Otjikoto’s first quarter performance above budget by 6%
Listed international gold miner B2Gold Corp announced this week said that it achieved a quarterly consolidated gold production of 239,684 ounces, an increase in comparison to the same period last year, and 7% above budget, due to the continued strong performances of the Otjikoto Mine, Fekola Mine in Mali and Masbate Mine in the Philippines.
In a statement the gold miner with focus to local operations at the Otjikoto Mine, said the mine had a strong start to the year with first quarter gold production of 39,499 ounces which was above budget by 6%.
“Mill throughput, recoveries and processed grade were all slightly above budget, as the mine continues to incrementally optimize its operations. Compared to the prior-year quarter, gold production was lower by 8%, as planned, due to a negligible amount of Wolfshag ore being mined in 2018 while Phase 2 of the Wolfshag Pit is being developed,” B2Gold said.
According to the miner, ore production is planned to resume again from the Wolfshag Pit in 2019 which is projected to provide higher grade open-pit mill feed.
“The Otjikoto mill continued to operate well, processing 827,227 tonnes (Q1 2017 – 832,805 tonnes) in the quarter at an average grade of 1.51 g/t (Q1 2017 – 1.62 g/t) with gold recoveries averaging 98.7% (Q1 2017 – 98.6%),” they added.
Meanwhile, the miner said for full-year 2018, the Otjikoto Mine is expected to produce between 160,000 and 170,000 ounces of gold, primarily from the Otjikoto Pit, at cash operating costs of between US$480 and US$525 per ounce and AISC of between US$700 and US$750 per ounce.
The Company’s total exploration budget for Namibia in 2018 is US$5.1 million and exploration in will include 17,000 metres of diamond drilling and 4,000 metres of RAB drilling, split between the Otjikoto Project and the Ondundu joint venture.
