KEFI Minerals making progress at Hawiah after two-year stand-down

Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia-focussed gold exploration and development company KEFI Minerals updated the market on the exploration underway at its Hawiah Exploration Licence in Saudi Arabia on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said Hawiah was located in the country’s Wadi Bidah Mineral District, which is a 120-kilometre-long copper-gold-zinc volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) belt where more than 24 VMS occurrences were defined by the US Geological Survey and French Geological Survey over a number of years of research.

It said its joint venture held a “dominant position” on that ground.

The company said field work had commenced with a “modest cost but potentially high-impact” induced polarisation and resistivity (IP/Rho) geophysical survey, which was aimed at better defining the large VMS target for drilling.

It said that survey followed the previous self-potential geophysical survey, which identified two strong anomalies under the main six kilometre-long gossan.

Modelling of those geophysical survey results should provide a “robust interpretation” of the geometry of any possible sulphide mineralisation, allowing for a more accurate drill design and targeting.

A follow-up trenching programme was planned to start following completion of that geophysical survey.

The firm said the trenching would enable targeted collection of samples from the area above the second untested eastern self-potential anomaly, allowing a geochemical signature to be defined to further refine drill targeting within the apparently large structure.

Based on refined drilling targets flowing from the work programme, an initial 2,500 metre diamond scout drilling programme was planned to commence during the third quarter, the board added.

It said the exploration programme marked the resumption of exploration at Hawiah after two years, following the resolution of local access issues, regulatory overhauls and subsequent licence renewal.

KEFI is the operating partner of Gold & Minerals - the joint venture company in which the company's shareholding is 40%.

The other 60% is owned by the company's long-standing partner, Saudi conglomerate ARTAR, with each party funding its share of the work programme on a pro rata basis.

“We are pleased that exploration is progressing again at Hawiah in Saudi Arabia and is planned to culminate in drilling this exciting prospect in the third quarter of 2019,” said KEFI chairman Harry Anagnostaras-Adams.

"Hawiah has all the hallmarks of a significant copper-gold-zinc VMS deposit, which are typically quite valuable.”

Anagnostaras-Adams said the firm’s targeted exploration programme had been steadily working towards drilling Hawiah, with the team said to be confident that the odds of making a significant discovery were “relatively high”.

“We look forward to providing further updates as this exploration programme progresses alongside our flagship Tulu Kapi Gold Project in Ethiopia.”