お知らせ • Jun 19
B2Gold Corp. Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment Results for the Gramalote Project
B2Gold Corp. announced the results of a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") on its 100% owned Gramalote gold project located in the Department of Antioquia, Colombia (the "Gramalote Project"). The Gramalote Project is located in central Colombia, approximately 230 kilometers (“km”) northwest of Bogota and 100 km northeast of Medellin, in the Province of Antioquia, which has expressed a positive attitude towards the development of responsible mining projects in the region. Based on the preliminary results completed in 2022 of the contemplated large-scale project with AngloGold Ashanti Limited (“AngloGold”), the project did not meet the combined investment return thresholds for development by both 50% ownership partners, B2Gold and AngloGold. As a result, B2Gold and AngloGold explored alternatives for the project which resulted in B2Gold acquiring AngloGold’s 50% interest in the Gramalote Project, resulting in a sole owner of the Gramalote Project for the first time in recent history. Post consolidation, B2Gold completed a detailed review of the Gramalote Project, including the higher-grade core of the resource, facility size and location, power supply, mining and processing options, tailings design, resettlement, potential construction sequencing and camp design to identify potential cost savings to develop a medium-scale project. The results of the review allowed the Company to determine the optimal parameters and assumptions for the PEA. The PEA, with an effective date of April 1, 2024, was prepared by B2Gold and evaluates recovery of gold from an open pit mining operation that will move up to approximately 97,000 tonnes per day (“tpd”) (35.3 Mtpa), with an approximately 16,500 tpd (6.0 Mtpa) processing plant that includes crushing, grinding, flotation, with fine grinding of the flotation concentrate and agitated leaching of the flotation concentrate followed by a carbon-in-pulp recovery process to process doré bullion. The Mineral Resource estimate for the Gramalote Project that forms the basis for the PEA includes Indicated Mineral Resources of 192.2 million tonnes grading 0.68 g/t gold for a total of 4,210,000 ounces of gold and Inferred Mineral Resources of 85.4 million tonnes grading 0.54 g/t gold for a total of 1,480,000 ounces of gold. The PEA assumptions include revenues using a gold price of $2,200 per ounce for the first three years of production and $2,000 per ounce over the remaining Life of Project, a fuel price between the current prices and the expected post-subsidy price, and current prices for reagents, labour, power and other consumables. Based on the positive results from the PEA, B2Gold believes that the Gramalote Project has the potential to become a medium-scale, low-cost, open pit gold mine. The Gramalote Project has several key infrastructure advantages, including: Reliable water supply – high rainfall region and located next to the Nus River, Adjacent to a national highway, which connects directly to Medellin and to a major river with port facilities, capable of bringing supplies by barge to within 70 km of the site, Skilled labour workforce within Colombia. In addition, B2Gold expects the Gramalote Project to benefit from several key operational advantages, including: Excellent metallurgical characteristics of the ore, which results in high recovery rates at low processing costs, Relatively low strip ratio (3.3:1 strip ratio over the Life of Project), Ability to mine and process higher-grade ore in the initial years of the mine life resulting in improved project economics. The PEA is subject to a number of assumptions and risks, including among others that a Modified Environmental Impact Study will be approved, all required permits, permit amendments and other rights will be obtained in a timely manner, the Gramalote Project will have the support of the local government and community, the regulatory environment will remain consistent, that Gramalote can operate under a single company free trade zone in Colombia, and no material increase will have occurred to the estimated costs. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes a small amount of Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA based on these Mineral Resources will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. B2Gold plans to commence feasibility work with the goal of completing a feasibility study by mid-2025. Due to the work completed for previous studies, the work remaining to finalize a feasibility study for the updated medium-scale project is not extensive. The main work programs for the feasibility study include geotechnical and environmental site investigations for the processing plant and waste dump footprints, as well as capital and operating cost estimates. The Gramalote Project will continue to advance resettlement programs, establish coexistence programs for small miners, work on health, safety and environmental projects and continue to work with the government and local communities on social programs. Due to the desired modifications to the processing plant and infrastructure locations, a Modified Environment Impact Study is required. B2Gold has commenced work on the modifications to the Environment Impact Study and expect it to be completed and submitted shortly following the completion of the feasibility study. If the final economics of the feasibility study are positive and B2Gold makes the decision to develop the Gramalote Project as an open pit gold mine, B2Gold would utilize its proven internal mine construction team to build the mine and mill facilities.
