B2Gold Corp. says the Springbok Zone’s Initial Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 390,000 gold ounces.
The Springbok Zone is within the Antelope deposit, located approximately three kilometres south of the Otjikoto Phase 5 open pit at the Otjikoto Mine.
The Antelope deposit comprises the Springbok Zone, the Oryx Zone, and a possible third structure, Impala, subject to confirmatory drilling.
B2Gold discovered the deposit in 2022 following deep drill testing exploration on three-dimensional models of airborne magnetic data.
The Canadian company said the Mineral Resource estimate on the Springbok Zone that will form the basis for a potential preliminary economic assessment includes Inferred Mineral Resources of 1.75 million tonnes grading 6.91 grams per ton of gold for 390,000 ounces.
According to B2Gold, subject to receipt of a positive preliminary economic assessment and permit, mining of the Springbok Zone, coupled with the exploration potential of the greater Antelope deposit, could begin to contribute to gold production at Otjikoto in 2026.
B2Gold added that the Springbok Zone has the potential to supplement the processing of low-grade stockpiles at the Otjikoto Mine through 2031 to increase gold production levels to over 100,000 ounces per year from 2026 through 2031.
The 2024 exploration budget for Namibia is $9 million, funding the largest drill program at the Otjikoto Mine since the definition of the Wolfshag discovery in 2012.
A total of 39,000 metres of drilling has been budgeted for 2024, and five rigs are currently active in the drill program.
Overall, the Antelope deposit mineralisation has been intersected by drilling over a combined strike length of approximately 1,500 m.
Over two km of prospective stratigraphy remain relatively untested between the Oryx Zone and the southernmost known mineralisation in Phase 5 of the Otjikoto Mine open pit. Drilling over this zone is planned for the second half of 2024.
The initial Inferred Mineral Resource for the Springbok Zone is a significant milestone following the 2022 discovery of the Antelope deposit, a blind target, in that mineralisation does not outcrop on the Otjikoto mining license.
B2Gold said the deep mineralisation in the Antelope deposit, including the Springbok Zone, is potentially amenable to underground mining based on comparable inputs from the underground mining of the Wolfshag deposit.
Ongoing exploration drilling on the Oryx Zone, which appears to represent a second shoot northeast of and stacked stratigraphically above the Springbok Zone, has returned high-grade intervals demonstrating the potential to increase the Mineral Resource estimate.
