Commencement Of Drilling

AIM: KEFI 17th March 2008

                               KEFI Minerals Plc                               

                      ("KEFI Minerals" or the "Company")                       

               COMMENCEMENT OF DRILLING AT DERININ TEPE PROJECT                

KEFI Minerals, the AIM quoted gold and copper exploration Company with projects
in Turkey, is pleased to announce that the Company's second drilling program
has commenced at the 100%-owned Derinin Tepe Prospect in the highly prospective
Balikesir Province in western Turkey.

Six diamond drill holes totalling 1,000m have been planned to test the
continuity of gold mineralisation at approximately 100m below surface over a
600m strike length of the known low-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver veins.

KEFI Minerals' initial diamond drilling at Derinin Tepe during 2007 intersected
three to five metre widths of backfilled ancient workings at approximately 50m
below surface in the first three of the nine holes drilled. These workings
extend for 200m along the northern end of the Western Vein.

The ancient miners had limited extraction processes and it is likely that the
ore mined was high grade. There is a possibility of this potential high grade
zone to extend at depth below the old workings. Previously reported assays from
channel-chip sampling and grab sampling undertaken by KEFI Minerals had
returned up to 152g/t gold and 1,320g/t silver from outcropping veins.

Drill Intercepts within the backfill material returned up to 3.1m at 2.1g/t
gold and 118g/t silver. A number of significant intercepts were returned from
the remaining six holes, including 3.6m at 3.3g/t gold and 90g/t silver, 1m at
3.3g/t gold and 327g/t silver, and 1m at 2.0g/t Au and 72g/t silver.

KEFI Minerals' Managing Director, Jeff Rayner, commented: "The commencement of
this important drilling program at Derinin Tepe, following the highly
encouraging drill results from the initial drilling program last year, is the
first step in what should be an exciting and rewarding year of exploration
activity for KEFI Minerals.

"The previously reported drill results from Derinin Tepe strengthen our belief
that the identified low-sulphidation epithermal vein system has the potential
to host a high-grade gold-silver resource, amenable to mining by open-pit or
underground methods.

"This is an exciting drilling programme and we look forward to keeping
shareholders informed of the continued progress over the next few months."

References in this announcement to exploration results and potential have been
approved for release by Mr Malcolm Stallman, B.App.Sc.Mr Stallmanis 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.

Enquiries

KEFI Minerals plc           WH Ireland Limited  Bishopsgate Communications  
                                                                            
Jeffrey Rayner              Laurie Beevers      Maxine Barnes               
                                                                            
                            Katy Mitchell       Nick Rome                   
                                                                            
[phone]           [phone]    [phone]            
                                                                            
www.kefi-minerals.com                                                       

Derinin Tepe Project Background

The Derinin Tepe Project consists of a single Exploration Licence of 1,231
hectares in the Balikesir Province, western Turkey. Initial exploration by KEFI
Minerals revealed extensive ancient workings developed on low-sulphidation
epithermal gold-silver veins. Rock-chip samples from the veins returned up to
152g/t gold & 1,320g/t silver and channel samples returned maxima of 2m at 9.6g
/t gold, 1m at 7.2g/t gold and 6m at 3.3g/t gold. Trenching across the vein
zones revealed large back-filled stopes from historical mining. Structural
mapping shows that the areas of maximum vein widths are a result of
intersecting vein structures and where the veins change strike direction to
produce dilational zones. The ancient workings are coincident with these zones.

First-phase diamond drilling, targeting 50m vertically below the surface
expression of the veins, was completed in July 2007. The initial three holes
were drilled beneath the largest old workings at the northwest end of Western
Vein and each hole is interpreted to have intersected ancient workings at
depth. A maximum intercept of 3.6m at 3.3g/t Au and 90g/t Ag was returned from
in-situ vein material in hole KDTD004.

Notes to Editors:

KEFI Minerals was formed on 24 October 2006 for the purposes of holding EMED
Mining's exploration interests in Turkey and Bulgaria with a view to creating
shareholder value through the discovery and exploitation of gold and copper
deposits.

In November 2006, KEFI Minerals completed the acquisition of EMED Mining's
Turkish and Bulgarian exploration interests through the acquisition of EMED
Mining's subsidiary Mediterranean Minerals (Bulgaria) EOOD. In addition, KEFI
Minerals acquired from EMED Mining a database of mining information relating to
Turkey.

KEFI Minerals commenced trading on AIM on 18 December 2006, following the
successful placing of 46,666,667 shares at 3p to raise £1.4 million.

In Turkey, KEFI Minerals has eight 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.
   
 3. 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.
   
 4. Hasancelebi, in central Turkey, is prospective for high-sulphidation
    epithermal gold mineralisation and Iron-Oxide Copper-Gold ("IOCG")
    mineralisation.
   
 5. At Karalar, in Central Anatolia, highly anomalous gold in stream sediments
    have been identified in an area of historic base metal mines.
   
 6. Muratdag, in the Western Anatolia Region, is prospective for Carlin-style
    epithermal gold mineralisation.
   
 7. Meyvali, in the Western Anatolia Region, is prospective for epithermal and
    skarn related mineralisation.
   
 8. At Yatik, in the Western Anatolia Region, low-sulphidation epithermal
    quartz veins with gold and silver mineralisation have been identified.
   
KEFI Minerals also has an extensive exploration database which contains
information about approximately 100 further prospective sites in Turkey. This
database provides the Company with a competitive advantage to identify
prospective areas for project generation in Turkey. Monitoring of the
exploration licence status of geologically prospective areas will be carried
out on an ongoing basis so that KEFI Minerals can acquire further exploration
opportunities as soon as they become available.

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 exploring Turkey and Bulgaria.

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-