Aim-listed Hummingbird Resources has poured the first gold at its Kouroussa gold mine, in Guinea, ahead of schedule and budget.
The mine is now expected to ramp up to nameplate production through the second half of the year.
Kouroussa marks Hummingbird’s second operating gold asset in West Africa, the first being the Yanfolila gold mine, in Mali.
The high-grade, low-cost Kouroussa project is expected to produce between 120 000 oz and 140 000 oz of gold a year in the first three years of commercial operation, and an average 100 000 oz/y over the remainder of the mine life.
The achievement of the first gold pour at the mine is a major strategic milestone for the company, transforming Hummingbird into a multi-asset, multi-jurisdiction gold producer with a gold production profile in excess of 200 000 oz/y.
Hummingbird is developing an exploration plan for the remainder of the year and 2024, with the aim of increasing Kouroussa’s current reserve base of 647 000 oz at 4.15 g/t.