The Otjikoto Mine in Namibia, in which B2Gold holds a 90% interest, had a strong 2024 and produced 198,142 ounces of gold, near the mid-point of its guidance range of 185,000 and 205,000 ounces.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, mill feed grade was 1.87 g/t, mill throughput was 3.34 million tonnes, and gold recovery averaged 98.6%.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Otjikoto Mine produced 52,452 ounces of gold.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, mill feed grade was 2.10 g/t, mill throughput was 0.79 million tonnes, and gold recovery averaged 98.6%.
Ore production from the Wolfshag underground mine for the fourth quarter of 2024 averaged over 1,650 tonnes per day at an average gold grade of 3.61 g/t gold.
Open pit mining operations at Otjikoto Mine are expected to conclude in 2025 while processing operations will continue until economically viable stockpiles are exhausted in 2032.
Underground operations under the current Otjikoto mine plan are projected to continue into 2027, potentially extending underground operations if the ongoing underground exploration program successfully identifies additional underground mineral deposits.
On February 4, 2025, the company announced positive PEA results for the Antelope deposit at the Otjikoto Mine. The Antelope deposit, comprised of the Springbok Zone, the Oryx Zone, and a possible third structure, Impala, subject to further confirmatory drilling, is located approximately 4 km southwest of the existing Otjikoto open pit.
Based on the positive results from the PEA, B2Gold believes that the Antelope deposit has the potential to become a small-scale, low-cost, underground gold mine that can supplement the low-grade stockpile production from 2028 to 2032 and result in a meaningful production profile for Otjikoto into the next decade.
The PEA for the Antelope deposit indicates an initial mine life of 5 years and total production of 327,000 ounces, averaging approximately 65,000 ounces per year over the life of the mine.
Combined with processing existing low-grade stockpiles, the Antelope deposit can increase Otjikoto Mine production to approximately 110,000 ounces annually from 2029 through 2032.
The company has approved an initial budget of up to $10 million for 2025 to de-risk the Antelope deposit development schedule by advancing early work planning, project permits, and long lead orders.
Technical work, including geotechnical, hydrogeological, and metallurgical testing, is anticipated to be completed over the next several months.
Cost and schedule assumptions will continue to be refined by working with suppliers and contractors, including running a competitive bid process for the development phase of the Antelope deposit.
The Inferred Mineral Resource estimate for the Antelope deposit that formed the basis for the PEA included 1.75 million tonnes grading 6.91 g/t gold for 390,000 ounces of gold, most hosted in the Springbok Zone.
The Antelope deposit remains open along strike in both directions, highlighting strong potential for future resource expansion.
The PEA is preliminary and based on inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the engineering and economic considerations applied to them, enabling them to be categorized as mineral reserves.
There is no certainty that the PEA based on these Mineral Resources will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not mineral reserves do not demonstrate economic viability.
The Otjikoto Mine’s cash operating costs for the year ended December 31, 2024, were US$699 per gold ounce produced (US$668 per gold ounce sold), at the low end of its guidance range of between US$685 and US$745 per gold ounce produced, as a result of higher than expected gold ounces produced.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, the Otjikoto Mine’s cash operating costs were US$733 per gold ounce produced (US$700 per ounce gold sold), lower than expected due to higher than anticipated gold ounces produced and higher than expected net increases in stockpiled ore from open pits.
All-in sustaining costs for the Otjikoto Mine for the year ended December 31, 2024, was US$951 per gold ounce sold, slightly below its guidance range of between US$960 and US$1,020 per ounce sold as a result of higher-than-expected gold ounces sold and lower than anticipated cash operating costs offset by higher gold royalties resulting from a higher than anticipated realized gold price.
All-in-sustaining costs for the Otjikoto Mine for the fourth quarter of 2024 were US$913 per gold ounce sold.
Capital expenditures totalled US$29 million in 2024, primarily US$20 million for deferred stripping for the Otjikoto pit and US$8 million for Wolfshag underground development.
Capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2024 totalled US$3 million, primarily US$2 million for Wolfshag underground development.
The Otjikoto Mine is expected to produce between 165,000 and 185,000 ounces of gold in 2025 at cash operating costs of between US$695 and US$755 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of between US$980 and US$1,040 per ounce.
Gold production at Otjikoto will be weighted towards the first half of 2025 due to the conclusion of open pit mining activities in the third quarter of 2025.
For 2025, Otjikoto is expected to process a total of 3.4 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.63 g/t with a process gold recovery of 98.0%. Processed ore will be sourced from the Otjikoto pit and the Wolfshag underground mine, supplemented by existing ore stockpiles.
Open-pit mining operations are scheduled to conclude in the third quarter of 2025, while underground mining operations at Wolfshag are expected to continue into 2027.
In addition to the economic potential of the Antelope deposit, exploration results received to date indicate the potential to extend underground production at Wolfshag past 2027, supplementing processing operations into 2032 when economically viable stockpiles are forecast to be exhausted.
Capital expenditures in 2025 at Otjikoto are expected to total US$39 million, of which approximately US$29 million are expected to be classified as sustaining capital expenditures and US$10 million are expected to be classified as non-sustaining capital expenditures. Sustaining capital expenditures are anticipated to include $16 million for underground development, US$7 million for tailings storage facility construction and US$6 million for mining equipment replacement and rebuilds.
Non-sustaining capital expenditures are expected to include approximately US$10 million to initiate Antelope deposit development
