Clive Johnson
CEO: Resolute Mining
‘Operations at Fekola in Mali continue to operate uninterrupted and all permits and licences remain in good standing’
WHEN gold first went through the $2,000-per-ounce mark the B2Gold share price hit C$10. Gold is now above $4,500/oz but – as of the time of writing – B2Gold’s share price has not responded. In fact, the share has gone south while rival gold shares have more than trebled. There would appear to be two reasons for this, of which the most obvious is that investors are not happy with B2Gold’s exposure to Mali where its largest and most valuable gold mine – Fekola – is situated.
This despite the fact that CEO Clive Johnson dealt well with Mali’s sweeping changes to its mining regulations well and has suffered no problems at Fekola, unlike the much-publicised disaster at Barrick Mining’s Loulo-Gounkoto mine. In November, the company declared that its operations at Fekola “continue unimpeded” and confirmed its production guidance for 2025 at up to 550,000oz of gold. The other reason is that last year B2Gold cut back on its generous dividend policy to help fund its hefty capital expenditure programmes.
In addition to its operating mines in the Philippines, Canada and Namibia, B2Gold is investing in the Back River-Goose Mine project in Canada and the Gramalote project in Colombia. In this regard, the firm is not unlike another relatively neglected gold share in Harmony Gold, which is being penalised for laying out capital-intensive growth plans. Even Gold Fields, a premier gold share, has complained that investors are too short-term in their outlook. It’s often said there’s a misalignment between investors and company managers. We’re seeing it big time in the world’s gold sector.
LIFE OF CLIVE
Johnson is the founding director and president of B2Gold, which he set up in 2007 after selling his first highly successful venture – Bema Gold – to Kinross for C$3.5bn. If he looks like a rugby player it’s because he was, and in the past he has taken a ‘roughhouse’ approach to analysts who are critical of his business in the past. B2Gold was created with a number of his former Bema colleagues with the intention of recreating the success of Bema, which it has done. He has an interest in conservation, as shown by the company’s actions in 2021 in minting special Rhino Gold Bars to help protect the desert population of black rhino in Namibia, where B2Gold operates the Otjikoto mine.
