The Back River Gold District consists of eleven mineral claims blocks along an 80 km belt. The most advanced project in the district, the Goose Mine, has completed its construction phase with first gold production achieved in June 2025 followed by ramp up to commercial production expected in the third quarter of 2025.
The Back River Gold District has significant gold resource endowment and is being planned as a long life mining complex by B2Gold’s management team which possesses strong northern construction expertise and the experience needed to successfully ramp-up the Goose Mine and further develop the District.
The Company continues to estimate that gold production in calendar year 2025 will be between 50,000 - 80,000 ounces and that average annual gold production for the six year period from 2026 to 2031 inclusive will be approximately 300,000 ounces per year.
Materials and heavy machinery required at the Goose Mine are transported from the Marine Laydown Area (MLA) along a ~163 km Winter Ice Road, which is constructed annually to connect the MLA to the Goose site. The transportation window runs generally from February to May each year.
B2Gold’s Marine Laydown Area (MLA), located on Bathurst Inlet, Nunavut, is the storage and staging area for the annual sealift of materials, fuel and heavy machinery required at the Goose Mine. Goods are shipped from ports in Canada, and around the world, to the MLA during the open water season, typically between August-October, before Bathurst Inlet begins to freeze.
For example, the 2024 sealift was completed on September 30, 2024, with ten ships and one barge having unloaded 123,000 cubic meters of dry cargo, more than 84 million liters of arctic grade diesel fuel and 58 additional trucks for future Winter Ice Road (WIR) campaigns.
Activities at the MLA include continued maintenance and preparation of the WIR construction and haulage fleet and staging all materials for shipment on the next WIR to the Goose Mine site.
The accommodation complex opened July 2023, including sleeping quarters, offices and admin areas, medical center, gymnasium, kitchen, a commissary for employees to purchase snacks and supplies, and recreation rooms. The camp was further expanded in May 2024 to accommodate more than 600 beds, and construction of the structure for a covered sports hall and larger gymnasium was completed in September 2025.