Author: TSX Stocks

B2GOLD said on Tuesday it would reduce its quarterly dividend rate in order to improve balance sheet flexibility as it pays for three years of aggressive expansion.

The rate would fall to $0.02 per common share from $0.04/share ($0.08 from $0.16/share on an annualised basis) following a review.

B2Gold cited the C$1.1bn acquisition of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp in April 2023 as well as the C$1.05bn building the subsequent Goose mine. It also recently approved the expansion of its Fekola mine in Mali, as well developing the Antelope deposit at its Otjikoto mine in Namibia.

In addition, B2Gold has been active picking up assets elsewhere such as joint ventures with Founders Metals in Suriname and the acquisition of AngloGold Ashanti’s 50% stake in the Gramalote gold project in Colombia.

“We’re definitely still looking for other opportunities, and as you know there’s a lot of big companies that are merging with each other right now,” Johnson told Reuters in 2023. His company now appears to be drawing its horns in.

In addition to project spend, B2Gold also has the cost of delivering a total of about 265,000 gold ounces between July and June 2026 in order to satisfy a $500m gold prepayment deal entered into in January 2024. The prepayment was based on gold forward curve prices averaging about $2,191 per ounce. This compares with the current spot price of $2,665/oz.

“As we enter an organic production growth phase, starting shortly with the anticipated commencement of gold production from both Fekola Regional and the Goose Mine, it is important to maintain our strong financial position as well as flexibility for internal growth projects moving forward,” said Johnson.

In December, B2Gold renewed a revolving credit facility, increasing the total available amount from $700m to $800m, plus a $200m accordion feature. The new revolving credit facility has a term until December 17, 2028, it said.

B2Gold also announced plans to buy back up to 5% of its stock. Johnson said this was intended to “take advantage of periods of time when the market value of our shares do not properly reflect the underlying value of our business”.

B2Gold also announced gold production for 2024 of 804,778 oz which was on the low side of revised guidance of between 800,000 to 870,000 oz. Cash costs and all-in sustaining costs will be on the upper end of guidance with the latter between $1,420 and $1,480/oz.

The company has targeted gold production of 970,000 to 1,08 million oz partly owing to projects that will commission. First gold from the Goose Project is estimated for the second quarter while gold production from both the Fekola Regional expansion and Fekola underground is due mid-year.

Further afield, a preliminary economic assessment of the Antelope project in Namibia is due in the first quarter, the company said.

Shares in the gold miner closed about 3.48% lower on the Toronto Stock Exchange on January 13.

DAKAR – Canadian miner Barrick Gold said it will have to suspend mining operations in Mali after the government seized gold stocks from the company’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex and flew them out by helicopter over the weekend.

Around three metric tons had been taken from the mining complex in western Mali on Saturday, two sources told Reuters on Monday, with one putting the value of the gold at $245-million. In a letter to the Malian government on Monday, Barrick said the seizure meant it would now be “obliged” to temporarily suspend mining operations at the Loulo and Gounkoto mines.

The seized gold will be transported to the state-owned Banque Malienne de Solidarite (BMS) in the capital Bamako, two sources said.

Barrick shares on the Toronto stock exchange were down 1.9% shortly before the close of trading on Monday.

One source said eyewitnesses at the mining complex had described gold being shipped in two separate air force helicopter loads. The second source said the seizure was part of a confiscation order that a judge issued last week.

In its letter to the Malian government, Barrick said the seizure of the gold meant it was no longer covered by Barrick’s insurance. It added that it was waiting for confirmation that the gold removed from its site had arrived at the Banque Malienne de Solidarite and for proof that the gold held there was insured.

In a separate court order, dated January 2 and also seen by Reuters on Monday, Judge Boubacar Moussa Diarra had ordered the seizure of the stock and said Mali’s economy ministry claimed the two mines operated by Barrick in the country owed a total of $5.5-billion to the government, a much higher figure than previously estimated.

Barrick has been in a dispute with Mali’s government since 2023 over a contract based on new mining rules. The row has escalated several times, with Mali detaining senior executives and issuing an arrest warrant for Barrick CEO Mark Bristow.

On Friday, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes registered Barrick’s request for arbitration proceedings against Mali, according to public documents.

Military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are all seeking to renegotiate terms to gain a bigger share of mining revenue at a time when gold prices have hit record highs.

Neither Barrick nor the Malian authorities immediately responded to requests for comment.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss publicly the confidential orders.

Barrick said in a note to Malian staff on Sunday that the government had begun enforcing an order to seize the gold, and warned again that it may have to suspend operations at the complex over the long-running dispute.

Jefferies analysts have estimated that suspending production at the mine could cut Barrick’s earnings before interest, tax and amortisation by 11% in 2025.

Mali had previously demanded about $500-million in unpaid taxes from Barrick, sources told Reuters. Barrick denies any wrongdoing. The company’s quarterly earnings report says it did pay $85-million to the Malian government in October.

Barrick warned last month of a significant deterioration of conditions at Loulo-Gounkoto, with employees detained without cause and shipments of bullion blocked. The company owns 80% of the mining complex, with the Mali government owning 20%.