B2Gold has awarded Byrnecut, an international specialist underground mining contractor, a N$1.6 billion development and production contract for its Wolfshag Underground Mine.
The underground mining project was approved by the B2Gold Board in December 2019 and is estimated to contain 210 000 ounces of gold contained in 1.2 million tonnes of ore, which will be extracted over a period of four years from January 2022 to August 2025.
During this period, it is expected that the project will realise revenue of N$5.9 billion (US$ 403.2 million) at a gold price of US$1,500 per ounce, with an incremental All-in sustaining cost (ASIC) of US$609 per ounce.
Wolfshag is Byrnecut’s first mining contract in Namibia.
The Byrnecut team is made up of 34 experienced expatriate miners from Australia, Indonesia and parts of Africa working jointly with 58 appointed local Namibians and B2Gold Otjikoto staff to ensure the success of what is the first underground gold mine in Namibia.
Wolfshag will employ 90 employees and expand to approximately 120 when full production rates are achieved at the beginning of year two of the contract.
The Wolfshag contract includes a total of 10 km of development and a total material movement of 3.2 Mt.
Wolfshag underground mine ore production is expected to begin in the first half of 2022 and will complement the open pit ore supply at Otjikoto.
The B2Gold Otjikoto Mine produced an annual record of 197,573 ounces of gold last year, near the upper end of its guidance range (of between 190,000 – 200,000 ounces), and 18% (29,532 ounces) higher compared to 2020.
For the first half of 2022, tjikoto’s gold production is expected to be between 65,000 – 70,000 ounces, which is expected to increase significantly to between 110,000 – 115,000 ounces during the second half of 2022.
The Otjikoto Mine is expected to produce between 175,000 – 185,000 ounces of gold in 2022 at cash operating costs of between US$740 – US$780 per ounce.
B2Gold Namibia (Pty) Ltd. is a 90% owned subsidiary of B2Gold Corp, with the remaining 10% is owned by EVI Mining Company Limited, a Namibian, broad-based economic empowerment group.
