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KIBO MINING PLC - Commencement of Definitive Feasibility Study on Imweru Gold Project

Release Date: 14/10/2014 09:01
Code(s): KBO     PDF:  
Wrap Text
Commencement of Definitive Feasibility Study on Imweru Gold Project

Kibo Mining Plc
(Incorporated in Ireland)
Registration Number: 451931
(External registration number: 2011/007371/10)
Share code on the JSE: KBO
Share code on the AIM: KIBO 
ISIN: IE00B61XQX41
("Kibo" or the "Company")

14 October 2014

Commencement of Definitive Feasibility Study on Imweru Gold Project

Highlights

* Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") for Imweru commences;

* Imweru holds sufficient existing JORC compliant gold resources to support production;

* Imweru to enter production in the near to medium term, subject to feasibility study results;  

* Both Kibo's flagship projects now in early development;

Kibo Mining plc ("Kibo" or the "Company") , the mineral exploration and development company focused 
on gold, nickel, coal and uranium projects in Tanzania, is delighted to announce the commencement of a 
Definitive Mining Feasibility Study on the Imweru Gold Project ("Imweru"), Kibo's flagship gold project 
within the Lake Victoria Goldfields region of Tanzania. Imweru contains a total estimated Indicated 
and Inferred gold resource of 550,000 oz. The Imweru DFS will run concurrent to the Rukwa Definitive 
Mining Feasibility Study (which is already underway) and means that both the Company's flagship projects 
will now be in early development.
 
The decision to commence the Imweru DFS follows the conclusion of an internal optimization study of the 
Imweru project. This study indicates that resource data gathered from previous exploration work is 
sufficiently robust to support viable gold production from Imweru in the near to medium term, subject to 
necessary feasibility work and mine planning.

Kibo has appointed Minxcon Projects (www.minxcon.co.za), to conduct the Imweru DFS which is 
estimated to be completed within 12 months. This appointment officially commences the development of 
the project. The Imweru DFS will be delivered in two clear stages, namely:

* Stage1: This stage will comprise the Pre-feasibility Study (PFS), covering conventional pre-feasibility 
  elements associated with the development of a potential gold mine. The PFS will be delivered in two 
  phases to ensure systematic de-risking of the project:
      * Phase 1: Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) - a continuation of the ongoing assessment of 
        the Imweru project, aiming to confirm all technical and financial assumptions thus far and to define 
        future feasibility study deliverables. 
      * Phase 2: PFS, aiming to further refine the results from the PEA, and to confirm the mining and 
        processing method, mine plan, and economics of the future Imweru Mine.
* Stage 2: This stage will comprise the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), which will incorporate all 
  the work done during Stage 1. Stage 2 will aim to finalise the mine design as well as a bankable 
  financial model.


Phase 1, Stage 1 of the DFS, is scheduled for completion by early to mid-December 2014.
Kibo, consistent with its declared strategy, is keen to see commercial development of its projects, and the 
Imweru Gold Project thus far indicates that: 
    * it holds sufficient existing JORC compliant gold resources to support production;
    * there is a high degree of confidence that additional exploration will add to the resource inventory to 
      supplement existing resources and extend prospective mine life;
    * mineralisation appears suitable for traditional processing methodologies and that feed ore would be 
      suitable for a variety of processing options; and
    * significant localised infrastructure exists, recognising the significant gold exploration and mining 
      activities already undertaken in the region.

Louis Coetzee CEO of Kibo Mining said: "Announcing the Imweru DFS is a significant milestone for Kibo. 
The Company will have both its flagship projects in early development and has now officially entered Stage 
3 of its declared three-stage corporate strategy. Stage 1 focussed on the acquisition of projects with good 
value propositions, Stage 2 focussed on the development of the acquired value propositions and Stage 3 will 
focus on the realization of the value that was created during Stage 2. Of particular importance is the fact 
that Rukwa and Imweru were brought to their current status amidst an extremely difficult market in which it 
was and remains extremely difficult to access funding. This was achieved in accordance with the schedule 
which was flagged in 2012 at the time Kibo's new corporate strategy was announced.

Careful planning preceded the decision to commence with the Imweru DFS, to ensure that adequate 
resources are in place to conduct and manage both studies simultaneously. Particular care was taken to 
make sure that implementation of the Imweru study will not in any way affect work on the Rukwa Coal to 
Power Project, which remains the Company's number one priority" 


Kibo Mining - Notes to editors 

Kibo was established in early 2008 to explore and develop mineral deposits in Tanzania. The Company was 
admitted to AIM in London on 27 April 2010 and the AltX in Johannesburg on 30 May 2011. The Company 
is developing the Rukwa mouth-of-mine thermal power station and controls one of Tanzania's largest 
mineral right portfolios, including the - Haneti (nickel, PGE and gold), Morogoro, Lake Victoria (Gold), 
and Pinewood (Coal & Uranium) projects.

Its projects are located both in the established and gold prolific Lake Victoria Goldfields, the emerging 
goldfields of eastern Tanzania and the Mtwara Corridor in southern Tanzania where the Government has 
prioritised infrastructural development attracting significant recent investment in coal and uranium.

Kibo's objective is to build shareholder value sustainably. This will be achieved primarily through 
exploration of its own projects and leveraging the Company's experience in Tanzania to acquire exploration 
and development assets on competitive terms. The focus is on assets that can be moved swiftly up the value 
curve whilst benefitting from strategic relationships with industry leaders with special skills and 
competencies within their chosen fields. 

Updates on the Company's activities are regularly posted on its website www.kibomining.com 

Contacts
Louis Coetzee
+27 (0) 83 2606126
Kibo Mining plc
Chief Executive Officer

Andreas Lianos
+27 (0) 83 4408365
River Group
Corporate and Designated Adviser on JSE

Jon Belliss
Abigail Wayne
+44 (0) 20 3693 1470
Hume Capital Securities Plc
Broker

Oliver Morse
Trinity McIntyre
+61 8 94802500
+61 8 94802500
RFC Ambrian Limited
Nominated Adviser on AIM

Daniel Thšle
Lydia Eades
+44 (0) 203 772 2500
+44 (0) 203 772 2500
 Bell Pottinger
Investor and Media Relations


Technical data

Table 1 below presents a table showing the resource estimates in the JORC Code resource categories at the 
base case economic cut-off grade for the reporting of the resource of 0.4 g/t Au for the Imweru Project. The 
table is taken from the JORC-compliant Report by Tetra Tech EBA.
Table 1


Area         Material                     Cut-off   Specific   Metric                      Gold Grade   Contained Gold 
             Type       Classification     (g/t)    Gravity    Tonnes (t)    Short Tons      (g/t)       Ounces (troy)

Central     Laterite     Indicated         0.40      2.50       131,000       144,000        1.785          8,000
            Saprolite    Indicated         0.40      2.50       706,000       778,000        1.387         32,000
            Bedrock      Indicated         0.40      2.89     1,895,000     2,089,000        1.043         64,000
            Total        Indicated         0.40      2.77     2,732,000     3,012,000        1.168        103,000

Central     Laterite     Inferred          0.40      2.50       685,000       755,000        1.317         29,000
            Saprolite    Inferred          0.40      2.50     1,047,000     1,154,000        1.040         35,000
            Bedrock      Inferred          0.40      2.89     7,838,000     8,640,000        1.029        259,000
            Total        Inferred          0.40      2.82     9,569,000    10,548,000        1.051        323,000

East        Total        Inferred          0.40      2.70     2,653,000     2,925,000        1.449        124,000


Imweru Property Total    Indicated         0.40      2.77     2,732,000     3,012,000        1.168        103,000
                         Inferred          0.40      2.79    12,222,000    13,473,000        1.137        447,000
                         Combined 
                         (inf+ind)         0.40      2.79    14,954,000    16,485,000        1.143        550,000

* Total estimates are rounded, based on composites capped at 26 g/t gold at Imweru Central and 25 g/t at Imweru East, the cut-off grade is based 
  on a gold price of US$1,200 and a 90% metallurgical recovery is assumed in calculation of cut-off grade. A base case of 0.40 g/t has been 
  selected.
** Classification of Mineral Resources incorporates the terms and definitions from the Australian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, 
   Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) published by the Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC)

Pursuant to the terms of an inherited agreement with Barrick East Africa Exploration LTD (BEAL), Kibo 
currently has an effective 90% interest in the Imweru Project, with Barrick having a 10% carried interest up 
to a decision to mine at which point they have to contribute or be diluted to a 2% net smelter royalty. BEAL 
also has a first right of refusal pursuant to which they can buy the 90% interest in the project at an agreed 
market related value after completion of a Bankable Feasibility Study. Kibo remains the operator of the 
project. 


Kibo's 90% attributable interest in the Imweru Mineral Resources are shown in Table 2 below 
Table 2


Area         Material                     Cut-off      Metric      Gold Grade   Contained Gold   % Gold Ounces      Total Gold Ounces
             Type       Classification     (g/t)       Tonnes (t)     (g/t)     Ounces (troy)     attributable       attributable
                                                                                                  to Kibo             to Kibo
Central      Total        Indicated        0.40        2,732,000     1.168       103,000             90%               92,700
             Total        Inferred         0.40        9,569,000     1.051       323,000             90%              290,700
East         Total        Inferred         0.40        2,653,000     1.449       124,000             90%              111,600


Imweru Property 
Total                     Indicated        0.40        2,732,000     1.168       103,000             90%               92,700
                          Inferred         0.40       12,222,000     1.137       447,000             90%              402,300
                          Combined 
                          (inf+ind)        0.40       14,954,000     1.143       550,000             90%              495,000

Review by Qualified Person

Information in this announcement that relates to the Imweru mineral resources is taken from the report titled 
"Resource Update for the Imweru Property Geita Region Northern, Tanzania, JORC Competent Persons 
Report" dated February 17th 2014 (the "Report"). The Report states a JORC-compliant resource estimate 
and was prepared for Kibo Mining plc by James Barr P.Geo. and Darryn Hitchcock P.Geo., Senior 
Geologist and Geologist respectively, with TetraTech EBA Ltd. Both Mr. Barr and Mr. Hitchcock are 
registered as Certified Professional Geologists with Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists 
of British Columbia, a recognised professional organisation. Mr Barr as principal author responsible for the 
Report has experience in the evaluation and reporting of Archaean Gold projects and is a "Qualified Person" 
for reporting gold resources to the JORC Standard. He consents to the inclusion in this document of the 
matters based on his information in the form and context in which they appears. The information has also 
been reviewed by Noel O'Keeffe, P.Geo, who is a Member of the Institute of Geologists of Ireland. Noel 
O'Keeffe is Exploration Director of Kibo. Noel O'Keeffe has more than five years' relevant experience in 
the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration. 

Johannesburg
14 October 2014
Corporate and Designated Adviser
River Group



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