VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO, NYSE AMERICAN: BTG, NSX: B2G) (“B2Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has agreed to terms (the “Agreement”) with the State of Mali (the “State”) in connection with the ongoing operation and governance of the Fekola Complex, including the development of both the underground project at the Fekola Mine (owned 80% by B2Gold and 20% by the State of Mali) and Fekola Regional. The Fekola Complex is comprised of the Fekola Mine (Medinandi permit hosting the Fekola and Cardinal pits and Fekola underground) and Fekola Regional (Anaconda Area (Bantako, Menankoto, and Bakolobi permits) and the Dandoko permit), which is located approximately 20 kilometers (“km”) from the Fekola Mine. All dollar figures are in United States dollars unless otherwise indicated.


Highlights:

Exploitation permits for Fekola Regional and approval of exploitation phase of Fekola underground to be expedited: Upon issuance of the exploitation permit for Fekola Regional, mining operations will begin with initial gold production expected to commence in early 2025, with the potential to generate approximately 80,000 to 100,000 ounces of additional gold production per year from Fekola Regional sources through the trucking of open pit ore to the Fekola mill. Initial gold production from Fekola underground is expected to commence in mid-2025.



Fekola Mine to continue to be governed by Mali’s 2012 Mining Code, with the Fekola Mining Convention remaining in place until 2040; Fekola Regional to be governed by the 2023 Mining Code: For the Fekola Mine, the Agreement includes continued stability of the ownership, income tax and customs regimes and the Company’s dispute resolution rights under the Fekola Mining Convention.



Provides the Fekola Complex a clean slate to move forward under the new economic partnership with the State of Mali: The Agreement contemplates the distribution of all retained earnings currently attributable to the State’s 10% ordinary share interest and conversion of that interest to a 10% preferred share interest with priority dividends going forward, and settles any and all existing tax assessments, customs disputes, and other assessments currently outstanding.

In 2022, the State initiated an audit of the mining sector, including a review of existing mining conventions for existing mines. In August 2023, the State issued a new Mining Code (the “2023 Mining Code”) and later in 2023 established a commission comprised of Malian Government advisors and representatives (the “Commission”) which was tasked with negotiating certain aspects of existing mining conventions and clarifying the application of the 2023 Mining Code to both existing and new mining projects. In July 2024, the State finalized and issued the Implementation Decree for the 2023 Mining Code, which included certain details relating to economic parameters not previously included in the 2023 Mining Code.

Throughout the latter half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, B2Gold continued to hold meetings with the Commission, and such discussions have culminated with finalizing the terms of the Agreement. The Agreement includes an overall framework which covers the settlement of outstanding matters arising from the State’s mining audit, income tax and customs audits, as well as clarification and agreement on the application of the 2023 Mining Code to the Fekola Complex going forward. A majority of the Company’s obligations under the Agreement remain subject to the completion of certain implementing acts by the State relating to the items discussed below.

The material terms of the Agreement include:

The Fekola Mine (including Fekola underground) continues to be governed by the 2012 Mining Code and the Fekola Mining Convention through 2040. This includes continued stability of the ownership, income tax and customs regimes and the Company’s dispute resolution rights under the Fekola Mining Convention;
Distribution of all retained earnings currently attributable to the State’s 10% ordinary share interest and conversion of that interest to a 10% preferred share interest with priority dividends going forward;
Settlement of any and all income tax assessments for the period from 2016 through 2023;
Settlement of any and all customs disputes and assessments that are currently outstanding; and
Acknowledgement by the State of outstanding value-added tax (“VAT”) credits and agreement on a repayment schedule outlining the timing for reimbursement of outstanding VAT, together with clear guidelines on the expectation for reimbursement of VAT going forward.

As outlined above, upon approval of the Fekola Board of Directors and completion of remaining local statutory requirements, Fekola plans on distributing to the State the amount of retained earnings already accruing to the State as at December 31, 2023, from its ordinary share ownership. For 2024 onwards, the State will hold a 20% preference share interest, and the remaining 80% interest in Fekola will continue to be held by B2Gold as an ordinary share interest.

The Company has agreed to begin to pay taxes on Fekola Mine fuel imports that were previously exonerated under the Fekola Mining Convention. To offset the cost of these taxes, the State has agreed to a 2% reduction in revenue-based taxes and royalties to be applied to the entire Fekola Complex, including both the Fekola Mine and Fekola Regional. The 2% reduction in revenue-based taxes and royalties is expected to offset substantially all of the cost of Fekola Mine fuel taxes going forward.

The Fekola Mining Convention stabilized the income tax and customs regimes in place when the Fekola mining license was issued in 2014. Under the terms of the Agreement, B2Gold and the State have agreed that the mining-based tax royalties, which in the Company’s view does not meet the definition of an income tax under the 2012 Mining Code, and state infrastructure, local development or mining funds introduced or clarified by the 2023 Mining Code and its related Implementation Decree, will apply to the Fekola Mine. Such mining-based tax royalties and new state infrastructure, local development or mining funds will apply to the Fekola Mine once the related procedures have been implemented by the State. The material terms of the Agreement described above were included in the key estimates used to determine the fair value estimate for the Fekola Complex as of June 30, 2024, which resulted in a non-cash net impairment charge previously disclosed in the second quarter of 2024 financial statements. The Company does not anticipate any significant further changes to the fair value estimate of the Fekola Complex to arise from the application of the Agreement. Under the terms of the Agreement, the State has agreed that the Company will be entitled to realize the benefit of any terms that are more favorable than those agreed to as at the date of the Agreement in the event of any subsequent amendment to the 2023 Mining Code or Implementation Decree.

As part of the Agreement, the State has also committed to issuing the Company the exploitation permits for Fekola Regional and approving the exploitation phase for Fekola underground in an expeditious manner. The development of Fekola Regional is expected to demonstrate positive economics through the enhancement of the overall production profile and the extension of mine life of the Fekola Complex. Based on B2Gold’s preliminary planning, Fekola Regional could provide selective higher-grade saprolite material (average annual grade of up to 2.2 grams per tonne gold) to be trucked approximately 20 km and fed into the Fekola mill at a rate of up to 1.5 million tonnes per annum. Trucking of selective higher-grade saprolite material from the Anaconda Area to the Fekola mill will increase the ore processed and has the potential to generate approximately 80,000 to 100,000 ounces of additional gold production per year from Fekola Regional sources. Importantly, the haul road from Fekola Regional to the Fekola Mine is operational as construction of the haul roads and mining infrastructure (warehouse, workshop, fuel depot and offices) was completed on schedule in 2023. Upon issuance of the exploitation permits for Fekola Regional, mining operations will begin with initial gold production expected to commence in early 2025, and initial gold production from Fekola underground expected to commence in mid-2025.

The 2024 exploration program is currently underway in Mali with a total of $10 million budgeted, with an ongoing focus on discovery of additional high-grade mineralization across the Fekola Complex to supplement feed to the Fekola mill. Significant exploration potential remains across the Fekola Complex to further extend the mine life. A total of 20,000 meters of diamond and reverse circulation drilling is planned for the Fekola Complex in 2024.

About B2Gold


B2Gold is a low-cost international senior gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Founded in 2007, today, B2Gold has operating gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines, the Goose Project under construction in northern Canada and numerous development and exploration projects in various countries including Mali, Colombia and Finland. B2Gold forecasts total consolidated gold production of between 800,000 and 870,000 ounces in 2024.

ON BEHALF OF B2GOLD CORP.

“Clive T. Johnson” President and Chief Executive Officer