MALI – B2Gold, a Canadian company that owns and operates gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines, has successfully expanded the mill at the Fekola mine, in Mali.
According to a report by Mining Weekly B2Gold was able to successfully expand the Fekola mill to 7.5-million tonnes a year, a few weeks ahead of the scheduled completion date of September 30.
B2Gold reported that results of a 5-day performance test conducted in August exceeded design in throughput, gold recovery, grind and availability.
The Canadian mining company said that outstanding construction work is expected to be completed before the end of September.
The surprising news from B2Gold’s Fekola mine comes at a time when Mali economic environment is clouded by a political crisis resulting from the coup d’état that overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
B2Gold however notes that the Fekola mine continues to operate unimpeded and no operational days have been lost owing to the recent political developments in Mali, or the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Fekola mine is an important asset to B2Gold and was significant driver of the company’s performance in the second quarter of 2020.
B2Gold’s consolidated gold production in the second quarter of 2020 was 239,574 ounces, a significant increase of 15% (30,684 ounces) over the second quarter of 2019.
The miner noted that the significant increase in gold production was driven by the Fekola Mine in Mali which produced 147,424 ounces of gold, a 29% (33,527 ounces) higher compared to the second quarter of 2019.
Fekola’s significant increase in gold production over the second quarter of 2019 was mainly due to the expansion of the Fekola mining fleet and optimization of the pit designs and mine plan for 2020.
This, according to the B2Gold, provided access to higher grade portions of the Fekola deposit earlier than anticipated in previous mine plans.
As a result of the impressive performance during the second quarter of 2020, B2Gold posted a quarterly consolidated gold revenue of $442 million, a significant increase of $175 million (65%) over the second quarter of 2019 (excluding discontinued operations).
The company reported a quarterly consolidated cash flow of $238 million for Q2, 2020, a significant increase of $145 million (156%) over the second quarter of 2019.
The gold miner notes that it remains well positioned for continued strong operational and financial performance.
The company has maintained its consolidated production guidance at between 1-million and 1.05-million ounces of gold.
Its total consolidated cash operating costs are forecast to be between $415/oz and $455/oz and total consolidated all-in sustaining costs are forecast to be between $780/oz and $820/oz
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