B2Gold Corp says exploration drilling results at the Otjikoto Mine’s Antelope deposit in Namibia, yielded positive results, indicating significant potential for the development of a new underground mine.
The miner’s Chief Executive Officer, Clive Johnson, said the positive findings from the Antelope deposit, which includes the Springbok and Oryx Zones, indicate a significant opportunity for expanding gold production in the region.
“These positive drill results from the Antelope deposit indicate there is potential for a possible underground development to supplement the processing of stockpiles through 2031, with the goal of increasing Otjikoto gold production levels to over 100,000 ounces per year from 2026 through 2031,” he said.
Despite the new findings, the phased closure of its Otjikoto Mine due to limited gold deposits in its open pit mine will commence during the first quarter of 2024 and will not be affected.
The timing of these developments aligns with B2Gold’s strategic objectives, as open-pit operations at Otjikoto are slated to conclude in 2025, with underground mining operations at Wolfshag continuing through 2026.
Meanwhile, the exploration programme, which saw 20,715 metres drilled across 37 holes in 2023, is set to expand further this year, with plans to nearly double drilling efforts.
“The 2024 exploration budget for Otjikoto is US$9 million (N$167million), focused predominantly on the Antelope deposit, the largest drill programme since the definition of the Wolfshag discovery in 2012; and 39,000m of drilling planned to define and expand the Antelope deposit,” he said.
Johnson emphasised the significance of the Antelope deposit, highlighting its potential to contribute to gold production at Otjikoto starting in 2026.
“With high-grade, Otjikoto-style mineralisation discovered approximately 3km south of the Phase 5 open pit at Otjikoto, the Antelope deposit holds great promise,” Johnson stated.
Johnson noted that anticipation is high for an initial mineral resource estimate at the Antelope deposit by the third quarter of 2024, followed by an internal scoping study on underground mining feasibility by the first quarter of 2025.
This comes after in 2023, B2Gold completed a N$61 million (US$3.3 million) exploration programme in Namibia, with exploration drilling focused on the ML169 mining licence, which surrounds Otjikoto.
A total of 22,058m of drilling was completed in 2023, the majority of which targeted the high-grade gold mineralisation of the Antelope deposit.
The Antelope deposit was discovered in 2022, following deep drill testing on three-dimensional models of magnetic inversion data.
“The Antelope deposit consists of up to three separate mineralised structures, of which the southernmost Springbok Zone has been defined by 100m by 50m spaced drilling, over a strike length of approximately 800m. Mineralisation has a dip extent of approximately 150m and is between 7m to 10m thick,” said the CEO.
B2Gold Namibia is a 90% owned subsidiary of B2Gold Corp, with the remaining 10% owned by EVI Mining Company Limited, a Namibian broad-based economic empowerment group.
