MINING giant, B2Gold Corp expects to produce over 190 000 ounces (about 5,32 tonnes) of gold this year from its Otjikoto mine, a few kilometres from Otavi.
This is equivalent to over 360 000 gold teeth, measured at 0,55 ounces for a tooth. An ounce is about 28 grammes.
In an update released last week, the company expects a production of between 190 000 and 200 000 ounces of gold for 2021.
This is at least 16% more than the 168 041 ounces produced in 2020 and is in the range of the 2017 production levels when the mine was pushing to unearth as much gold as possible.
Gold prices have been rising in the last year as investors sought safety havens from the detrimental effects from Covid-19-imposed trade restrictions.
For safety of investments, gold is mainly considered the go-to asset class and in Namibia, analysts have said, gold-backed exchange traded funds wore the crown last year.
In the production and sales update as released by the Canadian miner, the increased product is expected to mainly come from its Wolfshag Pit high-grade and will materialise in the second half of 2021.
The company said to recover this gold, operating costs are forecast to hit just above N$7 000 per ounce.
It is budgeted that about 3,4 million tonnes of ore at an average grade will be processed for 2021, with gold recovery of 98%.
The high hopes for the Otjikoto mine will not die out after 2021 but, “gold production level of between 190 000 and 200 000 ounces is expected to continue through to 2024,” read the update.
Email: lazarus@namibian.com.na | Twitter: @Lasarus_A
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