Name of the Project
Yanfolila gold project.

Location
The project comprises two main clusters of ore deposits: Komana East (KE), Komana West (KW), Guirin West (GW) and Gonka (GK), in the south; and Sanioumale East (SE) and Sanioumale West (SW), in the north of Mali.

Project Owner/s
Hummingbird Resources increased its ownership in the project from 75% to 80% in 2017, after acquiring a further 5% interest and a 1% royalty from La Petite Mine d’Or for $1-million.

The Mali government will have a 20% shareholding in the project.

Project Description
Hummingbird has completed an optimised mine schedule, which has improved the Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant ore reserve statement and updated economic sensitivities based on the new reserve and mine schedule for the Yanfolila gold project.

The project’s reserves have increased from 6.82-million tonnes at a grade of 3.03 g/t of gold in the January 2016 definitive feasibility study (DFS) to 7.04-million tonnes at a grade of 3.14 g/t of gold in the optimised mine schedule.

The DFS financial model has been updated to incorporate the increased ore reserve and new mine schedule, with a resulting improvement in project economics. The project will be developed as an openpit, low-cost gold mining operation.

The DFS life-of-mine (LoM) plan envisages the progressive mining of five openpits, starting initially with KE and KW, and then progressing to GW, SE and SW.

Hummingbird is also considering developing the high-grade Gonka resource, initially as an openpit and then as an underground mine.

Currently, the Yanfolila crushing circuit is a two-stage operation, incorporating primary and secondary crushing circuits designed to treat mainly oxides and a blend of oxide and transition ores. A second ball mill will increase throughput capacity from one-million tonnes a year to 1.24-million tonnes a year, producing up to 107 000 oz/y of gold.

The ore is nonrefractory and the simple process plant design uses gravity and carbon-in-leach for the processing and recovery of the gold, which averages 92.5% over the LoM.

Potential Job Creation
The project currently has more than 700 people on site.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project’s net present value (NPV) has increased from $88-million, at an 8% discount rate in the 2016 DFS, to an NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of $162-million.

The project’s internal rate of return has increased from 37% in the DFS to 60% in the optimised mine schedule.

Capital Expenditure
The project’s estimated capital expenditure (capex) has remained at $79.36-million from the DFS to the optimised mine schedule.

Planned Start/End Date
The project poured its first gold in December 2017.

Latest Developments
Hummingbird Resources has achieved decent production results from its Yanfolila mine, despite Covid-19 having caused a challenging operating environment in the second quarter of the year.

The company poured 24 054 oz of gold in the quarter, compared with the 27 466 oz of gold poured in the second quarter of last year.

The company sold 31 520 oz of gold at an average price of $1 663/oz in the reporting three months.

Meanwhile, an exploration programme for the rest of the year at the Yanfolila mine continues to progress, with 12 000 m of drilling completed to date. Hummingbird says 75% of the exploration programme has been completed.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
DRA Projects (DFS); CSA Global (mineral resource and ore reserves reports); Senet (metallurgical testwork, process design and engineering, and capital and operating cost estimates for the processing plant and the associated plant infrastructure); Schlumberger Water Services (hydrology and hydrogeological studies); and Ausenco Engineering Canada (design and cost estimates for the tailings storage facilities, or TSF); Afromix (agitators); Delkor (linear screens); Kemix (regeneration kiln and interstage screens); Metso (primary and secondary crushers, screens and feeders); AMS (TSF); Zen Petroleum Mali (fuel supply); AEL Mining Services (explosives and explosives storage).

Contact Details for Project Information
Hummingbird Resources, tel +44 20 3416 3560.