Kibo Energy PLC

Business and Financial Review • Oct 14, 2014

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RNS Number : 1715U

Kibo Mining Plc

14 October 2014

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 studyof the Imweru project. This studyindicates 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:

ü 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.

ü 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 Adviser 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 Thöle 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 Type	Classification	Cut- off (g/t)	Specific Gravity	Metric Tonnes (t)	Short Tons	Gold Grade (g/t)	Contained Gold 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	0.4	2.77	2,732,000	3,012,000	1.168	103,000
Inferred	0.4	2.79	12,222,000	13,473,000	1.137	447,000
Combined (inf+ind)	0.4	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 Centraland 25 g/t at Imweru East, the cut-off grade isbased on a gold price of US$1,200 and a 90% metallurgical recovery is assumed in calculation of cut-offgrade. A base case of 0.40 g/thas been selected.

** Classification of MineralResources incorporates the terms and definitions from the Australian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) published bythe 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 Type	Classification	Cut- off (g/t)	Metric Tonnes (t)	Gold Grade (g/t)	Contained Gold Ounces (troy)	% Gold Ounces attributable to Kibo	Total Gold Ounces attributable 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	0.4	2,732,000	1.168	103,000	90%	92,700
Inferred	0.4	12,222,000	1.137	447,000	90%	402,300
Combined (inf+ind)	0.4	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

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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