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KEFI Minerals sells Artvin project in northeastern Turkey

Published: 16:32 18 Aug 2011 AEST

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Gold and copper firm KEFI Minerals (LON:KEFI) has continued its business strategy and sold its Artvin project in northeastern Turkey, it emerged this morning.

The project, which consists of 15 exploration licences covering 254 sq km, was sold to a Turkish mining company via the sale of KEFI's subsidiary - Kackar Madencilik San. Tic. Ltd.

KEFI will receive an initial US$100,000 and a 1 percent net smelter royalty on all future mineral production from the licences.

Jeff Rayner, managing director, said: "This sale marks the latest step in our strategy and follows on from the earlier sale in June of the company's Derinin Tepe (also known as Kizilcukur), Muratdag and Yatik West projects in western Turkey to Ariana Resources.

"Our policy has always been to continually rapidly assess and, where appropriate, turnover projects in our exploration portfolio and as such we believe our cost-efficient approach increases the probability that KEFI Minerals will make a major gold and/or copper discovery.

"We continue to evaluate opportunities in Turkey and the region. Additionally, KEFI Minerals recently began exploring our Selib North project which is the first exploration licence we have been granted in Saudi Arabia. We are also evaluating the Tiouit gold-copper mine in Morocco."

Last month the firm was granted an exclusivity period over the Tiouit gold-copper mine and a tailings project in Morocco to decide if it wants to enter a joint venture agreement.

KEFI paid Moroccan company Roche Invest SARL US$250,000 for five months of exclusivity over Tiouit and an associated tailings retreatment project.

During the period, KEFI will conduct a definitive feasibility study to evaluate the retreatment of gold and silver and initiate a pre-feasibility study on restarting underground mining operations.

Depending on the outcome of the studies, KEFI will decide whether to enter a joint venture agreement with Roche over either or both projects.

Around one million tonnes have been mined historically at Tiout with an average recovered grade of 7.9 grammes per tonne (g/t) gold, 67g/t silver and 0.45 percent copper. Previous drilling at the Tiouit mine intersected numerous high grade gold veins, which have not been followed up or fully evaluated.

Some 720,000 tonnes of tailings were generated by previous mining operations and stored in a number of tailings dams at surface.

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