What to pay attention to would be how do we continue to ramp up with respect to those production profiles that we outlined, moving towards 850,000 tons per year on a run rate. That is the sustainable level that we are looking to get to. The milestones around that are really a couple things. One, we have got to get that paste backfill plant up and running. That is still on track. Importantly, development meterage, right? I know that historically folks have been quite concerned about that. I think you will be very encouraged about the work that we are getting accomplished there around the team, safety practices, just the efficiencies that we can learn from our Chelopech operation over in Bulgaria.
You had asked also just to sort of, I think, culturally, how is it going? We had a delegation about three weeks ago from the various communities of both business leaders as well as regulators visit Chelopech for three days. I can't say enough about our colleagues in Bulgaria in terms of being a great ambassador in stewardship of the environment. They visited the mayor there in Chelopech. It's a great opportunity to show the people in Bosnia what we can add to the equation there. Thus far, look, mining's always fraught with excitement, but we've been very pleased with the acquisition thus far.
That's great.
Yeah.
Let's stick with Vareš, and I just want to address specifically the paste backfill.
Okay.
Right now, commissioning is set for Q3. How critical is it to these underground development rates to keep that on track? Is there a bottleneck to commissioning that part of the project?
Yeah. No, we don't anticipate that it's going to be a bottleneck for a couple different reasons. One of the other examples of what we need to keep in mind as you look through the materials, as we progress through the year, is just that what I call the harmony of the instruments, right? There's the underground, there's the plant, there's the paste backfill, the tailings. Getting all of that in shape from a sustainable standpoint is going to be very critical for the team. The paste backfill plant can be a bottleneck. We don't anticipate that for two reasons, one really being the fact that it's still on schedule and on track. Secondly, if there are any minor delays, there is the possibility of cemented rock fill. From that standpoint, very simple, we have a plan B. At this point, we don't anticipate needing to go to Plan B.
Let's drill into that a little bit more because part of that asset optimization is this $100 million-$125 million of CapEx that's being spent this year. Just wondering if part of that growth, if you can sort of segment that between sort of the rectification, debottlenecking as opposed to growth-oriented CapEx?
Yeah. No, it'll all, for the most part, go directly into the sustainability of the operations. Growth is something from the standpoint where we do have about $10 million in the budget separately for exploration to look at the broader land package. Our perspective is that it's probably not been well attended to from a geologist standpoint of modern exploration techniques. We'll want to continue to invest in the people. We're in the process of extracting some of the expats that are within that. That should also help with the cost structure. It's also very valuable in terms of just ensuring that the Bosnians are responsible for the operations. We don't have expats in any of our Serbian or Bulgarian operations, and we really want to give them that responsibility and train them appropriately.
For example, part of that would be the expenses that are associated with going to the Chelopech operation and taking two to three weeks, if not a month or more, for certain labor and supervisory roles to learn at Chelopech and then take that skill set back. That, over time, then optimizes the cost structure, and it also fits more in tune with the culture of the way we approach things, and that is to have local people responsible for the management, the labor of the operations.
Part of that may be put to the test. There's a 20-day shutdown coming, I believe, this quarter, Q2, for some of the tailings. Just wondering if there's any risk to that given sort of the integration, the familiarity with the workforce, and how you're thinking about that as a potential risk to the sales guidance.
Yeah. I think the team has thus far been able to address all the key risks. We don't anticipate that shutdown associated with mostly the filter press, but then ultimately how that fits within the whole plant package, we don't anticipate that to be, over that three-week period, to be problematic. Look, we've got a long track record of hitting our production numbers, and so I think it's valuable for people to look back on either that disciplined approach to how we allocate capital, but also just the disciplined approach on how we deliver.
Okay, great.
Yeah.
Let's switch gears a little bit to Dumitru Potok. You recently received the exploration license approval that you have resumed drilling in Q1, just this last quarter. What are your goals for this 20,000-metre program , and do you see potential to grow that 4 million ounces?
Yeah.
With a gold equivalent resource that you published just last December?
Yeah. That was an excellent study to demonstrate the scale of what Dumitru Potok could be. We haven't yet found the limits on that particular deposit. Well, I guess you don't want to find the limits of the deposit. You will eventually. That would be one of the goals of that 20,000-metre program , to certainly continue to flesh out in more detail both the inferred mineralization, but also what I refer to around that intrusion as the donut, and seeing what the full extent of that particular mineralization could be. We certainly have expectations that it could be a fair bit more.
I think it's also important that as it relates to Čoka Rakita, the project, that it's another good sign, as we've gotten that license renewal, that it continues to demonstrate from our perspective that we want people to understand that Serbia is open for business. Čoka Rakita itself, for example, was a discovery in 2022, Dumitru Potok 2025. The Government has fulfilled all of its obligations to us over that time period of following through the permitting process. You really can't ask for more of that when you've got such an attractive project.
Within that gold equivalent resource, we've got substantial copper. What is specific, would you say, is sort of the critical mass of copper needed before you start to pivot away from a satellite decision, more towards standalone?
Yeah, look, I think we've already probably got visibility to standalone, right? The metallurgical differences between Dumitru Potok and Čoka Rakita are clear. Čoka Rakita is probably 98%+ gold, so that'll have its own processing facilities that are going through the process of permitting currently. When you look at that as being sort of, call it 4+ million ounces of gold equivalent, 1 gram gold and 1% copper, it's already demonstrating that it has the ability at over 60 million tons. If you can double something like that or triple that's clearly standalone territory. Look, we've got the skill set both, I think, technologically around the metallurgical side as well as the mining side. Because if you look at our Chelopech operation, it's a copper gold concentrate producer. It's, again, right down the fairway of what our capabilities are.
Great.
It's just a lot bigger.
Yep. You mentioned Čoka Rakita a few times. Let's switch to that.
Okay.
Some of the permitting milestones that the projects need before starting construction, I believe the target is set for 2027.
Yes.
How does the Serbian permitting process play into that and compared to some of the other jurisdictions that you're facing?
Right. Well, we find that there's a lot of jurisdictional similarity between Bulgaria, Serbia, which is where Čoka Rakita is, and even Bosnia. A lot of those countries come from a similar background from a permitting standpoint and just a psychological view around how they assess mineral resources and reserves. We see a lot of synergies or similarities as it relates to that process. Čoka Rakita, once again, 2022 discovery through to feasibility in 2025, a very manageable size project for our balance sheet and something then that from a permitting standpoint, right now, we're currently in what I kind of call a land use type evaluation process. It's called the spatial plan by their terminology. That's important because then as you identify the use of that land, that then relates to the environmental impact assessment. That's the second piece.
Upon completion, which is what we anticipate by 2027, you're then provided the construction permit. That's why we have the confidence that we feel like as we move through that process, that in 2027, that would be full construction, and that's what you see in our growth capital that's within our three-year outlook. The majority of that growth capital that you see currently in the three-year outlook is the Čoka Rakita build.
Gotcha.
Yep.
Yeah. Going back to the earlier parts of our conversation, you talked about Chelopech, and this new Wedge zone is, I think.
Yeah.
Topical on investor minds. What does this new high-grade zone that you've discovered mean for the overall project? How soon can you bring this into production?
Yeah. Look, I just can't say enough about the exploration team. They've done a fantastic job of, I think, reevaluating geologic themes or models, and that's really what came out of Wedge. There had been historically a view with respect to the current orebody there around the copper-gold mineralization that led them to want to test that Wedge zone. We've not yet identified the full extent of the scale of that Wedge zone, but what I would encourage people to look at is the grade. The grade is anywhere from 2x-5x what the current reserve grade is at Chelopech.
That's important because it is slightly deeper, but it does have the potential that if we can accelerate that into the mine plan, which we did put out a new technical report for Chelopech in January of this past year of 2026, it's a real opportunity to potentially feed some of that material into that mine plan. We haven't done that yet, and we haven't yet found the full extent of that. Geologically, the idea is, if it's correct, that that may replicate. Is there something bigger that we might have to contemplate, keeping in mind the constraints of the plant at roughly 2 million tons? Does that then beg the question that you go back to regulators, or how does that maybe potentially relate to what you do in terms of a bigger scale and/or feeding that material that's higher grade into the mine plan?
It sounds like you're still doing the work on what it means for overall mine production in terms of scale, overall production outlook, because you're still letting the geology sort of point you where to go. Any broad strokes on what it could mean for mine life and production scale?
Well, we're currently at 10 years. I think that's a nice number from that standpoint, particularly for an underground mine. We don't yet have the sense of how big the tail of the tiger, how big it could be.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay. I'd like to maybe just pivot the conversation a little bit more towards strategic goals, more sort of higher level, and let's talk about jurisdictional concentration. Heavily invested in the Balkan states, how do you feel about that as opposed to other jurisdictions that you're familiar in your career, Canada, the United States? Just how do we feel about the jurisdictional exposure at this point?
Yeah. Look, right now it's been good. I know there's a lot of concerns that we have for both people and things that are going on in the Middle East. We've been very fortunate, and I think the team did an excellent job during, for example, the COVID periods. We've gone through this drill when it comes to supply chain, cost management, things of that nature. Bulgaria is relatively self-sufficient when it comes to things like energy, when it comes to even certain parts. They're well-integrated into the European community that I think thus far has managed some of that energy risk, some of the supply chain risk that has not yet been problematic.
If you think about it, between Bulgaria and Bosnia, where we're at, we have this year nearly $1 billion of free cash flow coming from an eight-hour drive. The roads between that, with the exception of Bosnia, are probably better than the roads that I drive on in the Greater Denver area.
Yeah.
There's been a lot of EU infrastructure investment. The people are well-educated, and so it's how do we then take that platform if we want to leave the general Balkans area, and how do we scale that? That's what we're looking at from the desire to continue to grow units of production.
Got you. Yeah. Sticking to the theme of jurisdictions, at this point, is Loma Larga more considered within the strategy as optionality? Maybe give us a little update on how you're thinking about that.
Yeah. The way we think about that is, look, we need to continue to think about how we preserve value there, right? We want to make sure that it doesn't distract us from the scale and the potential of what Dumitru Potok could represent, the importance of the development schedule around Serbia, and even the track record of the operating platform that we have in both Bosnia now and Bulgaria. While it's an important piece for us to consider how we maybe extract value from that over time, it's not something that we find that is the focal point of the growth and the value of the company.
Great. Sticking with the strategy as you look more high level, I was just wondering within the cost structure, John, where you're seeing volatility. Is it in power? Is it in fuel? Is it in currencies? What, as a strategy, are you doing to tackle those headwinds?
Yeah, look, I think historically, leading up to just this Ukraine war conflict, it had historically been labor, right? We've been very fortunate. We've had an excellent labor pool in Bulgaria, well-educated, good, well-motivated people. I'd say that that had historically probably been a concern. We've been very fortunate. Bulgaria, for example, is an exporter of electricity. Being a higher grade at both in Bosnia and in Bulgaria, being higher-grade underground-scale models don't have that same large open-pit truck diesel requirement.
The volatility has not yet been demonstrated, at least in our cost structure, with respect to the electricity side. That is actually a higher cost component than the fuel side. We are seeing some added addition to what I call diesel or fuel when it comes to that in the E.U. Look, on a $1,300 cost structure, it's not a significant piece of that equation. It may be $10-$50 per ounce, depending on any particular unit movement, but that's less than 5% at this point.
John, separately, how are you tackling the Ada Tepe wind down from a personnel perspective, reallocating these resources?
Yeah.
Best use of the company?
Well, tomorrow is the last blast. It's a big milestone for the company. We've got a lot of eyes on that within the company. It's an interesting chapter that closes because of the chapter that it opens. The processing facilities that are at Ada Tepe will then be decommissioned later this year. They'll be refurbished at our Chelopech operation, and then they'll move on to Čoka Rakita, and we'll use that facility that's only about a seven-year-old facility. We're already training people. Serbs on that equipment. They will assist with the decommissioning, and they'll assist with the construction of that in their country. From that standpoint, we see it less as a driver on cost, but more a driver on risk management, and the ability to hopefully hit the ground running much faster.
Great.
Yeah.
Before I turn it over to questions, I just want to maybe touch on the buyback.
Okay.
We're sitting at $54 a share. There's, I think, a $200 million committed buyback.
Yes.
This year, how did that come about given the stock appreciation? How are you thinking about buybacks as being a priority on capital allocation?
Sure. Yeah, look, we've had a long-standing history of paying a dividend. What we use the buyback for is sort of what I call a shock absorber, where we see opportunities in the marketplace with respect to the value of our shares, then we will have been buying back. Over the course of the last, call it five-plus years, we've taken a number of hundreds of millions of dollars of stock out of the market at, call it even sub-CAD 20 Canadian share prices. We use that for that particular purpose as a shock absorber to maintain that dividend strategy, and we reassess that capital allocation strategy probably every six months. We've just been such a excess free cash flow generator that we've had to do that. It's 14 million units by what we've been allocated in terms of the TSX agreement.
The $200 million just represents that relative to a particular stock price. We use it. We're continuing to pay or buy back shares during the first quarter, and we'll continue to do that throughout the year. We see a lot of potential both in the Vareš ramp-up and in the Dumitru Potok scale of that particular asset. It's rare that you have in a particular jurisdiction, call it in the neighborhood of 10-plus million ounce potential. From that standpoint, we see that we would likely continue to buy back shares.
Great. Thanks, John . Now, I want to turn it over to the audience if there are any questions. I think we do have a mic that may be floating, so please raise your hand if you have a question. Maybe just to conclude, last question, John , just on the dividend. $0.16, is there a specific milestone that we can look for in terms of capital allocation strategy on that front?
Yeah, I would really point everyone's attention back to the share buyback. We use that. We want to ensure that we have a steady, predictable dividend strategy. We reinforced that at the time of the Adriatic transaction. It ends up being a little under $35 million per year in terms of the dividend, $0.04 a quarter, $0.16 a year. We've been doing this since back into the 2020 time period, and I think it's just another excellent example of the team's discipline around capital allocation. We said we would return capital. We said that we would generate high returns when we see the gold price increase, and we've delivered on that.
Okay, great. Ladies and gentlemen of the audience, please thank me and thank John for his presentation today. You can certainly get him on a sidebar or a one-on-one statement. John and DPM team, thanks very much.
There might be a gentleman here.
Oh, I apologize, sir.
Uh-oh, we're in trouble.
Excuse me. Why don't you pay more dividends and less buybacks?
Well, I would say that.
I mean, a real dividend, $0.16, forget that. You shouldn't even pay that. It's worthless. Instead of having buybacks, giving real dividends.
Yeah. Look, I think it's a good question. We've really focused on in the last couple of years, and things have changed a lot in terms of free cash flow generation. I think we were paying dividends well before most companies of our scale were paying any dividend whatsoever. It's a real demonstration of the quality of the ore bodies. It's a demonstration of, I think, the management team, the board' s interest to reallocate capital. We've been very cognizant that through the Adriatic acquisition, but also the scale of some of the exploration success that we've had over the last three or four years that has the potential to put really good return capital into the ground to create units of production.
I think we've been trying to weigh off or balance those particular needs from a cash outflow standpoint. That's where we've tried to use the share buyback program as a way to demonstrate that we've had that interest to at least return capital to the shareholders.
Thanks for the question. Thanks, John .
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Good to see you. Thank you.
Good to see you.