Hummingbird Resources said on Friday it had poured first gold at the Kouroussa mine in Guinea on June 8, ahead of schedule and on budget.

Commissioning at the mine began in early May 2023. At the time the company said it expected first gold by the end of June. 

Kouroussa, Hummingbird’s second operating mine, is now expected to ramp up to commercial production during the second half of 2023.

“[This] is a major strategic milestone for the company, transforming Hummingbird into a multi-asset, multi-jurisdiction gold producer, that more than doubles our production profile to 200,000 ounces per annum,” chief executive officer Dan Betts said in the statement.

Kouroussa is expected to churn out an average of between 120,000 ounces and 140,000 ounces of gold annually for the first three years of commercial production. After that, the mine will average 100,000 ounces of gold a year over an initial seven-year life. 

Hummingbird’s first producing mine was Yanfolila, in Mali, which poured its first gold in 2017. 

The company acquired the Kouroussa project, which comprises two key deposits as well as several exploration targets, from Cassidy Gold in September 2020.