B2Gold earnings slide as costs rise

B2Gold has reported net earnings of US$48.5 million on revenues of $461.4 million for the March quarter, a 52% fall over the same period of 2023, during what is a transitional year for the company.

The company produced 225,716oz of gold in the quarter, 15.4% less than the prior year and 21.8% less than in the December 2023 quarter. The all-in sustaining cost (AISC) was $1345/oz, 26.9% higher than the prior year and 6.4% more than in the December 2023 quarter as work on the Goose development project in Nunavut, Canada continued.

B2Gold expects total gold production to be 860,000-940,000oz in 2024, including 40,000-50,000oz of attributable production from its interest in Calibre Mining.

The company ended the quarter with $567.8 million in cash and $28.8 million in long-term debt, having paid down its revolving credit facility (RCF) during the quarter. The RCF is for $700 million with an accordion feature to increase to $800 million. It matures in December 2025. B2Gold also declared a quarterly dividend of 4c per share.

Goose

B2Gold said the Goose mill construction remains on schedule. However, the development of the open pit and underground is slightly behind schedule due to equipment availability and adverse weather conditions, and the first gold production is now expected in the June 2025 quarter.

It said 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 sufficient tailings storage capacity in the Echo open pit. Gold production in 2025 is now estimated at 120,000-150,000oz, down from 220,000-260,000oz.

B2Gold expects to release an updated preliminary economic assessment for its Gramalote project in Antioquia, Colombia, in the June quarter with the goal of identifying a higher-return project than the previously contemplated joint venture development plan.

"If Gramalote is economic, it could add another 200,000oz of production," B2Gold chief executive Clive Johnson said during the results conference call.

The company said it had completed a detailed review of Gramalote, including the facility size and location, power supply, mining and processing options, tailings design, resettlement, potential construction sequencing and camp design to identify potential cost savings to develop a smaller-scale project.

Mali

B2Gold said production from the Fekola Complex in Mali is anticipated to decrease relative to 2023 due to lower production as a result of the delay in receiving an exploitation license for Fekola Regional from the government pending finalisation of an implementation decree for the new 2023 mining code.

Johnson said the government of Mali does not intend to nationalise Western gold assets.

"In fact, the government wants to generate more revenue from gold mining," he said.

Shares in B2Gold have fallen 19.6% so far in 2024 and are trading at $2.54, valuing the company at $3.4 billion.