Hummingbird Resources upbeat on expansion to Central licence area

Hummingbird Resources updated the market on the Dugbe Gold Project in Liberia on Wednesday, reporting that its earn-in partner Pasofino Gold has exercised its option to acquire the Central Licence located and encompassed centrally within the project.

The AIM-traded firm said the Central area added an additional 210 square kilometres to the project's licence area, and formed the “core” to the southern part of the project.

It said the licence included an area known as 'Bukon Jedeh', eight kilometres south east of the project's large Tuzon deposit.

Gold mining had reportedly taken place there since 1935, with “extensive” historical artisanal mining in the region supporting the company’s view of it being a “highly prospective” area.

Pasofino noted that around 16 kilometres of prospective ground would be the area of focus for further exploration, with the goal being to identify another open pit deposit that could be processed at the Tuzon-Dugbe mining complex once developed.

In 2012 and 2013, ASX-listed Equator Resources carried out soil geochemistry and reverse circulation drilling within the Bukon Jedeh area, with 80 holes and about 6,500 metres drilled, producing “significant” results.

Hummingbird said highlights of the historical drill results produced by Equator included two metres at 61.80 grams of gold per tonne from 74 metres in hole BRC050, and 10 metres at 6.20 grams of gold per tonne from 11 metres on hole BRC037.

It also highlighted seven metres at 5.69 grams of gold per tonne from 10 metres at hole BRC019, and five metres at 3.55 grams of gold per tonne from surface on hole BRC035.

The total project area under licence increased to 2,565 square kilometres from 2,355 square kilometres.

“We believe the acquisition of the Central licence represents a significant project enhancement with exceptional prospectively,” said chief executive officer Dan Betts.

“The area is well known for its artisanal gold workings and additionally benefits from a previous drilling dataset of high-grade intersections.

“This, coupled with our already large drilling dataset adds to our knowledge, development and exploration potential for the region.”

At 0934 GMT, shares in Hummingbird Resources were up 1.51% at 32.99p.