• Mining

B2Gold digs deep

• 3 Months Ago

Amid the closure of open-pit operations at Namibia's leading gold mine, B2Gold’s Otjikoto mine situated between Otavi and Otjiwarongo, and painful associated job losses, the Canadian-listed miner has recently shared some good news for the future.

On 20 June, the company announced in Vancouver that exploration had successfully discovered an underground resource similar to the Wolfshag deposit, which it is increasingly exploiting at Otjikoto.

The gold miner announced an initial inferred mineral resource estimate for its Springbok Zone, the southernmost shoot of the recently discovered Antelope deposit, located approximately three kilometres south of the Otjikoto Phase 5 open pit. According to B2Gold, the company aims to progress from the initial discovery to the commencement of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in under two years.



Deposits

The Antelope deposit, which comprises the Springbok Zone, the Oryx Zone, and a possible third structure, Impala (subject to confirmatory drilling), was discovered in 2022 following deep drill testing by B2Gold exploration personnel.

Over 36 000 metres have been drilled into the Springbok Zone, with 33 holes totalling 16 950 metres completed earlier this year. The initial inferred mineral resource estimate of 390 000 gold ounces meets B2Gold's threshold to initiate PEA-level studies of development using underground mining methods, similar to the Wolfshag deposit, B2Gold announced.

The estimate for the Springbok Zone, which will form the basis for a potential PEA, includes inferred mineral resources of 1.75 million tonnes grading 6.91 grams per tonne of gold, totalling 390 000 ounces of gold.

Ongoing exploration drilling on the Oryx Zone, which appears to represent a second shoot north-east of and stratigraphically stacked above the Springbok Zone, has returned high-grade intervals that demonstrate the potential to increase the mineral resource estimate, the company explained. Subject to a positive PEA study and permit approval, mining of the Springbok Zone, along with the exploration potential of the greater Antelope deposit, could begin contributing to gold production at Otjikoto in 2026, the gold miner stated.

It also highlighted the potential to supplement the processing of low-grade stockpiles at the Otjikoto Mine through 2031, with the goal of increasing gold production levels to over 100 000 ounces per year from 2026 through 2031. Furthermore, recent drilling at the Springbok Zone remains open southward, indicating additional exploration potential beyond the currently defined resource.



Transition underway

Last year, the mine generated profits of about N$2.1 billion, thanks to gold production of 208 598 ounces and gold sales of 214 800 ounces, which included some gold from its own stock. Meanwhile, 61% of B2Gold's procurement for Otjikoto, totalling N$3.172 billion, was spent within Namibia.

However, in May, B2Gold announced that the Otjikoto gold mine (ML169) open-pit operations will not expand next year, resulting in the layoff of 300 employees this year, with an additional 250 job losses planned for 2025.

According to John Roos, the manager of the Canadian-listed mining company in Namibia, the core message is the transition to underground mining, which requires fewer and different types of manpower. Last year, the mine's 820 employees earned a total of N$723 million in salaries, while the government collected N$1.515 billion in taxes and levies.