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B2Gold

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B2Gold Corporation
Company typePublic
TSX:BTO
AMEX:BTG
S&P/TSX Composite Component
IndustryMining
Founded2007
Headquarters
Vancouver,British Columbia
Key people
Clive T. Johnson (President andCEO,2007-current)
ProductsGold
SubsidiariesTEAL Namibia (Barbados) Inc.
Mali Mining Investments (British Virgin Islands) Limited
Central Asia Gold Limited (Bahamas)
WebsiteOfficial Website

B2Gold Corporationis a Canadian mining company that owns and operatesgold minesinMali,Namibiaand thePhilippines.The company is headquartered inVancouver,and was founded in 2007, and was then listed on theToronto Stock Exchange,then later listed on theNew York Stock Exchangeand theNamibian Stock Exchange.The company was formed by several executives from Bema Gold following its acquisition byKinross Gold.The company built itself up through mergers with several other mining companies, including Central Sun Mining, CGA Mining, Auryx Gold and Papillon Resources to give it five operating mines, two of which have been divested, and several exploration properties.

History

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B2Gold was founded in 2007 by Clive T. Johnson and other former executives atBema Goldwhich was in the process of being acquired byKinross Goldfor $3.5 billion.[1]The terms of the deal allowed the newly created B2Gold to take Bema Gold's exploration properties inColombiaandRussia.[2][3]Theirinitial public offeringin December 2007 on theToronto Venture Exchangeraised $100 million for exploration and valuation purposes.[1]In 2008, the exploration company graduated to the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In 2009, the B2Gold became a gold producer with its acquisition of theTSX-listed, and financially distressed company, Central Sun Mining. This all-stock deal, estimated to be valued at $67 million, gave B2Gold its first two mines, El Limon and La Libertad both inNicaragua.[4]The company produced 21,200 ounces of gold in 2009 up to 157,885 ounces in 2012.

B2Gold added a third mine, in 2012, with its merger withASX-listed CGA Mining.[5]The deal gave B2Gold the Masbate mine in the Philippines and CGA Mining shareholders received 38% of the combined company.[6]Around this time, in 2013, B2Gold also acquired Volta Resources in an all-stock deal worth US$63 million for its Burkina Faso exploration properties,[7]and lost an exploration property inRancho Grande(El Pavón), Nicaragua, due to community opposition.[8]With three operating mines, B2Gold produced 366,000 ounces of gold in 2013 and 391,000 ounces in 2014.

B2Gold's fourth mine came from the development of the Otjikoto project, acquired in its 2011 merger with TSX-listed Auryx Gold which gave Auryx shareholders 10% of the combined company. the Otjikoto mine inNamibiaachieved commercial production in February 2015.[9]With the four mines, the company produced 493,265 ounces of gold in 2015 and 550,423 ounces in 2016.

Their fifth mine was developed from the Fekola property inMaliacquired with B2Gold's merger withASX-listed Papillon Resources.[10]The 2014 deal, with an estimated value of US$570 million, gave Papillon shareholders 26% of the combined company,[11] and resulted in the Fekola mine beginning production in November 2017. The five mines resulted in the company producing approximately 960,000 ounces of gold in both 2018 and 2019. The company sold its assets in Nicaragua to Vancouver-based mineral exploration company Calibre Mining.[12]

In May 2022, it was announced B2Gold had acquired theAustralia-based gold exploration company, Oklo Resources for US$64 million.[13]

Operations

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As of 2020, B2Gold has three operating mines:

  • Fekola mine, located inMali,near the Senegal border, is the second mine B2Gold developed itself, after having acquired the project from Papillon Resources. During that development phase, several B2Gold executives were taken hostage during the2015 Bamako hotel attackbut rescued by the Malian military.[14]It is the company's largest mine as it has been producing over 400,000 ounces of gold each year.
  • Masbate mine, located inAroroy,Masbate,the Philippines, came to B2Gold in the 2012 merger with CGA Mining. The open pit mine, which produces upwards of 200,000 ounces of gold annually, was subject to several killings in 2014-15 involving security guards andsmall-scale miners.[15]
  • Otjikoto mine inOtjozondjupa,Namibia,is a combined open pit and underground mine that produces between 150,000 and 200,000 ounces of gold annually. Beginning production in 2015, it was the first mine B2Gold developed itself, and it is powered by its own solar power plant.[16]

Past operations

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  • La Libertad gold mine, located inChontales,Nicaragua,was acquired by B2Gold with its merger with Central Sun Mining in 2009 and sold to Calibre Mining in 2019. It consisted of several open pits, along with an underground operation, whose expansive reach necessitated the relocation of a neighbourhood ofLa Libertad.[8]
  • El Limon mine, located on the border ofLeónandChinandegaDepartments inNicaragua,was acquired in 2009 and sold 2019 along with the La Libertad mine. It was the site of protests that resulted in one death and 31 injuries, damage to the mine and temporary closure, in 2015, following the sacking of three workers.[17][18]Producing between 40,000 and 50,000 ounces of gold a year, it was B2Gold smallest mine.

References

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  1. ^ab"Bema Gold founder set to reap another windfall with B2Gold".Business In Vancouver.Retrieved2018-01-24.
  2. ^Hoffman, Andy (January 20, 2007). "Kinross holds firm on offer for Bema".The Globe and Mail.p. B5.
  3. ^Hoffman, Andy (December 6, 2007). "Former Bema Gold CEO resurfaces at B2Gold".The Globe and Mail.p. B8.
  4. ^Bailey, Stewart (February 3, 2009). "B2Gold to buy Central Sun Mining for $66.8 million; Deal gives B.C.-based company access to Nicaraguan mines".The Vancouver Sun.p. D2.
  5. ^"B2Gold to buy CGA Mining in $1.1-billion deal".The Globe and Mail.2012-09-12.Retrieved2018-01-24.
  6. ^"B2Gold aims to grow via CGA bid".The Northern Miner.October 1, 2012.
  7. ^"B2Gold to acquire Volta Resources in all-stock deal".CBC News. October 28, 2013.
  8. ^ab"Of Miners and Land Defenders".briarpatchmagazine.com.Retrieved2018-01-26.
  9. ^"Timely acquisitions set B2Gold on growth path".The Northern Miner.August 31, 2016.
  10. ^"B2Gold strikes deal to buy Papillon Resources for $570-million in stock".Financial Post.2014-06-03.Retrieved2018-01-24.
  11. ^"B2Gold strikes deal to buy Papillon Resources for $570-million in stock".The Northern Miner.June 18, 2014.
  12. ^Saywell, Trish (July 2, 2019)."B2Gold sells Nicaraguan mines to Calibre".The Northern Miner.
  13. ^"B2Gold agrees to acquire OKLO Resources for $64m".Retrieved2022-05-27.
  14. ^"Vancouver mining executives trapped in rooms as gunmen stormed Mali hotel".CBC News.Retrieved2018-01-24.
  15. ^"2 shot dead at Vancouver based B2Gold mining operation in Philippines".CBC News.Retrieved2018-01-24.
  16. ^Riedman, Gabriel (October 24, 2019). "Gold sector plans 'climate risk reset'".National Post.p. FP1.
  17. ^"Nicaragua: Fatal clashes at 'El Limón' mine".latinnews.com.Retrieved2018-01-26.
  18. ^"B2Gold, Canadian Miner, Closes Nicaraguan Mine After Violence".HuffPost Canada.2015-10-07.Retrieved2018-01-24.
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