Centerra Gold (TSX:CG) Q3 2026 Earnings Call

0:00 I would now like to turn the conference over to Lisa Wilkinson, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications with Sentara Gold. Please go ahead.

0:10 Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Sentara Gold's third quarter 2026 results conference call. Joining me on the call today are Paul Tomory, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Snyder, Chief Financial Officer, and Kelly Strong, our Chief Operating Officer. Other members of the executive team are available for the Q&A session. Our news release last night outlines our third quarter 2026 results and is complemented by our MD&A and financial statements, which are available on CDAR+, EDGAR, and our website. All figures are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted. Presentation slides accompanying this webcast are available on Sentara's website.

0:56 Following the prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements which are subject to risks that could cause our actual results to differ from those expressed or implied. For more information, please refer to the cautionary statements in our presentation and the risk factors outlined in our annual information form. We will also be referring to certain non-GAAP measures during today's discussion. For a detailed description of these measures, please see our news release and MD&A issued yesterday. I will now turn the call over to Paul Tomory.

1:38 Thank you, Lisa. Good morning, everyone. Our third quarter results reflect continued consistent execution at our operations. My Milligan delivered a fourth consecutive quarter on plan and remains on track to achieve its 2026 production guidance. Strong copper by-product credits have enabled us to lower Mt. Milligan's full-year guidance for all its sustained costs, while Uxsuit production continues to track in line with its previously increased full-year production guidance and original cost guidance ranges. We are pleased with our cost performance in the quarter and year-to-date, particularly in an environment of continued industry cost pressures. In the third quarter, we completed a record $53 million in share buybacks, bringing our year-to-date total share purchases to $125 million.

2:26 This demonstrates our commitment to shareholder returns and reflects the strength of our balance sheet, our ability to generate cash flow, and our disciplined approach to capital allocation. Our growth pipeline is moving closer to several important milestones. Goldfield has achieved an important permitting milestone in the third quarter with all major permits now in place for the Genfield deposit. which accounts for approximately 80% of the life of mine production. Development activities also advance in the quarter, including detailed engineering, long lead equipment procurement, and initial earthworks for stormwater diversion channels, overburden stockpiles, and borehole material excavation. Further construction site prep activities are planned for the remainder of 2026.

3:12 The Goldfield project represents our next source of near-term gold production growth with first production expected in late 2028. At Exud, work on our life of mine optimization study is well underway with results expected in early 2027 alongside our year-end disclosures. Our focus remains on maximizing the value of what has already been a very strong operation in our portfolio. Meanwhile, our team continues to advance engineering and technical work at Chumas with a PFS expected in mid-2027. Following the positive PEA released in January, Commesse represents a project that would potentially become our second long-life gold copper cornerstone asset in British Columbia. And finally, at Thompson Creek, we remain on track for first molybdenum production in mid-2027, now less than one year away, and in a very constructive price environment.

4:04 U.S. MOLLE offers exposure to strategic minerals with the ability to generate robust cash flow to support balance sheet strength and help build our gold-focused projects. Molybdenum prices are continuing to trend very well above the assumptions used in our feasibility study, reinforcing the attractive economics of the project. Together with a continued ramp up at Langloft, we see a significant opportunity to create value through an integrated U.S. molybdenum business. When we look across our portfolio, we see a high-quality asset base, a robust balance sheet, multiple organic growth opportunities across gold, copper, and molybdenum, and substantial expiration upside We believe this positions the company to deliver meaningful long-term value for shareholders.

4:50 Our key priorities remain on disciplined execution, advancing our growth projects, and delivering strong operational performance. I'd now like to provide an update on our sustainability initiatives. Earlier this month, we held our annual sustainability summit in Vancouver, bringing together environmental and community relations teams from across our operations and corporate office. The summit provided an opportunity to share best practices, strengthen collaboration, and advance company-wide initiatives in support of Cetera's broader sustainability strategy. By bringing together our sustainability leaders, we are working to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach to sustainability across our operations, supporting our long-term success and our commitment to creating lasting value for the communities in which we operate.

5:39 During the third quarter, our teams also participated in several community initiatives across our operations. At Goldfield, our team participated in Goldfield Days, an annual event celebrating the town's rich mining history. Alongside our partners, we had the opportunity to engage with community members, showcase our activities at Goldfield, and provide an up-close look at some of the equipment being used on site. At Langeloth, our team donated specialized vehicle stabilization equipment to

6:17 These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to being a responsible operator and supporting communities where our employees live and work. With that, I'll turn the call over to Kelly Strong for his first quarterly operating update as our new Chief Operating Officer.

6:33 Thanks, Paul. I want to say how pleased I am to have joined Sentera in regards to this team at an exciting time for the company. Since joining, I've had the opportunity to visit all of our mines so I can gain an understanding of our operation project.

6:54 are already in place with a continued focus on safe, reliable operations and disciplined execution as we advance on growth projects. Turning now to our third quarter operating results, starting with Mount Milligan. Mount Milligan produced over 44,000 ounces of gold in the quarter, a 15% increase over the previous quarter and consistent with the production profile previously outlined. Copper production balance from projects

7:27 are already in place with a continued focus on safe, reliable operations and disciplined execution as we advance our growth projects. Turning now to our third quarter operating results, starting with Mount Milligan. Mount Milligan produced over 44,000 ounces of gold in the quarter, a 15% increase over the previous quarter and consistent with the production profile previously outlined. Copper production totaled 12.8 million pounds, largely in line with the previous quarter, reflecting planned mine sequencing. Year-to-date gold and copper production remains aligned with the PFS mine plan and remain on track to achieve our full-year production guidance of 140,000 to 155,000 ounces of gold and 50 to 60 million pounds of copper.

8:18 All in sustaining costs on a byproduct basis were $985 per ounce in the third quarter, 22% lower quarter-over-quarter as a result of strong gold production and sales and copper byproduct credits. We reaffirm our full-year gold production cost guidance of $1,450 to $1,550 per ounce at Mt. Milligan, while strong year-to-date copper byproduct credits have enabled us to lower our full-year ASIC guidance to $1,100 to $1,200 per ounce from $1,200 to $1,300 per ounce. Moving on to OXU, third quarter gold production was over 31,000 ounces driven by higher grades, enhanced operating practices, and solution management.

9:07 We remain on track to achieve the previously increased full-year production guidance of 120,000 to 135,000 ounces of gold. ASIC on a byproduct basis was $1,893 per ounce in third quarter, and improvement over the previous quarter driven by lower royalty expense per ounce due to lower gold prices. We continue to expect POCS's four-year ASIC on a byproduct basis to be within our guidance range of $1,850 to $1,950 per ounce. At Thompson Creek, restart activities continue to advance as planned with approximately 65% of the infrastructure refurbishment complete at the end of September increasing to 75% complete as of late October. During the third quarter, the project progressed with most long lead equipment shipped.

10:01 Installation of approximately two thirds of the flotation tanks and agitators are completed and refurbishment of key mill equipment and electrical work advancing. In October, the final electrical equipment required for the mill refurbishment was delivered to site and construction of the tailings tow dam was completed. Non-sustaining capex in the third quarter was $81 million. Project state capital expenditure is a total of $337 million. The project remains in line with the total capex estimate of $425 to $450 million and is on track for first production by mid-2027. I'll now pass it over to Ryan to walk through our financial highlights for the quarter.

10:46 Thanks, Kelly. Shifting to the financials. Slide 11 details our third quarter financial results. Adjusted net earnings in the third quarter were $72 million, or $0.37 per share. Key adjustments to net earnings include $10 million of deferred income tax adjustments and $7 million related to a reclamation provision revaluation recovery, among other things. In the third quarter, sales were over 74,000 ounces of gold and 13.2 million pounds of collins. The average realized price was $3,483 per ounce of gold and $5.74 per pound of copper, which incorporates the existing streaming arrangements at Mount Millard. Approximately 4.6 million pounds of molybdenum was sold in the third quarter at the landlocked facility at an average realized price of $33.43 per pound.

11:39 Consolidated all-in sustaining costs on a byproduct basis in the third quarter were $1,775 per ounce. We remain well positioned to achieve our full-year ASIC guidance of $1,650 to $1,750 per ounce. Slide 12 shows our financial highlights. In the third quarter, we generated cash flow from operations of $143 million and free cash flow of $17 million. In the quarter, Mt. Milligan generated $107 million in cash flow operations and $63 million in free cash flow, and OXU generated $68 million in cash flow operations and $66 million in free cash flow. U.S. MOLLE generated $2.9 million of cash flow operations and had a free cash flow deficit of $54 million, mainly related to spending on the Thompson Creek Restart Project.

12:29 Returning capital to shareholders remains a key pillar in our disciplined approach to capital allocation. In the third quarter, we repurchased 2.6 million shares for a record total consideration of 53 million, bringing our total year-to-date share repurchases to 125 million. We continue to believe that repurchasing our shares is an accretive, high-return use of cash. We also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share. At the end of the quarter, total liquidity was $998 million, with $398 million of cash and $600 million available under our corporate credit facility. This strong financial position gives us the flexibility to fully fund our North American organic growth pipeline while continuing to return capital to shareholders. I'll pass it back to Paul for some concluding remarks.

13:19 Thanks, Ryan. We're very pleased with our performance through the first nine months of 2026, reflecting consistent operational execution on Mt. Milligan and its strong cost performance and continued progress across our growth pipeline. With several important milestones approaching, including first production on Thomas Creek in mid-2027 and continued advancement of the Goldfield project and the ChemS PFS, we are well positioned to deliver on our self-funded growth strategy. Our strong operating base and balance sheet provide the financial flexibility to advance these growth opportunities while continuing to return capital to our shareholders. With a disciplined approach to capital allocation and a clear path to meaningful production growth, We believe Subterra is well-positioned to create long-term value for our shareholders.

14:04 And operator, with that, we can open the call to questions. We will now begin the question and answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone acknowledging your request. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. The first question comes from Luke Bertozzi with CIBC. Please go ahead.

14:34 Good morning, Paul and team. Congrats on a solid quarter. My first question is on Thompson Creek. With infrastructure refurbishment approximately 65% complete, what are the main critical path items between now and first production?

14:52 So we are 65% at the end of September. We're actually 75% here at the end of October. We had a tremendous month here on progress. We're into final structural, mechanical, and electrical. The last of the electrical switch gear arrived over the course of the last couple weeks. So we're doing final connections and final mechanical installations. We'll be in a position to start early commissioning works sometime late in the first quarter. So the critical path items are really simple installations and connections and powering up and commissioning.

15:30 Okay, thanks. That's helpful. And perhaps as a follow-up, with Molybdenum prices quite strong right now, are there any practical opportunities to lock in pricing on a portion of the initial production? Is that something you'd consider to protect early cash flows?

15:45 Unfortunately, there's no real forwarder or hedging market available in Molybdenum. Most contracts are affected essentially off a spot basis. So unfortunately, the answer is no. Molybdenum is not a market that can be hedged. So it's spot exposure all around.

16:08 Gotcha. Okay. I understand. And I guess my second question would be on capital allocation. Sentara's cash balance declined approximately $50 million this quarter just with the investments in growth and the share buybacks. How do you think about a minimum cash balance you'd want to maintain through the remaining construction period and how could that influence the pace of buybacks?

16:31 Well, Luke, let me just answer that first with an overarching view on strategy. We're really focused on numerator, NAV, and driving NAV per share growth through the development of our projects, all the while reducing the denominator by buying back our shares. So our capital allocation framework is informed by that, driving NAV in our projects and then reducing our share count through buybacks. Ryan will have a perspective on how we manage minimum cash, but we are very confident we can fund our entire growth program out of the balance sheet. and that really is how we govern our capital allocation strategy. But Ryan, why don't you talk about minimum balances?

17:16 Yeah, I mean, I'll echo what Paul said. I think we've long held a very large cash balance and we don't need to hold $400 or $500 million. We're happy to deploy that cash into our projects and into their development as well as in the share buybacks when it makes sense. And so you may see that cash step down again as we invest in both of those areas. We'd like to hold somewhere in the range of $100 to $200 million of cash just to operational movements kind of month over month. But if there's good uses of investment of that cash, we also have the credit facility that we can access if necessary. So the focus for us, as Paul said, is investing in our projects and bringing them online. And given where our share price is trading, continuing to buy back our shares.

18:00 Yeah, thanks, Paul. Thanks, Ryan. That's helpful. Thanks for taking my questions, and congrats again on a great quarter. Thanks, Luke. The next question comes from Don DeMarco with National Bank. Please go ahead.

18:17 Thank you, operator, and good morning, Paul and team. Thanks for taking my question. We'll start off with a couple questions on Thompson Creek. Great to see that it's advancing. First one for either Paul or Ryan. Just wondering, how should we allocate CapEx over the remaining quarters of development?

18:36 Yeah, I mean, you see the number... Hey, Don, it's Ryan. You see the number that we're at project to date, which is a little under $340 million. I would allocate that pretty evenly between now and the middle of next year as we get to first production. Again, that CapEx range in total is $425 to $450, but it's about even between now and then.

19:01 Right, so really Q3 was the high watermark of spend. We're going to see a big drop off in spend heading into Q3, I would imagine then.

19:09 Yeah, Q3 was a big quarter because there was a lot of activity in the mill. It was the big push to do the mill refurbishment and install equipment and things like that. As Paul said, we're kind of 75% done the installations and all of that. And so that is going to tail off a little bit into Q4 and into the front end of next year.

19:28 Okay, great. And so then looking beyond completion and commissioning, can you frame the expectations for the ramp up following first production? Look at the 2026 guidance when you release it, but can you give some color now on how you expect production and cost to trend or any milestones to watch in the first few quarters of operations?

19:50 Well, first of all, we're really happy with the timing. We remain very much on schedule here. and we reiterate our view which we've held since the publishing of the study that we will have first production in the middle part of next year and we're adhering to that and we're tracking very well against that. I suppose that our strategy will be to disclose major milestones through the first quarter. I suspect the first one will come with our year-end release. We intend with our guidance to provide a little bit more granularity on production and cost for 2027. But as I mentioned, our timing is broadly in line. In fact, we're very happy with the schedule progress against the study.

20:35 Okay, great. Well, we'll look forward to those details and congratulations so far. Then final question, just shifting to Mount Milligan. The mine has now delivered four consecutive quarters on plan. So what has structurally improved in the operation and how confident are you that the recent operating consistency can carry through in over the longer term mine plan?

20:59 Don, we've done two things. The PFS that we put out last year had as its principal objective the extension of the mine life to 2045, which we achieved. But equally importantly, we wanted to have a higher degree of confidence in the technical parameters. So for example, ore characteristics around geochem, geomet, grade, pyrite, chalcopyrite. So we built in a much greater degree of understanding into the ore body model. And that was on the back of significant infill drilling. To supplement that, we've carried out over the past year a pretty extensive grade control RC drilling program to give us better confidence in the material that we will be mining in the short term. So meaning looking at one, two, three, four quarters.

21:44 So a better understanding of the ore body model, a better understanding of the mine to mill interaction, and a strong supplement with a great control program has given us much greater confidence in our ability to forecast, plan, and deliver at Mount Milligan. The other critical thing that we've done at Mount Milligan is we have significantly invested in the team We have a world-class general manager leading the site. We have Kelly Strong here as our new chief operating officer. So we've made significant investments in human capital in beefing up our capabilities at that site. So it's really a combination of a better technical understanding and a much stronger technical and operating team supporting the asset.

22:29 Okay. Thank you very much. Appreciate the caller. That's all for me. And thanks again for taking my questions.

22:36 Yeah. See you, Don. The next question comes from Simon Wellesmith with Desjardins. Please go ahead.

22:46 Thanks, Aubrey, and thank you, Paul and team. Congrats on a solid quarter. Just two questions for me. So just first on Thompson Creek cost to complete, just confirming that that $337 million to date is comparable against the $425 to $450, and if so, what's your confidence in landing inside that range, just given that that's about 75% to 80% of the range versus the 65% completion. Just trying to, yeah, I guess just cadence on that and if you think you'll meet that range.

23:16 Yeah, hey, Simon. That is the right comparative. That 337 is being counted against that original 425 to 450 guidance we put out there. We still feel pretty good that we're on track for that range. Again, all the key equipment is already on site, so you're not really waiting on big pieces of equipment or procurement-type areas where you could have cost inflation and things like that. And so, really, it's the team on site putting the rest of the mill together and connecting everything, as Paul said, and continuing to to do our stripping in the mining area, which we have a good handle on and we've been doing for quite some period of time. So I feel pretty good about staying within that cost estimate as we kind of get to first production here.

23:59 Okay. Okay, thanks. Yeah, I mean, it sounds like we're sort of through that, maybe through the peak. So, and then, yeah, sort of last question, just on U.S. MOLLE, strategic options with Molly price as strong as they are. So where does the potential review of a U.S. Molly sailor IPO stand? Would you monetize before and would you monetize before or after Thompson Creek reaches commercial production?

24:24 Well, first and foremost, we're focused on delivering the mine and getting up and running there. We are thrilled with where our molybdenum prices are going. The overall molybdenum market is extremely constructive right now. There are there are constraints on the supply side. and the demand is very strongly driven by many thematics that are in effect demanding more molybdenum than had been forecast. So for example, pipelines, energy in general, defense aerospace. We take a constructive view on molybdenum and we really like where we are with respect to the cycle and the delivery of the mine. In terms of strategic options, we will continue to monitor the market. We believe that there's yet more upside to come here in molybdenum.

25:13 And we continue to do the steps internally to prepare for an IPO or some other separation event, but we're not in a hurry to do that because we think that there's a lot of value yet to be recognized in our valuation as it relates to these molybdenum assets. So we're not in a hurry, but it's certainly something that will remain part of our strategic framework.

25:38 Yeah, no, that all makes sense. Thanks for that. That's it for me, team. Thanks again, and congrats again on the solid quarter. Thanks, Simon. The next question comes from Lawson Winder with Bank of America Securities. Please go ahead.

26:01 Thank you very much, operator, and good morning, Paul and team. Could I Asked a few questions just on the cost pressure. So in Turkey, you've noted cost inflation. We've heard that from some of your peers. Could you just help us quantify that, especially as we think about 2027 budgeting? So what was the cost inflation budget in Turkey for 2026? And then how has that been realized year to date vis-a-vis that budget? And then, you know, based on that, what is a reasonable expectation for Turkey?

26:38 Hey Lawson, it's Ryan. Yeah, we look at the Turkish operation on a kind of a net basis, right? There's obviously high inflation in Turkey. There's usually a partially offsetting devaluation of the lira against the U.S. dollar, and you end up in a net inflation position on your U.S. dollar cost base. Going into 2026, we plan for that net inflation to be in the range of 5% to 10%. I think that's roughly where it is. Obviously, in our cost structure, we also have the big government royalty, which moves along with gold prices. But we've kind of always assumed this 5% to 10% net inflation. I think that's the prevailing view for next year as well as we go into 2027.

27:23 Okay, that's really helpful. I guess I would ask a similar question for Mount Milligan. I mean, very different situation, but I mean, you've been more detailed in terms of calling out some of the specific costs of Mount Milligan. So you mentioned, you know, camp costs, freight, dewatering, diesel, RC, sag liners. It's a pretty long list. I mean, so how is Mount Milligan compared to budget in 2026? And then again, like, what does that imply for 2027?

27:53 Yeah, I would say absolute costs are up a little bit, right? And all the areas you noted are true, right? And there's labor inflation in BC and diesel is obviously up and things like that. We're probably tracking about 5% higher on absolute costs. But again, the high copper credits and silver credits and some really strong production has essentially offset that at Mount Milligan. We're just into our budgeting process for the 2027 year. There will be a modest amount of inflation, but I don't think anything kind of major or overarchingly terrible at Mount Milligan. But we'll have to get through that process first. But there's always a little bit of cost pressure, which we try to offset with operational improvements and strong production.

28:33 Okay, yeah, that's very helpful. So would you say something around that 5% level for Mount Milligan heading into 2027 is reasonable? All else equal? I mean, obviously... Who knows what diesel prices are going to do, but all else equal, does that kind of make sense?

28:49 I think so. Again, it's early stages on the budget, so I don't want to commit to that. But that kind of range is, I think, what most people are seeing. And again, we'll try to manage that a little bit tighter as best we can. And again, try to offset it with production improvements and efficiencies where we can. But I think that range is kind of the norm for that area of the world.

29:08 Yeah, that's super helpful. Thank you. So the update is getting closer and closer. I mean, I think it's a really important update for Sentara in the sense of what it potentially means for the gold production profile. Paul, you mentioned, you know, something in the range of a one to three year expansion. Is that still a valid assumption? And you've alluded to this idea that there could potentially be more to do beyond that. I mean, is that still a valid idea?

29:48 Definitely. Kelly and I were in Turkey last week, and we were there to review progress on the project. And we're definitely landing in that range. and as we said, it's a combination of a better understanding of the leaching parameters, so recovery, recoveries and also grades, but also bringing in a lower grade oxide halo in the pit. The other thing we reviewed while we were at site is the very extensive exploration program that we're carrying out. So this project result that we're gonna release in February will essentially incorporate the first round of drilling, but there's a lot more drilling that we're doing at Exud and I would expect that we will have further work to do after this project update to look at further potential extensions.

30:37 So what I'm saying is that this extension that we release the results of in February is potentially a first step but we need to see the results of the expiration drilling. With our year end we typically provide more detail on expiration results and we'll have more detailed commentary and some of the results we're seeing there. But we are on track to that range that you referenced.

31:05 Any indication as to whether, you know, closer to one, the midpoint or the higher end

31:10 of that? It's closer to the midpoint. Yeah, it's a very deliberate range. We're close to the midpoint there.

31:17 Okay. On Langolos, you really materially increased the EBITDA guidance for this year, which is obviously a really nice surprise given the issues that that operation had had with the fire earlier in the year. The guidance you provided for this year is very materially above 24 and 25 as well. And it's kind of hard to parse out what is run rate versus the full year guide. So of that $17 to $22 million for full year 2026, is that a good run rate? Or what is a sensible run rate now for that operation? Yeah, it's a good question.

32:01 I mean, I think now that that Langloff operations have normalized, we expect it to be even a positive, right? That's our view of Langloff on a go-forward basis. Q3 was a bit outsized, right? MOLLE prices ran up and because of the issues earlier this year, we had built up inventories at a lower price. And so we were sitting on inventories priced at a much lower MOLLE market than where we are today. So I would say Q3 was a bit of an outsized order in terms of the EBITDA that came. That drove the change in guidance for the full year. So generally speaking, you know, we look at LANGLAS all the time. We try to optimize it. We expect it to be EBITDA positive, probably a little bit less so than what we did in

32:41 Q3. Okay. And then just one final question with respect to LANGLAS. Pardon me. Okay, so as TCM ramps up in the second half of 2027, will there be a need to take Lengeloff offline for a period of time to make room for that additional TCM feed? How should we think about the interplay on that and potential 2027 outlook for Lengeloff?

33:12 Yeah, Lawson, I'm going to introduce Helene Timpano. I think she's been on a couple of calls before. She's our president of U.S. MOLLE. I'll ask her to comment on our operating strategy.

33:21 Yeah, hi, Lawson. So the strategy for next year is to start feathering in the TCM concentrate, but I think just recognizing that it will be the ramp-up year. We're going to be doing that in a measured way. We will still just recall that the business plan for Langlois will continue to rely on third-party concentrate. And so if you look at the volumes that we're contracting currently, that's kind of a good indication of what we probably need going forward. And then TCM will be the source of additional growth at Langlois. The TCM concentrate is very valuable at Langelot because A, in a tight concentrate market, it gives us a lot of secure supply, which is difficult to achieve when the conditions are so competitive. But it also, being so pure, gives us a lot of opportunities either on creating higher margin products and or as a source of blending for some of the more challenging concentrates to process.

34:14 So it's a really important component of our value proposition in U.S. knowledge.

34:23 Just to sort of clarify there, given the statement you've made about the intention to continue processing third-party concentrate, is the implication then that ramping up capacity to add the additional TCM Material will not cause any impact. And ultimately where I'm coming from is like part of the idea of this is to run Langlois more effectively at higher utilization rates. So maybe the question I should introduce here is like at what utilization rate are you running at today? Where do you expect to be in 2028 once you introduce TCM? And then is there any transitory impact in 2027 as a result of that shift to higher utilization? Yeah.

35:08 Yeah, the capacity of the facility is 40 million pounds. Now, that doesn't mean that we'll necessarily be running at 40 million pounds. It will need to be a decision made in light of the market conditions. The other point that I didn't touch on in your earlier question is just in regard to a shutdown in order to actually achieve the vertical integration. I think the better way to think about that is just the fact that this asset does need periodic maintenance. So we are planning an outage in the first part of next year. and I think coming out of that outage, you know, we'll be fully refreshed on our maintenance program and it'll give us a really strong platform to be ramping up through the balance of the year.

35:49 Okay, thank you for that comment, Sarah. Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Jeremy Hoy with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.

36:06 Paul and team, thanks for taking my questions. At Oxford, we're looking forward to that study. There was a surprise tax cut that impacted the mining industry. Could you could you quickly comment on that? Do you expect that to be applicable at Oxford for the remainder of current life of mine and also for any, you know, if you're successful with exploration strategies and there are growth coming from that, is that expected to be applicable for all that growth as well?

36:40 Thanks, Jeremy. It's Ryan. That's our understanding right now. The Turkish government has changed the tax rates from 25% to 12.5% starting at the start of 2027 for manufacturing companies, which mining falls under. We disclosed that last quarter. Our understanding is that applies to us and therefore our income tax will step down next year. I believe El Dorado has a similar disclosure in their financials for their Turkish operations. So that's our understanding. Obviously, things can always change in Turkey, but we're approaching this as if every ounce of gold we have at Oxfam and anything we find on the exploration side is more valuable due to the lower taxes going forward.

37:21 Okay, great. Thanks for that confirmation. And just a high-level question for me. There's been some great discussion. With the management additions, Paul, that you've mentioned, you've got some new eyes on the portfolio and the assets. Are there any new initiatives that you might talk about? Things that have come up as Kelly, a new COO, takes a look at the portfolio, or is it generally business as usual on the several operations and development projects you've got going on?

37:54 Well, our principal focus is on delivering the value associated with very significant metal inventories in the ground. When you look at our total metal inventory, is very significant relative to our enterprise value. And so the first order of business is essentially delivering on the projects that will unlock those mineral inventories. Kelly, you might talk about some of the initiatives that you've seen opportunities or other suits.

38:25 Yeah, thanks Jeremy. I think my role here, I mean, it seems really to keep continuing the momentum that already exists here in the company. But then with that, I can augment some of that with my own background experiences, particularly at the operating sites like Mt. Milligan and Oxum. And I think thirdly, it's really around making sure that we transition the projects into the operating phase as smooth as possible. So that's a big focus of mine as well, working with the project team and making sure once those are handed off that we have the best transition possible.

38:57 Jeremy, I will add, if you're asking about next generation type work, we're not into any detailed study, but we're starting to think about things like what does a potential future gold field look like beyond the current study? We're in very early stages. Given the strong molybdenum price, we're looking at what role could Indaco play in the portfolio? So there is a next generation of study. or as I referred to earlier with Exu, there might be a further extension there. But we're in the very early stages of framing up those opportunities.

39:34 Okay, I understood. That's great, caller. And thanks, Paul. Thanks, Ryan. And thanks, Kelly, for the commentary. I'll step back in the queue.

39:42 All right. See you, Jeremy. Once again, if you have a question, please press star then 1. Since there are no further questions, this concludes the question and answer session and today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.