Commencement Of Drilling At Bakir Tepe Project

AIM: KEFI 6 January 2010 KEFI Minerals Plc ("KEFI Minerals" or the "Company") COMMENCEMENT OF DRILLING AT BAKIR TEPE PROJECT, TURKEY KEFI Minerals, the AIM-quoted gold and copper exploration company with projects in Turkey and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is pleased to announce that a drilling programme has commenced at the Bakir Tepe Project in southwest Turkey with the aim of testing a large geophysical anomaly that is interpreted to potentially be related to a Cyprus-style copper-gold volcanic-hosted massive sulphide ("VHMS") deposit. The Bakir Tepe Project is a joint venture with Centerra Gold Inc. Centerra has the right to earn a 51% interest in the project upon contributing US$750,000 to the joint venture over two years with a minimum expenditure of US$350,000 in the first year. KEFI Minerals is the manager of the joint venture. The 900m drilling programme is planned to comprise three diamond drillholes targeting a strong induced polarisation ("IP") chargeability anomaly down dip of surficial mineralisation that has returned up to 3.6% copper, 4.6g/t gold, and 67g/t silver in rock chip samples. The Bakir Tepe Project is located in the Burdur Province of southwestern Turkey and comprises seven tenements, which cover approximately 78km2 within the Lycian Ophiolite Belt and recent work carried out by KEFI Minerals has identified the potential for Cyprus-style copper-gold VHMS deposits. KEFI Minerals' Managing Director, Jeff Rayner, commented: "The commencement of diamond drilling at the Bakir Tepe Project represents the culmination of months of exploration activity by KEFI Minerals personnel, which has resulted in the identification of a number of high priority drill targets. We are encouraged by our initial activity and look forward to expanding our Bakir Tepe development in conjunction with our JV partner Centerra. We will update shareholders on our progress throughout 2010." Enquiries KEFI Minerals WH Ireland Fox-Davies Bishopsgate Communications Capital Limited Jeffrey Rayner Katy Mitchell James Hehn Nick Rome +90 533 928 19 13 +44 161 832 2174 +44 20 7936 5232 +44 20 7562 3350 www.kefi-minerals.com References in this announcement to exploration results and potential have been approved for release by Mr Malcolm Stallman, B.App.Sc. Mr Stallman is a geologist and has more than 20 years' relevant experience in the field of activity concerned. He is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and has consented to the inclusion of the material in the form and context in which it appears. About KEFI Minerals KEFI Minerals commenced trading on AIM in December 2006 and was formed with the aim of creating shareholder value through the discovery and exploitation of gold and copper deposits. In Turkey, KEFI Minerals currently has the following exploration projects: 1. At Derinin Tepe in the Western Anatolia Region, low-sulphidation epithermal quartz veins have been identified with gold and silver mineralisation. 2. At Artvin, in northeastern Turkey, extensive hydrothermal alteration and gold and base metal mineralisation have been recognised in the project area, as well as historical workings indicating potential for economic mineralisation. Artvin is a joint venture operated by KEFI Minerals and funded by Centerra Gold Inc, who has the right to earn up to 70% interest in the property by spending USD$6 million. 3. Bakir Tepe, in southwestern Turkey, is prospective for copper-gold VHMS polymetallic deposits. High-grade gold and copper crop out on the peripheries of a shallowly buried geophysical chargeability anomaly. 4. At Yatik, in the Western Anatolia Region, low-sulphidation epithermal quartz veins with gold and silver mineralisation have been identified. 5. At Gumushane in eastern Turkey, areas of extensive hydrothermal alteration have been recognised in the project area, as well as coincident areas of interest identified through interpretation of Aster data. 6. Hasancelebi, in central Turkey, is prospective for high-sulphidation epithermal gold mineralisation and Iron-Oxide Copper-Gold ("IOCG") mineralisation. 7. Muratdag, in the Western Anatolia Region, is prospective for Carlin-style epithermal gold mineralisation. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KEFI Minerals has a minerals exploration joint venture with leading Saudi construction and investment group Abdul Rahman Saad Al-Rashid & Sons Company Limited ("ARTAR"). KEFI Minerals is the operating partner with a 40% interest and the joint venture's primary target is the discovery and development of a >1 million ounce gold deposit in the under explored Precambrian Shield in Saudi Arabia. EMED Mining has agreed to provide technical and administrative systems and personnel to KEFI Minerals on a cost-recovery basis, thus enabling KEFI Minerals to reduce overheads and spend more on exploration. KEFI Minerals' Board of Directors is comprised of Mr. Harry Anagnostaras-Adams (Chairman), Mr. Jeffrey Rayner (Managing Director), Professor Ian Plimer (Deputy Chairman) and John Leach (Finance Director). Further information on KEFI Minerals is available at www.kefi-minerals.com and the Company's AIM code is "KEFI". -Ends-
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