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 Mine (‘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). 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 upon the completion of a defined exploration programme and completion of a feasibility study, with Hummingbird to remain the majority shareholder of the Project at 51%.
In December 2023, Hummingbird Resources completed the conversion of its 51% interest in the Dugbe Gold Project into a 51% controlling interest in Pasofino Gold and further increased its interest to 53% through a US$2 million investment in January 2024. This controlling interest provides clear visibility and control to facilitate more efficient decision-making and advance the project into production.
Dugbe Gold Mine
The feasibility study results were release in June 2022 with key highlights of the project being:
Strong financial metrics
- Pre-tax NPV5% of US$690 million (“M”) (US$530M post-tax), 26.35% IRR (23.6% post-tax) at a base gold price of US$1,700 ounce (“oz”).
Fast capital payback of approximately 3.5 years from start of production
- Life of mine (“LOM”) All In Sustaining Cost (“AISC”) of US$1,005/oz and US$29/t cash cost[1].
- Pre-production capital requirement of US$397M excluding owners’ costs for a 5Mtpa processing plant.
Large Mineral Reserve with potential for expansion
- 27Moz gold produced over a 14-year LOM.
- Average annual production of 200,000oz for the first five years.
- 76Moz of Mineral Reserves.
- Additional 67 thousand oz (“koz”) of Inferred Mineral Resources within the FS pit and immediate sidewalls, which have not been included in the Mineral Reserves.
Simple project with economies of scale
- LOM strip ratio of 4.21:1, highlighted by a low 3.56:1 ratio in the first five years.
- Simple (Gravity-CIL) process flow sheet, which enhances project economics.
- Low power costs of US$0.175/kWh, with opportunities for long-term savings with alternative renewable energy sources.
Infrastructure-Ready Project
- Only 76km by road from the Port of Greenville to the Dugbe Project, which was repaired and improved as part of the FS process.
- All build and operational cargo to be transported through the Port of Greenville.
- Government supports berthing rights at the Port of Greenville for the Project.
- Tuzon and Dugbe F deposits are 4km apart, serviced by a central processing plant.
- LNG power generation hybridised with solar PV power generation to produce an estimated levelised cost of energy of US$ 175.10/MWh.
The Dugbe Gold Project represents material valuation upside for the Company as represented by the pre- and post-tax NPV’s of the Project in the sensitivity table below based on gold prices between US$1,700 – US$2,300 per oz.
Gold price sensitivity on NPV | |||||||
Gold Price (US$/oz) | $ 1,700 | $ 1,800 | $ 1,900 | $ 2,000 | $ 2,100 | $ 2,200 | $ 2,300 |
Pre-tax NPV5% (US$ million) | $691 | $843 | $996 | $1,149 | $1,301 | $1,454 | $1,607 |
Post-tax NPV5% (US$ million) | $530 | $645 | $760 | $875 | $990 | $1,104 | $1,219 |
Notes: the above calculations are internal forecasts based upon the June 2022 DFS economic model and are based on a 100% basis.
Further, the current Project highlights from the June 2022 DFS (at US$1,700 oz gold price) are detailed below, with plans to optimise and improve the current DFS.
Description | Units | Value |
Production Statistics | ||
Production LOM | years | 14 |
Production LOM | months | 159 |
Total Ore Tonnes | million tonnes (“Mt”) | 66.27 |
Total Au Ounces Recovered | million oz | 2.27 |
LOM Average | ||
Throughput | Mt per annum | 5.00 |
Au Grade | g/t | 1.30 |
Au Recovery | % | 83.01 |
Au Ounces Recovered | oz/a | 171,594 |
Initial Capital Cost | US$ million | 435 |
SIB Capital Cost | US$ million | 98 |
Operating Cost | ||
LOM Average | US$ million /a | 147 |
LOM Unit Cost | US$/t | 29 |
Financial Outcomes (Pre-Tax) | ||
NPV | US$ million | 690 |
IRR | % | 26.35 |
Payback Period (undiscounted) | years | 3.3 |
AISC | US$/oz | 1,005 |
US$/t | 34 | |
Financial Outcomes (Post-Tax) | ||
NPV | US$ million | 530 |
IRR | % | 23.6 |
Payback Period (undiscounted) | years | 3.3 |
AISC | US$/oz | 1,005 |
US$/t | 34 | |
Liberia: A growing gold mining sector
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.
More detailed progress updates on Dugbe can be found on Pasofino Gold Ltd’s website at www.pasofinogold.com
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 2,565 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
More detailed progress updates on Dugbe can be found on Pasofino Gold Ltd’s website at www.pasofinogold.com
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. Holes TDC084 and TDC082 were last holes to test this zone, both were ‘100 gram-metre holes.
| DUGBE, LIBERIA RESOURCES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | kt | g/t | koz |
| Dugbe F and Tuzon | 98,100 | 1.27 | 4,013 |
| DUGBE, LIBERIA RESERVES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | kt | g/t | koz |
| Dugbe F and Tuzon | 66,000 | 1.30 | 2,760 |
1 Dugbe Reserves and Resources are shown on a 100% basis. Hummingbird will retain a controlling interest in Dugbe of 51%
2 See release dated 13 June 2022 “Dugbe Gold Project Feasibility Study Results” for more details.
