UK-headquartered Hummingbird Resources announced the first gold pour from its Kouroussa gold operation in Guinea occurred on 8 June.
The achievement, made on time and on budget, comes after the start of commissioning in early May. The mine will now ramp up to commercial production levels during the second half of this year.
Kouroussa – which currently has a ROM pad stockpile of about 120,000 tonnes for the ongoing ramp-up – is expected to produce an average of 120,000 to 140,000 ounces of gold for the first three years of commercial production, and an average 100,000 oz annually over the current life of mine.
Comprehensive community engagement plans have been implemented, including daily, monthly and quarterly meetings with local communities and local authorities covering a variety of topics such as project progress; recruitment; local content; environmental monitoring; and health and safety.
“The achievement of first gold pour at our second operating mine, Kouroussa in Guinea, is a major strategic milestone for the company, transforming Hummingbird into a multi-asset, multi-jurisdiction gold producer, that more than doubles our production profile to 200,000+ oz pa,” CEO Dan Betts said, adding that Kouroussa is also the second mine Hummingbird has built on time and on budget, and made up of a construction team of African and predominantly (80%) Guinean personnel.
“Our operations team is now focused on safely ramping up towards name plate production, expected during H223.”
Detailed Kouroussa exploration plans are being developed with a view to re-initiated exploration drilling plans in H2 2023-2024, with the focus to increase Kouroussa’s current Reserves base of 647,000 oz at 4.15 g/t.
The company’s other core gold project is the Yanfolila gold mine in Mali.
Source: hummingbirdresources.co.uk