Gold producer Hummingbird Resources has agreed to refinance a portion of its existing financing partner Coris Bank International's group loan facilities and has secured additional funding as capital support for the group. 

This was announced by Hummingbird on September 28 along with the release of the company’s unaudited results for the six months ended June 30.

The financing package will provide new loans totalling $55-million.

This includes the refinancing of $35-million of existing Coris Bank loans, with loan repayments to begin in the 2024 financial year, compared with the third quarter of this year, to provide additional cash flow flexibility as Hummingbird’s Kouroussa project progresses towards steady-state production.

This comes in addition to a further $20-million to provide additional capital for the group, including for the ongoing development of underground mining operations at Yanfolila, in Mali.

The terms of the new group refinancing package of about $55-million as detailed above, are at a fixed interest rate of 12% a year, with the original loans continuing at a fixed interest rate of 8.5% a year. 

Hummingbird remains focused on strengthening its balance sheet, with scheduled loan repayments of $77-million in the 2024 financial year, $61-million in the 2025 financial year and the balance of $15-million payable by the end of the 2028 financial year. 

OPERATING SUMMARY

Hummingbird also reported a rolling group lost-time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) of 0.69 per million hours worked, within the group’s target rate of 1.20 per million hours worked, with an LTIFR of 0.87 and 0.40 per million hours worked at Yanfolila and Kouroussa, respectively.

The company also produced 51 147 oz of gold in the first half of this year, up by 44% compared with the first half of last year.

Hummingbird reported a materially improved all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1 170/oz for the first half of this year, a decrease of 42% compared with the first half of last year.

The Kouroussa project successfully started mining in the first quarter of the year, hot commissioning of the processing plant in the second quarter and completed the operation’s first gold pour on June 8.

Kouroussa was also built on time and on budget ahead of the scheduled second quarter of 2023 timeline, the company confirmed.

“The company is currently finalising its exploration plans at both Kouroussa and Yanfolila, with the core focus to increase the respective resource bases and, ultimately, enlarge the reserve bases and life-of-mine at both assets.

“Our performance in the first half of this year, which included $33-million in group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), is the result of the focussed efforts by the team over the last year to stabilise the Yanfolila operation and re-establish a more reliable platform for Hummingbird to grow from,” states CEO Dan Betts.  

“At Kouroussa, the first half of the year saw the construction of the project completed on time and on budget, and the conducting of its first gold pour, marking a material milestone for Hummingbird to become a multi-asset, multi-jurisdictional gold producer.

“The key focus for our Kouroussa operations team is on reaching steady-state production and setting the mine up for full commercial production for the 2024 financial year and beyond,” he adds.