I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Stuart Tonkin, Managing Director and CEO. Please go ahead.
Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. With me on the call is Chief Financial Officer, Ryan Gurner, and Chief Operating Officer, Simon Jessop. As previously announced, in the March quarter, gold sold totaled 381,000 ounces, and today we announce the delivery of those ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of AUD 2,709 per ounce. This improved operational performance exiting the quarter has delivered high margin ounces to generate group underlying free cash flow of AUD 301 million. More specifically, we are prioritizing cash flow at KCGM by accelerating volumes from the high-grade Golden Pike zone during current mill constraints. At Jundee, the operational review is underway, and across Thunderbox and Pogo, we've seen gold grades improve.
With this improved performance and high-grade ROM stockpiles at KCGM, the company is forecast to deliver its revised FY 2026 production guidance of above 1.5 million ounces. As previously disclosed, this outlook remains particularly dependent on mill throughput at KCGM, with both downside and upside potential. Total growth capital expenditure for FY 2026 remains unchanged, with revisions to the KCGM mill expansion project and operational readiness CapEx. The KCGM mill expansion project remains on track for commissioning in early FY 2027, and pleasingly, the project started transitioning from construction to the completions and commissioning during the March quarter, which is marking the next stage of project delivery.
Due to ongoing poor productivity levels for construction activity, we prioritize the importance to keep the project on track, and therefore forecast capital spend increased to AUD 680 million-AUD 700 million in FY 2026 and AUD 160 million in FY 2027. The increased capital expenditure during FY 2026 for the mill expansion has been offset by a reduction in the forecast spend for operational readiness related to delay in the spend of the thermal power plant and transmission infrastructure. You'll see in the quarterly report we've also introduced some extra detail regarding stage one and stage two for onsite construction. Stage one refers to the construction of the 27 million tonne per annum plant. Stage two refers to the consolidation of the Gidji facility, which simplifies the processing footprint to a single location at Fimiston, which supports longer term operating efficiency and cost structure benefits.
At Hemi, our team continues to optimize the engineering and design of the project while advancing approvals. Our balance sheet remains in a net cash position, and as our hedge book decreases, our growing exposure to spot gold price, coupled with increasing production, positions us for a strong increase in cash flows going forward. I'd now like to hand over to Simon Jessop, our Chief Operating Officer, to discuss our operational highlights.
Thank you, Stu, and good morning. This quarter, we delivered a solid operational financial performance with improving production, stronger cost control, and continued investment in the long-term growth across our portfolio. At the Kalgoorlie Production Centre, we sold 210,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of AUD 2,550 an ounce, improving on the December quarter. This was driven by stronger cost efficiency at KCGM and a return to normalized performance at the Kalgoorlie operations. Mine operating cash flow was AUD 588 million, generating a net mine cash flow of AUD 156 million after AUD 432 million of growth capital, reflecting both asset strength and continued investment.
KCGM sold 117,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $2,485 an ounce, supported by higher grades and optimizing the available mill feed. Importantly, mining volumes continue to trend towards our annual targets. Open pit material movement is tracking towards 90 million tons and underground production towards 3 million tons per annum. Ongoing waste stripping is supporting this progress. At the same time, productivity gains are allowing us to accelerate mining in the higher grade zones, prioritizing margin and cash flow, particularly while the mill throughput remains constrained. At Carosue Dam, open pit mining is expected to conclude in the June quarter, with production transitioning to underground sources and stockpiles. At the Kalgoorlie operations, performance improved with higher grades and the normalization of underground mining following the earlier H1 disruptions. Turning to our Yandal production center, performance also strengthened.
Gold sales increased to 105,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $3,347 an ounce, with a mine operating cash flow of AUD 177 million and net mine cash flow of AUD 91 million after growth capital. At Jundee, an operational review is underway to reduce costs and improve consistency. During the quarter, we returned to conventional ore processing following the remediation works, while a completed power upgrade is expected to support improved mining volumes and grades in the June quarter. At Thunderbox, production was particularly strong with gold sales +26% quarter-on-quarter to 59,000 ounces, driven by higher-grade ore, initial open pit contributions, and improved mill recovery. Turning to Pogo, we saw a step change in performance.
Gold sales increased to 66,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,529 an ounce, driven by higher grades from optimized stoping in the mining areas. This translated into a mine operating cash flow of $136 million and a net mine cash flow of $124 million, highlighting the strength of this asset as a cash generator. Operations continued to perform strongly with the mill running at an annualized rate of 1.4 million tons per annum. Development activity remains robust, establishing new mining fronts and advancing infrastructure to unlock future production, including access to the Star ore body, supporting both growth and potential mine life extension. In summary, the March quarter reflects a business delivering improved operational performance, disciplined cost management, and positioning itself for stronger, more sustainable returns. I would now like to pass over to Ryan, our Chief Financial Officer, to discuss the financials.
Thanks, Simon. Good morning, everyone. Northern Star remains in a great financial position. Our balance sheet remains strong with cash and bullion of AUD 1.2 billion at 31 March. Pleasingly, all three production centers generated positive free cash flow in the quarter, with capital expenditure and exploration fully funded. Quarterly net mine cash flow was AUD 426 million. Figure 8 on page 10 sets out the company's cash and bullion movements for the quarter, with key elements being the company generating just over AUD 1 billion of post-tax operating cash flows, a 180% increase on the prior quarter. After deducting capital of AUD 618 million relating to the KCGM expansion, plant and equipment, and mine development, AUD 48 million of exploration and AUD 66 million of lease payments, quarterly free cash generation was AUD 301 million.
During the quarter, the company received AUD 50 million in proceeds from the divestment of the Central Tanami Gold Project and paid an interim dividend of AUD 0.25 per share, totaling AUD 347 million. Stu has already discussed the revisions to our FY 2026 growth capital expenditure forecast, particularly at KCGM. In respect of the other investment activities, our exploration expenditure is tracking to plan with guidance of AUD 225 million for the full year unchanged. At Hemi, we continue to work closely with key stakeholders and regulators to advance the project, including approvals and progress on the engineering and design works and procurement of long lead items. On other financial matters, the board has recently approved an on-market share buyback program of up to AUD 500 million, supported by the company's strong outlook and value opportunity.
The buyback will be subject to the company's security trading policy, including blackout periods, and will not affect the company's dividend policy to pay out 20%-30% of cash earnings. From a cash tax perspective, we are guiding the second half of FY 2026 range to be AUD 240 million-AUD 280 million, with AUD 37 million already paid in Q3. No changes to our estimate quantum or timing for landholder duty for the De Grey and Saracen transactions, both likely to be paid during FY 2027. The company is not experiencing any supply restrictions on fuel, and we continue to engage with our suppliers on this matter frequently. Q4 all-in sustaining costs are expected to be $75-$85 per ounce higher as a result of increased oil prices.
Year-to-date depreciation and amortization of AUD 1,015 per ounce sold is just above the top end of the guided range of AUD 875-AUD 975 per ounce and is expected to track modestly above the top end of the guided range for the full year. For the quarter, non-cash inventory charges for the group are a credit of AUD 46 million, primarily from increases in stockpiles at KCGM. During the quarter, the company refinanced and upsized its corporate bank facilities with maturity dates of March 2030 and March 2031 across two equal tranches totaling AUD 1.75 billion. These facilities remain undrawn and available at quarter end. Also, a reminder that the company will pay interest on its senior guaranteed notes in Q4, which will amount to $18 million. The company continues to unwind its hedging commitments, with 165,000 ounces delivered during the quarter.
At 31 March, commitments total 950,000 ounces at an average price of just over AUD 303,350 per ounce. I will now hand back to Ashley to begin the Q&A. Thank you.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question.
Your first question today comes from Hugo Nicolaci with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead. Hugo Nicolaci, your line is now live. Please proceed with your question. We will move on. Your next question comes from Levi Spry with UBS. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good day, team. Thanks for your time. Maybe just a little bit more detail on the two key growth projects, KCGM and Hemi. Can you just talk us through the delay in capital into next year, how that ties in with the potential ramp-up through, I guess, second half of this calendar year?
Yeah. Thanks, Levi. On the actual expansion project, there's an increase in the overall capital, and it's pretty much spread this financial year, next financial year. You'll see those lifts in FY 2026, FY 2027 in regard to the expansion, about AUD 60 million, AUD 30 million FY 2026, FY 2027 AUD 30 million. That's due to the productivities. We're just getting poor productivities. Got a lot of labor there. It's very important to us to keep the timing of the completion in line, and that's why we've been jammed but prepared to keep that labor there to complete that project. The delay of the spend is the new thermal power station infrastructure pending approvals. We're fine with power because we own the Parkeston joint venture power station there. Plus, we have grid connecting. They're not issues, but that's just delayed capital.
In FY 2026, there's no net change, but there's certainly that uplift of the overall project due to those poor productivities.
Yeah. Okay, thanks. I guess I'm just trying to drill down a little bit more in your retaining the 23 million tonnes as a guidance number effectively for next year, given that the capital has moved a bit. Is there anything more you can add on that?
No, we'll provide the full year guidance with the quarterly, which we typically do in July, on the June quarter. That'll give the outlook for everything for the full year for FY 2027. Equally, the overall ounces throughput for KCGM sources, et cetera. Yeah, quarter, we're on track for completion and commissioning of the plant in the September quarter. It obviously moves from the old plant to the new plant and then has ramp up, and that'll all relate to how we achieve the full year on that.
Got it. Okay, thank you. Can you give us a little bit more detail on the progress at Hemi as you move towards FID there sometime next financial year?
Yeah. Really, it's still pending on environmental approvals. We're working closely on the water trial progress, which will be this quarter, working on that.
I totally understand that.
Just need silence on the back of some of those calls. People will need to go to mute. Yeah, sorry. On Hemi, the approval's still pending with environmental. It's tracking okay. There's no real curve balls in it. It's been delayed from where we predicted, and that's why we've pushed the timing of FID out. Yeah, I think the other part with FID, we're going to have to be very dependent on the refreshed pricing, and with the current backdrop of cost escalations, some real comfort, with learnings from KCGM, et cetera, productivity levels in labor, and then escalation costs around any hydrocarbon-based plastics, fuels, tires, freight. We've got to be really certain on FID there. I think we'll be very conservative in our view on that.
Okay, thank you. Thanks for the detail.
Thanks, Levi.
Your next question comes from Daniel Morgan with Barrenjoey. Please go ahead.
Hi, Stuart and team. Just on the Super Pit, you've explicitly given more detail on splitting the project ramp up into stage one and stage two. I'm just wondering, the message you're trying to get to the market here is that the throughput will face a lot of disruptions so factor that in from tie-ins. Is it costs realized pricing from selling concentrate not gold ore for a period of time? I note the throughput is 23 million tonnes on page four. Has this been updated at all in light of latest thoughts of delivery? Does it include the disruption at Gidji that you're talking about? Thank you.
Thanks, Daniel. Look, the 23 million tonne hasn't been updated, and we'll revisit that with the full year guidance that we'll provide in July. We need to consider everything at that point on the stage at which we've turned on the plant. What we're trying to communicate with the division of stage one and stage two, it would not make sense or sound odd if we were continuing to spend money in FY 2027 on this project yet have it running. We're trying to be really clear that stage one is the 27 million tonne per annum plant operating. That's for commissioning. That's built in that way and will be commissioned and ramped up in that September quarter. Continuing on in parallel and subsequent to that, not affecting throughput or impact is stage two.
It's effectively all of the ultra-fine grinding activity occurring for 100% of that 27 million ton per annum capacity at the Fimiston location. People just, I think maybe that granularity wasn't there. Right now, the concentrates go 20 km north to Gidji from the current plant, get ultra-fine ground, and then brought back and treated and turned into gold ore at Fimiston. All of that, the part of the efficiencies, productivities bring all that activity, which was explained in the FID and explained in the overall project approval. It's all occurring on the one site. The original pricing included those two things, but the design of the activity stage one, stage two is there. The other highlight it will talk to is in half one of FY 2027, we will be selling concentrates, continuing to sell concentrates, which is fine, and the economics of it are sound.
That's not an issue, but we're just letting people know that until that second stage is complete and can take 100% of the concentrates generated, there'll be some of the concentrates go to Gidji and some go in sales, which we've been doing. They go out through ports, and go to smelters, and we got good payability terms on those.
Yeah. Thank you for that detail. Just moving to Carosue Dam. I see that you've just called out that open-pit mining is ceasing. Any plans for higher underground production or what are current thoughts on the longevity of underground mining? Thank you.
Yeah. Thanks, Daniel, it's Simon. We're still continuing with the underground mines that we've got. Karrari, Dervish is looking better at depth and we're getting some good drill hole hits at Dervish. Porphyry and Million Dollar, so they're the four undergrounds that we're running at the moment. Our sort of next phase is really looking at Twin Peaks and Kena as the underground operations. We're just moving into that phase of more undergrounds as some of them wind off over the next couple of years. We then transition to those other underground operations coming in. There will be some open pits further into the future, but not at the moment.
Thank you. Just on, I guess, a broader question of, I think you're conducting operational reviews across the business. Obviously, you've got Jundee.
Sorry, Daniel. I think you dropped out there.
Sorry, can you hear me?
We can now. Yep.
We can now. Yep.
Yeah. Sorry. My last question is just, you're doing operational reviews, I imagine, across the business, including Jundee and others. What is the latest plan on providing the outcome of these? I know earlier you had said by the end of the year. Is there any update to that time? Thank you.
Yeah. Thanks, Daniel. No. We'll stick to the timing. We'll provide that medium-term guidance, which is a multiyear outlook, and we'll provide that this calendar year. We will provide the FY 2027 guidance with the quarterly, for the June quarterly, so in July.
Okay. Thanks so much for your perspectives.
Thanks, Dan.
Your next question comes from Matthew Frydman with MST Financial. Please go ahead.
Sure. Thanks. Morning, Stuart and team. Can I firstly just dig into a little bit more detail on that staging of the expansion? I understand that the detail you've given in terms of the mechanics of stage one versus stage two, moving the ultra-fine grind down to Fimiston. I guess just wondering, is this timing or staging approach, has this always been the plan or has this really been an outcome or been driven by the productivity issues that you face in terms of bringing one part of the process on a little bit later than the rest? Cheers.
Yeah. Thanks, Matt. Look, the staging and the way the contracts form with the contractor has always been separable portion one, separable portion two, always, and their contract structure different. They were designed, engineered, sequenced exactly like that, and that's how the FID was approved, and that's how the total number contemplated this with contingencies on both those projects. As they've transpired, separable portion one, which is that 27 million ton per annum plant, that's on track with the timing, but it's overspent because of the productivities, and we're still working very hard for those final commissioning to be commenced and switched over from the old plant to that new plant early in the September quarter as our current design and plant and ramping up throughout. Separable portion two, the ultra-fine grinding activity, is another four to six months of activity.
The team moves from the first to the second, stay on-site and get that completed. That was always understood to be the case, and we don't get the recovery improvement of the overall project, and we'd said that on the onset, until all of that activity and that volume of concentrate gets done. We're saying expect that through half one, which will be material going to Gidji and the lower recovery in half two of FY 2027 when we've got stage two all commissioned and all the concentrates staying there, improved recovery, lower operating costs, and all of the activity staying on the site. That's the final piece of the improvement for the investment of the project.
Matt, just to add to that. Separable portion one is over 95% complete today, and the second portion that Stu was talking about is already 48% complete. They're happening in parallel. It's just the priority 27 million ton case is the focus to get first ore into the mill and start producing gold. The second stage is just under 50% complete at the moment. That just trails and gets finished in H1.
I understand. Thanks for the additional details there, guys. Secondly, on the power plant, you said that you're comfortable there, given that obviously you've already got your own plant and also a grid connection. Obviously we know that the grid stability in Kalgoorlie has been an issue recently. I guess just wondering, when exactly is the new power plant needed to support the uprated throughput from the bigger mill? Yeah, I guess how do you see those grid stability issues potentially impacting or potentially not impacting? Thanks.
Yeah. We'll have access to the grid and the 50-odd MW of power from it. We won't be reliant on it. In the first instance, Parkeston's the foundation supply for the new plant, and then the move to the newer thermal plant, it can occur within sort of 18 months to two years, and it improves the overall unit cost of the power. Final piece of that is the renewables project that has been approved, the wind and solar. Really that thermal's just the firming power for that renewables project, and that's another step change in the cost structure for the site. Yeah, step one is we own, we're in 50% joint venture of Parkeston Power, which underpins the expanded mill demand. We are building a new thermal power station, subject to those approvals timing.
Then the renewables that sits on the back of that, which is a third party's balance sheet. We've got some switching gear we own. Fundamentally that comes in within a couple of years to start really driving the power costs down. We will be in control of our own power security, not dependent on the grid. If anything, we're out there to support the Goldfields grid and Western Power. We've got some arrangements we're progressing quite positively with the state to assist the Northern Star, can assist the Goldfields in underpinning that power.
Okay. Thanks, Stu. Maybe to put it another way, can you achieve 23 million tons without the support of the Kalgoorlie grid in FY 2027?
Yes. At times it'll be running at full 27 million tonne per annum capacity. Full demand. We've got over 100 meg capacity at Parkeston, so 99 meg derated with temperature, and we've got 52 meg from the grid, well in surplus of the demands of the mine and the mill expanded case.
Okay. That's pretty clear. Thanks for that. Maybe just lastly, on the Jundee technical review, you've talked about considering a range of outcomes there, and obviously you said you're going to give more detailed guidance a little bit down the track. Maybe just conceptually, can you bookend the sort of range of options that you're considering in that study? If I think hypothetically maybe a conservative outcome or a conservative option might be at Jundee, that you just mine out the remaining reserves and then kind of ramp down the reinvestment in that asset, that might be a conservative kind of view. Should I actually be thinking even more conservatively than that? Conceptually, could there be a reduction in the current reserves given the increase in the cost structure or some of those other factors? Thanks.
I think it's too early to give that granularity. The concepts are the costs are high, and our aim is to cut absolute costs out of the site, and then see the maximum output we can get through the current infrastructure that's there. It means reduction in intensity of activity to get the lower unit costs. If anything, that will extend at a lower profile, can extend the reserve life that's there. As far as that investment, again, it has to be ranked and prioritized against the other opportunities we have in the business. As you appreciate now, there's a lot of intensity around number of jumbos developing, number of stopes occurring, number of diamond drillings doing discovery to cover depletion. Taking a bit of that pace out will actually enable a bit more time with the overall asset to focus on quality over quantity.
Understood. Thanks for your perspective, Stu. Cheers.
Thanks, Matt.
Your next question comes from Kate McCutcheon with Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good morning, Stu. I got the company right this morning.
Hi.
I wanted to ask about the buyback. We had that announced. AUD 500 million is circa 1% of your market cap. Just talk me through how you think about buying back your stock here versus investing that in organic growth, et cetera.
Hey, Kate. It's Ryan. Look, I think right now it's yeah, some of the most accretive capital allocation we can put back into this business. We see a strong outlook ahead. We're close to turning on our new mill. We're going to see cash flows lift significantly there. We see strength ahead, and we see value in our underlying business.
Okay. While I've got you, Ryan, I think the tax cash saving numbers you gave us are new. Is it fair to think about that magnitude being less than P&L tax for 2027 and 2028 that you gave us on the tax shield? And secondly, did you say next quarter's AISC is expected to be $75-$85 an ounce higher as a result of oil prices, or did I mishear what those comments were?
No. I'll start with the last question first. Yes. $75-$85 an ounce higher is our estimate. Obviously, oil's volatile, but that's our best view of the impacts this quarter. On the tax shield, which I think you're referring to Hemi. I guess we added some more commentary at the back there on page 10, but it's really just, again, reminding people of some of the timing of that. Again, the math being that we get a shield essentially of our purchase price. The total value of that from a tax effective perspective is about AUD 1.5 billion, and we're sort of saying we'll get 50% of that back over five years. It's a bit front-end weighted from a tax perspective, so we're just guiding and reminding people that, yeah, we will get this benefit. We won't see it, though.
We're not going to see it in a big lump sum come back into our treasury. It just means that FY 2027 tax will just be slightly lower. That's all.
Clear. Then if I can sneak one more in. The updated resources and reserves in May. Can you help me understand the drilling that's been done at Hemi? I assume that's mostly been infill drilling, Stu, because I will probably get an update on CapEx, OpEx with the multi-year outlook, is that correct? Before the end of the CY. I'm just trying to understand how we think about mine life or upside at that asset versus what the focus is now.
Yeah, thanks, Kate. Just before I close, if I go to Hemi. On that AISC with diesel and fuel, that is the expected-
Yeah.
uptick, the $75-$80 in AISC, but it's not
Yeah.
... last quarter plus that. It's the component that has increased within. As we grow ounces to mine-
Got it.
Sold, there's other things that are moving in that. Please don't just take it credibly at that. Hemi, we've done the drilling, but you're right, it has been really infill and testing, and we've been more aggressive on some of the pit shapes and shells on the resource. We've had to sort of incorporate that into how we would do things, which maybe is a little bit stricter, but that'll be reflected in how we report the resource. I think equally of us being more aggressive on the reserve generally to build continuity and the like. That will be reflected and reported, which will likely be in May. We won't be giving any other aspects of the Hemi project there, but we're still working on those numbers in line with expectations around approvals.
The CapEx you're talking about, perhaps, is the budget of exploration in the forward years. That will be in the multiple, and whether we intend to put money into Hemi. My attitude is there's enough ounces in the ground without really heavily going into growth. We don't need it for a trigger for a FID decision. There might be other opportunities like Pogo or Fimiston where we get much more effective investment in exploration to add ounces to make bigger, longer term decisions than Hemi needs today. Hemi might have a lighter approach to that drilling expenditure because there's a very solid base for an investment case without it.
Okay. Thank you, Stu.
Thanks, Kate.
Your next question comes from Hugo Nicolaci with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead. Hugo Nicolaci, your line is live. Please proceed.
Hey, guys. Can you hear me?
We can, Hugo.
Yes.
Oh, there we go. All right. Sorry, technical issues and apologies if some of these have been asked. I was just revisiting firstly on Carosue Dam and, Simon, your comment that the open pit mining concludes. I appreciate you've probably got new open pits that need developing, but I guess just to clarify around the timing, is that decision to end the open pits this quarter and maybe demobilize that fleet largely around the strip ratio increasing and the diesel requirements that go into that? And then are you able to maybe talk through anything around the underground mining rate and grade going forward from here to potentially offset the fall in gold production by processing stockpiles?
Yeah, thanks, Hugo. No look, just to be clear, it's not around diesel and trying to conserve or slow down open pit mining due to diesel. It's purely the mine sequencing. Mines coming and going at that asset is fairly normal over the journey. It's just we've reached the end of the current open pits. 11 Bells Red Book finishes this quarter. We might have some box cuts and a few things to do early in FY 2027, but there's no ounces attached to that. It's more setting up for the next leg of the underground growth. Probably the best way to think about it is when we do the investor day later on this calendar year, we can really show with a bit more visibility some of the sequencing of the mines.
That's helpful. When you think about it today, then realistically, the underground rates aren't picking up that materially. You're probably seeing Carosue Dam drop below that 200,000 ounces a year for the next couple of years while you do that underground development?
It could do. We're still working through that, but we've got some good growth at Dervish, so we'll see how that plays out when we do the resource and the reserves and then feed that current information back into the life of asset mining plan.
Got it. That's helpful. Ryan, just sort of rounding back on the buyback piece, just confirming then, so that the timing and magnitude of the buyback as it stands is purely a value decision on your stock, and then maybe come August as KCGM and your capital requirements become a little bit clearer, should we consider scope to maybe take this to a magnitude you've previously targeted as being more meaningful around a buyback?
I think everything's always on the table, Hugo. We want to allocate our capital to the best return. Buyback something, if it gets exhausted, if we're through it quickly, we're always able to assess a new opportunity there. As I said, we're not too far away from seeing that change in free cash flow. There's challenges across the business, there's challenges in oil, all these things. Right now we've decided on that, I guess, quantum. We're ready to act, and I guess we'll make those decisions as passage of time plays out.
Great. Thanks for that, Ryan. I'll leave it there. Cheers, guys.
Your next question comes from Jonathan Sharp with JPMorgan. Please go ahead.
Yeah, morning, Stu and team. Just with KCGM mill expansion, the CapEx, can you just help us understand the split between construction productivity and cost inflation, and which is proving harder to control as we move through to commissioning?
Yeah. Thanks, Jonathan. There's an uplift of about AUD 60 million for that project that we've just reported, so AUD 30 million this year, AUD 30 million next year. I'd say, and one knocks through to the other, but probably two-thirds of that is just the lower labor productivity. You've got more people doing the same work at that elevated cost. In turn, cost escalation is occurring, not just through diesel, but through all other things. Labor's embedded in all of those cost escalations, which we don't see easing. That's been a large part of you having extra labor. It flows through to commuting that labor, housing that labor, the consumables they use. All of those things knock through, but yeah, it's a reality that underpins anyone spending money at the moment.
Yeah. Okay, that's clear. Just as you move through commissioning, without getting into commercially sensitive detail, does the main contractor remain accountable through wet commissioning, performance testing and other performance incentives, acceptable criteria tied to sort of final handover? Just interested in knowing a little bit of detail on that. Thanks.
For sure. There's pretty traditional standard things where you do a handover and it's got to meet criteria, so that's embedded. We've got the commitment from the contractor. They want to see this working as well as we do and promote it for the next opportunity. That's there. Equally, we've got the same contractor doing stage two. It's a different structure. Again, different incentivization. Approach to that's going well. Simon spoke to 95% of the stage one is complete. Nearly 50% of stage two is complete. Those structures drive that behavior largely. Yeah, we're okay with those things, and we'll be tracking and checking those things closely. We won't be silly on the risk balance here.
If it comes down to disputes around small amounts of quality, we think running the plant and addressing some of those things as we go rather than not waiting to move into your house till your fly screens are on, we'll be sensible in the timing of that.
Okay, great. Thanks for that.
Your next question comes from Adam Baker with Macquarie. Please go ahead.
Thanks, Stu and team, and thanks for the color on the increase in fuel prices. Just assuming here mostly it's related to diesel. Just looking at the midpoint of guidance, that's implying about a 3% increase in your cost base. Just wondering if you go back to the start of 2026, prior to the diesel price escalation, can you give us any color on what diesel prices were as a percentage of cost base for the business?
They're probably, Adam, it's Ryan. They've basically doubled, I guess, in this quarter as we're forecasting. They're probably 4% of our business, I'd say, back then. Now they're obviously pushing 7%-8% for the quarter.
That's clear. Thank you. Just secondly on the buyback. Clearly a lot of optionality here for you guys to deploy that. Just wondering if you've considered any minimum net cash thresholds before you deploy it, noting you got AUD 320 million at the end of the quarter. I take it you wouldn't draw down on the AUD 1.75 billion corporate bank facility to prioritize the buyback, for example.
I think, Adam, what I'd say is, we want to maintain good liquidity. We've got good flexibility on our balance sheet if we have to draw debt, if for whatever purpose, and we see the cash flows ahead, right? We're sitting here in late April. The mill will turn on early FY 2027. We're really looking forward to that. We see what's ahead. There's challenges in the sort of more global economy with oil, but we feel as though with our balance sheet, with our cash and bullion on hand, we can manage that.
Okay, thank you.
There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back to Mr. Tonkin for closing remarks.
Okay. Well, thanks, everyone, for joining us on the call, and I appreciate your interest in the company on what is a very busy day. Thanks very much.
That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.