B2Gold Corp. produced higher output from worldwide sites including the 57,418 ounces of gold from its Masbate Mine in the first quarter of 2019.
The said output of Masbate Mine is eight percent higher compared to prior-year quarter production of 53,147 ounces.
The continuous strong operational performance of the mining company’s Masbate Mine was 15 percent above budget due to both higher-than-expected head grade and recovery, as ore grade, oxide ore tonnage and total ore tonnage mined from the Main Vein Pit were all better than modelled.
B2Gold processing 1.83 million tons compared to budget of 1.85 million tons and 1.79 million tons in the first quarter of 2018 also resulted to Masbate Mine’s high gold production this year’s first quarter.
The mining company also reported that gold grades increased while recoveries decreased just as it planned. It said higher-grade transition/ fresh ore was mainly mined from the Main Vein Pit in the first quarter of 2019 contrary to the prior-year quarter’s which included lower-grade oxide ore mined from the Colorado Pit.
B2Gold expects its Masbate Mine to produce between 200,000 and 210,000 ounces of gold, primarily from the Main Vein Pit with cash operating costs of between $ 625 and $ 665 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of between $ 860 and $ 900 per ounce.
The expansion project in Masbate Mine, upgrading the processing plant into an eight million tons per annum facility was completed early this year.
With this, Masbate Mine is seen to have an average production of approximately 200,000 ounces per year during the mining phase and above 100,000 ounces per year when the low-grade stockpiles are processed in the subsequent period after open-pit mining activities have ceased.
