Northern Star Resources Limited

Thank you for standing by and welcome to the Northern Star September 2025 quarterly results call. All participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question and answer session. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. 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 our Chief Financial Officer, Ryan Gurner, and our Chief Operating Officer, Simon Jessup. As we confirmed this morning, for the September quarter, we sold 381,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of Australian dollars, $2,522 an ounce. The quarter delivered a mixed performance across the portfolio. but our Kalgoorlie production hub performed very well, led by KCGM, where we maintained elevated production and development rates. Also, pleasingly, costs for the quarter were better than forecast, reflecting our efforts on containing spending and continued focus on capital discipline. Despite the mixed production results for the quarter, we remained well positioned to deliver our four-year guidance of 1.7 to 1.8 million ounces of gold sold at an all-in-sustaining cost of $2,300. AU$2,700 an ounce. The KCGM mill expansion remains on track for commissioning in early FY27 and significant progress is underway for this exciting step change to the operation. This week we received ministerial approval from the WA Government for the Finsden South project and associated infrastructure, which supports high future throughput and long-term cost efficiency at KCGM to deliver sustainable high margin ounces. We've also seen a consistent uplift in production rates from both the open pit and underground operations of KCGM, which Simon will talk to shortly. With consistent primary oil feed and the significant 3 million ounces of stockpiles ready for processing, we're on track to maximise mill utilisation and deliver on our production growth targets there. The group underlying free cash flow of $14 million reflected investment outflows relating to the KCGM mill expansion project, returns to shareholders of $416 million in dividends and $67 million in tax instalments. Our investment-grade balance sheet remains strong with a net cash position, and as the KCGM mill expansion is in final build year, we're poised for increased production and lowering spending, whilst our hedge delivery schedule also declines and provides greater leverage to spot gold prices. This outlook is very favourable towards growing cash flows in the near term, To operations, earlier this month, two separate events occurred at our Jundi and South Kaguli operations that will see an estimated impact to December gold sales of up to 20,000 ounces. The effective volumes will be scheduled for processing across the remainder of the year. Simon will provide further detail on both these events shortly. And I am proud for the team's swift response to safely restore the operations as soon as possible. As I've already said, the company remains well positioned to deliver our full year guidance, with stronger grades expected at KCGM in the second half, along with improved volume and great performance across the broader portfolio. Combined with growing leverage to gold prices and ongoing cost records, we are firmly aligned to our purpose of delivering superior returns for our shareholders. Now I'd like to hand over to Simon Jessup, Chief Operating Officer, to discuss the operational highlights.

Thank you, Stu, and good morning. The Kalgoorlie Production Centre delivered a strong quarter. At KCGM, our largest asset, production met expectations while cost came in significantly lower, reflecting the team's disciplined approach to cost and capital management. Underground oil volumes reached an annualised run rate of 2.9 million tonnes, with lower grades attributed to its step-up in development activity. Our Northern Star Mining Services team delivered 8.7 kilometres of development for the quarter, up from 7.5 in the June quarter, an outstanding effort by the team. Open pit ore volumes and grades were in line with expectations and ahead of last year. Productivity is set to further improve with Golden Pike North returning to one mining level ahead of schedule, reinforcing our confidence in achieving KCGM's FY26 production target of 550,000 to 600,000 ounces. KCGM milled tonnes delivered an annualised run rate of 11.6 million tonnes. notwithstanding a major planned shutdown during the quarter. For FY26, mill throughput is forecast to be 12 million tonnes, with mill grades expected to lift for the remainder of the year. As Stu mentioned, we had an event at South Kalgoorlie earlier this month. After 60 millimetres of rain, a wall slip occurred in the historic open pit, temporarily affecting infrastructure for the underground mine. The main portal to the underground operations remains unaffected. A return to normal stoping is expected during the quarter. Let me close on the Kalgoorlie Production Centre by sharing how pleased I am with the progress on the KCGM mill expansion. Over recent months, construction has advanced significantly and the project is now moving into electrical and piping installation. Through the remainder of FY26, we'll transition into the final stages of construction, including finishing works, fit-outs and commissioning and testing. Turning to our Yandall Production Centre, the highlight for the September quarter was the milling performance at Thunderbox, achieving an annualised record throughput of 6.7 million tonnes per annum, exceeding the 6 million tonne per annum nameplate capacity for a second consecutive quarter. The cost environment across Yandall remains challenging and we continue to pursue cost initiatives wherever possible to mitigate pressures. At Jundee, gold sales of 55,000 ounces came in below plan due to lower stoke grade ore at both Jundee and remote, which was also impacted by lower recovery. We expect similar grades through the December quarter, with improvement anticipated in the second half. Development at Griffin is progressing ahead of schedule with first ore now underway, unlocking future access to higher grade stoketons, a great effort by our Northern Star Mining Services team. As Stu mentioned earlier this quarter, a localised structural failure occurred in the crushing circuit at Jundee. The team has acted swiftly, enabling operations to resume within two weeks. At Thunderbox, I am very pleased with the mill's performance, exceeding nameplate for the second straight quarter. This strong throughput helped offset lower grades from the Aurelia open pit, which are scheduled to improve in the second half. Meanwhile, open pit mining at Bannockburn ramped up significantly, with first ore expected to feed the mill in the second half of FY26. Finally, turning our attention to POGO. At POGO, the underground mine and mill operated an annualised run rate of 1.4 million tonnes per annum during the September quarter, despite a planned major mill shutdown. A fantastic effort by our US team. Mine grade was affected by sequencing, but is expected to improve over the remainder of the year. The mill continues to focus on recovery optimisation, achieving 87% recovery despite lower head growths. Development of the two new portals is progressing well, unlocking access to the central veins and good parts to systems. Most supporting infrastructure is nearly in completion, with the portals also set to improve ventilation and haulage efficiency across other areas of the mine. Mine development averaged 1,664 metres per month, exceeding our 1,500 metre target. Let me finish by reaffirming that we are on track to deliver our group production guidance of 1.7 to 1.85 million ounces. The June quarter is forecast to be the strongest as key growth projects reach completion. Across the business, our team remains and continues to have a sharp focus on cost and capital discipline. I would now like to pass on to Ryan, our Chief Financial Officer, to discuss the financials.