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B2Gold secures Menankoto permit for Fekola Regional expansion in Mali
The Menankoto exploitation permit, together with an exploration permit, clears the way for B2Gold to begin stripping waste and plan processing of regional ore.
B2Gold has won the Menankoto exploitation permit for its Fekola Regional gold expansion project in Mali, removing a key hurdle that analysts had linked to a guidance cut the prior day, Mining.com reported. The permit, alongside the Dandoko exploration permit, allows the company to start work ahead of regional mining at the Fekola site complex about 500 km west of Bamako, near Mali’s border with Senegal.
In a release, B2Gold CEO Mike Cinnamond said the Fekola Complex is currently Mali’s largest producing gold mine and that the issuance of the Menankoto permit secures the operation’s future into the late 2030s. The approval also enables B2Gold to begin stripping waste ahead of mining and to finalize terms for processing regional ore.
National Bank of Canada analyst Don DeMarco said in a note before the permit that fire damage to the crushing circuit at the Goose project in Nunavut remains the main operational test for the rest of the year. Despite the Mali permit, BMO analyst Brian Quast said any Fekola Regional output this year is unlikely to materially change production.
B2Gold said it expects Fekola Regional to ramp through the end of next year and produce more than 150,000 oz. annually from 2028 through the mid-2030s. Shares jumped 22% to C$7 in Toronto late Friday, giving the company a C$9.4 billion market capitalization, while B2Gold will own 65% of Fekola Regional and Mali 35% under Mali’s 2023 mining code.
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