B2Gold Reports Q1 2024 Results; Cash Operating Costs ... Update on Goose Project Following Successful Completion of 2024 Winter Ice Road Campaign

7 May 2024

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO, NYSE AMERICAN: BTG, NSX: B2G) (“B2Gold” or the “Company”) announces its operational and financial results for the first quarter of 2024. All dollar figures are in United States dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Editors note: we have focused here on Nunavut highlights

2024 First Quarter Highlights

• Goose Project 2024 winter ice road campaign successfully completed: Subsequent to quarter end, B2Gold successfully completed the 2024 winter ice road (“WIR”) campaign. Construction of the 162 kilometer (“km”) WIR began in December 2023 and the 2024 WIR campaign commenced in the first quarter of 2024. The 2024 WIR campaign was successfully completed on April 30, 2024, delivering all necessary materials from the Marine Laydown Area (“MLA”) to complete the construction of the Goose Project. Materials trucked from the MLA to the Goose Project site during the 2024 WIR campaign exceeded 2,100 total loads and included 400 loads of diesel fuel.
• Goose Project mill construction remains on schedule: The mill construction remains on schedule with work ongoing on various facilities related to concrete, steel erection and building cladding. Additionally, installation of the ball mill continues to progress ahead of schedule with the installation of all shell sections, feed/discharge heads, trunnion, pinion and bearings having been completed.
• Development of the open pit and underground is slightly behind schedule at the Goose Project; first gold production now expected in Q2 2025: Development of the open pit and underground is slightly behind schedule due to equipment availability (commissioning and availability of the open pit equipment), adverse weather conditions and prioritization of critical path construction activities. The current schedule indicates that an additional three months of mining must be added to the schedule to ensure that the Umwelt open pit, underground development, and crown pillar activities align and that there is sufficient tailings storage capacity in the Echo open pit. With the schedule change, the mill is now scheduled to produce first gold in the second quarter of 2025 with ramp up to full production in the third quarter of 2025 (one quarter later than previous estimates). As a result of the updated mining schedule, the Company now estimates that gold production in calendar year 2025 will be between 120,000 ounces and 150,000 ounces (previously estimated to be between 220,000 ounces and 260,000 ounces). The reduction in estimated gold production in 2025 is predominantly due to the deferral of an anticipated 100,000 ounces of quarterly gold production from the fourth quarter of 2025 into the first quarter of 2026. Importantly, the updated mining schedule does not impact the total number of gold ounces the Company expects to produce over the life of mine of the Goose Project. The updated production profile has resulted in the Company now estimating that average annual gold production from 2026 to 2030 will increase to be in excess of 310,000 ounces per year (previously estimated at 300,000 ounces per year).

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