By Robb M. Stewart

B2Gold continues to operate the mill at its Fekola gold operation in Mali despite a seven-day strike by some mine workers and is sticking with its annual production target.

The Vancouver, British Columbia, miner said the mill continues to operate at full throughput capacity and it is still running critical infrastructure.

Some members of the Fekola workers' union walked off the job Nov. 29 in a strike set to end Thursday. B2Golkd said it believes the labor action is primarily in response to action it took against a small number of employers it alleges previously engaged in illegal activities "detrimental to productivity at the Fekola mine, including 'go slow' actions by the mining employees and an illegal sit in at the Fekola management office in August."

B2Gold said it remains ready and willing to participate in meetings with the Fekola workers union to reach a resolution.

The company still expects production at Fekola will be toward the lower end of its annual production guidance of between 420,000 and 450,000 ounces of gold in 2024.

B2Gold produced 180,553 ounces of gold in the third quarter, including 78,207 ounces at Fekola. The company expects to produce at least 800,000 ounces of the metal from across its operations this year.

The Canadian company said it continues to make progress with Mali under the memorandum of agreement signed in September, including the issuance of the necessary permits to begin work at Fekola Regional located north of the Fekola mine. The agreement with the government outlined ownership, which will be split 20% to the state in the form of preference shares and the remaining 80% held by B2Gold, as well as new taxes and exemptions around operations in the country.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 02, 2024 07:06 ET (12:06 GMT)

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