TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based B2Gold has restarted openpit mining at its Orosi mine, in Nicaragua, and is on schedule to start gold production in late November, the company reported on Wednesday.

Shares in B2Gold, which already produces gold at its Limon mine, also in Nicaragua, leapt 10,7% in Toronto, to C$0,83 apiece by 15:58.

The company acquired both Orosi and Limon when it bought Central Sun Mining earlier this year.

Operations were suspended at Orosi in the first quarter of 2007, after a re-evaluation of the project indicated that gold recoveries could be improved by approximately 40% from heap leaching to over 90% using a conventional milling operation.

The project is now almost completed, and the operation is expected to produce an average of 80 000 oz/y to 90 000 oz/y of gold, over an initial seven-year life-of-mine.

Altogether, B2Gold expects to produce between 120 000 oz and 130 000 oz of gold from the two mines in 2010, at cash costs from about $490/oz to $500/oz at Orosi and between $545/oz and $560/oz at Limon.

However, the company reported that operations at Limon have been halted, after one of the three labour unions triggered a strike.

The Ministry of Labour  in Nicaragua has declared the strike to be illegal and the company is in discussions to resolve the dispute and expects to recommence production “shortly”.

B2Gold also announced that it has signed a commitment letter for a $20-million secured revolving credit facility with the Macquarie Group.

The facility will have a two-year term, with a maturity date of December 31, 2011, and an interest rate of the London interbank offered rate plus 5,5%, and will be used for general corporate purposes.

B2Gold is also exploring for gold in Colombia and Russia.

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