KEFI Gold and Copper reported good progress to schedule at the company's high-grade Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia ("Tulu Kapi" or the "Project"). The remaining finance syndicate board processes are on track for final (conditional) approvals during May 2024, whilst Project launch preparations have commenced at Tulu Kapi. Notably, these developments coincide with construction works commencing at another Ethiopian industrial scale gold-mine development, west of Tulu Kapi, and the commencement of a modernisation programme at the only pre-existing large Ethiopian gold mine, south of Tulu Kapi.

 Taken as a whole, these developments reflect the positive turnaround in Ethiopia over the past two years. On the back of wide-sweeping reforms, some of which were absolutely critical for the mining sector, as negotiated and previously reported by KEFI, the country is now striving hard to reclaim its previous long-standing ranking amongst the world's top ten growth countries.  Particularly important for KEFI is that Ethiopia's top five gold development projects look likely to raise Ethiopia's aggregate annual gold production from c.400,000 oz per annum at present to an estimated 1.5 million oz per annum within the next five years, which today would rank Ethiopia amongst Africa's top ten gold producers.

KEFI recently reported (see announcement of 25 March 2024) the following: all of the required development budget of USD 320 million (exclusive of the historical equity investment of USD 100 million) has been assembled at the subsidiary level in the form of USD 190 million secured debt, USD 100 million Equity Risk Note ("ERN") and USD 20-40 million share subscriptions to KEFI subsidiaries;the receipt of final approvals from the Federal Government of Ethiopia (co-shareholder in TKGM), Eastern and Southern Trade and Development Bank ("TDB") (the lead lender of secured debt) and the lead-investor in the ERN (a multinational organisation which has operated in Ethiopia for decades); and approval processes having been triggered for the remaining parties, in particular the long-planned co-lender of secured project finance debt, Africa Finance Corporation ("AFC") and investors in the ERN.