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. Click here for B2Gold’s Annual Information Form ("AIF") 2017 for more details on the mine’s “Property Description, Location and Access”.

2016:

In 2016, La Libertad produced 132,431 ounces of gold, near the high end of its production guidance range (of 125,000 to 135,000 ounces) and 11% (or 12,956 ounces) higher than 2015. Better grade and higher recoveries contributed to the successful production year. During the third quarter of 2016, La Libertad’s mine schedule was adjusted to mine additional high-grade ore from the Jabali Central pit.

La Libertad’s full-year 2016 cash operating costs⁽²⁾ were $659 per ounce of gold, near the low end of its cost guidance range (of between $650 and $680 per ounce), and also $57 per ounce (or 8%) lower compared to the prior-year. The reduction compared to the prior-year was mainly due to higher gold production. La Libertad’s full-year 2016 all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”)⁽²⁾ were $904 per ounce of gold, below both budget of $1,036 per ounce and $988 per ounce in the prior-year.

Q1 2017:

Gold production at La Libertad was 28,539 ounces in the first quarter of 2017, slightly above budget (by 550 ounces) and comparable with the prior-year quarter. Mill throughput, recoveries and processed grade were all slightly above budget. The mill continued to operate well, processing 561,152 tonnes (Q1 2016 – 576,487 tonnes) in the quarter at an average grade of 1.67 g/t (Q1 2016 – 1.66 g/t) with gold recoveries averaging 94.5% (Q1 2016 - 94.7%). The Jabali Central open pit continues to be the primary source of ore for La Libertad, as Mojon Underground continues to ramp up.

Resettlement and permitting activities continue at the high-grade Jabali Antenna pit. However, the Company has recently 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). Given the delays in resettlement at Jabali Antenna (which have been out of the Company’s control), the Company is now focused on bringing the San Juan pit into production earlier than planned and ahead of Jabali Antenna. An internal study was recently completed that deemed San Juan to be a viable open-pit operation. As a result, mine plans for San Juan have been reconfigured for open-pit mining, allowing it to advance to production as early as the third quarter of 2017 (subject to the receipt of mine permits). Development and related permitting activities also continue for other areas. Road access to a small pit, El Salto, located west of Mojon, is currently under construction. Work continues on permitting for an additional small pit in the El Tope area which the Company anticipates will be available in the third quarter of 2017. Jabali Antenna underground development is also underway with the portal established and the ramp work now advancing. Permitting for the western area of this mine is now in process.

La Libertad’s cash operating costs were $728 per ounce in the first quarter of 2017, approximately in-line with budget. Cash operating costs were $105 per ounce higher compared with the first quarter of 2016, as the prior-year quarter had benefited from lower mining costs mainly attributable to the Los Angeles pit (which had shorter haul distances to the mill/landfills and a lower strip ratio than compared to Jabali Central). The Los Angeles pit was completed in April 2016. However, for the full-year 2017, La Libertad’s cash operating costs are forecast to be between $625 and $665 per ounce and be comparable to its 2016 annual cash operating costs (of $659 per ounce). AISC in the quarter were $866 per ounce compared to budget of $952 per ounce and $1,043 per ounce in the prior year quarter. The lower than budgeted AISC mainly resulted from the timing of sustaining capital expenditures which are expected to occur later in 2017.

On March 29, 2017 the Company was presented with two awards from the Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua with respect to its La Libertad operations. The Company received the 2016 Award for “Friend of the Environment”, related to environmental stewardship in water management, and the 2016 Award for “Exporter of the Year”, for being the largest single exporting company in Nicaragua.

2017 Guidance:

For full-year 2017, La Libertad is forecast to produce between 110,000 and 120,000 ounces of gold at cash operating costs of between $625 and $665 per ounce and AISC of between $785 and $815 per ounce.

Recent News Releases:

Please click here for the full news release “B2Gold Corp. Reports Strong First Quarter 2017 Results Exceeding its Budget Guidance; Fekola Project Mine Construction Remains on Target for an October 1, 2017 Production Start”, dated May 3, 2017.

Please click here for the full news release "B2Gold Reports 2016 Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Results; Achieves 2016 Record Gold Production, Record-Low Cash Operating Costs and Record Operating Cash Flow; Outlook Provides for Very Strong Gold Production Growth Profile by 2018", dated March 16, 2017.

Click here for details on La Libertad “Exploration” section