23rd Aug 2019 09:53
(Alliance News) - Hummingbird Resources PLC said Friday it swung to a loss in the first half of 2019 due to higher production costs, despite slight revenue growth.
Hummingbird currently operates the Yanfolila gold mine in Mali and Dugbe gold project in Liberia.
For the six months to the end of June, Hummingbird reported a pretax loss of USD5.9 million, compared to profit of USD3.5 million the year before. Production costs increased by 17% to USD44.9 million from USD38.3 million.
First half revenue inched higher to USD67.1 million from USD66.6 million the prior year, with production for the period at 51,273 ounces of gold. Of this, 51,034 ounces were sold at an average price of USD1,304 per ounce.
Hummingbird has maintained its 2019 production guidance at 110,000 to 125,000 ounces, with increased plant throughput in the second half due to a second ball mill at Yanfolila.
Looking ahead, Hummingbird is targeting 130,000 ounces is annual production from 2020 onwards.
"Our focus has always been on responsible mining; maximising efficiency levels and delivering value. With improved economies of scale expected to come from the second ball mill together with our continuingly improving understanding of the Yanfolila orebody, we are in a stronger position. Our focus is firmly on ensuring stable, reliable and efficient production at Yanfolila," said Chief Executive Officer Dan Betts.
"The increasing gold price has also meant that our Dugbe project in Liberia looks increasingly attractive and provides added opportunity and optionality in the company's portfolio. Beyond our current guidance for this year, we are targeting production of around 130,000 ounces of gold per year from 2020 at Yanfolila, a circa 20% increase from our feasibility study," Betts added.
Shares in Hummingbird Resources were down 0.5% at 22.05 pence on Friday.
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