B2GOLD said gold production this year would be lower than in 2023 owing to a delay in the grant of a exploration licence at its Fekola mine in Mali.
An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 ounces were scheduled in the life of mine plan to be trucked to the Fekola mill and processed in 2024. The delay in the licence means this gold is “now assumed” to start at the beginning of 2025, the group said.
Guidance for 2024 is 860,000 to 940,000 oz compared to 1,06 million oz in 2023 which represented the upper end of guidance. All in sustaining costs (AISC) for 2023 are forecast to be at the low end of the guidance range of between $1,195 and $1,255/oz. This compares to forecast AISC this year of $1,360 to $1,420/oz.
The higher AISC this year reflects capital spent on the Fekola Tailings Storage Facility and the Fekola solar plant expansion, in addition to the ongoing substantial capitalised stripping campaign planned at Fekola for 2024, the group said.
In 2025, group production is expected to total between 1.13 million and 1.26 million oz owing to increases in Fekola output and a first contribution from B2Gold’s Goose Project in Canada which is forecast to contribute between 220,000 and 260,000 oz.
“As a result of the expected completion of several capital projects in 2024 and early 2025, it is expected that there will be a significant decrease in both sustaining and growth capital expenditures in 2025 as well,” B2Gold said.
