Good morning, and welcome to G Mining Ventures Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results Conference Call. All participants are in a listen-only mode. Following prepared remarks, we will open the line for questions. Please note that today's call is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to Jean-François Lemonde, Vice President, Investor Relations.
Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us for G Mining Ventures Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results Conference Call. I am Jean-François Lemonde, VP of Investor Relations. Our earnings release that was issued yesterday, along with today's presentation, are available on our website. On the call today with us is Louis-Pierre Gignac, President and Chief Executive Officer. Julie Lafleur, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance. I would like to remind everyone that we will be making forward-looking statements during this call. Please refer to the cautionary notes and risk disclosure in our MD&A and as well as slide two of the webcast presentation. Now I will turn it over to Louis-Pierre to provide you with an overview.
Thank you, JF. G Mining Ventures delivered strong record financial results for our first full year of commercial production at TZ, driven by a strong operational performance, disciplined cost control, and the supportive gold price environment. We finished the year with a solid fourth quarter, producing 47,000 ounces of gold at a total cash cost of $808 per ounce and an all-in sustaining cost of $1,245 per ounce. Costs increased quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to higher royalties and lower gold sales volumes during the period. With a high all-in sustaining cost margin of $2,657 per ounce, TZ delivered approximately $80 million of free cash flow in the quarter.
For the full year, 172,000 ounces of gold were sold, generating $255 million of free cash flow or $1,484 per ounce produced, and maintained a peer leading cost structure with total cash costs of $748 per ounce and an all-in sustaining costs at $1,155 per ounce, which was within our guidance despite higher than expected royalty costs. During the year, we ramped up the plant throughput, increased mining rates through the decommissioning of additional mining equipment, and completed expansion of the CIL tailings facility for the full life of mine. Our strategy is to continue stockpiling lower grade ore, which stood at 7.1 million tons at year-end, providing us with contingency source of ore during high rainfall events.
TZ is transitioning into the steady state phase typical of mature operating mines, where the focus shifts to continuous improvements in productivity and cost management. This year, we plan to make modest investments in the plant to address remaining bottlenecks, including tailings pumping capacity, while continuing broader optimization initiatives to increase throughput. On safety, TZ closed the year with a lost time injury frequency rate of 0.15, with two lost time incidents recorded during the year. While this represents solid performance, our objective remains zero harm, and we continue to focus on strengthening safety culture and systems across the operation. In the fourth quarter, the commissioning of additional mining equipment in late Q3 contributed to total mined tonnage reaching six million tons, an 18% increase over the previous quarter.
This higher production supported increased waste stripping, resulting in a low annual strip ratio of 1.86. Mill throughput for Q4 averaged 11,711 tons per day, or 90.6% of nameplate capacity, with a head grade of 1.49 grams per ton. Gold production for the fourth quarter increased by 2% compared to the third quarter, primarily driven by higher process grades. Mill throughput during the quarter was impacted by unplanned downtime in November following a failure of a ball mill motor bearing. Gold recovery rates have also improved, achieving 91.8% during the fourth quarter and 90.6% for the full year 2025, supported by increased plant stability and reduced variability in the flotation circuit's operating parameters, largely due to the implementation of an expert control system.
Total cash costs were $748 per ounce, slightly exceeding the upper end of our 2025 guidance. This was mainly due to higher royalty and production tax expenses, approximately $54 per ounce, driven by an average realized gold price of $3,374 per ounce, and was partially offset by stable underlying site operating costs. Mining costs averaged $324 per ton mined, while processing costs were $12.53 per ton milled. All-in sustaining costs were $1,155 per ounce, remaining within the 2025 guidance. Operating costs at TZ have largely been stable in 2025, with maintenance parts representing about 29% of our cash costs, followed by labor at 25%, which has increased by approximately 5% year-over-year.
Fuel is only about 10%, and power is only about 5% of our cash costs. With that, I'll turn it over to Julie for the financial highlights.
Thanks, Louis-Pierre, and good morning. For the full year, we generated $581 million in revenue and $288 million in net income, or $1.27 per share. On an adjusted basis, net income were $283 million or $1.25 per share. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $419 million, representing a 72% margin and reflecting the strong operating performance of TZ in its first full year. This highlights the strength of cash conversion from EBITDA into free cash flow, even in the first year of commercial production. We remain fully unhedged and our results reflect full exposure to the gold price. Operating cash flow before changes in non-cash working capital was $122 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of $15 million over the third quarter.
After changes in working capital, cash provided by operating activities was $96 million in Q4 and $308 million for the full year. Sustaining capital expenditures for $53 million for the full year were slightly below guidance, primarily because spending on certain major components was deferred into 2026. Capitalized exploration expenditures totaled $5 million in the fourth quarter and $16 million for the full year, comprising $9 million at Oko, $3 million at Gurupi, and $4 million at TZ. Capital expenditures at Oko West totaled $346 million in 2025, of which $187 million has been disbursed. We ended the year with a closing cash balance of $135 million. Subsequent to year-end, we completed a strategic private placement with La Mancha for approximately $315 million.
The proceeds were used to fully repay the revolving credit facility, leaving the corporation with a clean undrawn facility and strong financial flexibility as we advance Oko West. Turning now from cash flow to capital expenditures, slide 12 breaks down our spending across sustaining capital, regional exploration, and development capital. At TZ, sustaining capital was guided at $60 million-$70 million, with actual spend of $53 million. The variance reflects timing as certain major components for mobile equipment originally planned for 2025 were deferred to 2026 due to procurement, scheduling, and operational priorities. These items are incorporated into the 2026 TZ sustaining capital guidance. On Oko West, development capital was deployed for $203 million compared to full year guidance of $200 million-$240 million.
Spending was weighted towards the second half as expected following formal construction approval in October and accelerating project momentum through year-end. Thanks. With that, I'll hand it back to Louis-Pierre to discuss operational guidance and progress at our projects.
Thank you, Julie. In January, we released operational guidance for 2026 and 2027, outlining average annual production of 200,000 ounces of gold at TZ over the next two years. This is expected to be achieved at peer-leading cash costs of $750 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of $1,190 per ounce. Gold production at TZ for 2026 is estimated to be between 160,000 ounces-190,000 ounces and 200,000 ounces-235,000 ounces in 2027, representing an increase of approximately 25% over 2026 production at the midpoint of guidance, driven by a full year contribution of higher grade Phase 2 ore at TZ.
Total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs in 2026 are expected to increase by 7% and 15% respectively relative to 2025, and then decrease steadily starting in the second half of 2026 and through 2027. Total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs are expected to improve materially in 2027, with cash costs and AISC projected to decline by approximately 14% and 21% respectively, compared to 2026 at the midpoint of guidance. This year represents our largest ever investment in exploration, with approximately $46 million planned across the portfolio, including roughly 110 km of diamond and RC drilling. Of this, $21 million is allocated to Gurupi, $16 million to Oko, and $9 million to TZ.
Our strong cash flow generation enables us to support this level of investment in exploration while simultaneously funding the construction of Oko West. At Oko, the early works program completed last year enabled key infrastructure milestones, including construction of the access road, construction of the permanent camp, and substantial completion of the barge landing, an important component of the project's logistics network. Detailed engineering reached 57% at year-end, supporting the procurement of major packages, which is largely complete. We closed the year with $424 million committed, representing 42% of the total project budget and significantly de-risking overall capital execution. Total CapEx for 2026 are projected to range between $514 million and $568 million as project activity ramps up, including the commencement of major construction at the process plant, supporting infrastructures, and the initiation of mine pre-production activities.
Substantially, all major equipment is expected to be delivered during 2026. Capital expenditures in 2027 of approximately $230 million represent the remaining balance and include commissioning activities and pre-production revenue. Main construction activities are now underway in the process plant area, with the grinding circuit representing the project's critical path. Progress remains on schedule, with one of the largest concrete pours for the SAG mill now complete. Both mills are expected to arrive in Guyana in July 2026, with assembly to be completed by the end of August 2027. Our self-perform execution model provides strong control over schedule and cost, and the project remains on track to meet budget and timeline targets. First gold is expected in the second half of 2027, with commercial production targeted for 2028.
Despite being in full construction, we've maintained exploration efforts to continue unlocking the full potential of the Oko West project. Following the completion of infill drilling to support the feasibility study, exploration drilling has identified extensions of mineralization outside of the mine plan, which are expected to contribute to future increases in mineral resources and reserves. Positive results have been achieved to the north in block one, along splay structures within the pit previously modeled as waste, and at depth in block five. In addition to the main Oko West trends, we've identified a compelling soil anomaly along the northwest extension. This area was incorporated into the land package in March 2024 and is currently a key focus of our exploration activities, where we see continued upside.
The northwest extension is located approximately 10 km from the planned infrastructure and could be easily integrated into the future of the Oko West project. Let me now turn to Gurupi, our advanced exploration asset in Brazil. The project hosts a substantial existing resource of 1.8 million ounces indicated and 0.8 million ounces inferred based on approximately 145 km of historical drilling. In 2025, we made important progress in reactivating the project. An historical injunction was lifted, and we re-established positive relationships with local stakeholders, which allowed us to successfully restart drilling in the region in November. This was a significant milestone for the project, particularly as there's been no drilling for several years. The broader land package represents a district scale opportunity.
It covers roughly 80 km of highly prospective greenstone belts with a defined soil anomaly extending over approximately 55 km. Our initial focus is to expand mineral resources around the known deposits in order to support the development of a larger and more robust project while continuing to test the broader exploration potential across the belts. Last year, surface work, including trenching and auger drilling, identified several gold-bearing structures northwest of Mandioca. This area is now a key focus of our drilling program, alongside extensions in and around the existing resources at Sepuaro and Segotutu, where we currently have two diamond drill rigs and one RC rig operating. In 2026, we plan to invest $21 million in exploration to support both brownfield and greenfield programs.
Our objective is to grow the resource base and advance the project toward an updated mineral resource estimate and the PEA in the second half of the year. We believe this work will highlight the scale and value of Gurupi, which is not currently well reflected in GMIN's valuation. TZ's total cash costs of approximately 748 per ounce compare favorably to a peer average of over 1,000 per ounce for mid-tier producers, representing roughly a 30% cost advantage driven by structural characteristics of the operation. This low-cost profile is underpinned by ore body geometry, established infrastructure, strong labor productivity, and processing circuit efficiency, all of which are expected to remain consistent. At $4,000 per ounce of gold, TZ is generating among the highest free cash flow margins per ounce of any open pit gold mine of comparable scale in the Americas.
Looking ahead, GMIN is entering an exciting growth phase, with consolidated production expected to surpass 500,000 ounces of gold annually by 2028, representing roughly a threefold increase from 2025 levels. Free cash flow generation in 2026 and 2027 is expected to fully finance the development of Oko West at current gold prices. 2028 represents a clear inflection point in free cash flow as Oko West begins contributing, with projected free cash flow $1.2 billion based on $4,000 per ounce gold price. This level of cash generation is expected to position GMIN to continue self-funding future growth initiatives while also assessing opportunities to return capital to shareholders. 2025 was a strong execution year across operations, development and exploration. At TZ, we achieved steady state production at nameplate capacity while maintaining cost discipline.
At Oko West, we completed the feasibility study, secured key permits, and received board approval to move into construction. We also advanced engineering and procurement, significantly de-risking the project. At Gurupi and across the portfolio, we delivered on exploration programs, generating encouraging results. Overall, the year was about advancing Oko West and reinforcing a solid operational base at TZ. For 2026, our priorities are clear and build on the strong foundation established in 2025. At TZ, the focus is on operating well with phase two scheduled to deliver higher grade ore and continuing targeted optimization work. At Oko West, the focus is on execution through the peak construction year, with ongoing progress across the process plant, site infrastructure, and other critical path activities as we ramp up the workforce on site to reach a peak of about 2,000 people by year end.
Across the portfolio, we will also advance the largest exploration program in GMIN's history, with updates expected from TZ, Oko West and Gurupi, including an updated mineral resource estimate NPA for Gurupi. Our strategy remains to build, operate, and explore for more. Before we open the line for questions, I would like to leave you with these images from Oko West. The project continues to advance across all major work fronts, with steady progress on critical infrastructure and plant construction. In 2025, we demonstrated that we can operate, and in 2026 and 2027, our focus is to build again while continuing to advance exploration across the portfolio. I want to thank our teams in Brazil, Guyana and in Canada for their work throughout 2025, and I also want to thank our shareholders for their continued support.
With that, I'll turn the call back to the moderator to begin the Q&A.
Before we open the floor for questions, a quick reminder. Phone participants can dial star one to ask a question, and webcast viewers can continue submitting their questions via the Q&A function. We will pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Ralph Profiti with Stifel. Your line is open.
Thanks, operator, and good morning, everyone. Louis-Pierre, with respect to process improvements at the TZ plant, you specifically mentioned some of the tailings capacity and pumping improvements. Just wondering if we're gonna see some of those benefits in 2026, or is that more embedded in 2027 AISC guidance?
Yeah, that's sustaining CapEx work that we're gonna be doing, implementing mostly in Q2, and expecting that to be effective in the second half of this year. That's the current timing for that work.
That's included in existing guidance?
Correct. It is.
Excellent. Okay, great. Great. As a follow-up, I'm just wondering how you're feeling around logistics around the SAG delivery in July 2026. Just wondering if there's any sort of seasonal river or fluctuations around sort of, you know, uncontrollable scheduling risks that you're seeing early signs that could be a risk.
No, not really. I mean, our risks lie mostly with our suppliers, just making sure that they deliver on the schedules that we have. You know, because those are critical path items, we typically do very close follow-ups with suppliers that are on our critical path. So far, everything's scheduled to arrive on time. Yeah, with respect to logistics, the river itself is not seasonal. I mean, we can barge all year long. It's, there's really no major issue in terms of annual disruptions in terms of logistics.
Great. Glad to hear. Good luck, and thank you.
Thanks.
Your next question comes from the line of Fahad Tariq with Jefferies. Your line is open.
Hi. Thanks for taking my questions. At TZ, can you just talk about maybe how plant throughput and recoveries are trending in the first quarter?
Yeah. Plant throughputs so far have been really in line with our plan, with budget. We've had good plant availability, good production. As we guided earlier this year, the first half has lower grades, which come with a slightly lower recovery. There is a relationship between grade and recovery. Yeah, basically, falling very much in line with our current plan.
Okay. Just on 2026, AISC guidance, I know it's at $4,000 an ounce. Maybe I missed it, but the sensitivity of the AISC for every, let's say, $100 an ounce change in the gold price or whatever the sensitivity is that you can share.
Yeah, I mean, we're, how should I say, 1.5% royalty to government and 1.5% to third parties. We do have a low kind of royalty exposure at TZ. We'd have to just run the math quickly. Yeah, it's a low sensitivity. This year, obviously we're using $4,000 per ounce, which is more in line with current gold price environment compared to the budgeting exercise of 2025, where we saw the gold price go up quite significantly in 2025.
Just maybe lastly, just on Oko West development, any impact from the conflict in the Middle East? Like, is that impacting anything in terms of pricing, supply chain, et cetera?
Not really. Just in the sense that we don't have, like, materials coming out from that region of the world. So we don't have any, like, disruptions in terms of logistics. So no real impact on that front. Basically in the construction phase, we're, you know, obviously consuming some fuel and for equipment and, you know, logistics and whatnot, but that's a very small percentage of our overall CapEx. And then when it comes to the fuel price leaking into the pricing of products, I mean, we do have most of all our major capital items already procured and locked in at this point. So very little exposure for the main equipment packages for the project.
Got it. Okay, great. Thank you so much.
Thanks.
Next question comes from the line of Rabi Nizami with National Bank of Canada. Your line is open.
Morning, everyone. Thanks for taking my question. LP, you just referred to no impacts from the conflict with regards to logistics and fuel being a very small component of Oko West CapEx. Could you say some more about TZ and how you're thinking about fuel prices and sensitivity to fuel prices there?
Yeah, that's something that we have been looking into just to understand our sensitivities for both projects. Basically, you know, for TZ for 2025, fuel was really like 10% of our cash costs. If you assume a $10 a barrel increase, that translates to about a $10 per ounce increase in our all-in sustaining cost. It's not very sensitive. Obviously when it comes to power consumption, we're connected to the grid, so we're not, you know, it's not a fuel-based electricity price.
Thank you. At Oko West, I see you have nearly 1,000 workers on site, so looks like you're having some success with staffing there. You also mentioned that you're going up to 2,000 by year-end, so anything else that you could add about just how labor availability is in Guyana?
Yeah. I'd say, you know, this year is obviously the ramp-up year in terms of construction, and so essentially every month we're hiring 100-150 people onto the project. Yeah, we've continued on that trend. As of the end of February, we've exceeded, you know, 1,200 people on the project. Yeah, we're continuing to make good progress and aligned with our plans. Yeah, we've been able to find the labor that we need. We do have the ability to bring in expats that you know act as trainers, supervisors. That's been a key part of the team that we put together at Oko West.
Great. Thank you very much.
Thanks.
Next question comes from the line of Andrew Mikitchook with BMO Capital Markets. Your line is open.
Hey, LP. All kinds of great questions already been asked, but maybe I could just ask you to speak to what investors should expect to see occur in terms of construction in the next quarter. I guess Q1 is more or less done, and you showed us the great pictures, but moving ahead three months, what will this all look like?
Yeah, I mean, we're continuing to make progress in the plant. A lot of concrete work is being done. We're gonna be starting on the CIL circuit concrete work. Primary crusher excavation is complete now. Yeah, we're really moving into the plant area. This quarter and the upcoming quarters, we're essentially starting our mining pre-production activities. Stripping the pit, starting to mine waste material and actually, you know, we'll likely be stockpiling some of the first ore in the upcoming quarter, Q2.
Okay. Just switching to TZ, I think you quoted from my notes here, 7.1 million tons of stockpile either at year-end or currently. Is that in line with expectations? Did that include unexpected low-grade ore? Or how should we think of that number?
I'd say we have encountered a bit more low-grade ore than we expected compared to our plan. That's, you know, in that sense, we've had a bit of a positive reconciliation versus our reserve model. That's a bit higher than we had expected to be at this point. Nothing wrong with that, in the sense that that's all ore that gets stockpiled for processing at really the end of the mine life.
Okay. That's great. Well done, and I'll pass the microphone to the next question.
Thanks.
Next question comes from the line of Jeremy Hoy with Canaccord Genuity. Your line is open.
LP t hanks for taking my question. One on Gurupi. Looking ahead to the PEA coming later this year, are you able to share any high level targets or metrics, anything that might give us an indication of what the scale and scope of that project could look like?
Yeah. I mean, we'll be doing a lot more of that work in the next few months. You know, our expectation is that this will be a project that'll be slightly larger than TZ in terms of scale and production. That's almost basically supported by the resources that we have currently on the project. Yeah, we see it being at least 175,000 ounces based on the current resources. Based on exploration success and our ability to continue growing the resource, that could be a larger number achieving close to 200,000 ounces or more. That's the current thinking and sizing when it comes to Gurupi at this point.
Thank you very much. That's a really helpful color. Last one for me, I guess is on M&A. I get asked all the time what you guys are gonna buy. Could you just provide the latest thinking on potential M&A, potential target regions, et cetera? I think the strategy there has been pretty consistent, but appreciate any update there.
Yeah, I mean, look, we're always doing our homework when it comes to, you know, looking at next opportunities that could fit in our portfolio. Yeah, I think South America continues to be a sweet spot for us. We do like Brazil, and the jurisdictions that we're currently in that we know very well. Those are our key target areas. Yeah. I think gold price volatility is definitely something that makes M&A a little more difficult. Yeah, I think with gold prices stabilizing and remaining a bit more stable for longer period could support, you know, M&A activity across the sector in general.
Yeah, it's certainly been a rollercoaster. Okay, well, thank you very much. I'll step back in the queue.
Thanks.
There are no further questions in the queue, so that concludes GMIN's Q3 2025 Conference Call. Thank you again for joining us. Stay connected via our email list and social media updates. Enjoy the rest of your day.