Kitco Mining · Oct 29, 2026 · 24m · 19m saved
With Mike Cinnamond, President and CEO, B2Gold
Mike Cinnamond, who became B2Gold's CEO on June 4, 2026, told Paul Harris on Kitco Mining that infill drilling at the company's Goose mine in Nunavut could extend its internally modeled mine life from the current 9-year reserve plan to roughly 15 years — though that isn't yet reflected in the public reserve figures.
"Continuing to prove out and delineate these underground portions of the mine helps us see a position where we internally think it's got a 15-year mine life, but we can't show it in the reserve plan." — Mike Cinnamond
Mike is a 13-year B2Gold veteran who joined the company in finance before succeeding longtime CEO Clive Johnson.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 24 minutes of audio, 5 minutes of reading.
Here are the 5 takeaways that matter.
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Key Takeaways
Underground drilling could stretch Goose's mine life from 9 years to 15
A new discovery called Tatuk confirms the geology behind that upside, even from a single hole
A crusher fire and a sizing error set the Goose remediation into two phases
Phase one targets 3,200 tonnes/day by mid-October; phase two reaches the full 4,000 tonnes/day in Q2 2027
The Fekola Regional permit, received in August, adds roughly 150,000 oz a year
Ramping through 2027, extending the Fekola mill's productive life "well out into the next decade"
Mike names three reasons for B2Gold's valuation discount, in his own words
Mali exposure, Goose execution delays, and underappreciated exploration upside
B2Gold returned more than $225 million to shareholders in the first half of 2026
More than double the same period a year earlier, with buybacks as the largest piece
1. A 15-Year Mine Life?
Mike said infill drilling at the Lama, Goose Main and Echo deposits returned strong grades and widths, reinforcing confidence that current inferred resources can be converted and added to the mine plan.
A new discovery called Tatuk confirms the company's reading of the geology
"[Tatuk] confirms our interpretation... maybe it's only one hole, and when you look on a long section it doesn't look that different, but really it's a big step for us." — Mike Cinnamond
B2Gold's official reserve plan shows only one underground development area and a 9-year mine life. Internally, incorporating these results, Mike said the company sees four potential underground areas — Lama, Echo, Umwelt and Goose Main — and a roughly 15-year mine life. Beyond the current mine, the George deposit in the same Back River district carries an indicated resource of 400,000 oz and inferred resource of 1.2 million oz, which the company is working to prove out as a possible second development.
