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B2Gold (NYSE:BTG) -9.6% in Wednesday’s trading to its lowest in nearly four years after forecasting lower gold production for FY 2024 and higher than expected capital spending at its Goose project in Nunavut, Canada.
B2Gold (BTG) guided for full-year gold production of 860K-940K, compared to more than 1M oz in FY 2023, citing lower production at the Fekola complex in Mali from a delay in receiving an exploitation license from the government, which delayed the 80K-100K oz that were scheduled in the life of mine plan to be trucked to the Fekola mill and processed in 2024.
The company also raised its total construction capital estimate for the Goose project to C$1.05M from C$800M previously, with most increase related to underestimated labor and site operating costs in the feasibility study, as well as additional general inflationary impacts on construction materials and transportation costs.
“The delta at Goose dominates the headline, reflects pressures not uncommon in the current environment,” National Bank analyst Don DeMarco said, according to Bloomberg, while still maintaining his Outperform rating.