Canadian miner, B2Gold Namibia has set its sights on the nearby Antelope Deposit as it continues to look for new projects in the country amid a scale down exercise at its Otjikoto Gold Mine by end 2025.
The scale down on employement will affect 400 jobs.
Located a mere four kilometres southwest of B2Gold’s existing Otjikoto open pit, the Antelope deposit is believed to hold the potential to become a small-scale, low-cost, underground gold mine.
During a one-on-one interview with New Era (NE), B2Gold Namibia’s Country Manager, John Roos (JR), said Antelope Deposit could actually supplement Otjikoto’s low-grade stockpile production from 2028 to 2032 and result in a meaningful production profile for Otjikoto into the next decade.
NE: What are the key factors behind B2Gold’s decision to cut 300 jobs at the Otjikoto mine in 2025, especially after reporting record production and profits in 2024?
JR: The decision to restructure and reduce the workforce was not driven by profitability and gold production, but rather by the natural progression of the Otjikoto Mine’s lifecycle and operational requirements. With the open-pit operation nearing completion toward the end of 2025, the mine is transitioning to underground mining, which requires a smaller and more specialized team. The employees involved in open pit mining cannot be integrated into the underground operations as this entails a different skill set and different type of mining.
NE: How has B2Gold engaged with employees, unions, and government stakeholders regarding the layoffs? What support mechanisms are being put in place in this regard?
JR: Our transition objectives are rooted in the principles of dignity, fairness, and respect for all employees. From the outset, our vision has been to ensure a transparent, respectful, and fair closure process, fully compliant with legislation, standards, and regulations.
Continuous, transparent, and ongoing communication is and has been fundamental to our success throughout the transition period, and that is why we embarked on a Company-wide Roadshow in 2023. The General Manager, Country Manager, and HR Manager undertook a mine-wide roadshow to communicate the transition directly to employees. During this road show, information on the transitioning was shared with all the employees. Management confirmed that the Otjikoto Mine is approaching open pit closure, that mining production will taper down, subsequently requiring fewer personnel to meet production requirements. Employees were provided with estimated timelines for the downscaling process, so that they could plan accordingly for their futures or next steps. Since the first Roadshow in 2023, management have had regular engagements with the workforce, providing them with an update on the transition process and next steps.
The scaling down of an operation means just that, the size of the operation is reduced and as a result of this, not all affected employees can be provided with alternative placements and are therefore retrenched. It should be noted that approximately 75% of the personnel retrenched to date have been through the Voluntary Retrenchment process, meaning that these employees asked to be retrenched. The Voluntary Retrenchment process forms part of the Retrenchment Policy that was compiled with the Mine Workers Union of Namibia (MUN) and subsequently signed in December 2023.
It was essential for the company to acknowledge and recognize the emotional impact the retrenchments would have on all employees, both those leaving and those remaining behind. As a responsible employer, the company provided employees with sufficient time to plan ahead (mentally and financially), alleviate immediate concerns, mitigate associated safety risks, and maintain a positive overall staff morale for the remaining workforce. Recognizing the strain this transition would place on employees. A strategic decision to expand the Wellness Department was made, as one of the key support mechanisms would be the focus on the well-being of the employees.
NE: What are some of the key support mechanisms in place for employees affected by retrenchment?
JR: The HR team put together a detailed strategy, ensuring that we are able to support our employees during this transition period. We considered our key HR Practices that we needed to lean on during the transition period and therefore focused on Wellness, Training & Development and OD.
Wellness:
– We offer both inhouse and external counselling services.
– We offer Pre and Post Retrenchment Counselling services, which are available for up to 3 months after the employee’s exit date.
– We offer Financial Literacy Awareness sessions, including one-on-one financial counselling sessions to assist employees with managing their finances, debt, etc.
– We have Peer Educators and Mental Health Ambassadors They are employees, who are passionate about assisting their colleagues and guiding them to seek assistance when needed.
– We have a dedicated and extremely competent Wellness Team, who continuously go the extra mile to assist employees, as well as their families.
– We have also offered Mental Health Ambassadors training to the community, as most of our employees are also community members and we realise that Mental Health is one of the key aspects that we aim to keep on supporting throughout our transition period.
– In addition to this, we also offer Spouse/ partner Workshops, assisting our employee’s spouses with basic tools, etc.
Training & Development
• We have a Training Calendar, with various opportunities available and which is free for all employees to attend should they wish.
• We offer Education Assistance Grants and Loans.
• We offered Emotional Intelligence Training, Microsoft Office, Basic Computer Skills Training.
• On-site Driver’s License Training, which we implemented in Q1 2024, where we had major success. Currently, 42 employees have successfully received either their Code B1, Code C1 or CE driver’s licenses.
• To support the transition period, we knew that we needed to equip our supervisors and managers with the necessary tools to manage this change, and therefore, all of us underwent mandatory change management training to assist with the transition period.
Employee Career Assistance (ECA) Hub
• Job Placement Support: CV Writing Assistance, Cover Letter writing assistance, Assistance with registering and/or applying for positions on online portals, etc.
• Interview Essentials Skills Workshops and one-on-one assistance available.
• WhatsApp Interview Skills Support Group and Chamber of Mines – sharing of CVs with all other mines.
NE: What is B2Gold’s assessment of the economic and social impact these job losses will have on communities surrounding the Otjikoto mine?
JR: B2Gold conducted socio-economic assessments as part of its transition planning. The company undertook an internal risk assessment process and engaged with key stakeholders to understand and mitigate the impact of retrenchments. The mitigation strategies include providing severance packages exceeding the legal requirements, as well as all the initiatives mentioned above and below on CSR spending.
CSR commitments form part of B2Gold’s long-term sustainability strategy and are distinct from operational staffing decisions. The company believes that strong community relations and targeted investments in health, education, livelihoods, and environmental initiatives are essential during every phase of the Life of Mine.
Ahead of the retrenchments, a social impact assessment was conducted to better understand the potential effects on surrounding communities and to inform B2Gold’s response. As a result, the company re-evaluated and refined its CSR strategy to focus more deliberately on areas directly impacted by the mine’s operational shift, particularly Otavi and Otjiwarongo.
In 2024, B2Gold continued supporting flagship initiatives such as the Ombili Primary School, Ombili Clinic, the Otavi Water Project, and Eduvision Smart Classrooms, all of which benefit thousands of Namibians beyond the company’s workforce. These projects are part of a broader responsible closure and legacy strategy aimed at strengthening community resilience.
B2Gold has taken deliberate steps to ensure that its CSR investments are not perceived as contradictory, but rather as part of a broader commitment to shared value. The company’s leadership continues to engage openly and sensitively with employees, local leaders, and broader stakeholder groups.
NE: With open pit mining ending this year and underground mining expected to continue until 2027, what is B2Gold’s long-term plan for the Otjikoto mine?
JR: The current Life of Mine Plan indicates that:
• Open pit mining will cease toward the end of 2025 – necessitating labour reductions
• Underground operations will continue until mid 2027
• Low Grade Stockpile Processing will continue until 2032 at which point the low-grade stockpiles will have been depleted.
• On February 4, 2025, the Company announced the positive PEA results for the Antelope deposit. Based on the positive results from the PEA, B2Gold believes that the Antelope deposit has the potential to become a small-scale, low-cost, underground gold mine that can supplement the low-grade stockpile production during the period of 2028 to 2032 and result in a meaningful production profile for Otjikoto into the next decade. The PEA for Antelope indicates an initial mine life of 5 years and total production of 327,000 ounces averaging approximately 65,000 ounce per year over the life-of mine. In combination with the processing of existing low-grade stockpiles, production from Antelope has the potential to increase Otjikoto Mine production to approximately 110,000 ounces per year from 2029 through 2032. The Company has approved an initial budget of up to $10 million for 2025 to de-risk the Antelope deposit development schedule by advancing early work planning, project permits, and long lead orders. Technical work including geotechnical, hydrogeological, and metallurgical testing is anticipated to be completed over the next several months. Cost and schedule assumptions will continue to be refined by working with suppliers and contractors, including running a competitive bid process for the development phase of the Antelope deposit. A development decision is expected in the third quarter of 2025.
The Inferred Mineral Resource estimate for the Antelope deposit that formed the basis for the PEA included 1.75 million tonnes grading 6.91 g/t gold for a total of 390 000 ounces of gold, the majority of which is hosted in the Springbok Zone. The Antelope deposit remains open along strike in both directions, highlighting strong potential for future resource expansion.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and is based on Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the engineering and economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA based on these Mineral Resources will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
NE: Can you elaborate on the strategy to continue processing stockpiled ore until 2032? How economically viable is this compared to active mining?
JR: Given current gold prices, the processing of low-grade stockpiles is economically viable – however, it should be noted that the Otjikoto Mine’s gold production per annum will decrease dramatically from the current 150,000 – 200,000 range to around 40,000 ounces per annum should we only process low grade stockpiles. The integration of the Antelope zone with this low-grade stockpile processing however changes the picture completely and increases gold production to approximately 110,000 ounces per year for 2029 through 2032
NE: What progress has been made in ongoing exploration efforts at Otjikoto?
JR: The Company continues to spend significant amounts of exploration dollars around the existing operations at Otjikoto. USD 7M has been earmarked for exploration around the Antelope Deposit. A further USD 10M has been allocated to early works on the Antelope Project. The Antelope deposit remains open along strike in both directions, highlighting strong potential for future resource expansion.
NE: Is there realistic potential for an underground extension beyond 2027?
JR: On February 4, 2025, the Company announced the positive PEA results for the Antelope deposit. Based on the positive results from the PEA, B2Gold believes that the Antelope deposit has the potential to become a small-scale, low-cost, underground gold mine that can supplement the low-grade stockpile production during the period of 2028 to 2032 and result in a meaningful production profile for Otjikoto into the next decade.
The Antelope deposit remains open along strike in both directions, highlighting strong potential for future resource expansion.