B2Gold plans to drill 39,000 metres at the Antelope underground project in 2024.
The Antelope Deposit is ~3 km south of the Phase 5 open pit at Otjikoto Mine.
In 2023, B2Gold completed 20,715 metres in 37 drill holes at the Antelope deposit, which comprises the Springbok Zone, with 12.88 g/t Au over 7.60 metres, and the Oryx Zone, with 9.86 g/t Au over 7.48 metres.
B2Gold announced in January 2024 that it had received positive exploration drilling results from a new area, the Antelope deposit.
The Canadian company says 28 positive exploration results indicate that the Antelope Deposit has the potential for underground development.
According to B2Gold, the Antelope deposit has the potential to be developed as an underground mining operation, which could begin contributing to gold production at Otjikoto in 2026.
B2Gold has already budgeted US$9 million for exploration at Otjikoto in 2024.
In April 2023, B2Gold announced that, based on the life-of-mine plan, the Otjikoto open-pit end-of-life would likely occur in 2024, with mining output ramping to 50% of production capacity in 2024.
The company added that processing and milling of low-grade stockpiles would continue until approximately 2031.
In addition, B2Gold said underground mining operations at Wolfshag would continue through 2026, with the potential to extend underground production past 2026.
B2Gold acquired the Otjikoto project in 2011 and started construction in 2013.
Open pit production began in 2014, and the Wolfhag underground production started in 2022.
The Otjikoto Mine produced 81,111 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter of 2023, a quarterly record, and production from the Wolfshag underground mine remained consistent throughout the quarter.
For 2023, the Otjikoto Mine produced 208,598 ounces of gold, near the upper end of its guidance range of 190,000 to 210,000 ounces.
