GCIHummingbird Resources announces new gold discovery at Yanfolila Mine
(HUM ) has discovered new ounces of gold in its 2020 exploration programme of the Yanfolila Mine in Mali.
The African-focused gold ore mining company told investors that it had now achieved its objective to both discover new ounces that could form future extensions to the mine life at Yanfolila whilst increasing confidence in its known mineral deposits during the programme.
The $5m 2020 exploration programme focused on three key areas;
- to add additional resources to show the ability to extend the mine life and test new greenfield targets
- to improve confidence in Hummingbird’s mineral inventory by infill drilling within the pit shells
- to reorganise the group’s MRE database to include increased JORC reporting.
The group has now successfully met these all objectives to date, has discovered a total of 255,600 ounces of gold during the 2020 exploration programme across three key deposits.
Drilling at Sanioumale East (“SE”) revealed a bigger than previously known deposit which remains open along strike and at depth. SE revealed the largest increase with 141,900 oz of gold discovered, and the JORC mineral resource estimate MRE is now 204,000 oz of gold.
The company reported a moderate increase in gold ounces at Sanioumale West (“SW”), where 26,200 oz of gold was discovered. The SW JORC MRE now stands at a total of 164,200 oz of gold, drilling ‘increased confidence and understanding ahead of future mining.’
At Komana East (“KE”), where 87,500 oz of gold was discovered and the KE JORC MRE now stands at 560,600 oz of gold, drilling has shown evidence that KE remains open at depth which the company highlighted has added ‘further confidence to KE underground plans.’
The group reported that the total project mineral resources - both indicated and inferred - as at 31 December 2020 stands at 1,929,000 oz of gold (1,475,000 oz Indicated and 454,000 oz Inferred) compared with 2,003,000 oz of gold in the MRE published in March 2019.
Hummingbird said the updated MRE reflects 12 months of exploration. It added that it has completed a consolidation of the historical MRE tables ‘to improve and simplify reporting.’
The company noted that its 2020 SW exploration programme saw the Company updating its deposit geological model based on new drilling data and logging, thereby resulting in some of the Gold Fields Limited historical resources being removed from the final 2020 MRE.
The 2020 MRE will be used to update the Reserve Statement which is expected to be released later this year. The group has now doubled its budget to $10m for its 2021 exploration programme which will focus on the three key deposits and greenfield targets.
Commenting on the 2020 exploration programme, Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird said: “During 2020’s exploration programme, it was our objective to both discover new ounces that could form future extensions to the mine life at Yanfolila, and increase confidence in our known mineral deposits. I am pleased to say that our exploration team has accomplished these objectives. This gives us confidence in the ability to further extend the mine life at Yanfolila; both in terms of open pitable resources and the potential for underground mining.
Of particular note is the increase in resources at SE that also included the discovery of new structures and some spectacular grades and intersections. This deposit is still completely open and we are already drilling it aggressively as part of the 2021 programme.”
Betts said Hummingbird’s focus for its 2021 programme will be “more towards increasing resources as opposed to infill drilling.” He added, “The cheapest ounces are the ones you find, and this is particularly true at Yanfolila where we will have soon fully paid down our debt, and any extensions to the LOM add meaningful, immediate and tangible value.”
Today’s news marks the group’s success in achieving its objectives for the 2020 exploration programme at Yanfolila. In one year’s exploration, Hummingbird has been able to replace 21 months of mining depletion with plans to continue growing its resource base by repeating the same activities in 2021.
Hummingbird will now advance its 2021 drilling campaign with another 15,000m of drilling at SE where the group believes there is further underlying potential. The drilling programme now has a budget of £10m and will only target resource growth opportunities.
Shares in Hummingbird have ticked up by over 6% in value since the start of 2021.
Reasons to HUM
Strong underlying geological indications at Yanfolila, Kouroussa and Dugbe with more drilled expected to drive resources and production higher.
Hummingbird has put a strong management team in place since 2015 with expertise in mining commodity markets and in-region experience of West Africa who have a track record of delivering projects on time and on budget.
Significant growth potential of this multi-asset and multi jurisdiction mining company with appetite to expand the number of projects going.
Lots of positive news events expected in FY21.
Follow News & Updates from here:
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.