Inaugural flight marks milestone in major civil engineering project to benefit
both the local community and the growing gold mining business
OSLO, 3 February 2022: Akobo Minerals (Euronext Oslo - "AKOBO"), the
Scandinavian-based Ethiopian gold exploration and mining company, has announced
details of the first ever flight to land at a new airstrip which it has funded
and built in Dima. The Super King Air 350 twin-turboprop aircraft carried
representatives from Akobo Minerals and the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority
on the inaugural flight and is a seminal moment in the ongoing development of
local business and community activities.
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Built over the course of just 70 days for design, approval and construction, the
1100-metre-long airstrip lies only a couple of kilometres from Akobo Minerals'
mining operation and can accommodate aircraft carrying up to 40 passengers. It
will allow the company to bring in goods and personnel more effectively, allow
for any medical evacuation and, not least, provide a secure transportation route
of gold to Addis Ababa prior to onward distribution to international buyers once
gold production commences in a few months. Until now, the nearest airstrip has
been located in Jima, at least a six-hour journey by road.
Jørgen Evjen, CEO of Akobo Minerals, stated: "The opening of our own airstrip is
an important landmark for the company and is a clear indication of our
capabilities when it comes to major engineering projects as we seek build out
our new mining operation.
"The airstrip is also a significant part of our ongoing ESG [environment, social
and governance] program as it will also mean access for the local community to
important services that the region has never seen before - from a reduction in
travel times to access to deliveries of goods and emergency medical assistance.
I am sure that the landing of this aircraft will be remembered for many years to
come as it marks a huge milestone for the opportunities now available to the
local population."
Best regards,
Jørgen Evjen
CEO Akobo Minerals AB and Etno Mining P.l.c
Mob NO: +47 92 80 40 14
Mob ET: +251 944 76 2428
email: jorgen@akobominerals.com
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Background on Akobo Minerals' ESG program
Akobo Minerals is building the capacity of its corporate and operations team to
place ESG issues at the heart of the development of its gold project in
Ethiopia.
The Akobo Minerals mining licence includes a number of ESG obligations that it
has negotiated or is pursuing, including a commitment to support sustainable
development initiatives in the Dima woreda (district), located in the Gambella
region.
Akobo Minerals, as an ethical exploration company is seeking to turn the complex
ESG challenge into an opportunity. At the beginning of 2021, Akobo Minerals
embarked on a partnership with Sazani Associates (Sazani), a UK-based not-for
-profit organisation specialising in natural resource governance, to undertake a
rapid appraisal of natural resources and their use in the project area by the
local community. Sazani prepared a sustainable natural resource management plan
(SNRMP). This will complement mitigation of any negative and positive impacts
determined through an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), the
company is undertaking.
The SNRMP is being designed as a parallel self-sustaining initiative to the
development of its gold mining project and will incorporate the following:
· Capacity building in environmental and social safeguarding and technical
capacities of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activity, as well as
improved regulation;
· Alternative sustainable livelihood opportunities that support food security
and technical vocations; and
· A payment for ecosystem services scheme, to generate income, from carbon
credits, for our host communities, through rehabilitation and conservation of
degraded areas.
These are in addition to a series of philanthropic initiatives and
infrastructure upgrading undertaken by Akobo to date.
About Akobo Minerals
Akobo Minerals, is a Norway-based gold exploration company, currently with
ongoing exploration and small-scale mine development in the Gambela region and
Dima Woreda, southwest Ethiopia. The operations were established in 2009 by
people with long experience from the public mining sector in Ethiopia and from
the Norwegian oil service industry. Akobo Minerals holds a mining licence and an
exploration license over key targets in the area. Economic mineralisation was
discovered and the company is engaged in mining studies to advance the project
to production, alongside exploration core drilling. Akobo Minerals is
transforming its organisation to support an increased pace of core drilling. At
both the key targets Segele and Joru the company has so far released
exceptionally high-grade gold results including the Segele deposit with an
Inferred Mineral Resource of 78ktons at 20.9g/t.?A scoping study for Segele
includes an up-front capital expenditure of USD $8m and all-in sustaining cost
of USD $243 per ounce of gold produced. Core-drilling and trenching at Joru have
intersected both high-grade gold zones and large wide zones near surface. The
company has an excellent partnership with national authorities and places ESG at
the heart of its activities - a ground-breaking community program is being
planned.
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