Modern Mining August 2020

MINING News

Lucara posts strong operating performance during Q2 2020

Lucara’s Karowe mine in Botswana has con- tinued to operate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and delivered strong production and cost results in Q2, consistent with the original 2020 plan and budget. Lucara made a deliberate decision not to tender any of its +10,8 carat produc- tion after early March 2020 amidst the uncertainty caused by the global crisis, and instead entered into a ground break- ing supply agreement with HB Group, for the remainder of 2020. The large, high

value production from Karowe has histori- cally accounted for approximately 70% of Lucara’s annual revenues. Revenue from this agreement will be realised starting in Q3 2020 based on a polished price mechanism. The company generated cash inflows of US$21-million during Q2, consisting of a partial payment of US$13,5-million under the HB agreement and proceeds of US$7,5-million from continuous sales on Clara, Lucara’s digital sales platform and

a tender in Antwerp on June 18 for stones smaller than 10,8 carats. Five sales were completed on Clara dur- ing Q2, providing liquidity for the company in this unexpected period of travel restric- tions. Clara’s customer base increased from 32 to 35 during the second quarter and now stands at 46. Third-party trial sales are expected to commence in Q3. Lucara continues to have a strong availability of working capital, including US$13,7-million in cash at the end of Q2

and $31 million available from its revolving term working capi- tal facility. Eira Thomas, President and Chief Executive Office, com- ments: “Though our 100% owned Karowe mine contin- ues to operate at full capacity, Lucara made the deliberate decision not to sell any of its +10.8 carat diamond production during the period, in response to a weakened market demand. Subsequently, we are pleased to report that Lucara has now secured a ground breaking supply agreement with the HB Group, which will deliver regular revenues on superior pricing terms to those currently being achieved at tender, and helps position Lucara to move forward with key underground expansion activities for Karowe in 2020.” 

Lucara’s Karowe mine delivered strong production and cost results in Q2 2020.

Hummingbird signs purchase agreement for Kouroussa Gold Project Hummingbird Resources plc (AIM:HUM) has signed a conditional binding sale and purchase agreement (SPA) confirming and setting out the key terms for the acquisition of the Kouroussa Gold Project located in Guinea, from Cassidy Gold Corp, following the completion of confirmatory due dili- gence by the company on the project. the permit area. “I am delighted we have been able to confirm the purchase of the Kouroussa Gold Project and look forward to working with the Government of Guinea as we progress the development of the project as quickly as possible whilst continuing to explore the remarkable geological potential at the proj- ect,” says Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird. “This marks a pivotal point in Humming­ bird’s story and is a significant next step in achieving our long term ambition to create a sustainable multi-asset gold producer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders who have contributed to getting us this far and continue to support The company has also completed a more in-depth review of the project’s geo- logical database which highlights promising drill intersections both within and outside the current stated mineral resource used in the mine plan. These drill intersections also demonstrate the high grade nature of the targets proximal to the project and within

us at this exciting time for the company.” “Having the opportunity to work on a new gold system at Kouroussa is extremely exciting. There is undoubtedly further potential to be discovered but what is most exciting is the abundance of high grades as evidenced by the large number of gram metre intercepts >50 gram metres but also the many occurrences of visual gold. The old adage ‘grade is king’ is particularly relevant to Kouroussa and our technical team is looking forward to the challenge of unlocking the system’s full economic poten- tial. We look forward to sharing the story as it unfolds,” concludes Murray Paterson, VP Geology at Hummingbird. 

8  MODERN MINING  August 2020