B2Gold Hits 229 g/t Gold in $32M Canadian Exploration Program
B2Gold Corp. announced on March 25, 2026, that its $32 million exploration program at the Back River Gold District in Nunavut, Canada, yielded significant high-grade gold discoveries. The 2025 program, which involved 28,599 meters of drilling across 140 holes, was designed to expand the district's resource potential and upgrade existing mineral classifications to de-risk future mine planning.
The results validate the company's investment, with several high-grade intercepts confirming the area's rich mineralization. At the Llama deposit, drilling returned an exceptional result of 229.23 g/t gold over 1.75 meters within a broader zone. Another Llama intercept showed 17.95 g/t gold over a substantial 38.20 meters. Results from the nearby Nuvuyak deposit were also encouraging, with one hole returning 6.65 g/t gold over 27.28 meters, underscoring the potential for resource growth across the district.
Stock Slides 21% on Rising Costs and Leadership Change
The positive exploration update arrives as B2Gold's stock navigates significant market pressure. Shares have declined more than 21% in a single week, pushed down by a cautious operational outlook for 2026. Investors are reacting to guidance that projects a drop in production to between 820,000 and 970,000 ounces for the year.
Compounding the production concerns are substantially higher cost forecasts. The company anticipates its All-in Sustaining Costs (AISC) will rise to a range of $2,400 to $2,580 per ounce. This increase is driven by major capital investments at the Fekola mine and the expensive ramp-up of the new Goose mine in Canada. The planned retirement of founder Clive Johnson in June 2026, with CFO Mike Cinnamond set to take over as CEO, adds a layer of leadership uncertainty during this critical operational phase.
Post-June 2026 Cash Flow Boost Looms
Despite the near-term headwinds, a significant positive catalyst is expected in the second half of 2026. The expiration of gold prepayment obligations after June will free up approximately 66,000 ounces of gold each quarter. This will allow B2Gold to sell the additional volume at prevailing market prices, which is expected to deliver a material boost to revenue and cash flow.
Signaling its confidence in the long-term strategy, B2Gold is increasing its exploration budget for the Back River district to $46 million in 2026. This expanded program will follow up on the high-grade 2025 results and continue to define resources. The investment underscores a strategy focused on using new discoveries to build a robust future production pipeline that can eventually offset the current pressures from high-cost development projects.
