Hummingbird plans further exploration on bumper reserve increase
Gold miner () has announced a material increase in its gold reserve and resource estimates at its three west African assets, with reserves almost quadrupling to 4.13m ounces and resources climbing 8% to 7.28m ounces.
The increase was driven by the addition of its Dugbe asset in Liberia – in which it golds a 51% controlling interest - which brought a maiden reserve of 2.76m ounces and resources of 4.0m ounces on the back of joint venture partner TSX-listed Pasofino Gold’s feasibility study published earlier this month.
The study suggests that the project has a an estimated 14-year life of mine and an all-in sustaining cost profile of US$1,005/oz. So far only six of the probable 100 targets in the 2,559km2 exploration license area have been explored, which the company says suggests material upside there.
Drilling at Kouroussa in Guinea also brought a significant uplift, with reserves up 58% to 0.647m ounces and at higher grades than previously reported. Construction works are said to be advancing rapidly, and the company is targeting first production by the end of Q2 23.
It’s also currently evaluating further exploration of the prospect after increasing reserves at the key deposit, Koekeo, by 33% to 0.137m ounces and establishing a maiden reserve of 0.101m ounces at its second key deposit , Kinkine. It hopes the development will help it achieve its strategic target of a 10-year mine life across Kouroussa.
The reserve and resource increase at its third project, Yanfolila in Mali, was more muted after depletions, but Hummingbird is also planning further drilling campaigns at the producing mine which it hopes will extend its life from the current 7 years based on a 0.1m ounce annual production profile.
The company is working on improving productivity at Yanfolila having completed the commissioning of additional excavators and processing plant maintenance works earlier this year. It expects to produce 87-97 thousand ounces of gold in FY22 at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,300 to $1,450 an ounce.
Dan Betts, CEO, commented: "Two years ago, we set a key Company target to increase our overall Company Reserves profile to provide meaningful LOM extensions at our assets.
"With today's results, and a large body of work now complete by our geology teams, the next steps include the further analysis of our extensive geological base and associated mine plans, as well as the next phase of our exploration campaigns in Mali and Guinea."
Hummingbird is hosting a live webinar with Vox on Tuesday 5th July, and invites investors to submit questions in advance to kperez@voxmarkets.co.uk. Investors can register for the event via this link.
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