African Mining September 2021 | Page 13

PROJECTS AND EXPLORATION •

estimate for the down-plunge extension of the Wolfshag orebody included 210,000 ounces of gold in 1.2 million tonnes of ore at 5.57 g / t gold .

For full-year 2021 , the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia remains on track to produce between 190,000 - 200,000 ounces of gold , as highgrade ore is scheduled to be sourced from Phase 3 of the Wolfshag Pit in the second half of 2021 . Otjikoto ' s cash operating costs are forecast to be between USD480 - USD520 per ounce and AISC to be between USD830 - USD870 per ounce .

• Location : Namibia

• Phase : Production

• Resource : Gold

Approximately 70 % of the gold produced in 2021 is expected to be mined from Phase 3 of the Wolfshag Pit , with material ore production starting early in the third quarter of 2021 following the waste stripping campaign .

As a result of the timing of this high-grade ore mining , Otjikoto ' s gold production is expected to increase significantly in the second half of 2021 to between 145,000 – 150,000 ounces .

Canadian company B2Gold ’ s Otjikoto gold mine in Namibia performed well during the second quarter of 2021 .

Otjikoto produced close to 26,891 ounces of gold , well above budget by 7 % ( 1,786 ounces ). According to a statement by B2Gold , this was mainly due to higher than budgeted processed grade ( 5 % above budget ) as the grade of ore sourced from the medium grade stockpile was slightly higher than anticipated during the second quarter .

As expected , compared to the second quarter of 2020 , gold production was significantly lower by 38 % ( 16,605 ounces ), as processed ore was primarily sourced from existing stockpiles while significant waste stripping operations continue at both the Wolfshag and Otjikoto pits .

Mined ore tonnage and grade continue to reconcile well with Otjikoto ' s resource model , and ore production is forecast to significantly increase in the second half of 2021 when mining reaches the higher-grade zone at the base of the Wolfshag Pit .

For the second quarter of 2021 , mill feed grade was 0.99 g / t compared to budget of 0.94 g / t and 1.58 g / t in the second quarter of 2020 ; mill throughput was 0.86 million tonnes compared to budget of 0.85 million tonnes and 0.87 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2020 ; and gold recovery averaged 97.8 % compared to budget of 97.6 % and 98.6 % in the second quarter of 2020 .

For the first half of 2021 , the Otjikoto Mine produced 49,933 ounces of gold , well above budget by 9 % ( 4,137 ounces ), and 41 % ( 35,312 ounces ) lower than the first half of 2020 ( for the reasons outlined above ).

B2Gold says that development of the Wolfshag underground mine continues to progress on schedule . In the fourth quarter of 2020 , development of the portal was completed , and development of the primary underground ramp commenced .

Development continued through the first half of 2021 , and stope ore production is expected to commence in early 2022 , in-line with original estimates . The initial underground Mineral Reserve

• Location : South Africa

• Phase : Production

• Resource : Platinum Group Metals

According to Mark Cutifani , CEO at Anglo American , a solid operational performance was supported by comprehensive Covid-19 measures that helped safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the mining giant ’ s workforce and host communities .

“ We have generally maintained operating levels at about 95 % of normal capacity and , as a consequence , production increased by 20 % compared to quarter 2 last year , with planned higher rough diamond production at De Beers , as well as strong plant performance at our Los Bronces copper operation in Chile and higher throughput at our Mogalakwena platinum group metals mine in South Africa .

" We also successfully completed the demerger of our thermal coal operations in South Africa and announced the sale of our minority interest in Cerrejón in Colombia , marking the last stage of our transition from thermal coal operations , ahead of schedule .

“ Our portfolio and growth investments are increasingly focused on those future-enabling metals and minerals that are critical to decarbonising energy and transport and to meeting consumers ’ growing needs , from luxury to everyday ,” says Cutifani . •