Mr. Clive Johnson reports

B2GOLD REPORTS 2014 SECOND QUARTER/FIRST-HALF GOLD PRODUCTION AND REVENUE

B2Gold Corp. has provided its gold production and revenue for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014. All dollar figures are in United States dollars unless otherwise indicated. Highlights from the 2014 second quarter/first half include the following.

2014 second-quarter highlights:

• Gold production of 85,704 ounces, an increase of 4 per cent over the second quarter of 2013;
• Successful change-out of the Masbate semi-autogenous grinding mill in June;
• Gold revenue of $120.3-million on sales of 93,330 ounces at an average price of $1,289 per ounce;
• 2014 production guidance remains unchanged;
• Continued construction of the Otjikoto mine on budget and schedule;
• Entered into a merger implementation agreement with Papillon Resources Ltd. on June 3, 2014.

2014 first-half highlights:

• Gold production of 182,007 ounces, an increase of 13 per cent over the same period in 2013;
• Gold revenue of $249.3-million on sales of 192,325 ounces at an average price of $1,296 per ounce.

Gold production

Consolidated gold production in the second quarter of 2014 was 85,704 ounces, approximately 5 per cent below budget, but approximately 4 per cent higher than in the same quarter last year. As expected, gold production in the second quarter of 2014 was lower than in the first quarter of 2014 mainly due to the changeout of the Masbate SAG mill in June. The change out of the Masbate SAG mill was successfully implemented, and the new SAG mill is now in operation and performing its function flawlessly after a short period of commissioning. The company's 2014 annual consolidated production guidance of 395,000 ounces to 420,000 ounces of gold remains unchanged.

In the first half of 2014, consolidated gold production totalled 182,007 ounces, 12,026 ounces below budget. However, consolidated production guidance for the year remains unchanged, as the planned mine development at the Masbate and Limon mines are expected to be completed and meet budget in the second half of the year (see operations section below). For the first half of 2014, budgeted gold production (of 194,033 ounces) was expected to be lower than in the second half of the year (of 207,355 ounces), due to a number of factors including the SAG mill replacement in June at the Masbate mine.

The company is projecting another record year for gold production in 2014. Companywide production in 2014 from the Masbate, Libertad and Limon mines is expected to be in the range of 395,000 ounces to 420,000 ounces of gold at an operating cash cost of $667 to $695 per ounce. All-in sustaining cash costs are forecasted to be in a range of $1,025 to $1,125 per ounce of gold. The production forecast for 2014 does not include any estimated gold production from the Otjikoto development project in Namibia, as any revenue earned from the sale of precommercial production will be credited to mineral property development costs prior to commercial production. With the first full year of gold production from the Otjikoto gold project in Namibia scheduled for 2015, the company is projecting 2015 gold production of 555,000 ounces, based on current assumptions.

Gold revenue

Gold revenue for the second quarter of 2014 was $120.3-million on sales of 93,330 ounces at an average realized price of $1,289 per ounce, compared with $122.6-million on sales of 86,239 ounces at an average realized price of $1,422 per ounce in the second quarter of 2013. Gold revenue declined only marginally (2 per cent), as an 8-per-cent increase in sales volume largely offset a 9-per-cent decrease in the average realized gold price.

For the first six months of 2014, consolidated gold revenue was $249.3-million on sales of 192,325 ounces at an average price of $1,296 per ounce, compared with $277.5-million on sales of 181,281 ounces at an average price of $1,531 per ounce in the first half of 2013. Gold revenue in the first half of 2013 included the sale of 20,811 ounces, relating to the Masbate mine's gold bullion inventory acquired on Jan. 16, 2013.

Operations

Masbate gold mine -- Philippines

At the Masbate mine in the Philippines, second-quarter production was 36,901 ounces of gold, 2,920 ounces below budget and approximately 4 per cent lower than in the same quarter last year. As expected, gold production was affected in the quarter as the SAG mill was shut down during change out from May 29 to June 28, reducing mill throughput by approximately 54 per cent (slightly more than anticipated) during this period. The new SAG mill is now in operation and is performing its function flawlessly after a short period of commissioning. The project was completed on time with no safety incidents.

Year-to-date gold production was 79,477 ounces, compared with budget of 91,713 ounces, and with 81,877 ounces in the first half of 2013 (including 7,087 non-attributable ounces for the preacquisition period from Jan. 1, 2013, to Jan. 15, 2013). Over all, production guidance for the year remains unchanged. Gold production was lower than budget due to a number of factors. At the end of 2013, mine development at the Colorado pit had advanced more slowly than planned. As a result, mill feed in the first half of 2014 contained transitional and primary ore from the HMBE and Main Vein pits not anticipated in the budget, which have a lower predicted recovery than the oxide ore from the Colorado pit. As the Colorado pit development is expected to catch up to budget in the second half of 2014, the high-grade oxide ore from Colorado which had been scheduled to be processed will be mined and processed throughout the second half of the year.

The Masbate mine is projected to produce approximately 190,000 ounces to 200,000 ounces of gold in 2014, at an operating cash cost of approximately $765 to $800 per ounce.

Transition from contract mining to self mining is currently proceeding smoothly at Masbate, with mining equipment being transferred at the end of the second quarter. Remaining changes include employee movements in the third quarter and transfer of maintenance functions at year-end.

Last year, the company began a metallurgical sampling and analysis program in order to assess the potential for a mill expansion at the Masbate mine. That preliminary work continues, with conclusions expected in the fourth quarter of 2014. A proposed mill expansion would allow the company to take advantage of opportunities to process additional ore, allow for the full utilization of the new SAG mill and optimize process plant gold recoveries.

La Libertad gold mine -- Nicaragua

La Libertad mine continues its strong operational performance. Gold production was 37,681 ounces in the second quarter of 2014, exceeding budget by 2,026 ounces and approximately 27 per cent higher than in the same quarter last year. Higher grade than budgeted (2.26 g/t processed versus 2.13 g/t budget) from the Mojon, Crimea and Jabali pit sources contributed to the surplus production, as well as higher gold recoveries (94.7-per-cent recovery versus 94-per-cent budget), as a result of the addition of lead nitrate and higher residence time in the leach tanks.

For the first half of the year, La Libertad mine produced 76,277 ounces, exceeding budget by 4,456 ounces and approximately 30 per cent higher than in the same period in 2013.

La Libertad mine is projected to produce approximately 143,000 ounces to 150,000 ounces of gold in 2014 at a cash operating cost of approximately $545 to $565 per ounce.

El Limon gold mine -- Nicaragua

The Limon open-pit and underground mine produced 11,122 ounces of gold in the 2014 second quarter, 3,670 ounces below budget and approximately 22 per cent lower than in the same quarter last year. Gold production in the quarter was affected by underground mine development at Santa Pancha 1 advancing more slowly than planned, due to a delay in the installation of a water pump well (designed to remove excess underground water). As a result of the delay, access to higher-grade zones at Santa Pancha 1 was affected. Mill feed (which had been budgeted to be 52-per-cent high-grade material from Santa Pancha 1) was achieved in the quarter with ore coming from lower-grade zones and surface sources. Over all, production guidance for the year remains unchanged, as most of the activities to complete the dewatering of Santa Pancha 1 will be completed during the third quarter of 2014. In addition, Santa Pancha 2 development and dewatering have been accelerated to add alternative high-grade sources. Gold grades at Santa Pancha 2 are expected to be in the five-grams-per-tonne range.

For the first half of 2014, the Limon mine produced 26,253 ounces of gold, compared with 28,248 ounces in the first six months of 2013, and with budget of 30,499 ounces.

The Limon mine is projected to produce approximately 62,000 ounces to 70,000 ounces of gold in 2014 at a cash operating cost of approximately $650 to $675 per ounce.

Proposed merger with Papillon Resources Ltd.

On June 3, 2014, B2Gold announced that it has entered into a merger implementation agreement with Papillon Resources, pursuant to which B2Gold agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Papillon based on an exchange ratio of 0.661 B2Gold common shares for each Papillon ordinary share held. At the time of announcement, the merger consideration represented a purchase price of approximately $1.72 (Australian) per Papillon share and valued the transaction at approximately $570-million.

The merger will be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement under the Australian Corporations Act 2001. Upon completion of the scheme, existing B2Gold shareholders and former Papillon shareholders will own approximately 74 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, of the issued common shares of B2Gold following the completion of the transaction.

A draft scheme booklet, including an independent expert's report, was lodged by Papillon with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on July 15, 2014. In addition, an originating process and supporting affidavits were also filed by Papillon with the Federal Court of Australia. Subject to the court's approval, Papillon intends to mail the scheme booklet to Papillon shareholders in mid-August, with the meeting of Papillon shareholders to consider the scheme to follow in mid-September, 2014.

B2Gold expects to hold a special meeting of its shareholders on Sept. 12, 2014, to consider and, if deemed advisable, approve the issuance of B2Gold shares comprising the merger consideration to former Papillon shareholders.

Subject to receipt of all necessary court, regulatory, shareholder and third party approvals, B2Gold expects the transaction to be completed on or about Oct. 3, 2014.

We seek Safe Harbor.