B2Gold CEO Johnson to retire in June

B2Gold (TSX: BTO; NYSE-A: BTG) will replace its long-time chief executive this year as the company enters what analysts describe as a transition period marked by shifting production levels.

Clive Johnson, who founded the Vancouver-based miner two decades ago, will retire as president, CEO and director at the company’s annual meeting on June 4, the company said on Monday. He is to be succeeded by chief financial officer Mike Cinnamond.

“While no one can replace Clive Johnson and his legacy in founding BTO and lasting positive influence across the sector, the succession discussion has been topical and Mike Cinnamond was among the favoured replacement candidates,” Don DeMarco, a mining analyst at National Bank Financial, said Monday in a note. Cinnamond “is well regarded and widely recognized having been with the company since the early days, and we expect a seamless transition.”

Johnson, who drew on experience in Russia and Canada to expand the company’s footprint to Nunavut, Africa and the Philippines, accepted The Northern Miner’s Person of the Year award for 2025 in December at the media group’s symposium in London. He brought the Goose mine into production in the Canadian Arctic and maintained production at Fekola in junta-led Mali.

“It has been a great privilege to have led B2Gold since its formation in 2007,” Johnson said. “We have grown the business through timely and well-executed acquisitions to make the company what it is today, a leading gold producer with multiple operating mines and development projects located around the world.”

Earnings

The leadership change comes as the company contends with ramp up issues at Goose in Nunavut and lower than expected fourth quarter earnings. B2Gold posted adjusted earnings of C$0.11 per share for the fourth quarter of 2025, below estimates of C$0.20 per share and consensus of C$0.17, BMO Capital Markets said Friday.

B2Gold shares gained 5.4% on Monday morning in Toronto to C$7.77 apiece, valuing the company at C$10.2 billion.

Operationally, the quarter was stronger than the earnings line suggests. Consolidated gold production reached 303,000 oz., above both BMO and consensus estimates, while full-year output of 980,000 oz. landed slightly below the midpoint of revised guidance.

Costs were mixed. Cash costs of $736 per oz. came in below expectations, while all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of $1,754 per oz. also beat estimates for the quarter. However, full-year AISC of $1,584 per oz. exceeded the company’s guidance range, reflecting higher sustaining capital spending over the year.

Forecast

Looking ahead, B2Gold has forecast 2026 production of between 820,000 oz. and 970,000 oz., broadly in line with expectations, though costs are expected to rise. The company forecast AISC of $2,400 to $2,580 per oz., above BMO’s estimate of $2,305 per oz. Production is expected to return to 2025 levels by 2027.

In Mali, the Fekola regional permit is expected shortly, with first gold targeted in this year’s second half. At the Goose project in Nunavut, modifications to the crushing circuit are planned for later this year, alongside studies to increase throughput to 4,000 tonnes per day.

Cinnamond, currently senior vice-president of finance and CFO, will also join the board as part of the leadership transition. Johnson will remain involved as chair emeritus, providing continuity as the company moves through its next stage of development.

“I am especially proud of the fact that our values and our reputation as an efficient and transparent operator have enabled us to recruit and retain some of the best people in the mining industry,” Johnson said. “I am proud of the contributions to the communities in which we operate around the world, which hopefully leave them in a better place than when we arrived.”