KEFI Gold and Copper has received local support for the continued development of its Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia, following a serious security incident in which one of its employees was sadly killed.
It said its thoughts remained with his family and everyone affected.
In an update, the AIM-listed company said all employees affected by the incident had been accounted for, with no further deaths or injuries, and that the colleague who died had been laid to rest.
KEFI said it would not resume development until it had completed a full investigation and put appropriate measures in place to provide a safe and secure environment for its staff and the surrounding communities.
Since the incident, its management has held consultations with community representatives, Ethiopian and regional government leaders and other stakeholders, who it said had reaffirmed the strategic importance of the project and their support for its careful approach to resuming work.
The company added that its principal contractors and lenders remained supportive, with its lead design and construction contractor, Lycopodium, assessing the situation on the ground alongside the wider project team.
It also said it had received renewed and increased interest from Ethiopian institutions and family offices in local, subsidiary-level financing that would not dilute KEFI shareholders, providing additional funding flexibility if needed.
KEFI shares were 5% higher at the time of writing after losing around half of their value as news of the incident broke earlier this week.
Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, Executive Chairman of KEFI Gold and Copper, commented: “Our hearts go out to our deceased employee’s family and the families of the other people killed in the invasion and destruction of our security force’s bush camp and the Company’s old exploration camp.
“The Company as a whole is also now hugely relieved that all our other employees have now been accounted for.
“I and a number of colleagues travelled to Ethiopia immediately upon hearing of the incident to be on the ground with our local team and to engage directly with the Government, community representatives and our other stakeholders to work carefully and sensitively through the issues.
“The Government has committed to do whatever it can to overcome this serious setback. The Company will further strengthen and expedite the momentum towards the Ethiopianisation of the Project at all levels: community participation, alliancing between the foreign industry-specialist contractors and strong locals, including contractors entering the industry and through local participation in the funding syndicate.”