About B2Gold
Company Profile
B2Gold Corp. is a Vancouver based mineral and exploration company founded by the former management team of Bema Gold Corporation. Bema grew from a junior explorer to an international gold producer that was acquired by Kinross Gold Corporation through a Cdn$3.5 billion transaction in February 2007. B2Gold completed a $100 million Initial Public Offering on the TSX Venture Exchange on December 6th, 2007 and has recently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol BTO. The company's corporate objective is to capitalize on the extensive experience and relationships that its management team has developed in the mining business over the past 25 years, to build an intermediate gold company through exploration and acquisitions. B2Gold has amassed interests in a portfolio of exploration properties in Colombia and Far East Russia.The shares of B2Gold trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol BTO.
Corporate Objective
B2Gold’s corporate objective is to build an intermediate gold company through exploration and acquisitions. B2Gold has amassed an impressive portfolio of exploration properties including three properties in a joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti in Colombia and an exploration joint venture with Kinross Gold in Far East Russia. These properties will be the focus of exploration and development drilling that commenced in early 2008. In addition, the Company continues to pursue numerous exploration and development projects for potential acquisition. The strategy of entrepreneurship and sound corporate practices that defined Bema will continue at B2Gold.Experience
- Built the company from inception in 1988 to a Cdn$3.5 billion market capitalization in 2007
- Responsible for 3 world class gold discoveries; Refugio and Cerro Casale in Chile and Kupol in Russia
- Discovered 32.7 million ounces gold, 6 billion pounds copper and 56.3 million ounces silver
- Raised approximately Cdn$750 million in equity and Cdn$782 million in project debt financings
- Built the Champagne mine in the USA, the Refugio mine in Chile, the Julietta mine in Russia, operated the Petrex mines in South Africa and were 70% through construction of the Kupol mine in Russia at the time of the merger with Kinross
- Created several thousands jobs worldwide
- Established excellent environmental and safety records and have positively impacted people’s lives through education and community involvement
Relationships
B2Gold Assets
Gramalote
The Gramalote property consists of 23 contiguous claims totaling 39,469 hectares located in the Department of Antioquia, 230 km northwest of the Colombian capital of Bogota and 80 km northeast of Medellin in central Colombia. Gramalote is a 51/49 B2Gold/AngloGold Ashanti joint venture with B2Gold the operator.
The Gramalote property is contained within and underlain by medium- to coarse-grained tonalite and granodiorite of the Cretaceous Antioquian Batholith. Gold mining in the Gramalote area has been carried out since Pre-Colombian times to the present.
A 25,000 m diamond drill program commenced in March 2008, following up previous drilling at the Gramalote property (12,312 m in 43 holes) by Anglogold Ashanti that outlined widespread structurally-controlled, intrusion-hosted gold mineralization over a one square km area (Gramalote Ridge) that returned up to 172 m at 3.509 ppb Au. The 2008 program will consist of infill drilling of the main Gramalote zone, satellite drilling of the prospective outlying targets over a 5 by 5 km area, detailed metallurgical and geotechnical studies and resource modeling.
The 2008 pre-feasibility program will consist of 15,000 m infill drilling of the main Gramalote zone to confirm and potentially expand AngloGold’s resource, 10,000 m satellite drilling of the prospective outlying targets (including the La Trinidad and Felipe zones) over a 5 by 5 km area, detailed metallurgical and geotechnical studies and resource modeling. A resource estimate from Gramalote Ridge is expected by the end of 2008.
To date, twenty nine holes totaling 9,547 m have been completed at Gramalote Ridge for a total of 14,631 m in 42 holes, which includes 13 holes totaling 5,085 m completed at Trinidad. Drilling at Gramalote Ridge has tested a 900 by 450 m area and results are similar to those that AngloGold Ashanti found in previous drilling of 43 holes. In-fill drilling is ongoing with four drills at Gramalote Ridge. The plan is to complete a resource study once all results for the in-fill program are received. At Trinidad, initial drilling has encountered similar mineralization to that of Gramalote Ridge over a 600 m by 500 m area. Partial results for the first 11 holes at Gramalote Ridge are listed below and results from the first round of drilling at Trinidad are expected to be released by the end of August.
Management believes Gramalote is a structurally controlled porphyry system with the potential to host a large open pittable gold deposit.
For more information on Gramalote click here.
Quebradona
The Quebradona gold-porphyry property is located approximately 220 kms northwest of the Colombian capital of Bogota and approximately 60 kms south-southwest of Medellin, the regional capital of the Department of Antioquia.
The 6 by 4 km wide Quebradona district hosts the five gold-bearing porphyry systems of Aurora, La Sola, Isabella, Tenedor and Chaquiro that contain widespread gold mineralization in surface rock chips. B2Gold carried out an exploration program on the Quebradona property consisting of mapping, stream sediment sampling, systematic soil sampling, detailed rock chip sampling and an airborne magnetic survey.
A stage one drilling program of 5,300 m was completed in May 2008 which focused on the Aurora and Isabella zones.
A total of 16 holes for 3,347 m have been drilled on the Aurora zone. This comprises of 13 holes for 2,196m at La Mama and three holes for 1,151 m on La Isla.
At La Mama, drilling has now tested a 700 by 400 m area of the zone with intercepts up to 162 m of 0.97 g/t Au in Hole 1 and 85 m of 1.20 g/t Au in Hole 11. Significant gold mineralization has been outlined over a 400 m long by 100 m wide zone extending to at least 250 m in depth. The zone remains open at depth. Further drilling will in-fill the zone with the objective of defining an inferred resource by early 2009.
At La Isla, significant gold mineralization has been outlined over a 300 m long by 50 to 100 m wide zone extending to at least 350 m in depth with the zone remaining open in all directions. Drilling at La Isla has encountered significant mineralization over a 250 by 200 m area with intercepts up to 182 m at 1.07 g/t Au in Hole 8. Further drilling will test the extensions of the zone.
At Isabella, six km southwest of Aurora, surface panel sampling returned up to 19.9 m at 3.15 g/t Au and 9.5 m at 1.49 g/t Au in a 70 m wide structural corridor containing stockwork and sheeted quartz-sulphide veining in potassic-altered volcanic rocks. Drilling of four holes totaling 803 m tested a 250 by 150 m area with results up to 125 m at 1.00 g/t Au in chlorite altered volcanics and intrusives with magnetite-quartz-sulphide veining. Although the results from Hole 1 are encouraging, the size of the mineralized system appears to be limited. Additional drilling is planned to follow up the mineralization intersected in ISA-001.
Since completing the initial 5,300 m stage one drilling program, an additional six holes totaling 2,836 m have been drilled in the La Mama zone for a total of 22 holes and 6,090 m drilled at Aurora to date. Several of these additional drill holes have encountered similar stockwork mineralization encountered in the first 16 holes. Assay results from these additional holes are pending, and will be released as available.
B2Gold completed the 5,000 m drill program at Quebradona on May 28, 2008 and expects a participation decision by AngloGold Ashanti by the end of August. In the event AngloGold Ashanti decides to fund as the owner of a 49% interest with the Company as the operator, the Company plans to commence an aggressive drill program to further drill test the Aurora zones as well as carry out initial exploration drilling on the other three defined porphyry gold targets as well as the prominent magnetic high targets outlined by the 1,320 line-km airborne magnetic survey on the Quebradona property.
For more information on Quebradona click here.
Mocoa
B2Gold acquired a 100% interest in the Mocoa copper (Cu)-molybdenum (Mo) porphyry deposit located in the south of Colombia from AngloGold Ashanti.
The Mocoa property consists of four contract claims totaling 7,830.57 ha and two claim applications totaling 3,953.04 ha located in the Department of Putumayo 465 km southwest of Bogota, 67 km east of Pasto and 10 km northwest of the town of Mocoa in southern Colombia.
Mocoa lies within a composite belt of Late Triassic to Early Jurassic magmatic rocks known to host several porphyry copper prospects in southern Colombia. Copper and molybdenum hypogene mineralization is hosted by a potassic- and phyllic-altered and brecciated dacite porphyry stock emplaced into andesite and dacite volcanic rocks. Mineralization consists of chalcopyrite, molybdenite and local bornite with the higher grade mineralization hosted by hydrothermal breccias. Mocoa is a molybdenum-rich copper porphyry with molybdenum (Mo) grades averaging around 0.061% Mo.
Previous work carried out on the Mocoa property consists of mapping, stream sediment sampling, detailed rock chip sampling, ground magnetics and induced polarization geophysics and the diamond drilling of 18,321 m in 31 holes by the United Nations and Ingeominas in the late 1970’s to early 1980’s. This work resulted in the delineation of a non NI 43-101 compliant historic resource of 306 million tonnes (Mt) @ 0.37% Cu and 0.061% Mo, containing 2.5 billion pounds of copper and 411 million pounds of molybdenum, using a 0.25% Cu plus 0.025% Mo cut-off and a specific gravity of 2.7 gr/cm3.
Historic drilling has shown that the Mocoa ore body to be cylindrical in shape and covers a 500 by 600 m area and extends to a depth of at least 700 m. The deposit remains open to the northeast where additional drilling is warranted.
B2Gold is currently drilling with two drill rigs as part of a 3,800 m drill program at Mocoa. Drilling will test the possible extensions of the deposit as well as confirm previous drilling results with several twin holes. The Company believes there is good potential to increase the area of known copper-molybdenum mineralization at Mocoa and delineate an economic bulk mineable ore body.
An independent 43-101 technical report on Mocoa was completed in June 2008 has been filed on sedar.
For more information on Mocoa click here.
Miraflores
The Miraflores gold property is located approximately 190 kms west-northwest of the Colombian capital of Bogota and approximately 55 kms north of Pereira, the regional capital of the Department of Risaralda.
The Miraflores property consists of a gold-bearing breccia cody exposed over a 250 m by 250 m area on surface that extends to at least 600 m vertical depth.
Various studies of the Miraflores property and its gold contents have been completed in the last 20 years, including studies by the Colombian government and international exploration companies. Initial diamond drilling and metallurgical test work completed have been successful at delineating a significant low-grade medium-tonnage gold occurrence that may be amenable to bulk tonnage mining and mineral extraction techniques.
Previous B2Gold drilling returned up to 124 m at 1.3 g/t Au and 204 m at 1.2 g/t Au. The 2008 program will consist of scoping work followed by drilling later in the year.
Management believes Miraflores is a metallurgically simple deposit.
For more information on Miraflores click here.
East and West Kupol Licences
B2Gold has the rights to acquire a 37.5% interest from Kinross Gold Corporation, in the Kupol East and West licenses in Chukotka, Russia. These licenses cover the ground surrounding and adjacent to the high grade Kupol gold and silver mine that was being developed by Bema at the time of the Kinross takeover. Kupol is scheduled to commence production in the second half of 2008. The resulting interest in the Kupol East and West property will be B2Gold 37.5%, Kinross Gold 37.5% and the Government of Chukotka 25%.
The East and West Kupol licenses are located in eastern Russia approximately 220 and 200 kms, respectively, southeast of the city of Bilibino and approximately 410 and 430 kms, respectively, northwest of Anadyr, on the boundary between the Anadyrski and Bilibinski districts within the Chukotka Autonomous Region. The licenses cover a combined area of approximately 425 square kms and are situated around the Kupol mine that is currently being constructed by Kinross and Chukotsnab State Unitary Enterprise.
Past exploration has identified a number of mineral occurrences proximal to the large Kupol gold-silver deposit, including quartz vein systems at Prekup and Dublon and several areas of anomalous soil and rock float geochemistry associated with altered and weakly veined host rocks.
A total drilling program of 8,500 m on the Kupol project is planned for 2008 with 5,500 m on the Kupol West project and 3,000 m in the Kupol East project.For more information on East and West Kupol Licences click here.
Puma Minerals
Puma is exploring for Platinum Group Metals (“PGMs”) at its East Pansky Project, located in northwestern Russia (Kola Peninsula). The property is located east of Barrick Gold’s advanced Fedorova Tundra PGM project. Puma has identified significant mineralization at the East Chuarvi Zone, and has located PGM mineralization in four other zones in three separate horizons.
The company has a 72% interest in the East Pansky license and the adjacent Kuksha license for a total of 367 km2 in area. Puma has the right to acquire a further 18% in the East Pansky and Kuksha license in exchange for granting our private Russian partners a 2% NSR upon commercial production. In Russia, the Federal Government lease and regulates mineral resources.
B2Gold did not exercise its optionto purchase all or any part of the 17.9 million common shares in the capital of Consolidated Puma Minerals Corp. that Bema formerly owned.For more information on Puma Minerals click here.
B2Gold is also evaluating several high quality exploration and development opportunities throughout the world.