Gold miner B2Gold has spent up to N$908 million CAPEX on its Namibian operations for this year in the months ending 30 September 2023.
For the third quarter only, capital expenditures totalled N$257 million (about US$13 million), consisting of N$178 million (US$9 million) for deferred stripping in the Otjikoto pit and N$59 milliom (US$3 million) for Wolfshag underground mine development.
On a quarterly basis, the Otjikoto Mine, in which the Company holds a 90% interest, performed well during the third quarter of 2023, producing 44,940 ounces of gold, mainly due to improved processed grade as a result of high-grade ore mined from the Wolfshag underground mine. For the third quarter of 2023, mill feed grade was 1.66 g/t, mill throughput was 0.86 million tonnes, and gold recovery averaged 98.4%.
The Mine is expected to produce between 190,000 and 210,000 ounces of gold in 2023.
Open pit mining operations at the Otjikoto Mine are scheduled to ramp down in 2024 and conclude in 2025, while processing operations will continue until 2031, when economically viable stockpiles are forecast to be exhausted. Underground operations are currently projected to continue until 2026 with potential to extend underground operations if the ongoing underground exploration program is successful in identifying more underground mineral deposits.
Overall, the miner said total gold production of 242,838 ounces in Q3 2023, expected to increase in Q4 2023. Total gold production in Q3 2023 was 242,838 ounces, including 17,786 ounces of attributable production from Calibre Mining Corp.