Significant Resource Growth at Yanfolila Project

RNS Number : 5491Y

Hummingbird Resources PLC

02 December 2014

 



02 December 2014

Hummingbird Resources plc

("Hummingbird Resources" or the "Company") (AIM: HUM)

Significant Resource Growth at Yanfolila Project

Hummingbird Resources, the multi-project gold company, is pleased to announce a highly positive Resource upgrade as part of its on-going optimisation studies at the 1.8Moz, low cost, high grade Yanfolila Project in Mali, where mine construction is due to commence in Q1 2015. 

Highlights:

·     Additional 159,000ozs gold discovered in the oxide and transitional zones across initial five starter pits, a 34% increase

·     153% increase in oxide and transitional Indicated Resources to 600,000ozs gold

·     Komana East, the first pit to be mined, now has 160,000ozs gold @ 3.12g/t

·     Resource upgrade improves the economics of the Project and is in line with the ongoing optimisation programme to enhance Yanfolila's already robust base case

·     Current Yanfolila mine plan is made up of a series of pits within close proximity to each other which will be processed through a central plant

Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird Resources, said:

"This 153% rise in the near-surface Indicated 'oxide and transitional' gold Resources at Yanfolila, continues the improvement in the economics of the Project from their attractive base, which already positioned the Project in the lowest quartile in terms of production cost.  The positive impact the upgrade will have on the ongoing optimisation, engineering studies and life of mine scheduling leaves Hummingbird in an even stronger position as we move towards mine construction in Q1 2015.

"We have made excellent progress over the past six months and remain extremely excited about the Project's potential.  The next twelve months is set to be transformational as we build a mine and bring Yanfolila into production."

Resources:

The upgrade in the Resource follows on from the high grade drilling results, of up to 41.5g/t Au over 3m at Yanfolila announced in October 2014.  The drill programme was focused on the high grade, shallow lying oxide and transitional zones which are expected to provide a significant near term, low cost mining operation.

The infill and extension drill programme was focussed on increasing the confidence in and growing the total number of oxide and transitional zone resources across five of the deposits within the Project.  The oxide and transitional zones are the focus of the first phase of mining at Yanfolila with fresh rock upside in phase 2.  The additional 159,000ozs will have a significant impact on the life of the initial Project with average production previously estimated on the base case model to be 55,000ozs/year.  This has led the Company to review the size of the plant and is expected to provide greater flexibility in increasing the returns of the mine. 

Please click on the link below to see a cross section from the Komana West deposit. 

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5491Y_1-2014-12-1.pdf

The below table demonstrates the total Resource increase within the oxide and and transitional zones in five pits compared with the 2013 Resource:

Classification	Regolith State	November 2014			2013
		Tonnes	Grade (g/t)	Ozs	Tonnes	Grade (g/t)	Ozs
Indicated	Oxide	6,130,000	2.41	474,000	1,540,000	2.99	148,000
	Transitional	1,630,000	2.41	126,000	965,000	2.87	89,100
	Total	7,750,000	2.41	600,000	2,500,000	2.94	237,000
Inferred	Oxide	257,000	2.40	19,800	2,870,000	2.05	189,000
	Transitional	6,000	3.98	770	656,000	1.71	36,000
	Total	263,000	2.44	20,600	3,530,000	1.99	225,000
Total	Oxide	6,390,000	2.41	494,000	4,410,000	2.38	337,000
	Transitional	1,630,000	2.42	127,000	1,620,000	2.40	125,000
	Total	8,020,000	2.41	621,000	6,030,000	2.38	462,000

*The numbers have been rounded to reflect that this is an estimate.  Numbers may not total due to rounding.  A full Resource table is found in Appendix 1.

Materiality related to the resource upgrade includes:

·     The Resource has been reported at the chosen economic cut-offs based on assumptions used in the Optimisation Study current in progress and a gold price of US$1,500;

·     Resources were estimated generally honouring Gold Fields' geological wireframes, except where they were implicitly modelled using only grade and limited geological control within the Leapfrog software.  These were re-wire framed using conventional sectional methods;

·     All of the Mineral Resource estimates are in-situ resources with grade and tonnage interpolated using Uniform Conditioning based on a selective mining unit of 2.5m x 5m x 3m;

·     Densities applied to the oxide and transitional resources are those determined by Gold Fields.  These are still undergoing additional evaluation confirmation by Hummingbird;

·     A significant proportion of the resources at Guirin West, and to a lesser extent at Sanioumale East, are based on Air Core drilling.  Work completed to date comparing the Air Core drilling results with the Diamond Core and Reverse Circulation drilling results indicates that the Air Core drilling results have similar grade distributions and mean grades within mineralised composites assigned to reflect the scale of mining; and

·     The 2013 Resource presented in the summary table and in Appendix 1 has been previously reported as a total Resource, but is presented here sub-divided by deposit, regolith state and cut-off for comparative purposes.

Competent Person Statement

The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources and their estimation is based on information compiled by Mr Mark Fleming, an independent consultant for Hummingbird Resources Plc. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration, and to the activity he is undertaking, to qualify as a Competent Person in terms of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' (JORC Code 2012 Edition). Mark Fleming consents to the inclusion in this release of information relating to the estimation of Mineral Resources, in the form and context in which it appears.

ENDS

Enquiries:

Hummingbird Resources plc
Daniel Betts, Chief Executive Officer
Thomas Hill, Finance Director
Robert Monro, Head of Business Development	[phone]
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe
Nominated Adviser and Corporate Broker
Stewart Dickson / Jeremy Stephenson	[phone]
FTI Consulting LLP
Financial PR
Ben Brewerton / Oliver Winters / Sara Powell	[phone]

Notes to Editors

About Hummingbird Resources Plc

Founded in late 2005, Hummingbird Resources is a West African gold explorer and developer (AIM:HUM), which listed on AIM in December 2010 with a maiden N143-101 compliant Resource of 0.8Moz gold in Liberia. Since IPO the Company has significantly grown its initial resource to 4.2Moz at its Dugbe 1 Project in Liberia, West Africa. In July 2014 Hummingbird Resources acquired all of Gold Fields' gold assets in Mali, including the 1.8Moz Yanfolila Project. Hummingbird is now a multi-project, near-term producer with 6Moz of gold and 5,000 km² of exploration ground.

For more information, please visit www.hummingbirdresources.co.uk

Appendix 1:

	Economic		Regolith	November '14			2013 Resources
	Cut-Off (g/t)	Classification	State	Tonnes	Grade (g/t)	Metal (oz)	Tonnes	Grade (g/t)	Metal (oz)
Komana East	0.6	Indicated	Oxide	1,030,000	3.20	105,400	810,000	3.27	85,300
	0.6		Transitional	570,000	3.00	55,100	390,000	3.33	41,500
			Total	1,600,000	3.12	160,500	1,200,000	3.29	126,800
	0.6	Inferred	Oxide	0	0	0	110,000	1.76	6,300
	0.6		Transitional	0	0	0	10,000	1.69	700
			Total	0	0	0	120,000	1.75	7,000
	0.6	Total	Oxide	1,030,000	3.20	105,400	920,000	3.09	91,600
	0.6		Transitional	570,000	3.00	55,100	400,000	3.27	42,200
			Total	1,600,000	3.12	160,500	1,320,000	3.14	133,800
Komana West	0.6	Indicated	Oxide	2,150,000	2.33	161,500	730,000	2.68	62,700
	0.6		Transitional	360,000	2.21	25,300	580,000	2.57	47,600
			Total	2,510,000	2.32	186,800	1,300,000	2.63	110,200
	0.6	Inferred	Oxide	0	0	0	350,000	1.70	18,900
	0.6		Transitional	0	0	0	170,000	1.56	8,500
			Total	0	0	0	520,000	1.65	27,400
	0.6	Total	Oxide	2,150,000	2.33	161,500	1,070,000	2.37	81,600
	0.6		Transitional	360,000	2.21	25,300	750,000	2.34	56,100
			Total	2,510,000	2.32	186,800	1,820,000	2.35	137,700
Guirin West	0.6	Indicated	Oxide	870,000	1.97	55,200	0	0	0
	0.7		Transitional	290,000	2.02	18,700	0	0	0
			Total	1,160,000	1.98	73,900	0	0	0
	0.6	Inferred	Oxide	0	0	0	860,000	1.94	53,500
	0.7		Transitional	0	0	0	130,000	1.54	6,500
			Total	0	0	0	990,000	1.89	60,100
	0.6	Total	Oxide	870,000	1.97	55,200	860,000	1.94	53,500
	0.7		Transitional	290,000	2.02	18,700	130,000	1.54	6,500
			Total	1,160,000	1.98	73,900	990,000	1.89	60,100
Sanioumale West	0.8	Indicated	Oxide	1,580,000	2.03	103,300	0	0	0
	0.8		Transitional	270,000	1.59	13,800	0	0	0
			Total	1,850,000	1.97	117,200	0	0	0
	0.8	Inferred	Oxide	260,000	2.40	19,800	1,560,000	2.21	110,400
	0.8		Transitional	10,000	3.98	800	340,000	1.84	20,200
			Total	260,000	2.44	20,600	1,900,000	2.14	130,600
	0.8	Total	Oxide	1,840,000	2.09	123,200	1,560,000	2.21	110,400
	0.8		Transitional	280,000	1.65	14,600	340,000	1.84	20,200
			Total	2,110,000	2.03	137,800	1,900,000	2.14	130,600
Sanioumale East	0.8	Indicated	Oxide	500,000	3.06	48,900	0	0	0
	0.8		Transitional	140,000	2.97	13,200	0	0	0
			Total	640,000	3.04	62,100	0	0	0
	0.8	Inferred	Oxide	0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.8		Transitional	0	0	0	0	0	0
			Total	0	0	0	0	0	0
	0.8	Total	Oxide	500,000	3.06	48,900	0	0	0
	0.8		Transitional	140,000	2.97	13,200	0	0	0
			Total	640,000	3.04	62,100	0	0	0
Total		Indicated	Oxide	6,130,000	2.41	474,300	1,540,000	2.99	148,000
			Transitional	1,630,000	2.41	126,200	960,000	2.87	89,100
			Total	7,750,000	2.41	600,500	2,500,000	2.94	237,100
		Inferred	Oxide	260,000	2.40	19,800	2,870,000	2.05	189,100
			Transitional	10,000	3.98	800	660,000	1.71	36,000
			Total	260,000	2.44	20,600	3,530,000	1.99	225,100
		Total	Oxide	6,390,000	2.41	494,200	4,410,000	2.38	337,100
			Transitional	1,630,000	2.42	127,000	1,620,000	2.40	125,100
			Total	8,020,000	2.41	621,100	6,030,000	2.38	462,100

Appendix 2:

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS

Units

"g"		gram;
"g/t"		grams per tonne, equivalent to parts per million;
"k"		thousand;
"km"		kilometres;
"m"		metres;
"M"		million;
"mt"		million tonnes;
"oz"		troy ounce (31.103477 grams);
"t"		tonnes;

Technical Terms

"Au"		the chemical symbol on the periodic table for the precious metal, gold;
"Cut-off grade"		the lowest or highest assay value that is included in a resource estimate;
"Deposit"		mineralisation which has been outlined on surface and via underground work or drilling sufficient for a Mineral Resource estimage to be calculated with tonnage and grade but where there has been no ore production;
"Indicated resource"		that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated  with a reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed;
"Inferred Resource"		that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes which is of uncertain quality and reliability;
"Measured Resource"		that part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence. It is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are spaced closely enough to confirm geological and grade continuity;
"Mineral resource"		mineral of potential value but not necessarily proven as a reserve;
"Ore"		mineral of proven economic value;

 

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