KEFI Gold and Copper PLC announced an upgrade of the Hawiah copper/gold project in Saudi Arabia.
Hawiah is a member of the KEFI-operated joint venture Gold and Minerals Company Limited.
Now, the resource is 29mln tons at 0.89% copper and 0.94% zinc, 0.67g per tonne of gold, and 10.1g silver. This represents an increase of 4.1mln tones.
The total contained metal includes 258,000 tonnes copper, 272,000 tonnes zinc, 620,000 ounces gold, and 9.4mln silver ounces.
The drilling program that will begin in the second quarter 2023 is designed to extend the planned mine life. It will increase the resource and convert more inferred resources into the appropriate category.
“The revised mineral resource estimate for Hawiah copper/gold project met our key objectives: a increase in tonnage of approximately 16% plus a higher overall metal content due to overall better grades plus an increase in the Indicated Resources category plus the increased open pittable component,” stated Harry Anagnostaras Adams, executive chairman of KEFI.
“The preliminary feasibility study for Hawiah is moving along well. Additional drilling is planned during 2023 to increase and upgrade the resource. KEFI now has three projects in development that are ready for launch within the next few years. These include the Tulu Kapi project in Ethiopia, which is moving towards full project launch due to improvements in Ethiopia’s working environment over the past 12 months, and the Hawiah copper/gold project in Saudi Arabia.