Hummingbird Resources shares fell 20 per cent to 13.23p on Monday after the company halted operations at the Yanfolila gold mine in southern Mali, the company's only producer, because of safety concerns.
The miner said that unrest in the area where the mine is located and illegal road blockades had weakened its ability to continue safe mining in Yanfolila, adding that the operation would remain closed until conditions improved.
The Hummingbird warned that the shutdown would affect full-year production below the lower limit of the 2021 guidance. The miner had expected to produce 100000 to 110000 ounces of gold from Yanfolila this year.
The company said it was difficult to assess the full impact of the outage, adding that it would provide more details once the situation became clearer.
"the Malian government is aware of the situation and is actively involved in resolving these disruptions, which we expect to be short-lived," Chief Executive Dan Bates said in a statement. "
Hummingbird says the current illegal actions come from a small number of people and do not represent the community in which the company operates.
The company's shares rebounded slightly in afternoon trading but closed down nearly 11 per cent at 14.83p. Hummingbird Resources has a market capitalization of 56.85 million pounds ($76 million).
Yanfolila is a high-grade open-pit mining operation with underground potential and began to produce gold in December 2017.
The company's latest mineral resources are estimated at 1.92 million ounces, with current reserves of 7.9m tonnes @ 2.66g / t, capable of producing 676000 ounces of gold.
An updated reserve statement is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
