Modern Mining October 2017

MINING News

has increased from 83 % in the Feasibility Study to 86 % in the Optimised Study due to the addition of high-recovery Bakatouo oxide and fresh ore, Mont Ity ore and better recovery on Daapleu sulphides fol- lowing additional testwork. Capital costs include the construction of a 58 km, 91 kV overhead power line, which connects to the national grid at Danane and terminates with a substation at Ity which will be owned by Côte d’Ivoire Energie (CIE). A full 26 MW full high-speed diesel back-up power station provides 100 % redundancy. The schedule anticipates the project being completed within 20 months from EPCM award.  S t ephan The r on , CEO o f AGG , commented: “ This transaction with Hummingbird is significant for AGG as it validates the intrinsic value of the Kobada gold project and fast tracks the planned development programme.  Hummingbird provides us the financial capacity to develop the Kobada gold project and we are also gaining a partner with an operational presence in Mali. Kobada provides Hummingbird the ability to fur- ther increase production output at their Yanfolila mine. The partnership is a win- win for both groups. We look forward to working with the Hummingbird team on this transaction.”  significantly improve the production pro- file of Yanfolila and materially improve the mine’s NPV.”

copper Daapleu ore into the plant process schedule until depletion of Bakatouo. The CIL circuit comprises eight CIL tanks (up from six in the FS) containing carbon for gold and silver adsorption with oxygen sparged from two 25-tonne PSA oxygen plants and an 18-tonne split Anglo (AARL) elution circuit. Electrowinning and induc- tion furnace smelting complete the gold doré production process. A cyanide detoxification and arsenic removal circuit is included in the process facility design for treatment of process residue before discharge to the fully lined 57 Mt Tailings Storage Facility (TSF), located adjacent to the processing facility. The overall life of mine recovery rate from Kobada,” said Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird. “This high-grade concen- trate would have a material increase to our annual production rates and could add up to an additional 50 000 oz per annum to our existing average life of mine produc- tion of 107 000 oz.  “The Yanfolila gold mine currently has a 7,5-year mine life based on reserves and we have over 1 Moz gold in resources that we will look to convert to reserves and extend this mine life once in production. This deal with AGG gives us a path to 150 000 oz pro- duction per year within three years from now combined with the organic extension of mine life from existing resources extend- ing it well beyond 10 years. This could

plant to pre-strip the pits and stockpile ore. The mining fleet contract has been awarded to Komatsu to benefit from syn- ergies relating to minimising spare parts inventory and maintenance costs, as both Houndé and Karma have similar fleets. Following updated resource and reserve estimates, the key change to the design basis is an increase in throughput from 3 Mt/a feed to 4 Mt/a feed based on a blend of primary and oxide ore. The process route comprises conventional pri- mary crushing followed by a SAG and ball milling circuit (SABC) with recycle pebble crusher, a gravity circuit and a conven- tional CIL plant. Soluble copper from the Bakatouo asset is blended with the low

Hummingbird looks to earn in on Kobada AIM-quoted Hummingbird Resources has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) regarding a potential earn-in to a 50 % interest in the Kobada gold project in Mali owned by African Gold Group Inc (AGG) and ini- tial investment into AGG. Kobada has a 2,2 Moz measured, indicated and inferred gold resource (including 511 koz of reserves).

Hummingbird is developing the Yanfolila mine in Mali. It is now in the com- missioning phase with gold production anticipated before year end. “Based on the due diligence we have completed to date, we believe we will be able to truck a high-grade concen- trate to the Yanfolila processing plant

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