Hummingbird Resources announced on Friday that it has been ramping up production, according to schedule, at its Yanfolila gold mine in Mali.
Over the past 10 days, the site has operated at an average of approximately 90% of design throughout capacity and the plant has achieved around 96% gold recoveries since the start of operations in December.

Dan Betts, chief executive of Hummingbird, said: "I am pleased that activity on site is steadily progressing as per the ramp-up schedule and we are on track to achieve name plate capacity from the plant by the end of Q1 2018."

To date, the total gold recovered at the mine is 10,737 ounces, with 5,483 ounces of that shipped to refineries.

Hummingbird intends to spend between $8m and $10m on exploration this year, but not exceeding 15% of the operating cashflows from the Yanfolila mine, constituting an aggressive exploration strategy which will be "controlled by strict financial discipline."

"I am particularly happy to report on the technical performance of the plant, with recoveries over 95% already and a solid performance of the milling circuit. This stands us in good stead as we continue to ramp up the performance of the operation," said Betts.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of the Republic of Mali, will visit the mine for an official opening ceremony later in 2018, according to Hummingbird's statement.

As of 0816 GMT, Hummingbird Resources' shares were up 3.08% at 33.75p.

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