B2Gold Corp
’s
BTG
total consolidated gold production in first-quarter 2022 was 209,365 ounces (including 12,892 ounces of attributable production from Calibre Mining Corp., which was 5% above budget.
Consolidated gold revenues in the quarter were $366 million, up 1% year over year, courtesy of higher average realized gold price, somewhat offset by lower gold ounces sold. In the first quarter, the company sold 195,100 ounces of gold for $1,874 per ounce.
The total consolidated gold production figure, however, was 5% lower than the prior-year quarter due to the planned significant waste stripping campaign and lower mined ore tonnage at the Fekola mine in the first quarter of 2022, as Phase 6 of the Fekola Pit continues to be developed.
B2Gold reported consolidated gold production of 196,473 ounces from its three operating mines in the quarter under review. With each mine performing ahead of their respective budgeted production for the quarter, the overall production was 4% higher than planned.
Consolidated gold production from B2Gold’s three operating mines is expected between 950,000 ounces and 1,000,000 ounces for the current year. Due to the timing of high-grade ore mining at both the Fekola and Otjikoto mines, the company’s current-year consolidated gold production is expected to be significantly weighted to the second half of 2022, when mining is scheduled to reach the higher-grade Zones of Phase 6 of the Fekola Pit and Phase 3 of the Otjikoto Pit.
Due to these reasons, the company’s guidance for consolidated gold production for the first half of the year is at 390,000-410,000 ounces, which is expected to increase significantly to 560,000-590,000 ounces during the back half.
Total gold production is expected to be between 990,000 and 1,050,000 ounces. This factors in a contribution of 40,000-50,000 attributable ounces from Calibre.
Total cash operating costs are projected between $620 and $660 per ounce. Total All-in sustaining cost (AISC) is anticipated to be $1,010-$1,050 per ounce. Costs are expected to be higher than that reported in 2021, thanks to higher budgeted prices for fuel, labor and other key consumables stemming from the ongoing cost inflation.
B2Gold intends to pursue additional internal growth through further exploration, development and expansion of the existing projects, following a very successful year for exploration in 2021. The company is planning for heavy exploration this year as well.
Price Performance
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B2Gold’s shares have gained 25.2% so far this year compared with the
industry
’s growth of 24.7%.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
B2Gold currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are
The Mosaic Company
MOS
,
Nutrien Ltd.
NTR
and Commercial Metals Company
CMC
. All these companies flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Mosaic has a projected earnings growth rate of 131.2% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOS’ current-year earnings has been revised 32.7% upward in the past 60 days.
Mosaic delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.7%, on average. MOS has surged around 91% so far this year.
Nutrien has an expected earnings growth rate of 108.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NTR’s current-year earnings was revised 37.4% upward over the last 60 days.
Nutrien has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 60.3%, on average. NTR has rallied around 46% year to date.
Commercial Metals has a projected earnings growth rate of 114.7% for the current fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMC’s current fiscal-year earnings has been revised upward by 35.1% over the past 60 days.
Commercial Metals has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.9%, on average. CMC has gained around 21% so far this year.
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