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. In June 2020, the Company entered into an earn-in agreement with Pasofino Gold Limited (TSX: VEIN) in respect of Dugbe who will earn in a 49% in the Project once a definitive feasibility study and agreed exploration programme is completed.
Dugbe Gold Project
The Dugbe Shear Zone is located in south-eastern 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.
In June 2020 Hummingbird Resources entered into an earn-in agreement with Pasofino Gold Ltd, a Canadian based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V (TSXV:VEIN), for up to 49% stake of the Project. Earn-in over a period of two years including the completion of a mutually agreed exploration programme and the completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study, under joint management committee oversight. All overhead and operating cost associated with the Project over the earn in period will be covered by Pasofino Gold Ltd.
More detailed progress updates on Dugbe can be found on Pasofino Gold Ltd’s website at www.pasofinogold.com
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.
The Dugbe permit area is now 2,355 km² with the Central License having been acquired in late 2020 adding an important 210 km² of a highly prospective exploration area. Only 3 of the 100+ targets have been drilled so far, all with significant gold, two of which became the Tuzon and Dugbe F deposits. Pasofino has 6 targets prioritized which commenced exploration drilling in October 2020. Both Tuzon and Dugbe F deposits are open on strike for potential expansion.
Exploration upside to that of the known Tuzon and Dugbe F deposits to come from four other important targets:
- The Central License: This license adds an additional 210 km² to the Dugbe project’s license area and forms the ‘core’ to the southern part of the Project. It includes the area known as ‘Bukon Jedeh’ where gold mining has reportedly taken place since about 1935 from ‘mega placers’ and weathered bedrock. At the so called ’99 steps mine’ and ‘S/SPMC mine’ on the property, artisanal workers are extracting gold from bedrock from depths of up to 50 metre
- Tiehnpo: 2.5 km long ‘gold trend’ evident from trench and soil data which is a key priority exploration target
- Gmaenken: Large scale artisanal workings developed in last six years, all within a small drainage basin
- Sackor: Located ~2.5km SW of the Dugbe F deposit. 20 diamond core holes for 3,727m were drilled in 2012 with 3,478 samples assayed. Gold mineralization was intersected in 15 of the 20 holes, open in all directions
Dugbe – Tuzon deposit
The Tuzon deposit extends from surface to >300m depth and outcrops over 2/3rds of its length. Parts of ‘zone B’ are “open” along strike. Zone B already hosts 1.1 Moz @ 1.72 g/t Au. Holes TDC084 and TDC082 were last holes to test this zone, both were ‘100 gram-metre holes.
