Name of the Project
Fekola gold mine expansion project.

Location
Mali.

Project Owner/s
B2Gold.

Project Description
As at October 25, 2018, the Fekola mine had an indicated mineral resource of 92.8-million tonnes at a grade of 1.92 g/t containing 5.73-million ounces of gold and an inferred mineral resource of 26.5-million tonnes at a grade of 1.61 g/t containing 1.37-million ounces of gold.

The mineral resource has since been updated to 87.1-million tonnes grading 1.87 g/t containing 5.24-million ounces of gold.

An expansion study preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Fekola mine has presented positive results.

The results of the study recommend an expansion of the existing plant to process an additional 1.5-million tonnes a year, resulting in a baseline capacity of 7.5-million tonnes a year without requiring an additional ball mill or additional power-generation capacity.

The processing upgrade will focus on increased ball mill power, with upgrades to other components, including a new cyclone classification system, pebble crushers, and additional leach capacity to support the higher throughput and increase operability.

Based on the new optimised mine plan, the mining rate at Fekola will be increased, along with using additional mining equipment, to accelerate the supply of higher-grade ore to the expanded processing facilities.

As a result of the project and mineral resource expansion, the Fekola mine will produce more gold over a longer life, with more robust economics and higher average yearly gold production, revenues and cash flows than the previous life-of-mine (LoM).

The LoM has been extended to about 12 years to 2030 and includes significant estimated increases in average gold production to more than 550 000 oz/y from 2020 to 2024, and to more than 400 000 oz/y over the LoM from 2019 to 2030.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a forecast LoM pretax net present value of more than $2.2-billion, with a forecast expansion capital payback of less than one year.

Capital Expenditure
The estimated cost for the expansion and upgrade of the processing plant is estimated at $50-million.

The expansion PEA has included $28-million for the expansion of the mining rate to 54-million tonnes a year and an additional $28-million, for a total of $56-million, to increase the mining rate to 76-million tonnes a year to support the increased processing and stockpiling necessary to maintain plant feed grade.

Planned Start/End Date
The project schedule indicates that the processing expansion will be fully operational by the fourth quarter of 2020.

B2Gold is investigating the potential to accelerate this schedule based on the availability of long-lead items.

Latest Developments
B2Gold has successfully expanded the mill at the Fekola mine to 7.5-million tonnes a year, about one month ahead of the scheduled completion date of September 30.

Four days after startup, a five-day mill performance test was conducted from August 26 to August 30. The results of the performance test exceeded design in throughput, gold recovery, grind and availability.

The minor, outstanding construction work is expected to be completed by mid-September.

B2Gold says the Fekola mine continues to operate unimpeded and no operational days have been lost, owing to the recent political developments in Mali or the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company has maintained its consolidated production guidance at between one-million and 1.05-million ounces of gold.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
B2Gold, tel +1 604 681 8371 or email investor@b2gold.com.