The Back River Gold District is situated within the West Kitikmeot region of southwestern Nunavut, 520 km northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The Back River Gold District is comprised of 12 project areas along an 80km belt that collectively cover approximately 96,150 ha. The most advanced project in the district, the Goose Mine, completed its construction phase and achieved first gold production in June 2025 and declared commercial production in October 2025.
The Company works in close partnership and collaboration with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA), who has played a critical role in ensuring the development of a successful gold mining operation. Respect and collaboration with the KIA is central to B2Gold’s licence to operate in the Back River Gold District and the Company will continue to prioritize development in a manner that recognizes Inuit priorities, addresses concerns, and brings long-term socio-economic benefits to the Kitikmeot region.
Prior to B2Gold’s acquisition of Sabina Gold and Silver Corp. and the Back River Gold District in 2023, several operators conducted exploration and development activities in the Back River Gold District and Goose Mine area. Work included prospecting, geological mapping and studies, geochemical sampling, airborne and ground geophysical surveys, exploration and infill drilling, metallurgical test-work, geotechnical and hydrological studies, mining studies, environmental baseline surveys, and Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimation.
Processing consists of a leach and carbon adsorption process comprising crushing; grinding; gravity concentration; leaching; carbon adsorption; cyanide destruction; carbon elution and regeneration; gold refining; and tailings thickening and disposal. The mill is designed with a nominal capacity of 4,000 tonnes per day at a planned average feed grade of 6 g/t Au.
(1) Non-IFRS measure. For a description of how these measures are calculated and a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable measures specified, defined or determined under IFRS and presented in the Company’s financial statements, refer to “Non-IFRS Measures”.
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.
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.
The Company announced that a fire had occurred in certain areas of the crushing circuit at the Goose Mine in the evening of April 16, 2026. No injuries were reported and no medical treatment was required related to the fire. The fire damage was localized to the crushing circuit area. There was no damage or impact to the mill or power facility.
These repairs will coincide with first phase of the upgrades to the Goose Mine crushing circuit comprised of the previously announced addition of a run-of-mine bin and apron feeder, plus a new larger jaw crusher and rock breaker. These repairs are scheduled to be implemented in the third quarter of 2026. B2Gold reiterates its previously disclosed estimate that the Goose Mine crushing circuit will be able to operate at an average daily capacity of approximately 3,200 tonnes per day by the end of the third quarter of 2026, as a result of the first phase of upgrades. Additionally, based on the studies conducted to date, the Company has identified a second phase of crushing circuit upgrades, that are scheduled to be implemented in the first half of 2027, in order to increase the name-plate capacity of the crushing circuit and enable it to run at an average rate of 4,000 tonnes per day.
A total of $51 million is budgeted for exploration at the Back River Gold District in 2026, of which $29 million is planned for the Goose Mine, and a significantly increased budget of $22 million is earmarked for Back River Gold District regional exploration.
At the Goose Mine, a total of 22,600 m of drilling will target extensions of the Llama deposit, the largest and highest-grade resource at the district, as well as prioritize follow up drilling of significant results returned at the Nuvuyak-Mammoth-Hook targets and the prospective Wing deposit.
Regional exploration including geophysics, mapping, prospecting, and till sampling will be undertaken on the George, Boot, Boulder, Del, and Needle projects. This regional work will also include an estimated 12,800 m of diamond drilling to further define resources at the George Project and to follow up drill ready targets defined during the 2025 summer regional exploration program.