VANCOUVER, BC, July 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - B2Gold Corp.
(TSX: BTO, NYSE AMERICAN: BTG, NSX: B2G) ("B2Gold" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce the launch of
its Namibian Rhino Gold Bar campaign in North America to help support the conservation
and protection of the critically endangered black rhinos, and the
community-based rhino rangers and trackers who protect the rhinos,
in Namibia, Southern Africa. This announcement coincides
with the International Ranger Federation's ("IRF") World Ranger
Day, which takes place annually on July
31.
World Ranger Day was established on the 15th
anniversary of the founding of the IRF and has been observed
globally since 2007. The day, which is promoted through the IRF's
Thin Green Line Foundation and sanctioned and supported by global
members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature,
recognizes and celebrates rangers who are at the forefront of
conservation efforts around the world by protecting natural and
cultural resources. It also commemorates rangers that are injured
or killed in the line of duty.
Due to poaching, driven by the illegal rhino horn trade, over
1,000 wild rhinos are killed for their horns in Africa each year. The northwest of
Namibia is home to the last and
largest population of free-roaming black rhinos in the world, but
with fewer than 5,630 black rhinos left in the wild, the need for
rhino conservation and protection has never been so critical. At
the current rate, it is predicted that black rhinos will be extinct
within a decade.
One of the key challenges for successful conservation and
protection of the black rhinos is that they live in a rural area
that covers 25,000 square kilometres with no national park status,
few roads and little control as to who can access the area. The
monitoring and safety of this population of black rhinos is
attributed to the commitment of organizations – such as
Save the Rhino Trust Namibia ("SRT"),
Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation ("IRDNC")
and Rhino Rangers – and local communities that continue to dedicate
their lives to protecting the rhinos. In addition to the vast size
and remoteness of the rhino range area, rhino rangers and trackers
are faced with several other challenges in the field, including
tackling dangerous terrain, dealing with a harsh climate and being
continually threatened by poachers.
More recently, the biggest challenge to the success of black
rhino conservation and protection is the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic. Organizations such as SRT and IRDNC, which provide
critical field-based support to rhino rangers and trackers, have
had their budgets slashed as international donors have had to pass
along cuts to their own budgets due to the pandemic. The pandemic
has also generated significant job losses in urban areas and
created an influx of people migrating back to their extended
families in rural areas, putting increased pressure on natural
resources and ultimately resulting in an increase in poaching.
Furthermore, a number of areas within the rhino range have been
left exposed by the lack of tourists because of the pandemic, which
now require extra patrolling efforts by SRT, IRDNC and Rhino
Rangers. In turn, this leads to a need for increased resources at a
time when conservation funding is being cut. Rhino tracking
has been central to tourism development in the region and has
provided local jobs and a source of income for local communities.
However, the knock-on effect of the pandemic in terms of job
security and the protection of the black rhinos is potentially
devastating for a region that has worked so hard to develop a
rhino-based economy.
Through its groundbreaking donation of 1,000 ounces of gold
(valued at approximately US$1.9
million (as at July 28, 2020))
from its Otjikoto Mine in northcentral Namibia, B2Gold has produced 1,000 limited
edition Namibian Rhino Gold Bars in various sizes. To celebrate the
launch of the campaign in North
America, 400 one-ounce gold bars will go on sale on Kitco
Metals' ("Kitco") retail website on July
31. Kitco, one of the world's premier retailers of precious
metals, has generously agreed to process these transactions (on
behalf of B2Gold) at cost to further benefit black rhino
conservation and protection efforts in Namibia and local communities whose
livelihoods depend on the survival of the species. Each one-ounce
bar is available for purchase at the spot price of gold plus a 15%
conservation premium.
The 15% premium is a way to extend the positive impact of each
gold bar sold in support of rangers, trackers, and black rhino
conservation and protection. It will be used to fund the future
production of more gold bars, or
gold medallions, the second limited edition of
which will be distinctly different from the
first mintage, ensuring that this initiative remains
self-sustaining. "Poaching and the illegal trafficking of animals
and their parts is a scourge that takes place around the world and
must be stopped," said B2Gold's President & CEO, Clive Johnson. "In Namibia, where we work closely with our
employees, local suppliers, business partners, the government and
non-governmental organizations in so many ways, our collaborative
vision for the Rhino Gold Bar was to put a new and innovative
funding mechanism for conservation in place that we could all be
proud of," Johnson said. "Every gold bar purchased helps to combat
poaching – by supporting rhino rangers and trackers, which in turn,
supports their families and empowers communities to help save a
species on the verge of extinction. This is an example of using one
precious resource, gold mined in Namibia, to protect another – the world's
critically endangered black rhino population – now and for
generations to come."
The gold bars feature symbols of hope for the future of the
black rhinos. With a striking image of a rhino mother and calf on
the back, and an iconic image of Namibia, the Namib Desert, on the front, the
gold bars are presented in a box made of sustainably harvested
material. Purchasers of the gold bars will receive ongoing
information and updates from the Rhino Gold Bar Advisory Committee
("the Committee") as to how their investment is helping to redefine
conservation financing and how funds are being used to save the
black rhinos from extinction.
Proceeds from the sale of the first 600 gold bars to Namibian
and African purchasers have been managed and distributed by the
Committee, which includes representatives from B2Gold,
SRT, IRDNC, the Namibia Chamber of Environment, and the
Namibia Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism. Funds have
been allocated to help counteract the impact of the pandemic by
providing salaries to keep rhino rangers and trackers in the field
for the next 12 months; maintaining adequate patrol levels to
diminish the threat of poaching and sustain population growth;
raising awareness about the importance of black rhino conservation
to reinforce community support; and upgrading communication systems
to ensure the rapid response of rhino rangers and trackers during a
crisis situation.
Proceeds from the sale of the 400 gold bars in North America will continue to be managed and
distributed by the Committee. Significant funding will continue to
provide long-term sustainable financing for black rhino
conservation and protection, ensuring that community-driven efforts
by the rural communities, for whom the protection of rhinos is
their birthright, continues, as well as securing the future for a
rhino-based economy.
Recognizing the importance of this groundbreaking creative
conservation and philanthropic initiative, Simson Uri-Khob, SRT's
CEO, said: "The timing of the Rhino Gold Bar campaign in
North America could not be better
as COVID-19 has impacted conservation funding and plunged the
world's remaining wild rhinos into serious risk. As we mark World
Ranger Day, we aspire for the healing of our people and our planet.
B2Gold's support for sustainable, community-backed rhino
conservation and protection allows us to not only dream of a better
world, but to plan for it."
B2Gold's Vision and Values
B2Gold is a responsible mining company that demonstrates
leadership by going beyond industry standards and continuing to
raise the bar on its own performance. The Company's principles of
fairness, respect, transparency and accountability are part of its
corporate culture and are applied globally across its corporate
social responsibility projects. Not only is B2Gold committed to
minimizing its impact on the land in countries in which the Company
operates, it also invests in projects that have nothing to do with
mining and everything to do with the protection of the planet and
the quality of life for future generations.
About B2Gold Corp.
B2Gold is a low-cost international senior gold producer
headquartered in Vancouver,
Canada. Founded in 2007, today, B2Gold has operating gold
mines in Mali, Namibia and the
Philippines, and numerous exploration and development
projects in various countries. In 2020, B2Gold forecasts
consolidated gold production of between 1,000,000 and 1,055,000
ounces.
ON BEHALF OF B2GOLD CORP.
"Clive T. Johnson"
President & Chief Executive Officer
For more information on B2Gold, please visit the Company website
at www.b2gold.com or contact:
Ian
MacLean
|
Katie
Bromley
|
Vice President,
Investor Relations
|
Manager, Investor
Relations & Public Relations
|
+1
604-681-8371
|
+1
604-681-8371
|
imaclean@b2gold.com
|
kbromley@b2gold.com
|
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future dividends, including the timing and amount of any such
dividends, and the expectation that quarterly dividends will be
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more detail under the heading "Risk Factors" in B2Gold's most
recent Annual Information Form, B2Gold's current Form 40-F Annual
Report and B2Gold's other filings with Canadian securities
regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC"), which may be viewed at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov,
respectively (the "Websites"). The list is not exhaustive of the
factors that may affect B2Gold's forward-looking
statements.
B2Gold's forward-looking statements are based on the
applicable assumptions and factors management considers reasonable
as of the date hereof, based on the information available to
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occur, or if any of them do, what benefits or liabilities B2Gold
will derive therefrom. For the reasons set forth above, undue
reliance should not be placed on forward-looking
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SOURCE B2Gold Corp.