B2Gold Announces Positive Results from its 2025 Exploration Program at the Back River Gold District; Drill Results Confirm Significant Resource Potential District Wide

Back River Gold District Exploration Highlights

• Results from infill drilling at the Goose Mine Llama deposit confirm the continuity of high-grade gold mineral ization is sufficient to upgrade portions of the resource previously classified as Inferred. Highlight intersections include:

  • Drill hole 25GSE-702 returned 41.95 grams per tonne gold over 13.70 meters from 218.25 m;

  • Drill hole 25GSE-715Z1 returned 17.95 g/t gold over 38.20 m from 501.10 m;

  • Drill hole 25GSE-715Z3 returned 10.16 g/t gold over 19.50 m from 490.60 m;

  • Drill hole 25GSE-720Z1 returned 19.74 g/t gold over 18.80 m from 513.60 m;

  • Drill hole 25GSE-721Z2 returned 13.30 g/t gold over 21.85 m from 470.60 m;

  • Drill hole 25GSE-736Z2 returned 12.35 g/t gold over 7.90 m from 413.33 m;

  • Mining operations are currently ongoing at the Umwelt deposit (both open pit and underground), wit h Llama scheduled as the next deposit to be mined in the current Goose Mine life of mine plan;

    • The existing Indicated Mineral Resource estimate at Llama is 3.04 million tonnes grading 7.72 g/t gold for a total of 760,000 ounces of gold; and

    • The existing Inferred Mineral Resource estimate at Llama is 1.79 million tonnes grading 11.00 g/t gold for a total of 637,000 ounces of gold.

• Exploration drilling at the Nuvuyak deposit continued to intersect high-grade mineralization 1,000 m west and down plunge of the Goose Main deposit. Highlights include:

  • Drill hole 25GSE700Z2 returned 6.65 g/t gold over 27.28 m from 1,017.05 m;

    • This result demonstrates the continuity of high-grade zones within the Nuvuyak deposi t by extending high-grade gold mineralization approximately 150 m to the north-northwest;

  • These exploration results demonstrate the potential to further extend the mine life at the Goose Mine through the potential addition of the Nuvuyak deposit to the existing life of mine plan;

    • Mining at Nuvuyak is not currently contemplated in the current Goose Mine life of mine plan, but remains a high-priority target based on drilling to date; and

    • The existing Inferred Mineral Resource estimate at Nuvuyak is 2.63 million tonnes grading 8.26 g/t gold for a total of 700,000 ounces of gold.

See Figure 1 for an overview of the Back River Gold District properties.

Figure 1. Back River Gold District Properties.

 2025 Back River Gold District Exploration Program Overview

B2Gold’s commitment to unlocking the exploration potential of the Back River Gold District in 2025 was underpinned by a significant total budget of $32 million and robust near-mine and regional exploration programs. Through the application of in-house geoscience, the Company strived to improve deposit knowledge, a primary objective of the 2025 program, and a critical step in the systematic investigation of both grassroots and near-mine targets. This work has contributed to the upgrade to Indicated resources, of an area previously classified as Inferred resources, and to the identification of new zones of mineralization warranting follow up exploration.

During the 2025 Back River Gold District exploration program, 28,599 m of drilling in 140 diamond drill holes were completed, inclusive of 19,736 m over 87 drill holes at the Goose Mine and near-mine targets, and 8,863 m over 53 drill holes across Back River Gold District regional targets. The 2025 Goose Mine and near-mine drill program was supported by a $21 million budget and prioritized:

• Tighter drill spacing at the Llama deposit enabling the upgrade of a portion of the underground Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources, enhancing confidence in deposit geometry;

• Drilling both down plunge and within areas of widely spaced drilling of resources at the Llama, Umwelt, and Nuvuyak deposits; and

• Drill testing newly identified targets, both near surface (Wing target) and deeper underground (Nuvuyak-Mammoth-Hook target area).

The Back River Gold District regional drill program (George, Boot, Boulder, Del and Needle), was supported by an $11 million budget and included:

• Follow up drilling of multiple targets identified during the 2024 summer program; and

• Ongoing surface exploration, including mapping, prospecting, geophysics, and till sampling to generate additional targets for follow up drilling in 2026.

2025 Goose Mine Exploration Program

The Goose Mine consists of six main deposits: Umwelt, Llama, Llama Extension, Goose Main, Echo, and Nuvuyak, predominantly hosted by geological structures in banded iron formation  along a strike length of approximately eight kilometers. The well-defined continuity of this distinctive host rock is prospective for upside to the known deposits, which are presently open-ended at depth. The detailed geological information derived from the 2025 drill program will inform the targeting of untested structural sites within the iron formation, further informing the Company’s deposit knowledge and enhancing the systematic investigation of district wide exploration targets. In 2025, 15,587 m were completed in 61 drill holes across the Goose Mine deposits and 4,138 m were completed in 26 drill holes across Goose Mine targets. Significant drill hole locations from the 2025 Goose Mine exploration program are shown on the map in Figure 2.

At the Llama deposit, which outcrops 1,500 m north of the Umwelt deposit, 28 holes totaling 7,887 m were drilled in a campaign to upgrade and reclassify Inferred resources in specific areas immediately below and down plunge from the Llama open pit. Results were encouraging and demonstrate that high-grade mineralization continues at depth with results up to 17.95 g/t gold over 38.20 m from 501.10 m in drill hole 25GSE715Z1.

At the Nuvuyak deposit, inclusive of the Mammoth and Hook targets, a total of 4,510 m in seven drill holes was completed. Nuvuyak is located approximately 500 m west of and 1,000 m down plunge from the Goose Main deposit and demonstrates the potential for additional high-grade mineralization in the iron formation, along strike from known deposits and continuing at depth. N uvuyak drilling highlights include encouraging results of 6.65 g/t gold over 27.28 m from 1,017.05 m in drill hole 25GSE700Z2. The existing Inferred Mineral Resource estimate at Nuvuyak is 2.63 million tonnes grading 8.26 g/t gold for a total of 700,000 ounces of gold.

B2Gold’s exploration team continues to deploy directional core drilling technology to ensure accuracy and cost efficiency of strategic deep drilling at the Goose Mine. Devico drilling has been specifically implemented to increase confidence in geometry and continuity of high-grade resources that inform underground mine planning. Drilling utilizing this method has shown that the intersection of steeply dipping brittle-ductile high strain zones and fold-thickened BIF, such as that found at the Llama and Umwelt deposits, is the primary control on gold mineralization.

Significant 2025 drill results from the Llama and Nuvuyak deposits at the Goose Mine include:

Notes:

1. Capped at 50 g/t gold.
2. Drill intercepts are perpendicular to the zones so true widths are very similar to reported drill lengths.

See Figure 4 for the Llama and Nuvuyak long sections and significant intercepts and highlights.

Figure 4. Nuvuyak Deposit Long Section (facing north) and Significant Intersections.

A total of 4,148 m in 23 drill holes were drilled at near-mine exploration targets including Boomerang, Gosling, Goose Tail, Kogoyak, Radar, Slingshot, Wing DIF, and Wing.

At the Wing deposit, located proximal to Llama, drilling of 1,365 m in nine drill holes tested the pote ntial for a small open pit resource. Drill hole 25GSE734 returned 8.33 g/t gold over 8.40 m from 74.60 m and drill hole 25GSE738 returned 13.41 g/t gold over 8.50 m from 32.60 m.

Significant 2025 drill results from the Wing deposit at the Goose Mine include:

Notes:

1. Capped at 50 g/t gold.

2025 Back River Regional Exploration Program

A total of 8,863 m in 53 drill holes were drilled at the George, Boot, Boulder, Del, and Needle Back River Gold District regional properties. George Project drilling comprised seven targets and a total of 2,955 m in 14 drill holes, and focused on previously undrilled areas with the goal of identifying new zones of shallow mineralization that could be amenable to open pit mining methods. Results at George include 10.42 g/t gold over 5.65 m from 10.75 m in drill hole 25GRL224 at the Dragon South zone, and drill hole 25GRL225, which returned 3.14 g/t gold over 3.96 m from 290.22 m in the Tupiq North zone. Both zones represent upside to the known resources at the George Project and reaffirm the prospectiv ity of the region.

At the Boot Project 2,849 m was drilled across 20 drill holes, with results returning 4.97 g/t gold over 4.40 m from 166.20 m in drill hole 25BTL049B at the Hammer zone, 3.40 g/t gold over 10.15 m from 148.30 m in drill hole 25BTL058 at the Rooster Lake zone and 4.82 g/t gold over 4.90 m from 28.40 m in drill hole 25BTL061 at the Scorpion Lake South zone. Additional drilling is to be carried out on the regional properties in 2026, including follow up to the reported results from the George and Boot projects.

Significant 2025 drill results from the Back River District regional exploration drilling include:

Notes:

1. Capped at 50 g/t gold.

2025 Back River Regional Surface Exploration Program

During 2025, regional target definition was supplemented by an integrated surface exploration program comprising mapping, prospecting, geophysics, and the collection of 5,596 till samples, 69 trenches (381 samples), and 920 rock samples from 10 properties including Goose South, Boot, Boulder, George, Del, BB-13, Needle, Beech, Malley, and Wishbone. Geophysical surveys comprised a 7,695 line-km airborne gravity survey flown over a 2,790 square km area that included George, Boulder, Boot, Del, BB-13, and Goose. In addition, a new property, Ailiruk, was acquired near the end of 2025. The completed surface exploration has generated additional regional and near-mine targets for further evaluation and drill testing in 2026.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control on Sample Collection and Assaying

The primary laboratory utilized for the Back River Gold District drilling program in 2025 is ALS laboratory in North Vancouver, Canada. Core samples are prepared at the ALS preparation facility in Yellowknife with representative pulp samples sent to the ALS North Vancouver laboratory for gold analysis. Gold is analyzed by a fire assay/atomic absorption spectrometry (FA/AAS) finish using a 50-gram subsample of the coin pulp. FAs were finished with AAS, and samp les with higher grades that exceeded the maximum detection limit of AAS received a supplemental gravimetric (“GRAV”) finish. All samples over 3,000 parts per billion are analyzed by FA/GRAV using a 50-gram subsample of the coin pulp. Bureau Veritas Minerals in Vancouver, Canada, is the umpire laboratory.

Quality assurance and quality control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks and standards into the core sample strings. The results of the control samples are evaluated on a regular basis with batches re-analyzed and/or resubmitted as needed. All results stated in this announcement have passed B2Gold’s quality assurance and quality control protocols.

2026 Back River Gold District Exploration Program

A total of $46 million is budgeted for exploration at the Back River Gold District in 2026, of which $24 million is planned for the Goose Mine, and a significantly increased bud get of $22 million is earmarked for Back River Gold District regional exploration.

At the Goose Mine, a total of 17,200 m of drilling will target extensions of the Llama deposit, the largest and highest-grade resource at the district, as well as prioritize follow up drilling of significant results returned at the Nuvuyak-Mammoth-Hook targets and the prospective Wing deposit.

Regional exploration including geophysics, mapping, prospecting, and till sampling will be undertaken on the George, Boot, Boulder, Del, and Needle projects. This regional work will also include an estimated 12,800 m of diamond drilling to further define resources at the George Project and to follow up drill ready targets defined during the 2025 summer regional exploration program.

About B2Gold

B2Gold is a responsible international gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Founded in 2007, tod ay, B2Gold has operating gold mines in Canada, Mali, Namibia and the Philippines, and numerous development and exploration projects in various countries.

Qualified Persons

Andrew Brown, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration, a qualified person under NI 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical information related to exploration and mineral resource matters contained in this news release.