KEFI Minerals places 100m shares to fund Tulu Kapi project after raising £3m

Despite having conditionally raised £3m through a placing of 120m new ordinary shares of 1.7p each, AIM-listed gold exploration and development firm KEFI Minerals isn't quite done just yet.

At an issue price of 2.5p per share, KEFI's placing was offered to existing and new shareholders and was ran through Brandon Hill Capital, Cantor Fitzgerald Europe and RFC Ambrian.

KEFI now intends to issue a further 100m new ordinary shares of 1.7p in order to settle outstanding invoices and debt of £1.21m and enable the "procedural and documentary closing" of the $260m project financing for its Tulu Kapi Gold Project.

As announced on Tuesday, KEFI reminded investors it has assembled the proposed full project funding consortium and, for the project to proceed, the firm was now relying on closing out remaining Ethiopian Government processes and approvals.

Harry Adams, chairman of KEFI Minerals, said, "It is planned that the financing of the Tulu Kapi Gold Project will be entirely at the project level, with KEFI retaining a beneficial ownership interest in the order of 54% and the balance being held by the Ethiopian Government and other Ethiopian investors."

"The placing and subscription we have announced today is expected to provide KEFI with the funds to enable it to close the Tulu Kapi Project financing, subject to approvals by all stakeholders and formal documentation," he added.

Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their 'buy' rating on KEFI on Friday, but cut the firm's target price to 15p, from 22p.

As of 1240 BST, KEFI shares had tumbled 23.87% to 2.70p.