Say what you want to about U.S. President Donald Trump, but there is no denying one thing no matter what side of the aisle you're on: he's awful good at staying in the news.
The president's latest spat is with Russia over Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons, which has put a strain on the market and increased appetite for the safe haven asset of gold. To that end, gold wrapped today's trading at a 2-1/2 month high, which supported companies like B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO)(NYSE American:BTG).
In fairness, B2Gold drew strength on its own merit, releasing record first quarter gold production and revenue to kick off 2018.
The Vancouver-based miner said consolidated gold production during the quarter was an all-time best at 239,684 ounces, up 81 percent from the year prior quarter.
Management cited continued strong performances from the Fekola Mine in Mali, Masbate Mine in the Philippines and the Otjikoto Mine in Namibia as drivers for the record quarter. The Mali mine achieved commercial production at the end of November and led all B2Gold mines with 114,142 ounces of gold produced during the first quarter.
Consolidated gold revenue was also the best ever for a quarter at B2Gold, ringing in at $344.4 million, a jump of 135% from the same period in 2017.
The company maintained its annual guidance for gold production in the range of 910,000 to 950,000 ounces at all-in sustaining costs of only $780-$830 per ounce. Gold sales during Q1 averaged $1,325 per ounce for B2Gold.
After closing at $3.47 per share on Tuesday, shares of BTO surged as high as $3.80 in early trading on Wednesday. With about 45 minutes left in the session, shares are holding a gain of 4.5% at $3.62.
Related Stories
