First gold at 400koz Fekola
CANADIAN miner B2Gold has poured first gold at its flagship Fekola gold mine in Mali three months ahead of schedule.
The mid-tier gold miner said commissioning of the mill was ongoing and commercial production on track for the end of 2017, with gold production for the December quarter expected to be between 50,000oz and 55,000oz.
B2Gold flagged its first full year of production at Fekola to yield between 400,000oz and 410,000oz, representing a 70 per cent increase in overall gold production to between 925,000oz and 975,000oz per annum.
Based on an updated life of mine plan announced in September, Fekola is expected to maintain a run rate of 400,000ozpa for the first three years at an AISC of $US664/oz.
B2Gold believed there was significant potential to increase the current mine life of 10 years through further drilling, upping its exploration budget from $US11.6m to $US15.8m.
The miner has four other operating mines, two in in Nicaragua, one in Namibia and another in the Philippines, along with numerous exploration and development projects in various countries including Finland and Burkina Faso.