Hummingbird Resources plc has rejected accusations, including of money owed, from its mining contractor which has suspended operations at Kouroussa gold mine in Guinea.
FAILURES
The company said it disagreed with Corica Mining Services’ “highly misleading” public statement.
“Specifically, the company disputes the accuracy of the balance quantum of monies due and the requirement for payment as presented by Corica under the terms of the mining contract.
“Since the inception of the contract in September 2022, Corica has consistently underperformed against established contractual performance targets, failing to meet the mining contract volumes principally due to delays in mobilising mining equipment, commissioning the equipment, as well as recruitment and training.”
Hummingbird added that in July 2023 it notified Corica of a breach of contract due to the “underperformance” of the operation.
It also had the right “as per the contract terms” to withhold all payments until the breaches were rectified and operational deficit volumes addressed.
The company said it had tried to resolve matters with Corica with interim payments and using other contractors to support the contractor which continued to “fall behind their contractual obligations”.
Hummingbird added it would engage with all parties to try to find a resolution and restart Kouroussa operations as soon as possible.