The delivery of the feasibility study for the Gramalote joint venture (JV) project has been delayed to the second quarter of next year, while the budget for the study has increased.

Project partner B2Gold says the completion of the study has been pushed out from the first quarter to the second quarter because of an increase in planned drilling and the impact of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.

This is about a year later than what B2Gold initially planned for the Gramalote feasibility study, having earlier said that it would announce the results in April 2021, with a construction decision expected to be made shortly thereafter.

B2Gold, which owns Gramalote in a 50:50 JV with gold major AngloGold Ashanti, stated this week that a decision was now expected in mid-2022.

The miner also reported that the 2021 feasibility study budget had been revised to $69-million and that an additional budget of $17-million was under consideration for the first quarter of 2022 to complete the final feasibility study and updated mineral resource estimate.

The revised 2021 budget is a $17-million increase over the initial 2021 Gramalote budget of $52-million.

B2Gold in May provided a project update which stated that Gramalote would produce 2.97-million ounces over its 10.6-year mine life, or an average of 281 000 oz/y at an all-in sustaining cost of $744/oz. In the first five years of full production, output would average 347 000 oz/y.

The preproduction capital cost estimate is $925-million, with a 3.5 year payback period. The project has an aftertax net present value, using a 5% discount, of $473-million, and an internal rate of return of 15%.

B2Gold said this week that a review of Gramalote’s feasibility study work to date showed that there was potential to improve the economics of the project.

A review of the updated Gramalote Ridge mineral resource also showed that further value could be created through additional drilling of the inferred portions of the mineral resource area, both within and adjacent to the designed pit, with at least 25 000 m of drilling planned and progressing in 2021 and a mineral resource update expected in early 2022.

In addition, drilling was being carried out in the Trinidad deposit and drilling was planned in the Monjas West zone later in 2021.