Otjikoto Mine – Namibia ⁽¹⁾

The Otjikoto Mine is located in the north-central part of Namibia, approximately 300 km north of the country’s capital, Windhoek. Otjikoto is the largest gold producer in the country.

Click here for mine/project location map.

B2Gold acquired the Company’s first African gold development project, the Otjikoto Gold Project, through a merger with Auryx Gold Corp. in December 2011. The Company received the Otjikoto Mining Licence in December 2012, and construction of the Otjikoto Mine commenced in April 2013. Within approximately 19 months, the first gold pour occurred on December 11, 2014, ahead of schedule.

The Otjikoto Mine in Namibia had a strong second half in 2021 and finish to the year, resulting in new quarterly and annual gold production records. For full-year 2021, the Otjikoto Mine produced an annual record of 197,573 ounces of gold, near the upper end of its guidance range (of between 190,000 - 200,000 ounces), and 18% (29,532 ounces) higher compared to 2020. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the Otjikoto Mine produced a quarterly record of 78,681 ounces of gold, in-line with budget, and significantly higher by 96% (38,476 ounces) over the fourth quarter of 2020. As planned, with the completion of the pre-stripping campaigns at the Wolfshag and Otjikoto pits in the first half of 2021, Otjikoto's gold production increased significantly in the second half of 2021, as mining reached the higher-grade zone at the base of the Wolfshag Pit in the third quarter of 2021.

For full-year 2021, Otjikoto's cash operating costs were $493 per ounce produced ($511 per ounce sold), well within its guidance range (of between $480 - $520 per ounce). Otjikoto's cash operating costs on a per ounce basis was in-line with budget in 2021 as a result of higher than budgeted production together with only slightly above budgeted operating costs. Otjikoto's 2021 operating costs were impacted by inflation driven higher than budgeted fuel prices and a stronger than budgeted Namibian dollar, which were offset by higher than budgeted capitalized pre-stripping resulting in an overall cost per ounce which was in-line with budget.

Otjikoto's AISC for the full-year 2021 were $908 per gold ounce sold (2020 - $920 per ounce sold), above the high end of its guidance range (of between $830 - $870 per ounce), due to higher than budgeted sustaining capital expenditures ($8 million higher than budgeted, consisting of higher than budgeted pre-stripping of $5 million and mobile equipment rebuilds of $3 million) partially offset by higher than budgeted ounces sold and realized fuel derivative gains.

Development of the Wolfshag underground mine continues to progress with ore production expected to begin in the first half of 2022. The initial underground Mineral Reserve estimate for the down-plunge extension of the Wolfshag deposit includes 210,000 ounces of gold in 1.2 million tonnes of ore at 5.57 g/t gold.

The Otjikoto Mine is expected to produce between 175,000 - 185,000 ounces of gold in 2022 at cash operating costs of between $740 - $780 per ounce and AISC of between $1,120 - $1,160 per ounce.

Click here for Otjikoto Mine overview.

Mine Snapshot:

Fourth Quarter ("Q4") 2021:

Gold production⁽²⁾: 78,681 oz (quarterly record)
Cash operating costs⁽³⁾: $338 /oz produced
AISC⁽³⁾: $583 /oz sold

Full-year ("FY") 2021:

Gold production⁽²⁾: 197,573 oz (annual record)
Cash operating costs⁽³⁾: $493 /oz produced
AISC⁽³⁾: $908 /oz sold

2022 Guidance:

Gold production: 175 Koz - 185 Koz
Cash operating costs: $748 - $780 /oz
AISC: $1,120 - $1,160 /oz

Click here for B2Gold’s Q4 2021 Earnings news release (dated December 31, 2021)

Mine/Project Location Map:

Mine Overview (as at December 31, 2021)

FY 2022 Guidance Production & Costs:
Gold production	175 Koz - 185 Koz
Cash operating costs	$740 - $780 /oz
AISC	$1,120 - $1,160 /oz
FY 2021 Production, Costs, Revenue & Sales:
Gold production	197,573 oz
Cash operating costs	$493 /oz produced
AISC	$908 /oz sold
Gold revenue:	$339 M (approx.)
Gold sales:	188,660 oz
Average realized gold price:	$1,797 /oz
FY 2022 Guidance Processing:
Tonnes of ore milled (budget)	3.4 M
Grade (budget)	1.77 g/t
Recovery (budget)	98%
FY 2021 Processing:
Tonnes of ore milled	3.40 M (approx.)
Grade	1.68 g/t
Recovery	98.0%
General Information:
Location	Namibia
Mine type	Open pit (and underground mine under development)
Ownership⁽⁴⁾	90%
Metals mined	Gold
Processing plant	Conventional flowsheet whereby gold is recovered by gravity concentration/intensive leaching and by an agitated cyanide leach/carbon-in-pulp process for treatment of gravity tailings
Power	Produced on site by the Otjikoto Hybrid Solar/Heavy fuel oil (“HFO”) Power Plant. Each year, the 5.8 MWac solar power plant generates 13 GWh of electricity, reducing HFO consumption by 2.8 million litres per year and lowering approximately 9,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions
Total number of employees⁽⁵⁾	985
Local employee workforce⁽⁵⁾	98.6%
Mineral Reserve & Resource Estimates (Contained Gold) –100% Project Basis:
Indicated Mineral Resources⁽⁶⁾	1.40 Moz
Inferred Mineral Resources⁽⁶⁾	0.54 Moz
Probable Mineral Reserves⁽⁶⁾	0.79 Moz
2021 Exploration Budget
Namibia (Otjikoto)	$4 M

Supporting Documents:

For the latest details and news releases pertaining to the Otjikoto Mine:

Click here for B2Gold's Q4 2021 Earnings (dated December 31, 2021)

For a more detailed overview of the Otjikoto Mine, please refer to the following most recent company documents:

Click here for B2Gold's Q4 2021 Management Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") (dated December 31, 2021)
Click here for B2Gold's Q4 2021 Financial Statements (dated December 31, 2021)
Click here for B2Gold's 2021 Annual Information Form ("AIF") (dated March 30, 2021)

Footnotes: (Click to expand)

The disclosure contains forward-looking statements. Refer to the Legal section of the website (click here) for caution regarding forward-looking statements and the basis for presentation of Mineral Reserves, Mineral Resources and other technical disclosures.
B2Gold’s Q32019, YTD2019 amd FY 2019 production results are presented on a 100% basis, unless otherwise stated.
Refer to “Non-IFRS measures” in the Company’s most recently filed MD&A (click here).
B2Gold Namibia, the holder of the ML169 and operator of the Otjikoto Mine, is 90% owned, indirectly, by B2Gold and 10% by EVI. For more details, refer to pages 41-42 in the Company's AIF, dated March 20, 2019- click here.
As at December 31, 2019. Refer to pages 70-71 in the Company's 'Responsible Mining Report 2019 – Raising the Bar' (click here), dated June 12, 2012.
Refer to respective notes in the 'Mineral Resource & Mineral Reserve Estimates' section below.
Also available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov.

Certain portions of the following information are derived from and based on the technical report entitled “Otjikoto Gold Mine Namibia NI 43-101 Technical Report” (click here) with an effective date of December 31, 2018, and was prepared by Mr. Tom Garagan, P.Geo., Mr. Peter Montano, P.E., Mr. Ken Jones, P.E. and Mr. John Rajala, P.E. of B2Gold, and from the Company's most recent AIF, dated March 20, 2019 (click here) and are based on the assumptions, qualifications and procedures set out therein.

Mineral Resource & Mineral Reserve Estimates:

Otjikoto Indicated Mineral Resources Statement:

	100% Project Basis			Attributable Ownership Basis
Area	Tonnes (x 1,000)	Gold Grade (g/t Au)	Contained Gold Ounces (x 1,000)	Ownership Percentage (%)	Tonnes (x 1,000)	Gold Grade (g/t Au)	Contained Gold Ounces (x 1,000)
Otjikoto Open Pit	22,600	0.88	640	90	20,400	0.88	580
Wolfshag Open Pit	2,600	2.35	200	90	2,300	2.35	180
Wolfshag Underground	1,100	8.18	290	90	1,000	8.18	260
ROM Stockpiles	3,200	0.78	80	90	2,900	0.78	70
LG Stockpile	14,300	0.43	200	90	12,800	0.43	180
Total Indicated	43,800	1.00	1,400	90	39,400	1.00	1,260

Otjikoto Inferred Mineral Resources Statement:

	100% Project Basis			Attributable Ownership Basis
Area	Tonnes (x 1,000)	Gold Grade (g/t Au)	Contained Gold Ounces (x 1,000)	Ownership Percentage (%)	Tonnes (x 1,000)	Gold Grade (g/t Au)	Contained Gold Ounces (x 1,000)
Otjikoto Open Pit	9,000	0.74	220	90	8,100	0.74	190
Wolfshag Open Pit	1,800	0.68	40	90	1,600	0.68	30
Wolfshag Underground	1,400	6.09	280	90	1,300	6.09	250
Total Inferred	12,300	1.36	540	90	11,000	1.36	480

Notes: (Click to expand)

1. Mineral Resources have been classified using the CIM Standards. Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of those Mineral Resources that have been modified to Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

2. All tonnage, grade and contained metal content estimates have been rounded; rounding may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade, and contained metal content.

3. Mineral Resources are reported on a 100% project and a 90% attributable basis; the remaining 10% interest is held by EVI.

4. The Qualified Person for the resource estimate is Tom Garagan, P.Geo., our Senior Vice President, Exploration.

5. The Qualified Person for the stockpile estimates is Peter Montano, P.E., our Project Director.

6. Mineral Resource estimates that are amenable to open pit mining methods assume a gold price of US$1,800/oz, metallurgical recovery of 98%, and operating cost estimates of US$2.27/t mined (mining), US$12.06/t processed (processing) and US$3.07/t processed (general and administrative).

7. Mineral Resources that are potentially amenable to open pit mining are reported at a cut-off of 0.26 g/t Au. Mineral Resources that are potentially amenable to underground mining are reported at cut-off grades of 1.7 or 2.7 g/t Au.

Otjikoto Probable Mineral Reserves Statement:

	100% Project Basis			Attributable Ownership Basis
Area	Tonnes (x 1,000)	Gold Grade (g/t Au)	Contained Gold Ounces (x 1,000)	Ownership Percentage (%)	Tonnes (x 1,000)	Gold Grade (g/t Au)	Contained Gold Ounces (x 1,000)
Otjikoto Open Pit	7,500	1.28	310	90	6,700	1.28	280
Wolfshag Open Pit	1,900	3.00	180	90	1,700	3.00	160
Wolfshag Underground	1,200	5.57	210	90	1,100	5.57	190
ROM Stockpiles	3,200	0.78	80	90	2,900	0.78	70
Total Probable Reserves	13,800	1.77	790	90	12,400	1.77	710

Footnotes: (Click to expand)

1. Mineral Reserves have been classified using the CIM Standards and have an effective date of December 31, 2020.

2. All tonnage, grade and contained metal content estimates have been rounded; rounding may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade, and contained metal content.

3. Mineral Reserves are reported on a 100% project and a 90% attributable basis; the remaining 10% interest is held by EVI.

4. The Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserve estimate within open pits and stockpiles is Peter Montano, P.E., our Project Director. The Qualified Person for the Mineral Reserve estimate that will be mined using underground methods is Randy Reichert, P. Eng., our Vice President Operations.

5. Mineral Reserves that will be mined by open pit methods or are in stockpiles, are based on a conventional open pit mining method, gold price of US$1,500/oz, metallurgical recovery of 98%, selling costs of US$63.49/oz Au including royalties and levies, average mining cost of US$2.27/t mined, average processing cost of US$12.06/t processed, and site general costs of US$3.07/t processed. Reserve model dilution and ore loss was applied through whole block averaging such that at a 0.45 g/t Au cut-off there is a 2.3% decrease in tonnes, a 2.2% reduction in grade, and a 4.4% reduction in ounces when compared to the Mineral Resource model. Mineral Reserves that will be mined by open pit methods or are in stockpiles are reported above a cut-off grade of 0.45 g/t Au.

6. Mineral Reserves that will be mined by underground methods assume a modified transverse longhole stoping mining method, gold price of US$1,350/oz, metallurgical recovery of 98%, selling costs of US$63.49/oz including royalties and levies, average mining cost of US$84.83/t mined, average processing cost of $12.06/t processed, general costs of $3.07/t processed, 10% dilution, and 90% mining recovery. Mineral Reserves that will be mined by underground methods are reported above a cut-off grade of 2.68 g/t Au.

For more information on Otjikoto's Mineral Reserves & Resource Estimates, click here for B2Gold's 2021 AIF (pages 50-51)

Projects

Investor Tools

Email Newsletter

Otjikoto Mine – Namibia ⁽¹⁾

Projects

Investor Tools

Email Newsletter

Otjikoto Mine – Namibia (1)

Stay Connected

Otjikoto Mine – Namibia ⁽¹⁾