The Republic of Liberia (‘Liberia’) has been a stable democracy since 2013, during which time three democratic elections have taken place. Liberia has a population of over 4 million people and English is predominantly spoken. It has a pro-mining Government and has been EITI-compliant since 2011, making it the first country in Africa to comply. Liberia has hosted a commercial gold mine since 2016 and the country’s fiscal regime is highly supportive of the industry, with a 3% royalty rate and a 25% basic rate of tax.
Dugbe Gold Project
The Dugbe Shear Zone is located in southeastern Liberia, located 40 miles by road from the deep water port of Greenville, the capital city of County Sinoe. The Dugbe Gold Project (‘Dugbe’) is situated within the Dugbe Shear Zone and crosses the Company’s Dugbe and Joe Village Licences. Dugbe is made up of three mineral-rich discoveries (Dugbe F, Tuzon and Sackor) with a defined Resource of 4.2Moz gold across the three deposits. Our unearthing of Dugbe marks the largest discovery of gold in Liberia.
Resources
The Dugbe F deposit has a 1.76Moz gold Resource, while 2.6km to its east is Tuzon, which claims a 2.47Moz gold Resource. Sackor, located 2.1km west of Dugbe F, is a site of economic mineralisation that was discovered from a 3,727m drill programme in 2012. Sackor does not yet have a defined Resource. For more details on Resources at Dugbe, please refer to the press release dated 12 March 2014.
Tuzon – US$1,500 – March 2014
| Tonnage (Kt) | Au (g/t) | Au (Koz) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 41,800 | 1.51 | 2,031 |
| Inferred | 10,201 | 1.32 | 435 |
| Total | 52,001 | 1.47 | 2,466 |
Tuzon – US$1,200 – March 2014
| Tonnage (Kt) | Au (g/t) | Au (Koz) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 37,400 | 1.56 | 1,879 |
| Inferred | 4,965 | 1.52 | 244 |
| Total | 42,365 | 1.56 | 2,123 |
Dugbe F: March 2013
| Tonnage (Kt) | Au (g/t) | Au (Koz) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | |||
| Inferred | 43,000 | 1.28 | 1,760 |
| Total | 43,000 | 1.28 | 1,760 |
Preliminary Economic Assessment (‘PEA’)
In April 2013, the Company announced the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Dugbe Gold Project. The report concluded that the Dugbe Gold Project is and remains robust from a technical and economic perspective, with a financial model over the 20 year life of mine set to produce an NPV (post tax, 10%) of US$337 million and an IRR of 43.4% based on a US$1,500 gold price. The economics are still considered highly robust when based on a US$1,300 gold price, with an IRR of 29.4% and an NPV of US$186m. The PEA was carried out over both the Dugbe F and Tuzon deposits. For more details on the PEA, please refer to the press release dated 8 April 2013.
For further detail, please refer to press releases in the news section of our website.
Mineral Development Agreement (‘MDA’)
- 25 year MDA passed into law by the Government of Liberia in Q2 2019, with the option to extend by mutual consent
- Provides necessary long-term framework and stabilisation of taxes and duties
- Agreed royalty rate on gold production of 3%
- Income Tax rate of 25%, with credit given for historic exploration expenditures
- Fuel duty reduced by 50% (75% for first five years of production if gold price is below US$1,500)
- Government of Liberia to be granted free carried interest of 10% in the Dugbe Gold Project
- Signed through the Company’s owned subsidiary Hummingbird Resources (Liberia) Inc
- Community Development Fund to be established by the Company
Birimian Gold Province in Liberia
The Birimian Gold Province is the second largest and currently the single fastest growing gold producing region in the world. It is characterised by large, low grade deposits and, prior to our discovery of the Dugbe Gold Project, its presence in Liberia was completely unverified.
Throughout West Africa, the Birimian gold province is home to several of the largest gold deposits and mines in the world. The most notable of these mines is Obuasi in southern Ghana, which claims Reserves of over 40 million ounces, however, there are dozens of other mines across the region with multi-million-ounce Reserves. In mining terms, the Birimian Gold Province is elephant country.
