those and we can publish those post the the meeting. Look, before I redirect investors to give you their feedback, thank you firstly for your time this afternoon for taking the questions as you ask them to roll. But before I redirect investors to give you feedback, perhaps I could just ask you for a couple of closing comments. I'll end the webinar and then you can engage them.

54:55 Yeah. If we've missed something substantive that you think should have been answered, we're happy to put it on the q and a on the website if we're allowed to regulatory wise. And, you know, I I am criticized often internally as well as externally for being transparent. I like to think that it diffuses and explains and helps, you know, the situation. And whether you like it or not, that's the way we are. And the webinar, the q and a stuff is in a sincere attempt at transparency.

55:46 Whether whether you like all the answers or not, it's just trying to be straight up. So That's great. Thank you, Harry. And thank you to those in the room and those online. For those online, we'll now redirect you to provide the company your feedback. I'm sure the company you go for for your participation. Thank you for joining us this afternoon.