Good afternoon, my name is Collin, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the B2Gold Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Thank you. Mr. Johnson, you may begin your conference.

Thanks, operator. Thanks everyone for joining us. As the operator said, we are here today to talk about our financial results from a strong Q2 of 2021, and continued strong gold production performance above budget, and we are on track to meet or exceed the upper end of our annual production guidance range, which 970,000 ounces of gold to 1.030 million ounces of gold. I’m just going to give a couple of remarks and Mike walks us through the key financial results we put on a pretty extensive news release talking about the results of the quarter, and also where we sit on our financial overall growth, and updating you on a few other issues. The three mines continue to produce well. I think as we've signaled very early and very often, that the second quarter of this year versus the first half of the year was going to be lower production and the production weighted to the second half of the year. And the second quarter of this year, we knew was going to be the weaker quarter on the financial results basis, which hopefully we signaled that very well to the market. So we're seeing the reality of that, we're also seeing a positive start to the second half of the year. In terms of overview, we'll hear the three mines continue to operate very well. We've worked very hard and diligently through the COVID experience with our communities, our employees and the governments in the areas we work with. They're proud of the contributions from everyone. And I think that, we will shore off the amount of social license and trust we have in the places that we work in that we're able to collaborate very early on and mutual trust relationship to ensure that we can…

Thanks, Clive. And good morning, everybody. Just going to run through the quarterly results, quick comment on the year-to-date and then sort of where we are cash flow wise and balance sheet wise. So firstly, on the quarter, for the second quarter with 363 million in revenues that's from the sale of 200,000 ounces at an average price of $1,814 per ounce. So gold still holds on its own, as everyone's seen in the quarter. It's kind of -- it's a bit range bound about $1,800 mark, but certainly holding its own. And when we gave guidance on cash flows for the year saturate start of the year, we actually use $1,800 gold. So right in that ballpark of where we thought when we were budgeting and giving guidance to everyone. Sales were 12,000 ounces, higher than budget in the Q and that's really a function of the overproduction at the sites. So turning to that production for the quarter, so consolidated including our share of Calibre, production was 212,000 ounces, which is basically 10,000 ounces higher than budget. And that came really from outperformance from each of our sites. Fekola, same kind of story as the first quarter. The mill -- just the throughput of the mill continues to outperform even our expectations. We did budget 7.75 million tons annualized throughput for the newly expanded Fekola mill, but even in Q1 we did 2.29 million tons, so well in excess of what we budgeted. That's a combination of a few things favorable ore fragmentation and hardness and optimizing the grinding circuit, but it's all very promising. What we did see in the Q, was that to feed some of excess production more than we thought we'd have. We did use some low grade stockpiles which provided that sort of…

Thanks, Mike. I guess we'll – operator, we’ll open up for any questions now.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Okay, your first question comes from Tyler Langton from JPMorgan. Tyler, please go ahead.

Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. Maybe just start with Cardinal I think you'd previously talked about it maybe being able to contribute around 20,000 to 25,000 ounces this year. Is that still the case? And then, I guess, start production? Are there any sort of permits or approvals that you need from the government?

Sure, yes. That's actually a question, Tyler. I'll pass it over to Bill to answer that. A – Bill Lytle: Yeah, thanks. So the answer is yes. You know, kind of for the whole year, that 20,000, 25,000 is certainly within the range that we talked about. Remember, that it is still a resource and inferred resource. So we're still working through that. But with that being said, certainly the initial bulk sample that we completed, in Q2 did represent quite well, what we thought was going to be there. So that number still holds true. And we have already, we went through a full update to our environmental impact assessment. And that was approved and now we're just adding it to the mining plans. We actually have this next week, the ministry is coming out to have a look at it. And so certainly we see within Q3, we'll be ready to mine it fully.

Thanks. And then just – sorry…

Go ahead, Tyler.

Okay, yes, the second question, just, I think we've certainly seen some inflationary pressures, I guess, can you just and you mentioned in the release some of new pressures, from fuel and other items, but could you just, I guess provide a little bit more details on what you're seeing whether it's materials, consumables, fuel, and if you started at any supply contracts, or fuel hedges that kind of mitigate the impact this year?

I think Mike can speak to – in fact, he touched on in his remarks about the fuel hedging. I don’t know Bill, do you want to talk other views on inflation and what we're doing to mitigate the impact? A – Bill Lytle: Yes, well, certainly, we are seeing some inflationary pressures for sure. In particular, on the shipping side, there's – as everybody comes out of COVID, the shipping costs are up. But what we're doing as far as trying to mitigate it as you know, in the last couple of years, we've become a major producer as opposed to a junior. And that's allowed us really to get global pricing everywhere. So when we go out for prices on reagents, and that type of stuff, then we're able to kind of get – all the big boys are getting the best price as possible. So, I would say that certainly there is a pressure on inflation, but we're managing it as best we can for sure. And in fuel, I think Mike was going to talk about--

On the fuel side, I don't have a lot to add than I already talked about. We are -- we have kept our fuel hedging programs up-to-date. So, we're basically 50% hedge for diesel and HFO needs for the next 12 months and then 25% for the subsequent 12 months. So -- and right now, that's on the book. It has a mark-to-market about $80 million, so it's $80 million in the positive. And then the other hedge that we've talked about historically, it's kind of like permanent hedge is we put the solar plants, firstly, in Libya, where we've used that as part of the overall hygiene approach to fuel and then obviously, with Fekola coming online as well. We think that reduces overall operating cost somewhere in that 3% range. So, that's kind of part of how we, on a permanent basis, are mitigating some of those costs risks.

Okay, great. Thanks so much. That's it for me.

Thanks Tyler.

Your next question comes from Josh Wolfson from RBC Capital Markets. Josh, please go ahead.

Thanks. Just a quick question maybe on capital allocation. Obviously, this quarter was not necessarily representative of what the go forward cash expectations are going to be, but with second half the year being positioned much better and even beyond that, with Gramalote, what's the current thinking in terms of dividend policy and what the excess cash is going to be allocated towards?

Mike?

So on that front, Josh, I think a couple of thoughts. The first one is, we're pretty comfortable like -- I think we're saying that our current dividend rate, we've got one of the highest yields out there, we put ourselves up there pretty quickly. And so we feel pretty comfortable maintaining those rates, certainly, for the long-term, even given significant fluctuations in gold price, so that was one of the reasons for certain. That is the reason we did. We are trying to balance cash flow generation with also and returning capital shareholders with being a growth company as well. So, the growth company. So, I think you'll see us run through and see where we get to by the end of the year and evaluate it then. But I think I think right now, we're pretty comfortable at the rate we're at. We don't have any plans for share buybacks and we don't have any plans for any kind of special dividend or right now for any increasing dividends.

Yes, we'll continue as Mike say to look at -- at the end of the day, we're going to have a -- as we get into later this year and into next year, we're going to have an idea of what we think about Gramalote in terms of potential capital, and the idea. I think most of our shareholders get it, we pay a very healthy dividend. But we are a growth company, we want to continue the opportunities for growth, whether it be using Anaconda, we've talked about whether it be Gramalote, or other opportunities. So, we've got the right balance for the shareholders right now. But we'll be looking at that as nicely by the end of the year. Now, obviously, if gold were to make a significant moves, that might change our thinking there as well. But I think we've -- right now, we said we've got the right balance and let's see what we look like as we get towards the end of the year.

Great. Thank you. And then maybe if I can tuck-in one more just for Otjikoto with the sequencing in the second half of the year, is there any sort of key difference between third and fourth quarter? Is there going to be just a real stepwise change now with the with the great sequencing at the bottom of the pit?

Bill, you want to tackle that one?

Yes, I'm just looking at what grade we're feeding into the mill here in the second half? The answer is, it's going to be pretty evenly broke out. So the first half, obviously, we had, a very -- not a very high output, but the second half, we're going to see it come up in Q3 and Q4.

Okay. A0nd that -- how long does that sequence go for? Like, does it go past year end 2021?

Well, we haven't done the 2022 budgets yet. So I'm a bit lull to say exactly what it's going to be.

Okay. That's it for me. Thank you very much.

Okay. Thank you. Your next question comes from Ovais Habib from Scotiabank. Please go ahead.

Thanks, Operator. Hi, Clive and B2 team. A lot of my questions have been answered. But I did have a follow up question on Cardinal. In regards to, Bill, you mentioned that, you do have -- you have submitted the environmental and social impact assessment any kind of color that you can provide to us as to how those discussions are proceeding regarding the permit?

Yes, they're proceeding very well. Like I said, we submitted the bulk sample. Now they’re just coming out to see -- basically, to see where it's all at. And to -- and not even -- I don't even think we need an official written approval. But they just got to make sure that we've implemented it correctly within our mine plan. So we see mining errors imminent.

Perfect. And in terms of mining on Cardinal side as well. Once you get the official, I guess, permit or wherever, can you start on Cardinal right away, or is there any pre strip required, any sort of CapEx required on Cardinal?

We can start right away. As part of our bulk sample, we had to move -- had moved some material out to get some representative material. So it's been kind of a twofer. We got the good metallurgical testing and we got some of the pre-stripping done.

Okay, perfect. And just a little bit more color on the Anaconda side. You had mentioned that Menankoto is not somewhere you want to start off mining in the first place. But there was opportunity to start on other areas of Anaconda. Would you look to do a bulk sample similar to what you did at Cardinal, or how should we look at Anaconda?

Yeah. That's a real interesting question, Ovais. Because, originally, we did talk about doing a big bulk sample there, with the sample-like material, certainly the sample-like material that we have done some metallurgy on it and we think that it feeds quite well. But I guess -- I guess, that's not off the table. We would consider doing a bulk sample in the Bentaku [ph] area in Q4 this year, potentially.

Okay, perfect. That's it from you guys. Thanks so much.

Thanks, Ovais.

Your next question comes from Don DeMarco from National Bank Financial. Don, please go ahead.

Okay. Thank you, Operator. And thank you, Clive and team. My first question is for Bill. So, Bill, there's a lot of moving parts at Fekola. We've got low grade stockpile just on Q2. You have the pit that Cardinal is on. What should we be thinking about in terms of grade for Q3?

So you want -- your question is, what is the grade for Q3 at Fekola?

Yeah. Well, I mean, obviously, directionally, it will be higher than Q2, but we're just trying to get a sense of the balance of these three different components and so on. And if there's anything you can kind of -- whatever you're telling people at this point?

Yeah. So in the budget, our grade, kind of in Q3, were up around 2.8, 2.83. And then in Q4, we’re between 2.5 and 2.6.

Okay, great. Bill, just continuing on, you confirm Cardinal is going to be still in that range of 20K to 25K for 2021. But how much might we expect in 2022? And you did release that five year guidance at the AGM is Cardinal included in that guidance? And any color here be appreciated?

Yes. So Cardinal is included in the original guidance that we released, but none of it -- none of the Menankoto [indiscernible] stuff is included. And so that is still yet to be factored in. The interesting, real -- the thing that's really interesting about what was going on there, is we're going to have some optionality, which you mentioned. You know, you talked about, you've got the low grade stockpiles. You've got Cardinal. You've got some Cardinal sapper light. You've got potentially Bentako sapper light. So all these things are going to be put into play. And we do the budget. And so that's why I can't say really what's going to be carrying on in Q1 and Q2 of next year. And I just want to come back to the previous question, you asked because I didn't -- I actually saw the mining. The grade in Q3 is going to be 2.73, and in Q4 in Q4 2.1.

Okay. And obviously, Cardinal is going to be lifting out a lot. But just to that second question. Cardinal 20k to 25k for 2021, but that's probably a baseline for subsequent years, I would imagine.

Well, yes, I mean, once again, we haven't really scheduled it out because we don't know how it's all going to fit in within [indiscernible] and Anaconda. So the answer is, there's, as you know, the resource is quite big there.

Okay. Great. And on that tacko, is there any concern that the mining license in that area North of Mexico could be retracted? I mean, it's pretty -- I'm pretty confident that I mean, obviously, we hope to have the portion that was taken away, restored. But what about risks to the rest of the property?

Yes. We see that as really low -- low probability. The reality is that still sitting under a very early exploration license. So there's still another I think, another seven years or six years of exploration potential there. So the fact that we're already willing to put it into production now, and of course, the government is in a need for cash. There are certainly other projects around which are getting their permits as normal. So we see metacoda as an anomaly, and we see a business as usual everywhere else.

Okay, thanks.

That's an important point. The [indiscernible] is a very different situation where we had – we believe we have the legal right to an extension to allow us to get going on and file for an exploitation license. And we believe under the law, we have the right to do that. That's a very different stage. Once again, I mentioned we're discussing with the government. We also are in arbitration in Paris, which is a big step. But we didn't do that lightly because we believe we should have a significant right here. So but [indiscernible] is very good situation from [indiscernible]and we will the government and all indications are they're very keen to see us get going in that area initially with [indiscernible]. And ultimately, I think there's a lot of will to see as the appropriate place to [indiscernible]. And then tackle is of course, the circle of mill. And that's not lost than a lot of people, including a lot of people, I would suggest we've seen governance in Maui.

Okay, guys. Good luck with the rebound in starting in Q3. Thank you.

Thanks.

Your next question comes from Carey MacRury from Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.

Hi. Good morning, everyone. Maybe a question for Mike on the operating cash flow guidance. 500 million in the second quarter. Is that line up with the midpoint of your production and cost guidance i.e. if you pressure guidance now, but if you do better in cost, could we see upside to that number?

On the operating cash flow side? Yeah, yeah. I mean, obviously, the more production you have, arguably, it depends what the cost profile is. I would I would balance that on the other side but we have seen some cost inflation. So our view overall is I think, we can meet our cost guidance, but -- what the cost per ounce obviously can be benefited from more lower cost production, say from Cardinal in the period but overall, I think I would view us as coming in on the range. That's, that's where we sit right now.

Okay, great. And then maybe a question for Bill. I notice in the MD&A, you guys talked about the solar plant being completed and looks like it's going better than planned. Just wondering, if you can add a little colour on, potentially that that could translate into progress.

Yeah, I mean, John Rajala is on this call, he's probably more appropriate to answer. But what I'll tell you is that we're definitely seeing designs --designs plus and given the fact that we're in the rainy season now, we certainly anticipate that we're going to be above where we thought the design capacity was going to be. John, do you want to add anything to that?

No, I think that's a good summary, Bill. During the second quarter, or the solar provided 16.8% of the total power production, but that was only with 78% of the panels installed. So it did really well for the number of panels installation, which is now completed, and we're doing testing, and we've gone up as high as 30 megawatt hour production, which is the rated capacity of the plant. So it's all looking good.

So high level, you mentioned the savings 30 million liters of HFO, which we can do the math on, but what is it like I assume the operating costs of that qualify now that again, is pretty, pretty minimal?

Yes it's minimal. So is going to contribute to roughly $0.025 per kilowatt hour savings is I think, is what we're projecting so. And we may have potentially even exceeded that.

Carey, just a reminder, I think I mentioned that in the remarks. We think overall, when you look at it on balance, it reduces cash cost by about 3%. But that's what we think the impact of solar is we see similar kind of contribution in the maybe as well.

Okay, thanks, guys.

[Operator Instructions]. And your next question comes from Anita Soni from CIBC World Market. Anita, please go ahead.

Hi, thanks for taking my call. Good morning, or afternoon Clive and team. Most questions have been answered. But can you just clarify again, one more time, in a long night, the just the cupola sort of made the components of how we're getting to the sort of the higher production in the second half of the year. So I was a little confused, because I thought you said that, you know, in the person who says Cardinals not part of the -- of what you factored into the grades. And that could be an additional upside. But I thought, Mike, that you had said that just now that that Cardinal was factored in. And so I'm just -- could you clarify that for me? And then also, secondly, on the throughput levels, it seems like you're hitting above the throughput level at Ricola [ph]. And you've got it to a slightly lower level on throughput for this -- for next year as a run rate, is there something that we should be thinking about in terms of like, additional bottlenecks, or the mind may be a bit constrained, so you can't run at that full -- full level, I think was at 8.3k ton per day that you did this quarter for in one month?

Well, I'll start with the initial question about Cardinal was factored in. It's not factored into the budgeted numbers. It's not factored in to current guidance. What I was saying in earlier remarks was when we get more clarity on exactly how we see that flowing in Q3 and Q4, we'll have a look at our guidance to see if there's any guidance where we would update that. And then, my other comments on it just more recently, it was in -- the question was do we see Cardinals potentially benefiting cash costs? And I would say, yeah, I mean, in theory it could for sure, because more production hopefully lower cost, but we are not changing our guidance range even once. Right now, we haven't changed our cost range. When we see what Cardinal looks like and give a bit more flavor to it in Q3 then we'll come back if we think it changes anything.

Okay.

Bill you’re talking about no throughput or build genre.

Yeah. I do for sure. And I also the second half of that question, I was asked if Cardinal there was we did a five year guidance, was Cardinal included in that? And the answer is yes, starting in 2022. So, going forward that was already included in our assessment for the next four-year guidance through 2025. As far as how do we see getting the additional ounces this year? There's quite a few ways that could happen for sure. One, obviously, is the throughput, right? Our budgets for this year, we’re run at 7.5. I don't know -- sorry, 7.75 million tons per annum. We're currently running up there much closer to 9. And we're thinking, once again, this is we're always kind of coy about this. But we're basically thinking if we can get a million tons of stifle right down there or something like that are 15%. We think that we could actually be running up around 9 million ton per annum going forward. And so that's kind of what we're shooting for right now. And that's what we'll be looking at for our budget. So, what we have is we have this huge extra capacity versus what's in the budget versus, which is what obviously, generates the ounce profile versus what we're actually running. So you could have ounce profile from Cardinal. You certainly have it from stockpile. And as someone mentioned earlier, if we're real slick about it, we could actually pull a bulk sample from Bentayga and bring it down. So, a bunch of different options.

All right. Thank you. That answers my question.

Excellent.

There are no further questions at this time. I'll turn it back to Clive Johnson for closing remarks.

Okay. Well, thanks for your participation and your good questions. And we look forward to a very strong second half of the year and continue to great performance in the mines and we're excited about proceeding looking around development projects, exploration and see whether other opportunities come our way and we look forward to talk with you again soon. Thanks, everybody.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.