Gold miner B2Gold has said that capital expenditures in 2024 at Otjikoto in Namibia are expected to total N$629 million (about US$33 million, of which approximately N$610 million (about US$32 million) is classified as sustaining capital expenditures and N$19 million is classified as growth capital expenditures.
Sustaining capital expenditures are anticipated to include N$610 million for capitalized stripping and deferred underground development, added the miner.
“Gold production at Otjikoto is expected to be relatively consistent throughout 2024. Otjikoto is expected to process a total of 3.4 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.77 g/t gold with a process gold recovery of 98.0%. Processed ore will be sourced from the Otjikoto pit and the Wolfshag underground mine, supplemented by existing medium and high-grade ore stockpiles.
“Open pit mining operations are scheduled to ramp down throughout 2024 and conclude in 2025, while underground mining operations at Wolfshag will continue through 2026. Exploration results received to date indicate the potential to extend underground production at Wolfshag past 2026, supplementing the processing operations which will continue until 2031 when economically viable stockpiles are forecast to be exhausted,” further extended the mine.
In addition, the Company recently received positive exploration drilling results from a new area, located approximately 3 kilometers south of the Otjikoto Mine Phase 5 open pit, referred to as the Antelope deposit, which the Company will be providing a more detailed update on in a separate news release in the near-term.