Kefi Minerals upbeat on Saudi results

Saudi Arabia-focused Kefi Minerals fell five per cent when it opened on Tuesday after drilling results disappointed some investors.

The firm reported 35 diamond drill holes had been completed at its Jibal Qutman licence, where it tested the shallow open cut potential of the gold mineralisation.

It said five holes were to be re-drilled due to low drill core recoveries - as low as 10% over several metres - in the mineralised zones.

"It is observed from trench mapping that higher gold grades are associated with the highly fractured parts of the quartz veins, which are often lost in the drilling process, and that there is supergene enrichment," the statement said.

A dyke unit with disseminated and fractures filled with pyrite has been intersected in the Western and Main Vein zones, with low grade of 0.3 to 1.0g/t of gold in up to 30m widths.

This was an unexpected style of mineralisation and different from quartz vein style, the company said.

Managing Director Jeff Rayner said drill results from Jibal Qutman continued to support high grade gold in quartz veins, surrounded by lower grade quartz stringer zone and in separate zones of stacked flat lying veins in the west and south of the prospsect.

MM