B2Gold strikes new Goose gold zone

B2Gold (TSX: BTO; NYSE-A: BTG) has discovered a new high-grade gold zone at its Goose mine in Nunavut as the operation recovers from an April crusher fire and remains on track to meet this year’s production forecast.

Drillhole 26GSE750Z2 cut 9.95 metres grading 10.94 grams gold per tonne from about 1,196 metres depth at the newly named Tattuk zone, about 150 metres down-plunge from existing Nuvuyak mineralization, B2Gold said in an operations and exploration update on Monday. The discovery presents an opportunity for future resource additions, the company said.

Other drilling at Goose returned 21.23 metres grading 19.12 grams gold at Llama and 6.9 metres at 11.88 grams gold at Nuvuyak. The infill work is increasing confidence in resources that could eventually be incorporated into the mine plan, B2Gold said.

“Our 2026 Back River gold district exploration program yielded strong results from the Goose mine and regional program,” President and CEO Mike Cinnamond said in the release. “At the Goose Mine, drilling at the Llama deposit and Nuvuyak structure contributed to our goal to infill mineral resources, demonstrated the potential to further extend mine life, and identified a prospective new zone, Tattuk, for follow up drilling.”

Shares in B2Gold fell 2.6% to $7.53 apiece on Monday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at $9.93 billion (US$7.01 billion). Wider markets fell as inflation concerns lifted bond yields.

Forecast kept

The update is positive for B2Gold because the company is advancing the ramp-up at Goose — located in the remote Kitikmeot region about 1,400 km west of Iqaluit, Nunavut’s capital — while maintaining production guidance, Scotiabank analyst Ovais Habib said in a research note.

Tattuk and the infill results at Llama, Nuvuyak and Locale 1 also point to potential resource growth and mine-life extensions across the Back River district, Habib said. Scotiabank rates B2Gold as “sector outperform” with a $10 target.

The new mobile crushing plant, commissioned in August, has processed more than 3,000 tonnes of ore per day on average since mid-August, B2Gold said. The company expects its repaired and upgraded fixed crushing plant to sustain 3,200 tonnes per day beginning in October.

The additional mobile plant and associated equipment cost about US$16 million. Stage one work on the fixed plant, costing another US$11 million, includes a new run-of-mine bin, apron feeder, larger jaw crusher and rock breaker.

The progress puts the Goose ramp-up back on track and supports maintaining the 2026 production forecast, Habib said. Scotiabank expects the mine to reach nameplate capacity in the second half of 2027.

The latest throughput also clears a milestone analysts had been watching for months. Haywood Securities analyst Jamie Spratt in May identified reaching a 3,000-tonne-per-day run rate at Goose as a key second-half catalyst. His model assumed about 50,000 oz. of Goose production in the fourth quarter as throughput improved.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Quast similarly said in August that an additional mobile crusher should lift temporary crushing capacity above 3,000 tonnes per day before repairs and stage one upgrades raised the fixed circuit to 3,200 tonnes per day. BMO maintained an outperform rating and $9.50 target at the time.

The ramp-up follows an April fire in the crushing circuit that forced B2Gold to rely on mobile crushing and reduced second-quarter production. Goose produced 12,890 oz. in the second quarter, below expectations because of lower mill throughput.

Forecast intact

B2Gold maintained Goose’s 2026 output forecast at 170,000 to 200,000 oz. and expects the fourth quarter to be its strongest this year as mill throughput rises and feed grades improve.

The company plans to operate the mobile and fixed crushers together through October and, weather permitting, during the winter to build crushed-ore stockpiles ahead of another planned shutdown in 2027. Stage two upgrades are expected to lift fixed crushing capacity to the mine’s 4,000-tonne-per-day design rate.

Exploration could become increasingly important as the ramp-up is completed. Haywood estimated in May that Goose’s existing reserve alone supported about a nine-year mine life, while another 3.5 million oz. grading about 8 grams gold per tonne sat in inferred resources. The brokerage said the wider 975-sq.-km district contained 10 to 15 high-priority near-mine targets and could support a much longer-lived operation.

B2Gold has budgeted US$51 million for Back River exploration this year and had completed nearly 27,500 metres, or about 75% of its planned program, by Aug. 31.