About B2Gold
Company Profile
B2Gold Corp. is a Vancouver based mineral and exploration company which completed a $100 million Initial Public Offering on the TSX Venture Exchange on December 6th, 2007. B2Gold was founded by the former management team of Bema Gold Corporation which grew from a junior explorer to an international gold producer that was acquired by Kinross Gold Corporation through a Cdn$3.5 billion transaction in February 2007. The company's corporate objective is to capitalize on the extensive experience and relationships that its management team has developed in the mining business over the past 25 years, to build an intermediate gold company through exploration and acquisitions. B2Gold has amassed interests in a portfolio of exploration properties in Colombia and Far East Russia.The shares of B2Gold trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BTO.
Corporate Objective
B2Gold’s corporate objective is to build an intermediate gold company through exploration and acquisitions. B2Gold has amassed an impressive portfolio of exploration properties including three properties in a joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti in Colombia and an exploration joint venture with Kinross Gold in Far East Russia. These properties will be the focus of exploration and development drilling that commenced in early 2008. In addition, the Company continues to pursue numerous exploration and development projects for potential acquisition. The strategy of entrepreneurship and sound corporate practices that defined Bema will continue at B2Gold.Experience
- Built the company from inception in 1988 to a Cdn$3.5 billion market capitalization in 2007
- Responsible for 3 world class gold discoveries; Refugio and Cerro Casale in Chile and Kupol in Russia
- Discovered 32.7 million ounces gold, 6 billion pounds copper and 56.3 million ounces silver
- Raised approximately Cdn$750 million in equity and Cdn$782 million in project debt financings
- Built the Champagne mine in the USA, the Refugio mine in Chile, the Julietta mine in Russia, operated the Petrex mines in South Africa and were 70% through construction of the Kupol mine in Russia at the time of the merger with Kinross
- Created several thousands jobs worldwide
- Established excellent environmental and safety records and have positively impacted people’s lives through education and community involvement
Relationships
B2Gold Assets
Gramalote
The Gramalote property consists of 23 contiguous claims totaling 39,469 hectares located in the Department of Antioquia, 230 km northwest of the Colombian capital of Bogota and 80 km northeast of Medellin in central Colombia. Gramalote is a 51/49 B2Gold/AngloGold Ashanti joint venture with B2Gold the operator.
The Gramalote property is contained within and underlain by medium- to coarse-grained tonalite and granodiorite of the Cretaceous Antioquian Batholith. Gold mining in the Gramalote area has been carried out since Pre-Colombian times to the present.
A 25,000 m diamond drill program is planned for 2008 following up previous drilling at the Gramalote property (12,312 m in 43 holes) by Anglogold Ashanti that outlined widespread structurally-controlled, intrusion-hosted gold mineralization over a one square km area (Gramalote Ridge) that returned up to 172 m at 3.509 ppb Au. The 2008 program will consist of infill drilling of the main Gramalote zone, satellite drilling of the prospective outlying targets over a 5 by 5 km area, detailed metallurgical and geotechnical studies and resource modeling.
The 2008 pre-feasibility program will consist of 15,000 m infill drilling of the main Gramalote zone to confirm and potentially expand AngloGold’s resource, 10,000 m satellite drilling of the prospective outlying targets (including the La Trinidad and Felipe zones) over a 5 by 5 km area, detailed metallurgical and geotechnical studies and resource modeling. A resource estimate from Gramalote Ridge is expected by the end of 2008.
Management believes Gramalote is a structurally controlled porphyry system with the potential to host a large open pittable gold deposit.
B2Gold is the operator of the Gramalote joint venture and will fund project exploration expenditures to complete a feasibility study of the project. Thereafter, expenditures will be funded pro rata between B2Gold (51%) and AngloGold Ashanti (49%).For more information on Gramalote click here.
Quebradona
The Quebradona gold-porphyry property is located approximately 220 kms northwest of the Colombian capital of Bogota and approximately 60 kms south-southwest of Medellin, the regional capital of the Department of Antioquia.
The 6 by 4 km wide Quebradona district hosts the five gold-bearing porphyry systems of Aurora, La Sola, Isabella, Tenedor and Chaquiro that contain widespread gold mineralization in surface rock chips. B2Gold carried out an exploration program on the Quebradona property consisting of mapping, stream sediment sampling, systematic soil sampling, detailed rock chip sampling and an airborne magnetic survey.
The stage one 5,500 m drill program commenced in February 2008 and is designed to test the five gold-bearing systems with emphasis on the Aurora zone where a minimum of 3,000 m of drilling is planned.
To date three holes totaling 596 m have been drilled on the Aurora zone with two additional drill rigs scheduled to be on site. Previous trench and outcrops sampling in the Aurora zone returned impressive gold values up to 41.5 m at 2.05 ppm Au.
The Quebradona drill program is intended to determine the existence of possible large-tonnage, gold deposits that may be amenable to open pit mining and low cost mineral extraction.
A stage two drill program is planned to be carried out on the Quebradona property based on favourable results from the stage one drill program.
For more information on Quebradona click here.
Miraflores
The Miraflores property consists of a gold-bearing breccia cody exposed over a 250 m by 250 m area on surface that extends to at least 600 m vertical depth.
Various studies of the Miraflores property and its gold contents have been completed in the last 20 years, including studies by the Colombian government and international exploration companies. Initial diamond drilling and metallurgical test work completed have been successful at delineating a significant low-grade medium-tonnage gold occurrence that may be amenable to bulk tonnage mining and mineral extraction techniques.
Previous B2Gold drilling returned up to 124 m at 1.3 g/t Au and 204 m at 1.2 g/t Au. The 2008 program will consist of scoping work followed by drilling later in the year.
Management believes Miraflores is a metallurgically simple deposit.
For more information on Miraflores click here.
East and West Kupol Licences
B2Gold has the rights to acquire a 37.5% interest from Kinross Gold Corporation, in the Kupol East and West licenses in Chukotka, Russia. These licenses cover the ground surrounding and adjacent to the high grade Kupol gold and silver mine that was being developed by Bema at the time of the Kinross takeover. Kupol is scheduled to commence production in the second half of 2008. The resulting interest in the Kupol East and West property will be B2Gold 37.5%, Kinross Gold 37.5% and the Government of Chukotka 25%.
The East and West Kupol licenses are located in eastern Russia approximately 220 and 200 kms, respectively, southeast of the city of Bilibino and approximately 410 and 430 kms, respectively, northwest of Anadyr, on the boundary between the Anadyrski and Bilibinski districts within the Chukotka Autonomous Region. The licenses cover a combined area of approximately 425 square kms and are situated around the Kupol mine that is currently being constructed by Kinross and Chukotsnab State Unitary Enterprise.
Past exploration has identified a number of mineral occurrences proximal to the large Kupol gold-silver deposit, including quartz vein systems at Prekup and Dublon and several areas of anomalous soil and rock float geochemistry associated with altered and weakly veined host rocks.
A total drilling program of 8,500 m on the Kupol project is planned for 2008 with 5,500 m on the Kupol West project and 3,000 m in the Kupol East project.For more information on East and West Kupol Licences click here.
Puma Minerals
Puma is exploring for Platinum Group Metals (“PGMs”) at its East Pansky Project, located in northwestern Russia (Kola Peninsula). The property is located east of Barrick Gold’s advanced Fedorova Tundra PGM project. Puma has identified significant mineralization at the East Chuarvi Zone, and has located PGM mineralization in four other zones in three separate horizons.
The company has a 72% interest in the East Pansky license and the adjacent Kuksha license for a total of 367 km2 in area. Puma has the right to acquire a further 18% in the East Pansky and Kuksha license in exchange for granting our private Russian partners a 2% NSR upon commercial production. In Russia, the Federal Government lease and regulates mineral resources.
B2Gold did not exercise its optionto purchase all or any part of the 17.9 million common shares in the capital of Consolidated Puma Minerals Corp. that Bema formerly owned.For more information on Puma Minerals click here.
B2Gold is also evaluating several high quality exploration and development opportunities throughout the world.