KEFI Gold and Copper Plc announced the discovery of a third copper-gold-zinc-silver deposit in the broader Hawiah district by the Company's Gold & Minerals Ltd. joint venture. VMS Discovery at Abu Salal: The Abu Salal VMS deposit is located 50km south of Hawiah in the central portion of the Wadi Bidah Mineral Belt, straddling GMCO's Abu Salal North and South Exploration Licences. Scout drilling has intercepted massive and semi-massive sulphide mineralisation beneath the 2,600m discontinuously-outcropping, north-south trending gossan horizon, which remains open at depth, along strike and down plunge.

Final assay results have been received from the first-pass 18-hole (2,009m) programme designed to follow-up positive trenching and geophysical results completed in 2022. This programme represents the first time that drilling has ever taken place at Abu Salal. Intersections in the fresh sulphide domain have confirmed copper-zinc-gold-silver mineralisation with multiple intercepts demonstrating grade intervals comparable to the Hawiah and Al Godeyer VMS deposits.

The initial interpretation is that the mineralisation represents the fringe environment of a VMS system, with alteration minerals, typically associated within the footwall/hangingwall environments of VMS deposits not observed. Sulphides are typically fine grained, dominantly pyrite with lesser chalcopyrite and sphalerite. These interpretations are important for guiding the next stages of exploration.

The westerly dipping sulphide mineralisation has a true width of up to 11m and is hosted in a meta-volcanic to sedimentary back-arc environment rock package analogous to the geology of the wider Wadi Bidah.   Highlights from the scout drilling programme include: ASD_004: 11.2m at 0.94% copper, 1.03% zinc, 0.33g/t gold and 14.96g/t silver from 27.9m;ASD_008: 7.0m at 0.91% copper, 0.4% zinc, 4.0g/t silver from 36.0m; and ASD_009: 7.1m at 0.6% copper, 1.0% zinc, 0.2g/t gold and 10.9g/t silver from 72.0m. The moderate dip of the deposit indicates that intersected intervals are a good approximation of the true width of mineralisation.

The targeting of this Abu Salal drilling programme was guided by a detailed understanding of the geological genesis of the region developed over the past five years. The success of this drilling is a proof of concept for the exploration of these VMS targets throughout the Wadi Bidah. The scout drilling at Abu Salal has allowed the team to gain insights into the geometry of the mineralised horizon as well as the structural controls on mineralisation.

At this stage, drilling has only tested to a maximum vertical depth of 80m and on limited portions of the full strike. Follow-up exploration activities in 2024 will focus on drill testing deeper portions of the system to further assess grade and geological continuity, guided by deeper penetrating geophysics and geological modelling. The upcoming programme will also look to extend the known mineralisation down plunge and along strike.