Sealift offloading performance has increased this summer due to a newly constructed barge ramp, with seven supply vessels received at the mine’s marine laydown area (MLA). Three ships had already completed offloading of supplies and departed Bathurst Inlet ahead of schedule. All vessels are expected to have completed the offload of supplies to the MLA by October 2024.

B2Gold estimated total construction and mine development costs before first gold production to be C$1.54 billion ($1.13 billion), a C$290 million ($213 million) or 23% increase from the previous estimate. More than half (52%) of the increase can be attributed to the one quarter delay in first gold and approximately 24% was attributed to the increased cost of the logistics of shipping materials to the Goose project site.

In May, the company reported that development of the open pit and underground mine had fallen behind schedule due to equipment availability, adverse weather conditions and prioritization of critical path construction activities, forcing the company to push back its schedule by three months and deferring 100,000 oz of gold production from 2025 to 2026.

B2Gold now anticipates completing the mining of the Echo open pit and beginning stope production from Umwelt in Q2 2025. It said it would further accelerate sustaining capex, previously assumed to occur after first gold production, to ensure that stockpiles are robust enough to sustain a consistent mill feed.

Some capital items were already accelerated to make the Goose project a more reliable and de-risked operation upon mill startup. This included the purchases of mining equipment, the building of an accommodation complex at the MLA which will reduce ongoing annual costs associated with running a winter ice road (WIR), the construction of critical infrastructure at the Goose site, such as warehousing, maintenance, mine dry facility, camp facility expansion, and the design acceleration of a reverse osmosis plant to optimize water management and lower ongoing operating costs.

The key construction items that were completed this summer included the installation of Phase 2 of the Goose accommodation complex, which expanded camp capacity to more than 600 beds. Three additional fuel storage tanks were constructed at the MLA to increase fuel storage capacity to more than 80 million liters of fuel, which began to receive fuel in Q3 2024. As of early September 2024, a total of 35 million liters of fuel has been offloaded into the fuel storage tanks at the MLA.

A total of 10 ships and one barge transported 120,000-m3 dry cargo and fuel. More than 90% of the concrete has been poured. All E-houses have been placed on the mill pad with electricians now working on connecting power to various components.

The company said its primary focus is the development of the open pit and underground mines to ensure that adequate material is available for mill startup and that the Echo pit is available for tailings placement. Mining at the Echo pit is currently meeting production targets and is anticipated to be ready to receive tailings when the mill starts. The underground mine remains on schedule for commencement of production by the end of Q2 2025.