B2Gold Extends Otjikoto Mine Life with Wolfshag Expansion

B2Gold's Otjikoto gold mine in Otjozondjupa is being extended through the commissioning of the Wolfshag underground operation, a move that adds several years to the mine's life and secures continued production into the early 2030s. Otjikoto has been one of Namibia's consistent mining performers since it opened in 2015. The main open-pit operation was approaching the end of its economic life in the 2024–2026 window, and the Wolfshag extension — initially developed as an adjacent open pit, now transitioning to underground — is what keeps the mine productive beyond that. The underground development is B2Gold's first underground operation in Namibia and represents a meaningful shift in technical capability and workforce composition. Underground mining is more capital-intensive per ounce but typically extends mine life significantly for the same resource, and the skills required sit higher on the value chain than open-pit operations. The mine has long been one of the more reliable contributors to local economies in central Namibia. Otjikoto's production is shipped through Walvis Bay after refining, the mine has a significant footprint in local procurement and training, and B2Gold has been visible on the community-investment side through education and health programmes in the Otavi and Tsumeb areas. Gold pricing has been supportive across 2025 and into 2026, driven by central bank accumulation, safe-haven flows, and the ongoing repositioning of global reserves. Sustained prices above historical averages make the Wolfshag expansion look better today than it did at the time of its original sanction, and set up the mine to generate healthy cash through the extension period. The medium-term question is what comes after Wolfshag. Several exploration targets on the broader Otjikoto licence area are being advanced, but nothing at the scale of a second full operation has yet been declared.