B2GOLD produced 197,380 ounces of gold from its three operating mines in the June quarter – five percent above budget – and said it was on course for either reaching the high end of its 970,000 to 1.03 million oz full-year guidance or exceeding it.
Including gold production from Calibre Mining Corp., a mining company in which B2Gold has a stake, total gold was 211,612 oz for the quarter.
Consolidated gold revenue in the second quarter totalled $363m on sales of 200,071 oz at an average price of $1,814/oz.
The quarter’s performance took B2Gold’s gold production for the first half to 432,256 oz, including 29,233 oz of attributable production from Calibre. This is 7% above budget. Consolidated gold production from its operating mines totalled 403,023 oz.
Consolidated gold revenue in the first half was $725m following sales of 402,401 oz at an average price of $1,802/oz.
Fekola, a mine in Mali, drives B2Gold’s performance. It produced 113,611 oz in the second quarter taking its total half-year production to 238,699 oz.
The mine has operated uninterrupted throughout 2021 despite the ongoing political fallout from a coup in August, 2020. However, B2Gold is taking Mali to the International Court of Arbitration after its interim government said the company would not be granted a one-year extension of a mining permit situated about 20km from Fekola mine.
B2Gold has so far spent $27m in exploration on the prospect during the last seven years and had earmarked a further $8.4m for exploration this year – roughly a third of its $26.4m exploration budget for Mali.
B2Gold said it would continue to engage with the Mali government.
It reiterated its bona fides having generated $300m in state revenue as a result of Fekola’s production which comprised 27% of Mali’s industrial gold production in 2020 and employing about 2,200 people in Mali of which the majority were Malian.
