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MODERN MINING
August 2017
MINING News
In a review of activities during Q2 2017,
AIM-listed Hummingbird Resources says
that its 1,2 Mt/a Yanfolila open-pit gold
project in Mali remains on schedule and
on budget with several aspects of devel-
opment now completed and the first gold
pour expected by year end.
Construction of the CIL tanks is now
complete. The completion of the tanks
has allowed other work fronts to progress
rapidly; for example, the tank agitators and
tank top steel are also now installed, again
opening up more mechanical work fronts.
The ball mill arrived on site on time
and preparation is in place for its instal-
lation. According to Hummingbird, this
was the longest lead item on the project
and its arrival has materially de-risked the
construction timeline.
vider, will be mobilising to site in Q3 2017
to provide around 6 MW of power from
the commencement of commissioning.
Construction power is currently provided
through a 1,6 MW generator.
Hiring of key personnel continues and
Hummingbird says it has been pleased
with the quality of applicants as it builds
up its capacity to move from construc-
tion into operations when commissioning
starts.
Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird, com-
mented: “The construction of the Yanfolila
gold project continues at pace. We cur-
rently have over 700 people on site and the
construction team has recently completed
500 000 Lost Time Incident (LTI) free hours
which is a significant achievement.
“The project remains on time and on
budget and the team remains highly
motivated as we enter the final phases of
construction and mobilisation for mining
begins.
“During Q2 we acquired a further 5 %
interest in Yanfolila and bought out a 1 %
royalty on the project for a settlement of
US$2 million of Hummingbird shares to be
settled in March 2018. This will allow us to
retain more of the cashflows fromYanfolila
for the benefit of shareholders. Based on
our reserves alone, this is estimated to add
at least US$10 million to the cashflows
attributable to Hummingbird.
“Additionally, we entered into a loan
agreement with Coris Bank International
who are a supportive and knowledgeable
lender. We have subsequently drawn the
whole US$60 million loan in order to bring
any financing risk to an absolute minimum.
At a US$1 250 gold price, we anticipate,
based on the final project study, free cash-
flows of around US$70 million in our first
full year of production.”
Yanfolila draws closer to commissioning
A view of the Yanfolila site taken in July this year (photo: Hummingbird).
Construction of the crushing circuit is
ongoing with the conveyor system start-
ing to arrive on site. Pre-assembly of the
arrived conveyor sections has started
and their erection is expected to start
imminently.
Mining contractor AMS has mobilised
to site and is currently working on the TSF
before commencing pre-production min-
ing, which is due to start in Q3 2017.
A second round of grade control drill-
ing was completed at the Komana East pit
in advance of mining, with some 2 057 m
of drilling being completed over 11 days.
This drilling targeted zones where the
mineralisation was not closed off either in
the hanging wall or footwall of the main
mineralisation.
Aggreko, the appointed power pro-
Imweru drill programme completed a month early
AIM-quoted Katoro Gold reports that the
drilling for the Imweru resource develop-
ment programmewas completed on 19 July
2017. The expanded drill programme was
completed almost a month ahead of the
original schedule and well within budget
and included 2 000 m of additional drill-
ing, for a total of 31 drill holes (3 410 m).
The original programme was for eight to 10
holes for 1 400 m.
Imweru, a gold project, is located
approximately 120 km directly south-west
of the city of Mwanza in northern Tanzania
(approximately 160 kmwest-south-west by
road). The rapid progress and completion
of the drill programme will enable the com-
pany to export all geological samples from
the drill programme in one batch which will
in turn have the added benefit of all the lab
results being contained in one report. This
will make work on the Pre-Feasibility Study
(PFS) much easier and significantly quicker
than planned.
Work on the Environmental and Social
Impact Assessment (ESIA) is also pro-
gressing well and the ESIA technical team
completed their first on-site work session
on 18 July 2017.
In May 2017 Katoro acquired the Imweru
and Lubando gold projects in Tanzania
from Kibo Mining for a total consideration
of £3,66 million and was admitted to trad-
ing on AIM.
Imweru has a resource of 11,61 Mt at
grade of 1,38 g/t for a mineral resource of
515 110 oz Au at a resource pay limit of
0,4 g/t for the open pittable material and
1,3 g/t for the underground material.