Third Quarter Operational Update

RNS Number : 4821Q

Hummingbird Resources PLC

15 October 2013

 



15 October 2013

Hummingbird Resources plc

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

Airborne Survey Results and DFS Progress

Third Quarter Operational Update

Hummingbird, the Liberian gold exploration and development company with a 3.8Moz gold Resource, announces an operational update for the three months ended 30 September 2013.

Highlights

Development

·     MDM appointed as lead consultant on Detailed Feasibility Study ("DFS"), with support from SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd ("SRK") and Coffey Mining Pty Ltd ("Coffey"), due for completion in Q3 2014

·     All results received from 15,802m infill drill programme, targeting an improvement of the categorisation of Tuzon's current Inferred mineral resource

·     SRK are currently finalising the new resource model based on these results

·     Detailed geotechnical, hydrological, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") and metallurgical work programs commenced

·     Fully funded through to completion of DFS

Exploration

·     Full airborne magnetic and radiometric interpretation received for 17,000 line km over Hummingbird's Dugbe Shear Zone licences

·     Confirmation of existing anomalies and discovery of numerous new gold targets across the Dugbe Shear Zone licences confirming the highly prospective exploration upside to the Dugbe project

Please click on the following link for a map of the airborne survey results:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4821Q_-2013-10-14.pdf

Dan Betts, Chief Executive of Hummingbird Resources, said:

"The Company has made considerable progress since its PEA was published in April, and continues to focus on advancing the DFS as fast as possible. We have been encouraged by the infill drilling undertaken in 2013 which has delivered excellent assays results and we await the outcome of the resource work with anticipation.

The results of the airborne magnetic survey are particularly exciting with a huge number of exploration targets confirmed for follow up work.  We have always said, and continue to believe, the Dugbe 1 Project is just the beginning of Hummingbird's discoveries in south-east Liberia and we look forward to unlocking this value in due course."

Development Update

In July, Hummingbird confirmed the appointment of MDM Engineering Group ("MDM") as lead consultant on the Company's DFS.  MDM have completed over 40 gold DFSs and have built over 30 gold plants in Africa. MDM started work on the DFS in July 2013, with an initial site visit in August. Concurrent with this, metallurgical test work is already underway at laboratories in South Africa to fine-tune the process flow sheet. These results will be integrated into an initial trade-off options study, as part of the DFS, to fully evaluate the economic impact of different processing scenarios in order to produce the most economically robust, profitable and financeable project.

Supporting MDM will be SRK as resource and reserve and mining consultants. A site visit to Dugbe to review the Company's data, drill core and methodologies was completed during June and SRK is now advising Hummingbird on the resource categorization and geological modeling. To date, 15,802m of infill drilling has been completed in 2013, with the Company announcing the results from the final 15 holes drilled in August. These results were encouraging and further underlined the overall grade of the deposit as defined in the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA".) Hummingbird and SRK have generated a high confidence geological model to form the basis of SRK's resource estimation.  This new model has also identified a number of areas that have the potential to extend the known resources at Tuzon.  SRK is currently working on an updated resource report incorporating the most recent drilling results and this is expected to be available during Q4 2013. An increasing level of confidence in the current NI 43-101 Tuzon 2.05 Moz gold Resource is being targeted in the updated resource report. 

Following on from the previous work Coffey carried out on the geotechnical section of the PEA, Coffey has been appointed to run the geotechnical studies for the DFS, including the design of the Tailings Management Facility ("TMF"). To date, the geotechnical drilling has been completed on Tuzon and plans are now being made for the geotechnical drilling on the proposed TMF site.

An ESIA is currently underway and being conducted by globally renowned engineering, consultancy and project management company, AMEC plc ("AMEC"). The ESIA study is due for completion in Q3 2014 as originally projected, with a first draft of the ESIA submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") of Liberia in December 2013, with the full twelve month baseline studies and submission of the final report for EPA approval due in June 2014.  The ESIA will be conducted to international standards and industry best practice with significant input from key Hummingbird stakeholders, such as the International Finance Corporation, ensuring that the studies are robust and thorough. AMEC will additionally be conducting all the hydrology and hydrogeology studies for the DFS and ESIA. A programme of ESIA water monitoring holes, and holes for hydrogeology and associated Packer Testing, has been drilled over July and August for this part of the study.

The DFS, including the Front End Engineering and Design ("FEED"), is fully funded and is expected to be completed in Q3 2014. 

Exploration Upside

Geotech Airborne Ltd ("Geotech Airborne") was contracted in late February 2013 to undertake an airborne magnetics and radiometric survey over the Dugbe 1 Project and Dugbe Shear Zone.  The survey commenced on 15 March 2013 and was completed on 15 April 2013.  Production of survey data was consistent and minimal delays were encountered during the programme.  A total of 13,274 line km of 200m spaced lines and 3,766 line km of 100m infill over selected areas were flown.  This is the largest known airborne radiometric survey conducted by any exploration company in Liberia to date.  After receiving all of the processed data from Geotech Airborne in late May, Southern Geoscience Consultants ("SGC") completed all of the aeromagnetics and radiometrics images by mid-June, at which time SGC started the interpretation.  The final interpretation and report were received on 20 September 2013 for review and comment.  The SGC interpretation was based on the airborne survey results, taking into account existing Birimian gold deposit models, and with significant input from the Hummingbird geological team. This coordinated approach was used to derive the maximum value from the airborne survey.  Following the SGC target selection, their work was reviewed in full by Hummingbird to prioritise targets near to the Dugbe 1 project, and also to prioritise those targets considered by Hummingbird to be most geologically attractive.

The analysis of existing Hummingbird gold prospect results, combined with the airborne survey's geological and structural interpretation, has resulted in a large number of targets, numbering some 140 in total, to be followed up with further systematic exploration.  A number of highly prospective targets identified within the Dugbe 1 Project area are of immediate priority. Planned activities include geological mapping, infill soil geochemistry and trenching/RAB drilling to rapidly identify new resources.  The potential for future discoveries across the DSZ has never been more apparent and the attached map shows the full extent of these targets right across the shear zone.  

Please click on the following link for a map of the airborne survey results:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4821Q_-2013-10-14.pdf

Corporate Social Responsibility ("CSR")

In line with the Company's commitment to high corporate responsibility standards, Hummingbird has been taking significant steps this quarter in fulfilling its CSR strategy. Hummingbird has invested significant resources in local social investment programmes, including the maintenance of public roads, the re-building of four bridges along the Greenville road, a safe drinking water and hygiene promotion programme and twelve workshops to train and raise awareness to over four hundred people on the benefits of a long-term sustainability approach to the area.  In addition, Hummingbird has begun to construct eight new wells and reconstruct three existing wells all with hand pumps in six local communities within the Dugbe 1 Project.  As part of the ESIA process there has been extensive stakeholder engagement which is central to our CSR strategy with over twenty-six community meetings taking place in the past quarter.

Note: David Pelham has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person, as required under the AIM rules.  David Pelham is a Director of the Company and is a member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

ENDS

Enquiries:

Hummingbird Resources plc

Daniel Betts, Chief Executive Officer
Thomas Hill, Finance Director
Robert Monro, Head of Business Development	[phone]
Liberum Capital Limited
Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
Tom Fyson / Ryan de Franck	[phone]
FTI Consulting LLP
Financial PR
Ben Brewerton / Oliver Winters	[phone]

Notes to Editors

About Hummingbird Resources Plc

Hummingbird Resources plc is an AIM quoted mineral exploration company incorporated in England and Wales and headquartered in London. Since its establishment in November 2005, the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") has been active in Liberia, West Africa, and is currently the holder of the largest area of mineral exploration ground in the highly prospective Birimian geological region of eastern Liberia. The Group's total Inferred Resource is 3,835,000 ounces of gold. The Group has published a PEA on its project showing on a 3.5Mtpa tank leach operations an NPV of US$337m on a Capex of US$212m for an IRR of 43.4%. This gives a payback period of 3 years and is based on a 10% discount rate and US$1,500 gold price (three year average gold price at time of release).

The Group has published a NI43-101 compliant Inferred Resource on its Dugbe F deposit of 43.01 million tonnes at 1.28 g/t Au to give 1,764,000 ounces of gold using a lower cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au and no upper cut-off grade. In addition, the Group has declared an Inferred Resource on its Tuzon project of 51.1 million tonnes at 1.26 g/t Au to give 2,071,000 ounces gold using a lower cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au and an upper cut-off grade of 7.0 g/t Au. Tuzon lies 2.6km to the east of the Dugbe F deposit. Exploration is being carried out to best industry practices.

In 2013, the Group is moving the Dugbe 1 Project towards feasibility with 15,802m of infill drilling completed this year.

The Group currently holds exploration licences covering approximately 7,000 square kilometres in total, which constitutes a significant proportion of eastern Liberia containing the Birimian sequence.

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

 

END

 

 

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