B2Gold Corp has approved the development of the Antelope underground deposit at its Otjikoto Mine in Namibia, a project expected to add about 110,000 ounces of gold per year and secure the future of one of the country’s most important gold operations.
Pre-production capital costs have been reduced to US$105 million (approximately N$1.9 billion), down from an earlier estimate of US$129 million, with most spending scheduled for 2026 and 2027.
The Antelope deposit lies just four kilometres southwest of the Otjikoto open-pit mine in the Otjozondjupa Region and was discovered in 2022 through deep drilling testing supported by three-dimensional airborne magnetic models.
It hosts at least two well-defined high-grade zones, the Springbok and Oryx shoots, with a possible third, Impala, under further evaluation.
The Springbok zone alone carries an inferred resource of around 1.75 million tonnes grading 6.91 grams per tonne gold, equivalent to about 390,000 ounces.
A Preliminary Economic Assessment released in February 2025 confirmed Antelope’s potential as an underground mine.
It outlined life-of-mine production of about 327,000 ounces over five years at an average all-in sustaining cost of US$1,095 per ounce, gold recoveries of 95 per cent, and an after-tax net present value of US$131 million.
The project is forecast to generate a 35 per cent after-tax internal rate of return with a payback period of just 1.3 years.
Later refinements allowed B2Gold to reduce upfront capital while maintaining the production profile.
To advance the project, B2Gold has allocated US$7 million from its 2025 Namibian exploration budget for 44,000 metres of drilling.
The work focuses on infill drilling at Springbok to upgrade resource confidence, step-out drilling to expand the Oryx zone, and testing for extensions to the south.
Technical programs covering geotechnical stability, hydrogeology, metallurgical recovery, and permitting are also underway.
Because Antelope falls within the Otjikoto mining licence area, the development is expected to benefit from existing Namibian infrastructure and the underground mining experience gained through the Wolfshag project.
The timing of Antelope’s approval is significant for Namibia.
As open-pit mining at Otjikoto winds down, ore reconciliations have outperformed expectations, resulting in larger stockpiles and higher grades than initially forecast.
This has allowed B2Gold to raise its 2025 production guidance for Otjikoto to 185,000–205,000 ounces, up from 165,000–185,000 ounces.
These stockpiles will help bridge the transition period until Antelope is in production, ensuring steady output as the mine evolves from surface to underground operations.
Since it poured its first gold in 2015, Otjikoto has been a cornerstone of Namibia’s mining industry, employing thousands, stimulating local procurement chains, and contributing substantially to government revenues.
The move underground with Antelope extends this legacy and positions Otjikoto to remain a significant gold producer into the next decade.
B2Gold president and CEO Clive Johnson said the mine’s Namibian performance demonstrates both the quality of the orebody and the strength of its operational teams. “The results at Otjikoto reflect the quality of the deposit and the effectiveness of our optimisation strategy,” he said.
