Aim-listed Hummingbird Resources has released its 2020 guidance and a five-year rolling mine plan for its Yanfolila gold mine, in Mali.
The company expects to produce between 110 000 oz and 125 000 oz of gold this year at an all-in sustaining cost of $850/oz to $895/oz.
Hummingbird forecasts 574 000 oz will be produced at an average of more than 120 000 oz/y over the next three years.
Significant indicated resources both within openpit and underground mine inventories, which are not in the current mine plan, will be targeted for conversion to ore reserves in the future to increase both current forecasted yearly production and to extend the mine life.
Hummingbird will also focus on further exploration and underground development to delineate new resources and reserves to further augment the mine plan.
Hummingbird CEO Dan Betts stressed that the updated plan was considered to be a base case moving forward incorporating only current reserves.
“In addition to the reserves used in this plan, the mine still has considerable resources (both openpit and underground), which we will look to utilise in our exploration and development work in order to extend and improve the plan further,” he said.
Betts indicated that, during this year, exploration and development studies targeting this would be a strategic focus of the company, with work having already restarted in this regard.
“In addition to a clear focus on exploration and development, the 2020 [production] guidance of 110 000 oz to 125 000 oz of gold allows us to continue our strategy of deleveraging rapidly to be in a positive net cash position later this year, with all actual bank debt being paid off by the middle of 2021.”