2/20/2026

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the HUD-Bay fourth quarter 2025 results conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode, and following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. You'll hear a tone acknowledging your request. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may reach an operator by pressing star then zero. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded today, February the 20th at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. I would now like to turn the conference over to Candice Boulay, Vice President, Capital Markets and Corporate Affairs. Please go ahead.

speaker
Candice Boulay
Vice President, Capital Markets and Corporate Affairs

Thank you, Operator. Good morning and welcome to HUD-based fourth quarter and full year 2025 results conference call. HUD-based financial results were issued this morning and are available on our website at www.hudbay.com. A corresponding PowerPoint presentation is available in the Investor Events section of our website, and we encourage you to refer to it during this call. Our presenters today are Peter Kakilski, HUD-based President and Chief Executive Officer, and Eugene Lee, our Chief Financial Officer. Accompanying Peter and Eugene for the Q&A portion of the call will be Andre Lauzon, our Chief Operating Officer. Please note that comments made on today's call may contain forward-looking information, and this information, by its nature, is subject to risks and uncertainties, and as such, actual results may differ materially from the views expressed today. For further information on these risks and uncertainties, please consult the company's relevant filings on CDAR Plus and EDGAR. These documents are also available on our website. As a reminder, all amounts discussed on today's call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. And now I'll pass the call over to Peter Kokilski.

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Candice. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for today's call. 2025 was a transformative year for HUD-BAY as we achieved the third consecutive year of record financial performance. We delivered record annual revenues of more than $2 billion record annual adjusted EBITDA of over $1 billion, and record annual free cash flow generation of more than $380 million. Our diversified operating platform demonstrated resilience and enabled us to deliver our 11th consecutive year of achieving copper production guidance and fifth consecutive year of achieving gold production guidance. We also outperformed our twice improved consolidated cash cost guidance demonstrating industry-leading cost performance. These achievements are even more remarkable considering the significant challenges we had to overcome with wildfire evacuations in Manitoba and social unrest in Peru last year. We are delighted to have secured Mitsubishi as a premier long-term partner for our Copper World project in a precedent-setting joint venture transaction. This transaction enables us to unlock significant value in our copper growth pipeline further solidifies our financial strength and significantly reduces our share of future equity contributions for the development of Copperworld. Our prudent strategic financial planning and execution has enabled us to achieve our balance sheet deleveraging goals ahead of schedule and lowered our cost of capital. We now have the financial flexibility to sanction Copperworld in 2026, embark on generational investments in our operating portfolio, and commence increases in shareholder returns with our first ever dividend increase as part of our holistic capital allocation framework. This will allow us to continue to deliver attractive growth and maximize long-term risk-adjusted returns for our stakeholders. Slide 4 provides an overview of our fourth quarter operational and financial performance. The fourth quarter underscored our commitment to operational excellence with standout performance in Peru, driven by high-grade Pampa Cancha ore, record monthly throughput achieved at the New Britannia Mill in Manitoba, and a successful completion of the Sagville feed system in British Columbia. We achieved $733 million in record revenues and $386 million in record-adjusted EBITDA during the fourth quarter. We produced 33,000 tons of copper and 84,000 ounces of gold in the quarter, despite an eight-day power outage in Manitoba and lower throughput levels in British Columbia. Our operations in Peru had a strong finish to the year with a final quarter of Pampacancha mining activities. Fourth quarter net earnings were $128 million, or 32 cents per share, reflecting strong gross margins as a result of higher metal prices and $25 million received for business interruption insurance from the mandatory wildfire evacuations in Manitoba. After adjusting for the insurance proceeds and other non-cash items, fourth quarter adjusted earnings was 22 cents per share. We continue to demonstrate industry-leading cost performance in the fourth quarter with consolidated cash costs of negative 63 cents per pound and consolidated sustaining cash costs of 94 cents per pound. These costs significantly improved compared to the third quarter, primarily as a result of higher copper production and higher gold byproduct credits. Turning to slide five, HUD Bay's unique diversification in copper and gold, coupled with our relentless commitment to cost control, enables us to maintain industry-leading margins and deliver strong and reliable cash flows. Operating cash flow before change in non-cash working capital was $337 million in the quarter, a meaningful increase compared to the third quarter, reflecting higher copper and gold sales volumes from normalized operations after the temporary interruptions and higher metal prices. After accounting for the capital investments to sustain production, we generated $228 million in free cash flow during the quarter, bringing annual free cash flow to $388 million in 2025 and achieving new quarterly and annual record levels. While the majority of revenues continue to be derived from copper, revenue from gold continues to represent a growing portion of total revenues with 41% of gold revenues in the fourth quarter. Our deleveraging efforts continued in the fourth quarter as we repurchased and retired an additional $39 million of senior unsecured notes through open market purchases at a discount to par. We are proud to say that since the end of 2024, we have reduced our long-term debt by $185 million, bringing our total debt levels to $1 billion today. We ended the quarter with total liquidity of $994 million, including $569 million in cash and cash equivalents and undrawn availability of $425 million under our revolving credit facilities. Our net debt to EBITDA ratio further improved to 0.4 times at the end of December. After year end, Our cash and cash equivalence balance increased to $992 million with the closing of the Copperwell joint venture transaction in early January. This increases our adjusted total liquidity to over $1.4 billion and further lowers our net leverage ratio to zero times. This financial transformation demonstrates the benefits of our diversified operating platform, industry-leading costs, and prudent balance sheet management. we are extremely well positioned to prudently reinvest in our portfolio of attractive high-return brownfield and greenfield opportunities to drive production growth and long-term value creation. In Peru, we exceeded the top end of the annual gold production guidance range and achieved the copper production guidance range despite the impact of a temporary operational interruption due to social unrest as shown on slide six. Our Peru operations had the strongest quarter of the year in the fourth quarter as we continued to see strong copper and gold grades from Pampa Concha and we processed less ore from low-grade stockpiles compared to the prior quarter. We continued to optimize the mine plan with more ore mined from Pampa Concha during the quarter than previously expected, resulting in the accelerated depletion of Pampa Concha in late December as opposed to early 2026. The operations produced 25,000 tons of copper, 33,000 ounces of gold, 731,000 ounces of silver, and 325 tons of molybdenum during the quarter. Production of copper, gold, and silver increased by 38%, 25%, and 27% respectively compared to the third quarter due to higher ore milled as the third quarter was impacted by the temporary operational interruptions. Mill throughput increased to 7.6 million tons in the quarter due to higher mill availability than the third quarter, partially offset by the scheduled semi-annual mill maintenance shutdown in the fourth quarter. Mill's copper grades increased by 26% compared to the third quarter, with higher grades from Pampacuncha and less ore processed from stockpiles. Mill's gold grades also increased with a strong gold contribution from Pampacuncha. Mill recoveries were in line with our metallurgical models based on the ore being processed. Fourth quarter cash costs in Peru were 57 cents per pound of copper, decreasing by 56% compared to the third quarter with the benefit of higher gold byproduct credits partially offsetting higher profit sharing. Full year cash costs in Peru outperformed the low end of the guidance range and improved by 8% from 2024 due to lower treatments and refining charges and higher byproduct credits. Fourth quarter metal sold was higher than the prior quarter as some copper concentrate sales in the third quarter were impacted by ocean swells and were deferred to the fourth quarter. While copper concentrate inventory levels normalized at the end of last year, there were elevated levels of precious metals contained in the inventory concentrate due to a higher portion of Pampacantia production in the second half of the year. resulting in a shift of some precious metal sales from December 2025 to 2026. We continue to advance the installation of pebble crushers in Peru to increase mill throughput rates starting in the second half of 2026, which will allow Constancio to deliver steady annual copper production despite lower grades from the depletion of Pampa Cancha. These efforts align with the Peru Ministry of Energy and Mines regulatory change to allow mining companies to operate up to 10% above permitted levels. Turning to slide seven, our Manitoba operations were previously tracking within the 2025 guidance ranges despite the wildfire impacts. However, as a result of the weather-related power outage in October and the subsequent ramp-up period required to restore full operations, gold and zinc production fell below the low end of the respective ranges. That said, we successfully achieved guidance for copper and silver despite these interruptions. Performance in the fourth quarter demonstrates that our Manitoba operations have normalized following the significant wildfire disruptions. Our Manitoba operations produced 47,000 ounces of gold, 3,000 tons of copper, 6,000 tons of zinc, and 214,000 ounces of silver in the quarter. Full year production in Manitoba was lower than the prior year as a result of production deferrals from the wildfires, the weather related power outage and associated ramp up to restore full operations. However, we continue to focus on safety and achieved a 15% reduction in total recordable injury frequency in 2025. At the Lalor mine, the focus was on stabilizing production after resuming operations. Lalor averaged over 4,200 tons per operating day in the quarter, strategically prioritizing mining from the gold zones to ensure feed for the New Britannia mill. Gold grade slightly increased compared to the third quarter as we continue to improve ore quality and focus on prioritizing gold zones at Lalor. Consistent with our strategy of allocating more LALOR ore feeds to New Britannia to maximize gold recoveries, the New Britannia mill achieved average throughput of approximately 2,300 tons per day in December, reaching a new monthly throughput record. The ore mill continued to focus on process optimization and enhancing gold recovery initiatives, which resulted in achieving over 70% gold recovery from our base metal ore streams. The storm will process significantly less ore in 2025 compared to 2024 in alignment with our strategy to allocate more Lalo ore feed to New Britannia. The 1901 deposit delivered 6,600 tons of development ore in 2025 as the project progresses towards full production in 2027. During the year, the team focused on establishing 1901 underground infrastructure and haulage and exploration drifts. Manitoba sales volumes in the fourth quarter reflect a rebuild of inventory levels as operations normalized. Manitoba gold cash costs in the fourth quarter were $705 per ounce, increasing compared to the third quarter, primarily due to higher overall costs in the quarter as operations normalized. Despite the production headwinds in 2025, full-year gold cash costs were $549 per ounce, a 9% improvement from 2024 and outperforming the lower end of the cash cost guidance range. The strong cost performance was supported by the prioritization of high margin gold production over byproduct zinc production. In British Columbia, we continue to focus on advancing our multi-year optimization plan centered on ramping up mining activities and implementing standardized operating practices as shown on slide eight. We produced 4.7,000 tons of copper, 4,000 ounces of gold, and 57,000 ounces of silver in British Columbia in the fourth quarter. Production was lower compared to the prior quarter, primarily reflecting reduced mill throughput caused by unplanned maintenance on the primary sag mill. Full year production achieved the guidance range for gold and silver, while copper production fell below the low end of the guidance range because of the impacts of the primary sag mill unplanned maintenance and a higher amount of low-grade stockpiled ore processed throughout the year. Mining activities continued to focus on executing a three-year accelerated stripping program to unlock higher-grade ore starting in 2027. Total ore mined in the fourth quarter was 2.4 million tons, a 32% increase from the third quarter as we optimized the mining sequence and enhanced maintenance practices which increased mining rates to a targeted 300,000 tons per day in December. To sustain this momentum, a new production loader was commissioned in January 2026, and a new shovel is currently scheduled for deployment in March. Mill enhancement initiatives continued in the fourth quarter with the successful completion of the permanent feeder for the second sag mill in December. The second sag mill continued to demonstrate positive contributions to overall throughput in the fourth quarter. The mill processed 27 percent less ore in the fourth quarter compared to the third as a result of unplanned maintenance on the primary sag mill to address localized damage to the feed end head. Operations were further constrained by elevated clay content in the ore and the planned decrease in feed pile to accommodate the construction and tie-ins for the second sag expansion project. The team implemented several additional initiatives in 2025 to mitigate further challenges and build long-term mill reliability, including completing crushing circuit chute modifications, installing advanced grinding control instrumentation, and a redesigned sag liner package. Despite throughput constraints, fourth quarter milled copper grades were 18% higher than the third quarter, driven by higher grades in ore mined. Copper recoveries improved to 78%, and gold recoveries saw a 7% increase over the third quarter. While the primary sag mill continues to operate under a reduced load, it is being rigorously monitored ahead of a feed-end head replacement in mid-2026. The mill remains on track to achieve its permitted capacity of 50,000 tons per day in the second half of 2026. British Columbia cash costs and sustaining cash costs were higher than the prior quarter, largely driven by the ramp-up of mining activities advancing the accelerated stripping program combined with the impact of lower production and byproduct credits due to the lower mill availability. Despite the headwinds in the second half of 2025, the business unit demonstrated strong cost discipline, enabling the operations to achieve the full-year cash cost guidance range. I'm now going to turn it over to Eugene Lee to introduce our capital allocation framework. Eugene.

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

Eugene Lee Thank you, Peter. Turning to slide nine, HUD-B has a proven track record prudently allocating capital to high-return brownfield investments such as New Britannia Gold Mill refurbishment project and the development of the high-grade Papa Concha satellite deposit. Both these investments have delivered significant free cash flows and contributed to our recent deleveraging efforts. These deleveraging achievements have been part of our financial transformation over the past three years. HUD-B has moved from being overleveraged and capital constrained to a preferred position where we can strategically allocate capital across the portfolio to maximize value and generate the highest risk-adjusted returns, creating long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders. Three years ago, when I became CFO, we put in place our three prerequisites plan, known as the 3P plan, outlining financial criteria needed to be achieved prior to sanctioning Copper World. We have successfully executed all of the financial elements of the 3P plan, And with prudent strategic financial planning over the last few years, we have completed the deleveraging of our balance sheet. We are proud to have the strongest balance sheet in more than a decade and are one of the lowest debt leverage companies in our peer group. Together with the strategic investment by Mitsubishi, Hyde Bay is very well positioned to both sanction the Copper World project and embark on generational investments in our operating portfolio in 2026. These investments include allocating capital to high return brownfields projects at our three operating mines and advancing our world-class development and exploration pipeline. To provide transparency and continued financial discipline, we have implemented an enhanced capital allocation framework to provide a holistic approach around capital allocation decisions. This includes growth capital reinvestments in the business through near-term brownfields projects, long-term greenfields projects, strategic investments, and exploration, while also considering debt repurchases, share buybacks, and dividends. Our capital allocation framework is embedded in our annual financial planning cycle. The framework assesses capital allocation opportunities against key elements such as preserving a strong balance sheet, strategic fit for growth and diversification, accretion across key financial metrics, performing a rigorous risk assessment and applying accountable investment governance practices. Consistent with our capital allocation framework and our recent financial transformation, we are now in a position to commence increases in shareholder returns in the form of a quarterly dividend. We are pleased to introduce a new quarterly dividend of one cent per share, which represents an annual increase of 100% over a former semi-annual one cent dividend. This increases our total annual dividend amount to 4 cents per share. Thanks, and I'll hand it back to Peter for 2026 strategic objectives.

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Gene. Our key company objectives for 2026 are summarized on slide 10. We continue to focus on operational excellence, advancing organic growth opportunities, and prudently allocating capital to deliver attractive high return growth. At the core, we intend to demonstrate continued operational excellence to enable substantial free cash flow generation while maintaining industry-leading cost performance. We plan to achieve this by investing in high-return brownfield growth opportunities across our operating platform, such as the mill throughput enhancement projects. We plan to prudently invest in our attractive organic growth pipeline to deliver long-term production increases. This includes completing the Copperwell Definitive Feasibility Study progressing the new Ingabel permitting and development, advancing studies on our regional satellite properties in Snow Lake, executing our large Snow Lake exploration program to look for new anchor deposits, initiating a pre-feasibility study at Mason, advancing Flin Flon tailings reprocessing project analysis, and preparing for Maria Reina and Caballito exploration to provide significant long-term upside potential in Peru. With a strengthened balance sheet and our first ever dividend increase, we enter the year with unmatched financial flexibility. In 2026, we intend to maintain strong financial discipline by implementing our capital allocation framework to maximize returns. This will be achieved by continuing to reduce total debt, sourcing efficient project-level financing for Copperworld, and evaluating all types of capital redeployment opportunities to generate the highest risk-adjusted returns. Turning to slide 11, as I mentioned earlier, 2025 represents the 11th consecutive year in which HUD-BAY achieved its annual consolidated copper production guidance, which includes every year since Constantia declared commercial production. 2025 also represents the fifth consecutive year achieving our annual consolidated gold production guidance since establishing standalone gold production guidance after Snow Lake became a primary gold producing operation. In 2026, consolidated copper production is expected to increase by 5% to 124,000 tons using the midpoint of the guidance range. This is driven by higher expected production in British Columbia as a result of mill throughput ramping up to the target 50,000 tons per day in the second half of the year, partially offset by the depletion of Pampacantia in December 2025. Consolidated gold production in 2026 is expected to decrease by 9% to 244,500 ounces as a result of the depletion of Pampacantia. However, unstreamed gold production is expected to increase in 2026 with higher gold production in Manitoba as operations normalize following the wildfires and we continue to achieve strong performance at the New Britannia Mills. In Peru, 2026 copper production is expected to be relatively consistent year over year at 82,500 tons, as higher mill throughput is expected to largely offset the grade decline with the depletion of Pampa Concha. Peru gold production is expected to decline to 17,500 ounces with the depletion of Pampa Concha. The short-term mine plan changes in 2025 to optimize the mine plan during the period of social unrest resulted in reduced stripping activities in 2025, which has caused some grade resequencing in 2026, but we expected higher copper production in Peru in 2027 and 2028. In Manitoba, 2026 gold production is expected to be 200,000 ounces, reflecting a 15% year-over-year increase as the operations normalize after the unprecedented wildfires. We expect to see continued strong mill throughput at New Britannia, continue to operate above 2,000 tons per day in 2026, far exceeding its original design capacity of 1,500 tons per day. In British Columbia, 2026 copper production is expected to be 30,000 tons, representing a 26% increase from 2025 production levels. This increase will be driven by the throughput improvements in the second half of the year. We expect to release an updated three-year production outlook with our annual mineral reserve and resource update in late March. Slide 12 summarizes our cost guidance. 2026 consolidated cash costs are expected to remain at historically low levels within a range of negative 30 cents to negative 10 cents per pound of copper. Cash costs this year will continue to benefit from higher gold production as a byproduct and our continued focus on maintaining strong operating cost control across the business. Sustaining cash cost guidance for 2026 is expected to be within $1.70 to $2.10 per pound of copper, benefiting from higher copper production and higher byproduct credits, offset by higher expected sustaining capital expenditures. In Peru, 2026 copper cash costs are expected to be between $1.70 and $2.10 per pound, reflecting steady unit operating cost performance, offset by lower byproduct credits with the depletion of Pampacantia. Peru cash costs will benefit positively from lower treatment and refining charges and lower electricity rates with a new renewable power contract in effect. In Manitoba, gold cash costs are expected to be between $500 and $800 per ounce in 2026, remaining at industry-low levels driving strong margins at current gold prices. In British Columbia, copper cash costs are expected to decrease in 2026 to a range of $1.50 to $2.50 per pound. The decrease will be driven by higher copper production, higher byproduct credits, and higher capitalized stripping related to the accelerated stripping activities. Capital expenditures in 2026 include approximately $96 million of capital deferrals from 2025, higher growth capital spending as we reinvest in several high return growth projects and one-time sustaining capital expenditures. Total sustaining capital expenditures are expected to be $435 million, and total growth capital expenditures at the operations are expected to be $140 million, excluding Copper World joint venture spending. The growth capital for Copper World is expected to be $135 million. In Peru, 2026 sustaining capital is expected to be maintained at $140 million, which includes about $20 million of deferrals from last year and $18 million in one-time heavy civil work projects, offset by lower spending on tailings dam raises. Growth capital in Peru of $40 million relates to the installation of two pebble crushers to increase mill throughput starting in the second half of 2026 and includes $13 million of capital deferrals from 2025. In Manitoba, sustaining capital expenditures are expected to temporarily increase to $105 million in 2026, including $5 million of deferred capital $20 million in one-time expenditures related to a project at New Britannia to lower nitrogen levels, and $12 million for an accelerated one-year construction project for a dam raise at our Anderson tailings facility. Underground capitalized development at Lalor is expected to return to normal levels after reduced levels in 2025 from the wildfires. Manitoba growth capital is expected to be $15 million this year, related primarily to the development of exploration platforms and haulage drifts at the 1901 deposit. In British Columbia, 2026 sustaining capital expenditures are expected to be $60 million, an increase compared to 2025, including a $5 million one-time expenditure for the replacement of the feed end head of the primary sag mill as well as $13 million in capital deferrals from 2025. We expect to incur $130 million of capitalized stripping costs in 2026 related to the continued accelerated stripping program. BC growth capital expenditures are expected to increase to $85 million, including $10 million in capital deferrals, with the remaining capital related to early works and infrastructure development for New Ingabel. As we continue to advance Copperworld towards a sanction decision, we expect capital expenditures to be $135 million, excluding post-sanctioning construction costs. This growth capital has been largely funded by the proceeds from the Mitsubishi joint venture received in January 2026 and relates to feasibility study costs and continued de-risking until the sanctioning decision. It includes $35 million of capital deferrals from 2025 and approximately $60 million for accelerated long lead items and de-risking activities. Post-sanction construction costs will be updated at the time of project sanction. Looking at exploration expenditures in 2026, we expect an increase in spending to $60 million as we continue to execute the multi-year extensive geophysics and drilling program in Snow Lake, as well as spending allocated to new Ingebel inferred resource conversion efforts. As part of our long-term growth pipeline, slide 13 summarizes the threefold strategy we are executing in Snow Lake as part of the largest exploration program in the company's history in Manitoba. The first objective is to execute near-mine exploration, including underground and surface drilling at Lalor. This past year, significant progress was made with the completion of the initial exploration drift at the 1901 deposit, which saw positive step-out drilling and delivered some zinc development ore to the stall mill, Underground drilling is planned for 1901 from the new exploration drift to upgrade and expand the mineral reserve and resource estimates. Activities at 1901 over the next two years will focus on exploration, definition drilling, ore body access, and establishing critical infrastructure for full production in 2027. We also plan to complete underground and surface drilling at Laurel to continue expanding mineral resource and reserve estimates. The second strategic focus area is on testing regional satellite deposits within tracking distance of the Snow Lake processing infrastructure to identify potential additional ore feed to fully utilize the available processing capacity. In 2026, we plan to advance activities at many of our satellite deposits, including Talbot, New Britannia, and Rail, testing for both base metal and gold potential. We will touch more on Talbot, a highly prospective target, on the next slide. And the third strategic focus area is on exploring our large land package for a new potential anchor deposit to significantly extend the mine life of our Snow Lake operations. In 2026, we will continue the ground electromagnetic survey and extensive airborne geophysics survey. In early January, we announced the signing of an amended option agreement with JOGMEC and Marabeni to expand the Flin Flon exploration partnership for three projects in the Flin Flon region, including Cupris White Lake, West Arm, and North Star. Turning to slide 14, in July we commenced an extensive summer drill program with the copper-gold ZIG Talbot deposit focused on expanding the known mineralization at depth. Talbot is located within trucking distance of the Snow Lake processing facilities making it an ideal deposit to potentially provide supplemental feed to our mills. As part of the initial drilling program in 2025, Hudbay drilled six holes to test the continuity of the Talbot deposit at depth, with all the holes yielding positive results and four of them returning mineralized intercepts with economic potential. The image shows the 3D view of the deep holes drilled at Talbot confirming continuation of the mineralization at depth. As shown in the image on the slide, the drill results indicate that the mineralized footprint of Talbot has doubled. We have commenced the 2026 drilling program in January with six drill rigs turning, including one rig focused on continuing to expand the footprint of the deposit at depth. An additional hole provided a significant intercept of visible copper mineralization over approximately 20 meters, and assays are pending. This year, we plan to progress a PFS and prepare an updated mineral resource estimate utilizing our standard method that has a high reserve conversion rate. Turning to slide 15, our Copper World project in Arizona continues to achieve key milestones to progress towards sanctioning later this year. The closing of the strategic joint venture partnership with Mitsubishi validates the attractive long-term value of Copper World as a top-tier copper asset and endorses the strong technical capabilities of HUD-BAE. Together, we will continue to advance this high-quality copper project and unlock significant value for all of our stakeholders. With the closing of the transaction, Mitsubishi's initial cash inflow of $420 million will be used to fund the remaining feasibility study and pre-sanction spending, in addition to initial project development costs for CopperWorld once we sanction. Mitsubishi will also contribute the remaining $180 million within 18 months to complete its initial 30% stake and will continue to fund its pro-racer 30% share of future capital contributions. Top of world feasibility activities are underway and we are on track for the completion of a definitive feasibility study in mid-2026. We have allocated growth capital expenditures in 2026 for accelerated detailed engineering certain long lead items, and other de-risking activities, and we continue to expect to make a sanctioned decision in 2026. We are very well positioned to build one of the next major copper mines in the United States while continuing to maintain a strong balance sheet and reinvesting in other growth opportunities across our portfolio. Before we conclude, I want to take a moment to highlight the new Ingebel expansion permits that our copper mountain mine just received and announced. This is a very exciting milestone for the British Columbia team as we expand growth optionality for Copper Mountain. The receipt of these permits is an important step to enhance the copper and gold production profile at Copper Mountain. It secures a longer mine life, preserves more than 800 jobs, and ensures continued economic benefits and long-term financial stability for the region. We received the amended Mines Act and Environmental Management Act permits through the coordinated authorizations process managed by the British Columbia Major Mines Office. Throughout the permitting process, we proactively engaged with the local communities and the upper and lower Similkameen Indian bands to ensure transparency. We recently finalized refreshed participation agreements with the bands, reinforcing our commitment to strong indigenous partnerships. The new Ingebel permit ensures that we'll be able to advance this BC major project and extend our partnership with the local communities to facilitate additional growth investments at Copper Mountain and further add to our 99 years of successful operations in Canada. Concluding on slide 16, 2025 demonstrated the benefits of HUD-based diversified operating base, our unique copper and gold exposure, and our operating resilience. I'm extremely proud of the performance we were able to achieve despite the many operational interruptions. Our continued focus on cost control enables us to maintain industry-leading margins and deliver strong and stable cash flows. Once CopperWorld is in production, we expect our annual copper production to grow by more than 50% from current levels. This will reinforce our position as one of the largest Americas-focused copper producers with a well-balanced and geographically diversified portfolio of assets. Our expected production will be weighted approximately one-third each in Canada, the United States, and Peru, and further enhance HUD-based exposure to copper, representing more than 70% of consolidated production and revenue. I have no doubt that we will continue to see more transformations as we execute on our growth strategy and prudently invest in our world-class pipeline to deliver the highest risk-adjusted returns for our stakeholders. And with that, we're pleased to take your questions.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then 1 on your telephone keypad. You'll 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, press star then two. The first question is from Ralph Profiti with Stiefel Financial. Please go ahead.

speaker
Ralph Profiti
Analyst, Stiefel Financial

Thank you, operator, and thanks for taking my questions. Peter and Eugene, this capital allocation framework is coming at a time when we're seeing the biggest spread between actual metal prices and spot metal prices and consensus metal prices. And when you talk a little bit about some of the commodity price scenarios, I'm just wondering, how would you characterize your approach versus the past on some of the scenario analysis that you're doing? And how are you going to balance crowding out opportunities versus metal prices being used versus buy versus build context? I'd like a little bit on that, please.

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

Hi, Ralph. Thanks for your question. And I think this is an ideal time to unveil this capital allocation framework because of the volatile markets that you described. So, as you know, we have a proven track record of allocating capital to high-return opportunities. That's what netted us the New Brit gold mill and then the Pampa Concha investment, and that's achieved 25% IRRs over the past few years and helped us to leverage our balance sheet. Now, with Mitsubishi on board, that really essentially helps us fully fund the COP World project. And so we're going to be able to go into the end of this decade having delivered the company, funded and built Copper World, and now have the opportunity to fund greenfield projects and brownfield high return projects at each of our operating sites. When we run and to best determine how to allocate that capital, running this process allows us to run various scenarios, use varying prices, and even opportunities to finance some of this growth. And so when we use this holistic approach, we're able to balance the growth aspects and prudently fund them while also keeping an eye to capital returns. And so we're ramping into the first dividend increase in our company's history. It's nominal, but it's a start. And as you saw last year when we implemented the NCIB, you know, these options or opportunities are on the board to be compared with reinvestment in our portfolio. So we're going to test these as these opportunities as they come. As you know, we have a very skilled technical services team, and our operations are always looking for ways to enhance production and enhance mine life, and we'll weigh those opportunities at varying prices to the balance sheet and have an opportunity to increase returns to shareholders once we've determined the optimal structure.

speaker
Ralph Profiti
Analyst, Stiefel Financial

Helpful. I appreciate the descriptive answer. And if I can just switch more to a technical question. Peter, what is Q3 going to look like in British Columbia? on the SAG rehabilitation work. What does downtime look like? What is tie-in time required? And I'm just wondering what happens to sort of throughput in that scenario in that quarter?

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Ron. I mean, great question. I think that, as I mentioned in the comments, that the planned replacement of the feed head will be early in the third quarter. So, you know, we continue to operate pretty carefully in the interim. But we still expect the operations to stabilize and improve progressively through that period. There will be a project period of, I imagine, several weeks during which we replace that head. But I don't expect there to be anything abnormal that's not provided for in our guidance. But Andre, do you want to perhaps elaborate on this a little bit?

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

Sure, sure. So the team is doing an excellent job. The parts are procured. So we've cast four sections, two have passed QA, QC, and we have a team over there inspecting there as we speak. Tentatively, as Peter mentioned, it's about a month of work. We'll be able to continue to run our SAG-2 at the same time, and the teams are working through the details of that. It's scheduled, like you said, at the beginning of Q3, which is probably straddling around July, August. We're looking for opportunities to pull that forward. We don't know exactly what that is right now. It's still they're inspecting, looking at shipping, and all of the details of getting that in place. And so as we get to report next quarter, I think we'll definitely have a lot more clarity on the timing of that. The opportunity of pulling it forward, if we're able to do that, is obviously ramping up to have the higher throughput sooner, which will improve you know, what we're forecasting for the year. But right now it's scheduled on that end. Right now, as it stands, the back end of the year is probably about, call it 20-ish percent higher than what the front half is of the year on a total metal, if you want to give that sort of cadence. But the improvement, if we can pull it forward a bit, as we know, then that would be a positive to the year.

speaker
Ralph Profiti
Analyst, Stiefel Financial

Okay. Got it. Thank you for those helpful answers.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

The next question is from George Eady with UBS. Please go ahead.

speaker
George Eady
Analyst, UBS

Yeah, hi, Tane. Thanks for the call today. Can I ask at Manitoba, just clarifying the updated three-year production guide, that won't include any new drilling, will it? And secondly, just when exactly in the year will we get the next tech report for Manitoba, potentially bringing in Talbot and some other satellites?

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

George, thanks for the question. So, you know, we haven't decided that we're producing a tech report for Manitoba this year. A lot of what we're doing, I mean, the current technical report is still valid in terms of production at Laro. And our thinking with respect to another revised technical report at some point would be in order to bring in some of the other, the results of other drilling that we're performing in the region. But it's not determined yet when that would be. Andre, perhaps you could elaborate.

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

Yeah, sure. So it's a great question. I'd say there's so much going on in Manitoba right now, and it's on all fronts. So we've seen some positive success with drilling 17 zone, the high-grade gold down plunge of Lawler. We now know the plunge direction, and so we'll be targeting an exploration drift to do this year to get to that area. The Talbot area is very exciting. You know, there's six drills going at site right now. About five of them are doing definition drilling to prepare to be able to have that, call it, made in Hutt Bay reserved for that. So the teams are working actively on free feasibility studies to be able to understand how we're going to mine it, ramp versus shaft, all of those details in optimizing. And to date, the drilling, you know, as indicated, like Peter had mentioned, doubling the footprint of what we know, and it's open in many directions still. So that's also very exciting. The gold, there's a ton of optimization going on right now around New Britannia. We're looking at improving our flash flotation. And what that allows us to do, like, although we have a permit at 2,500 tons per day, we're seeing some really high copper grades, which is great. And what we have to do is slow down the mill a little bit during when we're seeing those really high grades. And so The teams are looking at optimization there at New Britannia. We have a SART plant coming in at the end of the year, and that's also going to reduce our costs with reduction in cyanide, but also improvements on recoveries. We have some additional things we're looking at at Stahl. And if I complicate it even more is, you know, New Brit Mill is sitting on top of New Brit Mine, and that mine for close to 20 years, about a million and a half ounces, And we've since, you know, with the really run-up in gold prices, you know, it probably wasn't on our radar for a number of years. And so now we have teams actively looking at putting together a plan is like, what do we actually have? And what's the potential? And there'll be a lot more to come on New Britannia mine. So that's quite exciting. So why I say all of that is, there's so many moving parts on how do you fit all of that into a technical report? And so it's just around what's the timing to do that? And so I think we'll be able to give snippets later this year around what does it start to look like. But to put all that in, we're very, very confident on sustaining, you know, about 185,000 ounce per year profile at a really good all-in sustaining, probably less than $1,200 an ounce long into the future. And I didn't mention as well as, you know, we're looking at optimization of cutoff within the mine as well. And that also has the potential to to bring low-cost capital, good, great ounces that were on the cusp before at $2,000 or so an ounce now at much higher prices. So we're looking at a lot of things, and so hold tight, I guess, is what I'd say, is there's going to be some really good stuff coming.

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

If I could add with some comments, Sam. In terms of catalysts, the three-year guidance will be released along with our reserve and resource update at the end of March, and that will show this extension of this higher gold production at Lawlor and Snow Lake that André speaks of at 185,000 ounces, well beyond kind of what was contemplated in the technical report. As Peter highlighted, we're looking at ways to daylight what would be the longer-term profile, and with all the opportunities that Andre highlighted. We hope by the end of the year that we'll be able to catalyze many of those projects and be able to provide the market with this five to 10 year outlook at these new levels. And we think that'll be very value creating for Manitoba and Hudbay.

speaker
George Eady
Analyst, UBS

Yeah, no, that's super detailed and helpful, guys. Thanks very much. And maybe just one more, if I can sneak in, kind of similar, but Mason, like the comments about that in the release, a PFS, like when could that be completed and will we see the outcomes, I guess, and any updates on a potential partner even there? Thank you.

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure, George. So we're currently starting to work on Mason, rebuilding the team. We're kicking into some pre-feasibility study work. I would expect that we would complete a pre-feasibility study in Mason later on next year. For sure, we would not contemplate partnering Mason at this early stage, but as we progress through the pre-feasibility study, we would look at opportunities to do that based on the work that we do. But partnering is not something that we're contemplating there right now.

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

It's the right time. It's the right time right now. Eugene mentioned about our capital allocation framework and investing in different opportunities. It was somewhat parked for two reasons. One, because our availability of capital to spend on doing that, because we have to do geotechnical drilling, hydrology, getting all of the key things that really put a robust pre-feasibility together. And we were waiting for some clarity with the federal government around the the placing waste rock and tails on federal land, that has now been resolved. And so with both of those in our back right now is we are ramping up, as what Peter said, and building the team to accelerate that project. Because it is the next copper world, like it's the next largest undeveloped copper deposit there in the U.S. It's a great project.

speaker
George Eady
Analyst, UBS

Yeah, super helpful. Thanks, guys. Thanks, George.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

The next question is from Fahad Tariq with Jefferies. Please go ahead.

speaker
Fahad Tariq
Analyst, Jefferies

Hi, thanks for taking my question. Maybe just on Peru, can you let us know what the latest is on the Maria Reyna and Caballito permits and what's happening there?

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, absolutely, for sure, Fahad. You know, there's been no change to the remaining steps for the drill programs, which includes the government's prior consultation process with the local community And given the environments in Peru right now, I think this process is likely delayed. Remember that this is an election year coming up. We've had a change in president. The timelines are quite difficult to predict, as we've learned from Pampa Country several years ago. I think that predicting, although we can't predict the permitting timelines, I think let's get through the elections. We're confident we will get the permit. I just can't tell you when it will be. but I am extremely confident that Maria Arena and Kavita play a big part in value creation at Peru in the future. But I, at the moment I can't provide you with an accurate timeline.

speaker
Fahad Tariq
Analyst, Jefferies

Okay. I understand. And then maybe just switching gears to copper world. I know, I know we're still waiting for the feasibility study, but just thoughts around the copper price assumption that you might be using or how we should be thinking about capex relative to the $1.3 billion, which is the current estimate. Thanks.

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

I can address the copper price assumption. And as you saw in the PFS, this is a very robust project. It generated close to 20% IRR at 375 copper. It is the highest grade undeveloped copper deposit in the Americas. And as we update the pricing for the feasibility study, we'll be moving toward consensus prices, which is today moved in the area of 450 to 475 per pound of copper. We'll obviously do various pricing scenario analysis around those prices, but I would expect that it would be in that range at this moment.

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

And Fahad, on the CAPEX side, I would say, you know, recall that the PFS was issued in October of 23, so two and a half years have passed. So, of course, there's going to be a little bit of escalation. It's been some tariffs introduced on key equipment that might be procured from outside the country. So we expect there to be some escalation, but we don't expect it to be material.

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

And different than the response from Maria Reyna with the government, Like, this is fully in our control to deliver the feasibility, and the team's doing an excellent job. Like, we're within 1.5% of our schedule, so we're tracking right now at about 67% out of about 68%. And so the team's doing an excellent job building world-class feasibility, and so we expect it to come to FID at the times that we had forecasted.

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

And the collaboration with our JV partner, Mitsubishi, has been excellent. We've had our first JV board meeting. They're on side with all of the decisions and have contributed. And so for those that were worried that this would delay the DFS, it does not. As Andre said, we're right on schedule.

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

Sorry, Farhad. I'll just go back to the Maria, Ren, and Kavita question. I think I was saying I can't predict when it's going to be. It's going to happen, for sure. It's going to happen, but it's It may not be this year, but it's coming. What I can say is that our communities and our partners are incredibly eager to get going on it. It's just a process. It's got to be followed. We know how Peru goes, especially during an election year. It's still a great copper destination. It will continue to be. Just hold tight.

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

It's going to happen. And we've refreshed the team too, right? So brand-new, minted vice president down there in South America, very familiar with the area, coming out of some of the challenges that we had through the summer with some of the communities. We refreshed the team for Uchikarko and Chilaroya. And so those are the people that will carry this through to the finals.

speaker
Fahad Tariq
Analyst, Jefferies

Great. Thank you so much.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

The next question is from with Scotiabank. Please go ahead.

speaker
Lawrence
Analyst, Scotiabank

Hi, good morning. A couple follow-ups. Your CapEx guidance for this year at Copper World, $135 million, should we anticipate that that could increase if you FID the project in the second half of the year, or will that just start in 2017?

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

The CAPEX guidance that we provided of $135 million is basically the feasibility study plus the early works we need to continue to keep schedule for potential first production in early 2029. With the FID, we'll provide sort of the rest of the spend for the year, but I do not expect that to exceed the $420 million that we've already received from Mitsubishi. So, if you think about sort of the funding, I would say that we would expect Copper World to be cash flow positive from a HUD-based consolidated perspective this year. The $420 million contribution obviously came in January. We're going to spend about $135 million leading into the FID decision. On FID, the Wheaton payment becomes due the first 180. And so we expect to be a very good position from a funding perspective. So that's why one of the reasons we carved out the Copper World JB spending from the growth capex of the company because it's more than fully funded.

speaker
Lawrence
Analyst, Scotiabank

So that $135 million, that's basically all pre-FID? Yes.

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

It will be all pre-FID, but some of the spend would have been post-FID. So it's basically ensuring that we move the project along as soon as possible, and we have the endorsement with Mitsubishi to proceed in this manner.

speaker
Lawrence
Analyst, Scotiabank

Okay. And then just shifting gears, I just wanted to clarify something you said earlier. Did I hear correct that you – you're suggesting that you can maintain 185,000 ounces of gold in Manitoba for the next 5 to 10 years?

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

That's the goal. We'll be able to tell you that number for the next three years with our three-year guidance, and the opportunity this year is to pull all of the projects that Andre speaks of and put them in buckets so that we can talk about the long-term production horizon of Snow Lake, which is targeted to be at that level for the next five to ten years.

speaker
Lawrence
Analyst, Scotiabank

Okay. And the end of March, then, update will just be the three-year guide, and then we'll have to wait for the rest after. Is that right?

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

More to come.

speaker
Lawrence
Analyst, Scotiabank

Okay. Thank you very much. That's great.

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Lawrence.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

The next question is from Emerson Seuss with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

speaker
Emerson Seuss
Analyst, Goldman Sachs

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for the opportunity. So I have two questions here. First one, just trying to understand, I mean, what is the pecking order of the projects that the company have right now? I mean, there are a lot of stuff going on. So Copperworld is obviously a priority, but then you have in your bell expansion, 1901 development deposits. amazing project right now. And also, so just trying to understand here what is the priorities apart from Copper World. And also on Copper World, just trying to understand here if you guys could bring forward the concentrator leach facility that was expected by 2032. Just because, I mean, you have been seeing U.S. administration putting copper as a critical mineral, so on and I think it could make sense, right, to bring that product forward so you can sell copper capsule domestically. And just a final question on Manitoba, just trying to understand here, how could the assets economics profile change with this ramp up in production? coming from 1901, Talbot, and et cetera. So would we still see the same level of all in cash costs for the asset, or that could change in light of this new R coming from those deposits? Thank you.

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

These are great questions, Emerson. Thank you. So in terms of priorities, you're absolutely right. So Copper World is just such a transformational project for our company that it is. So it's a clear priority in terms of the activities that are underway by the U.S. business unit. And, of course, it occupies a lot of attention from corporate management, from our board, et cetera. But it is a U.S. business unit priority and a company priority. That said, as Eugene described in his words about capital allocation, given the company's situation balance sheet-wise, the strength of our balance sheet going into this year, we do have capital available for the lowest risk-adjusted return projects at each business unit, and we want each business unit to push projects forward for consideration in that pecking order. So yes, you spoke about New Ingobel. We're super excited to have received the New Ingobel permit yesterday, and of course, that will be a priority In British Columbia, once the second SAGML project has been completed fully and ramped up, it will become a priority there. In Peru, of course, the priority is getting the pebble crushing circuit done and then looking forward towards getting permits whereby we could further expand production over there. Manitoba, of course, you've heard about what our priority is there. We're throwing that whole asset up into something pretty amazing. So in terms of your question with respect to the economic profile there, we would target and expect that the economic profile or all in sustaining costs would remain roughly of the same order, let's say $1,200 or so an ounce. because we don't have to develop any new infrastructure. Everything is close to infrastructure. And then with your question with respect to copper world and concentrate leaching and bringing that forward, we certainly would consider bringing it forward, but we don't want to start construction of that facility while we're still building the copper world mine itself because we don't want to divert the attention of the project team. But it may make sense as we progress through construction that we look at bringing it forward so that we can actually continue to utilize the same team that's actually building the mine out itself. So I would say more to come on that. So Andre, would you, anything that you would add?

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

I think he characterized it really well. It just feels like a $15 billion company. You know, there's a lot of things going on in all areas and lots of growth going on in each different business unit. And so they're, They're all competing for capital, but the way, as Eugene set it up earlier on, is we set ourselves up so that we can invest in all of the different areas. We have great projects in each of the different areas, and so it's just a really exciting time. Yeah, there's a lot going on.

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

Maybe just summarize the budget for 2026 and the guidance for 2026 for growth capital includes funding for all these projects already. And so they have been they've gone through the process. These are the best. projects that are in each of the business units, and they're accounted for. So, for example, there's $80 million of growth capital for British Columbia allocated to advance New Bringer Bell. For example, there's $40 million of growth capital allocated to Peru for the Pebble Crusher, and $50 to $60 million of exploration and development work in Manitoba for 1901 and exploration. So we are going to be able to build Copper World and fund advancements and increases in throughput and high return projects at each of our business units to be able to come out of the decade with not only a new mine, but also refreshed and improved mines at three of our existing sites.

speaker
Emerson Seuss
Analyst, Goldman Sachs

All right, super clear. Thank you very much, guys. Thank you.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

The next question is from Craig Hutchinson with TD Cohen. Please go ahead.

speaker
Craig Hutchinson
Analyst, TD Cohen

Thanks for taking the question. I just want to follow up on Eugene's comments and Oris' question on Manitoba. The extension of the production, the grade profile for gold for the next five to ten years, is that being driven by resource conversion? Is it more just the expiration step-out, or do you also include some mill throughput expansions there?

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

All of those. All of those. So there's you know, we've been drilling and exploring around Lawlor Mine for the last couple of years, right? And we've been pretty silent on what we've been finding, but we've been getting success. And so part of that is a conversion of resource to reserve. Some of it's some new discovery. We talked about the satellites. So Talbot would be considered Sally. There's a number of other ones in our portfolio. The real unknown is obviously New Britannia Mine, right? So the best place to find is right in the shadow of a head frame in Lake Like that itself is a company maker. And so if you take all of that and then what you said is around the improvement. So we're challenging recovery. We're up over 70% recovery at stall. You know, we're looking at it with, like I said, the SART process at New Britannia, which is in our project for the end of the year. Hot tails as we, you know, we look at the opportunity to get even more from stall and even precious metal reprocessing from the tailings there. And then the flint-flon one that someone mentioned earlier on that we didn't talk about, we're into the depths of our pre-fees. We're working on and we're in the final stages of solving how to get the precious metals out of the zinc plant residue. And that is like the solution for the back end of the flint-flon tails. And the teams we're working on are really unique, but it's a process to convert pyrite to pyrotite and run it through our autoclaves. and then use the solution that we have for the zinc plant tail. So that's moving along quite well, too. And so, yeah, no, we have a lot of – there's a lot of gold to add to our portfolio from new discovery all the way through to getting better at recovering it and bringing new deposits online. So, yeah, it's an exciting few years ahead of us for sure.

speaker
Craig Hutchinson
Analyst, TD Cohen

Great, guys. And just maybe on New Ingerbell, now that you guys have the permanent hat, is that something that could positively impact your production in, say, 2028? Is there much capital to bring that project into play?

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

You're talking New Ingerbell mine or the mill?

speaker
Craig Hutchinson
Analyst, TD Cohen

New Ingerbell, the permits.

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

Oh, New Ingerbell. Sorry, I'm still on goal. You're still in Manitoba. I'm still in Manitoba. Yeah, absolutely. So we have about two years of construction we have to do It's very straightforward. Hall roads, East Hall Road, West Hall Road, build a bridge, some ponds to build, and then we'll be into it. And what's really neat about it, and we alluded in the press release, is it's pretty much, if you look at the long term, the copper grade's a little bit lower, but it's very close. But it's almost 60% to 100% higher gold grade. It's a really, really big improvement in grade. And the stripping... is we're running at almost like a five-to-one strip right now. It's about three times less. And so from a profitability standpoint, not only are we increasing the gold through that increased throughput, but we're going to be spending a lot less on stripping. So New Inger Bell will be transformational for Copper Mountain in the 2028 range.

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

And there's also exploration upside at New Ingerbell, too. That's true.

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

We have $20 million of drilling going on, and we're exploring at Ingerbell for upside potential to expand that high-grade gold copper resource, as well as there's some targets on the Copper Mountain side as well, too.

speaker
Craig Hutchinson
Analyst, TD Cohen

So it sounds like that's something that could come into the 2028 timeframe, based on the two-year bill.

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

That would be the plan, I would think, is where we'd be. Yeah.

speaker
Craig Hutchinson
Analyst, TD Cohen

And just one last question for me. Just on costs, it looks like you guys are using pretty conservative metal prices for your C1 calculations. Can you tell us what you're using for your TCRC costs, just to get a sense of whether there's some potential upside there from a C1 cost perspective?

speaker
Eugene Lee
Chief Financial Officer

They didn't seem that conservative at the beginning of the year. They are today, so we're definitely enjoying the benefits of the higher prices. On a TCRC front, our assumption is zero. So, again, we're entering into deals that are below zero. So, again, there could be a little bit of upside there.

speaker
Craig Hutchinson
Analyst, TD Cohen

Great. Thanks, guys.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

The next question is from Anita Stoney with CIBC World Markets. Please go ahead.

speaker
Anita Stoney
Analyst, CIBC World Markets

Hi, thanks for taking my question. Most of them have been asked and answered, but I just wanted to clarify on BC with the tie-in in the second half of the year, do you expect there'll be any impact into 2027 from the, I guess, the delay in that tie-in?

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

No, not at all. No, it's scheduled to ramp up. Like there's, like right now, even with the reduced milk capacity, We're seeing upwards sometimes of above 40,000 tons per day with the current restrictions that we placed on it. And so all of our processes are all being prepared right now for that ramp up once we have that new feed-in shell in place. So we don't anticipate anything that's really problematic. There's no new feeders, nothing. It's just changing it and running at a heavier loading rate in the mill So right now we're being conservative on our bearing pressure in terms of the amount that we actually feed into the mill, but it's literally turning up a dial. And the mine itself has made some really, really great strides to increasing their production rate. So we're seeing averaging around 280,000 tons per day, which is unlocking high-grade copper coming in in the mid part of the year as well, too.

speaker
Anita Stoney
Analyst, CIBC World Markets

Okay, so then on Jan 1st, 2027, what's the throughput rate we should be using?

speaker
Andre Lauzon
Chief Operating Officer

We should be at 50,000 times a day. That's where we anticipate to be.

speaker
Anita Stoney
Analyst, CIBC World Markets

Okay, cool. Thanks. Thank you very much for answering my question.

speaker
Peter Kukilski
President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Anita.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

And our last question is from Martin Fabia with Veritas Investment Research. Please go ahead. Thank you so much for the question. I have two questions, actually. I'm sorry, Martin, we're unable to hear you. It's a very corrupted line. Are you speaking directly into your microphone? Okay. Unfortunately, I think we're going to have to move on. So I would like to hand the conference back over to Candice Brulé for closing remarks.

speaker
Candice Boulay
Vice President, Capital Markets and Corporate Affairs

Thank you, Operator. And, Martin, please feel free to email us your questions, given the technical difficulties there. But thank you, everyone, for joining us today. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our investor relations team. Thank you, and have a great day.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

This concludes the conference call for today. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.

Disclaimer

This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.

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