An employee was recently shot dead at
B2Gold Corp’s (
TSX: T.BTO,
Stock Forum) Masbate project in the Philippines.
In a press release, B2Gold said the employee was shot following an altercation with a security guard at the mine site on December 20, 2014.
The shooting victim is a long term employee, Jessie Villegas. The security guard is in the custody of the Philippine National, and the incident is being investigated by police, the company said.
Ranking as the largest gold mine in the Philippines, the open pit project is located on the island of Masbate, approximately 350 kilometres south of Manila. The mine is expected to contribute 34% of B2Gold’s total gold output in 2015.
Details of the shooting are revealed in a fourth quarter operations update, which said Masbate is on track to deliver 180,000 ounces of gold.
Throughput for October was 613,400 tonnes at an average grade of 1.29 grams per tonne, compared to 601,164 tonnes at 1.38 grams per tonne in November.
Production was strong in December as well, the company said.
A Masbate Gold project review of the incident and related procedures is ongoing, and counselling has been made available to the employees.
B2Gold shares rose 4.5% to $1.83 on Wednesday, leaving a market cap of $1.7 billion, based on 917.6 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $3.69 and $1.65.
In a research note, Scotia Capital analyst Ovais Habib said it appears likely that Masbate will surpass previously announced revised guidance of 180,000 ounces gold for 2014.
Scotia has a one year target price of $3.50 for B2Gold. It also has a focus stock rating on the equity.