B2Gold Corp. (AMEX:BTG) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

So you’re not going to see the same direct correlation with the market price there for Goose fuel because it’s going to be inventory . So as we get near to Goose coming into production, we’ll be able to give you more guidance on that, as to the quantity of fuel and the valuation that subscribed to it. But those are the 2 main timing differences. I think you got to think about government pricing in Mali and then the impact of Goose having the short shipping season when it comes into operation.

Anita Soni: Okay. And then just in terms of the sort of cadence for the rest of the year-end quarters, you’re running, I think, at about 50% already. Was there — was it expected to be slightly more back half weighted at these assets? Or was it relatively even like we could just continue to…

Michael Cinnamond: Consolidated relatively even, but we did disclose in Otjikoto. They were — they had more of a — as you get into both the Wolfshag underground and some of the higher grade parts of the later Otjikoto open pit, you get — it was weighted like 60-40 second half to first half of the year. So you’ll see a slightly higher production in Otjikoto.

William Lytle: And Fekola is the opposite.

Michael Cinnamond: And Fekola has a little tapering. So overall, not really significant fluctuation on the total production from our sites.

Anita Soni: And you would expect, all else being equal, that the costs would sort of follow the opposite trend then, I guess?

Michael Cinnamond: Historically, that’s correct. And like I said, we haven’t reguided half 2, our — after the first half, but we will come back and let you know where we think things are at just as we gauge fuel prices going through Q3.

Anita Soni: Okay. And then lastly, on the Goose Project. You mentioned that you’ve gotten rid of the EPCM contract and moved to your own owner-operated building fleet, I guess. Can you — are there any costs associated with the terminations of those contracts that we should be thinking about? Or is that already included within the budget that you just announced a couple of weeks ago?

Clive Johnson: Yes, it sounds like a legal question.

Michael Cinnamond: The cost of termination was nominal, and you won’t see it an impact on the budget that was put out.

William Lytle: It’s factored in for sure.

Clive Johnson: Great legal answer.

Operator: Thank you. At this time, I would now like to turn the conference back over to Clive Johnson for closing remarks.

Clive Johnson: Okay. Thanks, operator. Thanks for your good questions. So just a couple of things. One thing I noticed that I forgot to have mentioned, a very important thing on that is that as part of our going forward at Goose and Back River, we will be looking to, of course, maximize Inuit employment and training. I don’t know if you want to touch on that, but that’s a very important part of — as we — in all of the countries we’re in, I think everyone is aware that we are well known for having very high employment from locals in the 98% range, I think as a company. So here we are back in Canada, bringing in the culture. We’ve been so successful around the world, the B2Gold, the culture back to Canada. We can do a lot of good work there in terms of working with the Inuit community in treating unemployment.

William Lytle: Yes. No. Sure, Clive. I mean, as you pointed out, we have a very good relationship with the Inuit communities up there. We have an agreement signed with them. It was signed under Sabina, which does ask us to maximize kind of local hires, and we’ve really taken that to heart. I think with that, we’re well over — I want to say we’re in double-digits percentage already in hiring of the Inuits. And I think that number is going to only go up as we create job training programs and opportunities for them.