B2Gold’s expanded solar plant is among the world’s largest
B2Gold Corp. [BTO-TSX, BTG-NYSE] has completed the Phase 2.0 expansion of the solar plant at its Fekola gold mining operation in Mali. The Fekola Mine is a low-cost, world class operation, ranked as one of Africa’s largest gold mines. It produced 392,946 ounces of gold last year at an all-in-sustaining cost of US$1,723 an ounce.
B2Gold commenced construction of the Phase 2 solar plant expansion in June, 2023, with initial land clearing and road construction, and ramped up to physical equipment construction in February 2024. The expansion of the solar plant was completed in the fourth quarter of 2024 and became operational in January, 2025. The Phase 2 expansion included the construction of an additional 46,200 solar panels, increasing the total panel count of the Fekola solar plant to 142,912.
Operating at full capacity, the expansion will provide an additional 22 megawatts of solar capacity (52MW total capacity) and 12.7 megawatt hours of battery capacity (27.7 MWh total capacity). The expanded solar plant is expected to reduce annual emissions by an estimated 63,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02e) and reduce the annual consumption of heavy fuel oil by an estimated 20 million litres. It is expected to supply approximately 30% of the site’s total electricity demand and is considered to be one of the largest off-grade solar/HF0 hybrid power plants in the world.
On Wednesday, B2Gold shares eased 0.21% or $0.01 to $4.68. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $4.84 and $3.16.
“The expansion of the Fekola solar plant is a significant initiative in support of B2Gold’s emission reduction target,’’ said Ken Jones B2Gold’s director of sustainability. “The expanded facility will allow the Fekola site team to turn off the HFO (heavy fuel oil) plant for a portion of the day during times of sufficient solar radiation, a tremendous achievement for B2Gold and a testament to our commitments to implementing renewable energy solutions.’’
B2Gold has three open pit gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines.
The company is targeting production of between 970,000 and 1.07 million ounces in 2025. That’s up from 804,778 ounces on 2024 (including 19,664 attributable production from Calibre Mining Corp. [CXB-TSX, CXBMF-OTC]) which came in at the low end of the company’s 2024 guidance range.
The expected increase in gold production relative to 2024 is predominantly due to output from the Fekola Complex, including the scheduled mining and processing of higher-grade ore from the Fekola Phase 7 and Cardinal pits made accessible by the meaningful deferred stripping campaign that was undertaken throughout 2024, the contribution from Fekola Regional starting in mid-2025, and the commencement of the Goose Project by the end of the second quarter of 2025, partially offset by the scheduled conclusion of open pit mining activities at the Otjikoto Mine in the third quarter of 2025.