Hummingbird Nearing Startup at Yanfolila

Hummingbird Resources expects to complete commissioning of its Yanfolila gold project in western Mali during the fourth quarter of 2017 and to pour its first gold before year-end. Preproduction mining by contractor African Mining Services (AMS) began on schedule in August, and ore was being stockpiled in advance of its introduction into the process plant. AMS currently has one Liebherr 9150 excavator, one Liebherr 9250 excavator, six Cat 777 trucks, five Cat D9 dozers, one Cat 336 excavator, and two Cat 980 front-end loaders on site.

The Yanfolila definitive feasibility study calls for production of an average of 107,000 ounces per year (oz/y) of gold over an eight-year mine life, including 132,000 oz in the first full year of production. Plant throughput is planned at 1.24 million metric tons per year (mt/y) at a life-of-mine average grade of 2.25 grams/mt gold. Life-of-mine all-in sustaining cost is estimated at $695/oz.

Capital expenditures prior to startup are budgeted at $79 million. Project development is based on probable reserves of 709,800 oz of gold in 7 million mt at a grade of 3.14 g/mt and total resources, inclusive of reserves, of 1.8 million oz in 22.2 million mt at a grade of 2.54 g/mt. During the first phase of mining there will be areas of free dig material as well as material that will require light blasting. Blasting will be conducted using non-electric down-hole delay detonators, with ANFO for dry holes and emulsion explosives for wet holes. AEL Mining Services is providing an explosive storage and supply service to the mining contractor.

The Yanfolila ore is non-refractory. The process plant design incorporates industry unit process operations, consisting of primary and secondary crushing, closed-circuit ball milling with gravity concentration, intensive leach of gravity concentrate, carbon-in-leach of the grav-ity tailings, elution, electrowinning, and smelting to produce gold doré.

As featured in Womp 2017 Vol 10 - www.womp-int.com