3 April 2023

KEFI Gold and Copper plc

("KEFI" or the "Company")

Maiden Al Godeyer Resource to contribute to the Hawiah Project Open Pittable Resources

KEFI Gold and Copper (AIM: KEFI), the gold and copper exploration and development company with projects in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is pleased to present the maiden Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") at the Al Godeyer Project ("Al Godeyer" or the "Project"), which forms part of the Hawiah Complex, all part of KEFI's Saudi Arabian joint-venture Gold and Minerals Company Limited ("GMCO").

In Saudi Arabia, the Jibal Qutman Gold Project ("Jibal Qutman"), the Hawiah Copper-Gold Project ("Hawiah") and the other Saudi projects are under GMCO (now planned to be 25-30% owned by KEFI).  In Ethiopia, the Tulu Kapi Gold Project is under TKGM (now planned to be 70-80% owned by KEFI).  Final beneficial ownership will depend on project financing requirements.

Highlights

·    Maiden Al Godeyer Inferred Open-Pit Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.35 million tonnes ("Mt") at 0.6% copper, 0.54% zinc, 1.4g/t gold and 6.6g/t silver potentially complements the Inferred Resources reported for the Open-Pit Scenario at the nearby Hawiah deposit of 11.1Mt, as announced by KEFI on 9 January 2023.

·    Al Godyer continues to be open at depth and along strike

·    This reaffirms the potential for an initial open-pit mining operation at Hawiah as does early oxide metallurgical testwork which indicates that the Al Godeyer ore can be processed at the Hawiah plant located 12km from the site.

·    Drilling planned to commence in Q2 2023 will be aimed at converting unclassified areas of the deposit to the Inferred category and to further test the strike extent of the orebody.

·    Concurrent drilling planned at Hawiah will focus on upgrading and further expanding its total resources reported on 9 January 2023 of 29.0 Mt at 0.89% copper, 0.94% zinc, 0.67 g/t gold and 10.1 g/t silver.

Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, Executive Chairman of KEFI, commented:

"This Al Godeyer maiden copper-zinc-gold-silver Mineral Resource has confirmed the clear potential to support the Hawiah project, at this stage lifting to over 12Mt the total tonnage being considered for the Open-Pit Scenario.

"Feedback from the early metallurgical testwork is particularly exciting and demonstrates the amenability of Al Godeyer to provide additional open pit feed material to the proposed Hawiah Complex.

"The work completed at Al Godeyer further demonstrates our ability to discover and rapidly advance projects in our ever-growing exploration portfolio within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the GMCO team taking the Al Godeyer target from a mineral occurrence to a JORC compliant resource in a little over a year.

"Elsewhere within the Kingdom, the Jibal Qutman project is advancing on schedule with our aim to start construction by the end of 2023.  The Hawiah Pre-feasibility Study is currently being finalised and drilling is set to shortly recommence on the Hawiah site.  This drilling is primarily focused on converting Inferred Resources to the Indicated category, but is also aiming at extending the planned mine life by further increasing the Hawiah Mineral Resource in a few key areas.

"KEFI has very exciting growth prospects in both Saudi Arabia and in Ethiopia, where our working environments have improved enormously over the past 18 months."

Background

Since the commencement of major exploration works at Al Godeyer in early 2022, the GMCO exploration team has undertaken mapping, trenching, and a Self-Potential ("SP") geophysical survey along with diamond and reverse circulation ("RC") drilling programmes.  Completing 3,007m of diamond drilling and 1,169m of RC drilling, for a total of 4,176m of drilling.

The drilling and trenching had three main objectives:

-      Testing the volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") geological model at the surface and depth;

-      Understanding the geometry and grade characteristics of the ore body; and

-      Increasing geological and grade confidence in the deposit to a level sufficient for resource estimation and reporting.

These objectives have been achieved and with the deposit remaining open along strike to the southeast and at depth, there is considerable opportunity to further expand resources.

Following the completion of the drilling programme GMCO appointed The MSA Group (Pty) Ltd ("MSA") as the Independent Consultants and Competent Person to prepare a maiden MRE for Al Godeyer in accordance with the Australasian Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves ("JORC Code 2012").  These estimation works included a site visit by the MSA competent person.

Al Godeyer Work Programme for 2023

Looking forward to 2023, further diamond drilling and additional trenching is being planned to upgrade the 'unclassified areas' of the deposit to the Inferred category.  In addition to this, further metallurgical test work will be undertaken.  If results are in line with expectations, then additional drilling will be planned to upgrade the Resource to the Indicated classification for use in the Hawiah Complex Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") and Reserve calculations.

Maiden Al Godeyer MRE

The maiden MRE for the Al Godeyer deposit is detailed in Table 1 below and now totals:

-      1.35 Mt at 0.6% copper, 0.54% zinc, 1.40 g/t gold and 6.6 g/t silver.

Based on this MRE, the Al Godeyer deposit is estimated to contain a total of 8,100 tonnes or 17.9 million lbs of copper, 7,200 tonnes or 15.9 million lbs of zinc, 60,400 gold ounces and 284,600 silver ounces.

Table 1 : MSA Minerals Resource Statement for Al Godeyer,
Effective Date 27 March 2023 (see notes 1 to 7)

Notes on MSA Resource statement:

(1) koz = one thousand ounces, kt = one thousand metric tonnes, Mt = one million metric tonnes.

(2) All tabulated data have been rounded and as a result minor computational errors may occur.

(3) Mineral Resources, which are not Mineral Reserves, have no demonstrated economic viability.

(4) The Gross Mineral Resource for the Project is reported.

(5) The Mineral Resource is reported in accordance with the guidelines of the 2012 Edition of The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves ('the JORC Code').

(6) A Whittle optimised pit shell was used to report open-pit Mineral Resources. The Whittle optimisation was based on the following assumed technical parameters:

-       Pit slope angle: Fresh 56°, Transition 51° and Oxide: 44°.

-       Dilution of 10% and mining recovery of 95%.

-       Concentrator Recovery via an Albion circuit: Cu 90%, Zn 90%, Au 85%, Ag 60% No recovery of zinc and copper in oxide. Metallurgical factors based on initial metallurgical test-work.

Cost and revenue assumptions:

-       Metal Prices: copper 9350 USD/t, zinc 3300 USD/t, gold 1820 USD/oz, silver 26 USD/oz.

-      Smelter recovery/payability: copper 96.5%, zinc 83.5%. gold Dore - gold 99.5%, silver 99.6%.

-      Mining cost: open pit oxide 2.2 US$/t, open pit transition and fresh 2.4 US$/t. Transport to Hawiah plant 1.125 US$/t and rehandling cost of 0.7 US$/t. Cost adjustment for open-pit depth US$0.004 / vertical m.

-      Total Processing cost: oxide 13.9 US$/t, transition and fresh 21.4 US$/t.

-      G&A: 5.6 US$/t ore.

(7) The cut-off grade was applied on a net smelter return (NSR) basis: open-pit transition and fresh ore 31.2 US$/t, open-pit oxide ore 23.5 US$/t. NSR was calculated for each block model cell using the following formulae:

Oxide = (copper %*0)+(zinc %*0)+(gold g/t 49.4732 )+(silver g/t*0.4868)

Transition and Fresh = (copper %*76.5870)+(zinc %*20.1118)+(gold g/t *49.4732)+(silver g/t*0.4868)

The MRE is based on 4,176 metres of diamond drilling and RC completed since March 2022 and is reported in accordance with the Australasian Code for the Reporting of Exploration Targets, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, The JORC Code (2012).

Trenching, supported by surface diamond and RC drilling has consistently intersected copper-zinc-gold-silver mineralisation contained within gossanous ex-massive and semi-massive sulphides at surface and massive and semi-massive sulphides at depth, over 1.3 kilometres of strike length.

The Al Godeyer deposit has only been drill tested to a vertical depth of 200 metres below the surface and it remains open at depth and along strike to the southeast.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

Enquiries

Competent Person Statement

The Hawiah Mineral Resource estimate was completed by Mr Jeremy Charles Witley (BSc Hons, MSc (Eng.)) who is a geologist with 34 years of experience in base and precious metals exploration and mining as well as Mineral Resource evaluation and reporting. He is a Principal Mineral Resource Consultant for The MSA Group (an independent consulting company). He is registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions ("SACNASP"), is a Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa ("GSSA") and a Fellow of the Professional Society of Independent Experts of the Subsurface Resources ("PONEN"), Kazakhstan. Mr Witley has the appropriate relevant qualifications and experience to be considered a "Competent Person" as defined by JORC (2012) for the style and type of mineralisation and activity being undertaken.

The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr Tomos Bryan, Exploration Manager for GMCO. Mr Bryan is a member of the AusIMM. Mr Bryan is a geologist with sufficient relevant experience for Company reporting to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code 2012. Mr Bryan consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.

Notes to Editor

KEFI Gold and Copper plc

KEFI is focused primarily on the development of the Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia and its pipeline of highly prospective exploration and development projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, also in the Arabian-Nubian Shield. KEFI targets that Tulu Kapi Gold, along with its two most advanced Saudi projects Jibal Qutman Gold and Hawiah Copper-Gold will come into production over the period 2025-2027 and will generate cash flows for capital repayments, further exploration and dividends to shareholders.

APPENDIX A

Additional Background information on the Al Godeyer deposit

The Al Godeyer deposit is located within the Wadi Bidah Mineral District ("WBMD") in the southwest of the Arabian Shield. The WBMD is a 120-kilometre-long belt which hosts over 20 Volcanic Massive Sulphide ("VMS") known occurrences and historic workings for copper and gold.

The Al Godeyer project is located 12km east of the company's flagship Hawiah project which hosts a mineral resource of 29.0 Mt at 0.89% copper, 0.94% zinc, 0.67 g/t gold and 10.1 g/t silver.

GMCO commenced drilling at Al Godeyer in March 2022 and quickly confirmed that the VMS style of mineralisation underlies the gossanous ridgeline at the surface.

A total of 16 diamond drillholes, 19 reverse circulation drillholes and 25 trenches have led to the definition of a copper-zinc-gold-silver massive sulphide lode that remains open at depth and along strike to the southeast (see Figure 3 in Appendix C).

The deepest massive sulphide intersection at Al Godeyer is at a vertical depth of 200m where 3.3m true width of massive sulphide was intersected. The average true width of Al Godeyer is 4.5m with the widest intersection of 7.5m found at a depth of 20m.

Drilling spans over 1km of strike length at a drill spacing of approximately 100m or less for areas reporting to Inferred classification.

Summary of Resource Estimate Parameters and Reporting Criteria

In accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition), a summary of the material information used to estimate the Mineral Resource is detailed below (for further information please refer to Table 1 in Appendix F).

Geology and Geological Interpretation

The Al Godeyer VMS deposit is located on the western limb of a regional-scale antiform within the locally known, 'Group 3' volcanoclastic and epiclastic units of the Wadi Bidah Mineral Belt.

The Al Godeyer deposit is expressed at surface by a northwest-southeast trending gossan that forms a slight ridgeline exposed over a length of approximately 1,000 m, with a thickness that typically varies from 2m to 13m. The gossan outcrop strikes approximately west to east for a further 300m in the southern area, and a fault has been interpreted to explain the sudden strike change. Away from this main deposit area, the gossan horizon can be traced discontinuously along strike for an additional 800m.

The ridge has been interpreted by GMCO as the modern-day expression of the original VMS palaeohorizon with varying degrees of remobilised sulphides. The rock package comprises a suite of gossanous ex-massive sulphides, chert breccias, banded ironstones and sulphide-rich epiclastics. The deposit has been subject to varying degrees of the supergene alteration as a result of groundwater interactions.

The deposit comprises three weathering/alteration domains; Oxide, Transitional, and Fresh, within which different resulting facies are described. The oxide and transition domains typically show supergene gold enrichment and copper depletion. The fresh mineralised domain appears to be a dominantly pyritic stratiform semi-massive to massive sulphide body.

The Oxide domain mineralisation at the Al Godeyer is a combination of gossan, saccharoidal silica and haematitic cherts derived from leaching of the semi-massive to massive sulphide deposit. Higher-grade gold mineralisation is typically associated with saccharoidal silica facies, similar to the Hawiah deposit.

In the Transition domain, mineralisation is typically characterised by its dark grey to black colour due to patrial oxidation of the semi-massive to massive sulphide. The base of the transition zone is predominantly defined by the observed sulphide state, where dark grey altered sulphides become yellow un-oxidised massive pyrite at depth. Transition material is analogous to that of the Hawiah deposit albeit without a noticeable enrichment in copper.

Petrographic studies on drillcore from the Fresh domain have shown that the majority of the sulphides have undergone a degree of recrystallisation. This is in contrast to the Hawiah deposit where sulphide textures indicate the massive sulphide ore body is relatively undisturbed. The remobilisation and recrystallisation of sulphides at Al Godeyer are interpreted to have occurred due to regional metamorphism to amphibolite facies followed by retrograde metamorphism to greenschist and local emplacement of granodiorite intrusions. This remobilisation and recrystallisation have resulted in a semi-massive to massive sulphide ore body with between 10-60% pyrite unlike Hawiah which typically contains >80% pyrite. Due to the continuity of the orebody and no evidence of a feeder structure it appears the remobilisation likely occurred locally within the original paleohorizon.

The central portion of the deposit is the thickest and contains mineralisation elevated in gold, copper, zinc and silver, which extends 300m to 400m along strike and extends to at least 200m below surface. The northwest and southeast areas have not been tested below the oxide and transition domains.

Sampling Techniques and Hole Spacing

A total of 16 diamond drillholes (3,007), 19 reverse circulation drillholes (4,167) and 25 trenches (1,022) have been used for this Mineral Resource Estimate. Drillhole spacing for trenching is approximately 100m (Inferred classification). Drilling spacing across all three domains is typically 120m (Indicated classification).

Drillholes were logged for a combination of geological and geotechnical attributes.  The core has been photographed and measured for RQD and core recovery. 

Sampling and Sub-Sampling Techniques

Diamond drilling and surface trenching were used to obtain sample intervals that typically range from 0.3-3m for drilling, and 1-3m for reverse circulation drilling and trenching.

The whole diamond core was split using a core saw by GMCO personnel and then submitted for preparation at ALS Jeddah, during which material was crushed to 2mm, pulverised to ~75µm, with 250g split sent for analysis. The sample preparation procedures used for reverse circulation and trench samples are consistent with the drillcore samples.

The mineralised interval for all sample types was continuously sampled from hangingwall to footwall, which included samples a short distance into the hangingwall and footwall.

Sampling Analysis Method

Samples have undergone analysis at the ALS Laboratory, located in Jeddah., Saudi Arabia.

-      Gold - Fire assay digest with AAS instrumentation

-      Copper, Zinc, Silver: Four acid digest ICP-AES

QAQC

QAQC procedures include:

-      Insertion of CRM standards, certified blanks, and field duplicates at a rate of 15% (5% each)

-      Monthly internal QAQC reporting

-      Regular communication with the laboratory, including periodical lab inspections. 

Estimation Methodology

In summary, for this Mineral Resource Estimate, the following approach has been utilised:

•             modelling of the mineralised lode and weathering domains in 3D, in conjunction with the GMCO geological team;

•             composited the sample data to 1m intervals using length and density (assigned by rock type) weighting;

•             applied high-grade caps per estimation domain from outlier analysis;

•             undertaken geostatistical analyses to determine appropriate interpolation parameters;

•             created a block model that was rotated 49° into the dominant strike direction with parent block dimensions of 12.5m (strike) x 2m (across strike) x 5m (dip), sub-blocked to a fraction of parent cell of ¼ (strike) x ⅛ (across strike) x ¼ (dip);

•             interpolated copper, zinc, gold and silver grades into the block model using ordinary kriging;

•             assigned density values by weathering domain; and

•             visually and statistically validated the estimated block grades relative to the original sample results.

Classification Criteria

The Al Godeyer resource has been classified in the Inferred Mineral Resource classification category, as defined by JORC 2012.

Mineral Resource Statement Parameters and Cut-off Grade

MSA has applied basic economic considerations based on initial metallurgical testwork results and assumptions provided by the Company, similar deposit types located within Saudi Arabia and MSA's experience to determine which portion of the block model has reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction by underground and open-pit mining methods.

To achieve this, the Mineral Resource has been subject to open-pit optimisation studies, based on long-term metal price forecasts (with appropriate uplift to reflect the potential for assessing Mineral Resources) for copper, zinc, gold and silver, to assist in determining the material with potential for underground and open pit mining and reporting above a suitable Resource Net Smelter Return ("NSR") USD/t cut-off value ("Resource NSR").

The Resource NSR cut-off calculation has been determined based on metal price forecasts, initial metallurgical recovery results and assumptions, mining costs, processing costs, general and administrative (G&A) costs, and other NSR factors. The final Resource NSR value calculation is based on average assumptions for the deposit and applied to the block model using the following formulae:

Resource NSR (USD) value for oxide material = (CU_PCT*0) + (ZN_PCT*0) + (AU_PPM*49.4732) + (AG_PPM*0.4868) 

Resource NSR (USD) value for transition and fresh material = (CU_PCT*76.5870) + (ZN_PCT*20.1118) + (AU_PPM*49.4732) + (AG_PPM*0.4868)

The cut-off values determined for reporting the Mineral Resource on a Resource NSR USD/t basis, are given below and were based on the technical and economic inputs presented in Table 3 below:

-      USD23.49/t for open pit material reported from within the oxide mineralisation domain;

-      USD31.23/t for open pit material reported from within the transition and fresh mineralisation domains; and

Table 3 - Summary of key assumptions for conceptual underground stope optimisation, open pit optimisation and cut-off grade calculation

Mining and Metallurgical Methods and Parameters

Initial metallurgical test work has been completed for the Oxide mineralisation at Al Godeyer. This test work comprised comminution, cyanide leach, thickening and filtration test work done at the South African laboratories of Mealgwyn Mineral Services (Johannesburg) and Paterson & Cooke (Cape town). Further test work which including floatation test work on Transition and Fresh Ore has commenced and will be followed by Albion Amenability testwork once the floatation test is complete. Once all testwork is completed, if the metallurgical recovery results change significantly from the current approximated values, this would impact the parameters used to report the Mineral Resource, which, in turn, could also impact the tonnages and grades considered to have 'reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction' for reporting in the Mineral Resource Statement.

Appendix B - Glossary of Technical Terms

Appendix C - Diagrams

The Appendix C diagrams may be accessed via the following link:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/0426V_1-2023-4-2.pdf