TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Gold-miner B2Gold plans to begin restarting the processing plant at its Orosi mine, in Nicuaragua, towards the end of this year, the firm said on Thursday.

B2Gold acquired Orosi, as well as the producing Limon mine – also in Nicuaragua, when it bought Central Sun Mining last month.

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 from approximately 40% from heap leaching to over 90% using a conventional milling operation.

All equipment, with the exception of the second ball mill is on site and the mill installation project and tailing pond construction project are well under way, B2Gold said.

Once in commercial production, the Orosi Mine will have an initial eight year mine life and is expected to produce approximately 80 000 oz to 90 000 oz of a year, at an estimated cash cost of approximately $450/oz.

With both Limon and Orosi operating in 2010, the company expects to produce between 125 000 oz and 130 000 oz, at estimated cash costs of $485/oz.

Limon is expected to produce about 43 000 oz this year, at an estimated cash cost of $550/oz.

The mine currently has a mine life of three and a half years, but B2Gold has identified several exploration targets and expects to continue to add reserves and increase the mine life.

Altogether, B2Gold, which is also exploring for gold in Colombia, Panama and Russia, currently has 683 600 oz of proven and probable gold mineral reserves, 303 300 oz of measured and indicated gold mineral resources and 2,019-million ounces of inferred resources.

Shares in the company rose 10,6% on Thursday, to C$0,73 apiece by 15:21 in Toronto.