La Libertad Mine – Nicaragua (1)
Open Pit and Underground, 100% B2Gold Ownership
Property Location and Access:
La Libertad Mine is located in the La Libertad–Santo Domingo Region of the Department of Chontales in Central Nicaragua. The mine is situated approximately 110 kilometres (“km”) due east of Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua and 32 km northeast of Juigalpa, the capital city of the Department of Chontales. Road access from Managua is initially along a 201 km paved road to Juigalpa, then via a paved stone road for 30 km to the town of La Libertad, and another 5 km along an unsurfaced road to the mine.
Second Quarter (“Q2”) 2017:
La Libertad Mine produced 22,615 ounces of gold in the second quarter of 2017, which was 16% (or 4,314 ounces) below budget and 27% (or 8,192 ounces) lower than the second quarter of 2016. The decrease was mainly attributable to grade and ore tonnage underperformance from the lower portion of the Jabali Central Pit (as the pit nears completion) and lower than planned production from Mojon Underground. As a result, head grades were lower than anticipated (1.37 g/t compared to budget of 1.61 g/t and 1.75 g/t in the prior-year quarter). La Libertad’s mill continues to operate well, processing 554,536 tonnes (Q2 2016 – 579,756 tonnes) in the quarter with recoveries averaging 93.3% (Q2 2016 – 94.8%). In the third quarter of 2017, the Jabali Central Pit and spent ore will remain the primary sources of ore for La Libertad, while Mojon Underground ramps up and the Jabali Antenna, San Juan and San Diego open pits are in the final stages of permitting and development.
As previously released in the first quarter of 2017, the Company has changed its planned sequencing for bringing the Jabali Antenna Pit into the mine plan (originally forecast to enter the production stream in the third quarter of 2017). With strong support from the Nicaraguan government, the Company is now focused on developing and permitting the San Juan and San Diego open pits and bringing them into production later in the third quarter of 2017, ahead of the Jabali Antenna Pit. In the second half of the year, and subject to final permitting, gold production from San Juan and San Diego are expected to mostly offset any deferral in Jabali Antenna Pit production. The Company has also made significant progress in resettlement and permitting activities at the high-grade Jabali Antenna Pit. The Company is now projecting to receive a mining permit in time to start production from this pit in early 2018.
La Libertad’s second quarter cash costs(2), on a per ounce basis, were impacted by the lower than planned production with cash operating costs of $841 per ounce (Q2 2016 – $717 per ounce), $122 per ounce (or 17%) above budget, and all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”)(2) of $1,089 per ounce (Q2 2016 – $942 per ounce), $190 per ounce (or 21%) above budget.
First-Half (“FH”) 2017:
For the first half of 2017, La Libertad produced 51,154 ounces of gold, which was 3,764 ounces below budget and 8,851 ounces lower than the first six months of 2016.
For the first half of 2017, La Libertad’s cash operating costs were $778 per ounce (FH 2016 –$672 per ounce), $65 per ounce above budget (or 9%), and AISC were $965 per ounce (FH 2016 –$991 per ounce), $39 per ounce (or 4%) above budget.
2017 Guidance:
In light of the underperformance of both the Jabali Central Pit and Mojon Underground, La Libertad’s production guidance has been revised lower and for the full-year 2017, La Libertad Mine is now forecast to produce between 90,000 to 100,000 ounces of gold (original guidance was 110,000 to 120,000 ounces). However, based on current assumptions, the Company anticipates increases in production at La Libertad Mine in 2018 and 2019. La Libertad’s full-year cash operating costs and AISC are now both expected to be higher than original guidance and be between $795 and $835 per ounce (original guidance was $625 to $665 per ounce) and between $1,075 and $1,115 per ounce (original guidance was $785 to $815 per ounce), respectively.
Recent News Releases:
Please click here for the full news release "B2Gold Corp. Reports Second Quarter 2017 Results; Achieves Both Higher Gold Production and Lower Costs than Budget; Fekola Project Mine Construction Remains on Target for an October 1, 2017, Production Start", dated August 9, 2017.
Click here for details on La Libertad “Exploration” section
Note: For more details on B2Gold’s La Libertad Mine, click here for the Company’s Annual Information Form 2017 and click here for the Company's Management’s Discussion and Analysis (these are also available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov).
