B2Gold Corp. said it continues to focus on its COVID-19 response measures and to date has not experienced any incidents of the COVID-19 virus at its sites or corporate offices. It recorded consolidated gold production of 250,632 ounces (oz), well-above budget by 7% (16,156 oz) and a significant increase of 25% (50,090 oz) over the first quarter of 2019 with solid performances from all the company’s operations.
It also recorded quarterly total gold production of 262,632 oz, including 12,000 oz of estimated attributable gold production from Calibre Mining, which operates the El Limon and La Libertad gold mines in Nicaragua.
The Fekola mine in Mali achieved record quarterly production of 164,011 oz, well-above budget by 9% (14,011 oz) and significantly higher by 49% (53,662 oz) over the first quarter of 2019.
The Otjikoto mine in Namibia continued its remarkable safety performance, extending the number of days without a lost-time injury to 733 days (approximately 2 years or more than 6 million man-hours) at the end of the first quarter of 2020.
B2Gold said it remains well-positioned for continued strong operational and financial performance. Total consolidated production guidance remains at more than 1 million oz of gold; operating costs are forecast to be between $415/oz and $55/oz and consolidated all-in sustaining costs are forecast to be $780/oz-$820/oz.
In addition to sharing best practices and helping with COVID-19 risk mitigation, B2Gold said it is also committed to providing financial assistance to both the local communities and to local and national authorities in the countries in which it operates.
