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Centerra Gold Inc.
2/20/2026
Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Sentara Gold fourth quarter 2025 conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference, you may reach an operator by pressing star then zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Lisa Wilkinson, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications with Sentara Gold. Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Sentara Gold's fourth quarter 2025 results conference call. Joining me on the call today are Paul Tamori, President and Chief Executive Officer, David Hendricks, Chief Operating Officer, and Ryan Snyder, Chief Financial Officer. Our news published last night outlines our fourth quarter 2025 results and is complemented by our MD&A and financial statements, which are available on CDAR, EDGAR, and our website. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. Presentation slides accompanying this webcast are available on Sentara's website. Following the prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that today's discussion may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks that could cause our actual results to differ from those expressed or implied. For more information, please refer to the cautionary statements in our presentations and the risk factors outlined in our annual information form. We will also be referring to certain non-GAAP measures during today's discussion. For a detailed description of these measures, please see our news release on MD&A issued yesterday. I will now turn the call over to Paul Tamori.
Thanks, Lisa. Good morning, everyone. In the fourth quarter, we achieved strong operational performance at both Mount Milligan and Netsuit. Consolidated full-year production was over 275,000 ounces of gold and 50 million pounds of copper, surpassing the midpoint of our gold production guidance range. Consolidated all-in sustained costs on a by-product basis were 1,614 crowns, outperforming the low end of our guidance range. We ended the year with a cash balance of $529 million, demonstrating our ability to continue investing in the Thompson Creek Restart Project and our broader organic growth pipeline, while returning record capital to shareholders, including $94 million of buybacks and $41 million in dividends for the full year. Looking ahead to 2026, our production and cost guidance reflects stable operating performance across the portfolio. We expect our operations to continue to generate strong cash flow in 2026, providing the financial flexibility to advance our growth project pipeline while continuing to return capital to shareholders. Our self-funded growth strategy is being executed across multiple fronts. Last year, we published the Mount Milligan PFS, which extends the mine life by 10 years to 2045. We also commenced development of the Goldfield Project in Nevada, which will provide Sentera with additional exposure to future gold production in a top mining jurisdiction. And in the early part of this year, we announced the results of preliminary economic assessment for KEMES, along with an updated mineral resource. This was an important step forward in advancing Sentera's organic growth pipeline in British Columbia. Each of these growth opportunities, in addition to the Thompson Creek Resort Project in Idaho, can be funded from our existing liquidity and cash flow generated from operations. positioning Centera to deliver sustainable, low-risk growth while maintaining our strategic approach to capital allocation. An updated mineral resource, along with the results of the ChemSPEA, were released in January. The study outlines a de-risked restart plan that leverages substantial existing infrastructure and is focused on an integrated development strategy based on a conventional open pit and long-haul open-stoping underground mining operations. This approach sports an initial 15-year mine life with an average annual production of 171,000 ounces of gold and 61 million pounds of copper at an all-in sustaining cost on a byproduct basis of $971 per ounce. The project has robust economics with an after-tax NPV of $1.1 billion and an IRR of 16% using a long-term pricing of $3,000 per ounce gold and $4.50 per pound copper. The value of Comess increases to $2.8 billion in metal prices of $4,500 per ounce of gold and $6 per pound of copper. Comess is a high-quality growth project with the potential to contribute meaningful gold and copper production to Sentara's portfolio. We believe that Comess has the potential to become Sentara's second long-life gold-copper asset in British Columbia, located within the highly prospective Tutagon districts. The updated mineral resource at Comest contains 3.3 million ounces of gold and 1.1 billion pounds of copper in the indicated category, and 3.6 million ounces of gold and 1.2 billion pounds of copper in the inferred category. The expanded resource estimate reflects a thorough and disciplined evaluation of all available geological data across the site, including additional drilling and technical work in the Nugget Zone and the historical Comest South deposit. The PEA only evaluates the Comest main and Comest underground areas, which represent approximately 47% of the total indicated in inferred resource tons, highlighting the potential for additional resources to be incorporated to future technical studies. The updated mineral resource at Comest enhances the project's overall scale and supports its long-term production profile. Moving to the Comest capital profile, it is structured to reflect the project's phase development sequence With open pit mining starting first, the underground production added shortly thereafter. Approximately $770 million in initial non-sustaining capital is required to achieve first production from the open pit. This includes capital stripping, construction of the underground conveyor system from Comest Main to the Comest South process plant, and the refurbishment of the process plant and camp. An additional $277 million in expansionary non-sustained capital will be invested over the two years following open pit startup to support the commencement of underground operation. This includes underground development and the construction of a leach plant, which is expected to both improve overall gold recovery by approximately 14% and provide valuable optionality by enabling the processing of ore from potential satellite deposits in the future. CHEM-S represents a compelling growth opportunity for Sunterra, supported by strong economics and a significant off-site exploration potential in the deep CHEM-S offset zone along the CHEM-S East trend. We are now focused on ongoing exploration and are advancing technical work on a pre-feasibility study expected in 2027. Now I'd like to provide an update on our sustainability initiatives. In January, we successfully received all required permits to allow for the continuation of Mount Milligan's operations through 2035. These approvals also include a 10% increase in plant throughput beginning in 2028, as well as expanded stockpile capacity to enhance operational flexibility. Importantly, this expedited permitting process was a result of Mount Milligan being selected by the Province of British Columbia as one of four eligible mining projects back in 2025. The receipt of these amendments in less than one year reflects both the strength of our engagement with regulators and the province's commitment to supporting responsible economic development. At Uxsut, our commitment to strong social performance continues to receive external recognition. In 2025, Uxsut received nine awards from four leading international organizations recognizing our efforts and social responsibility. These awards reflect initiatives focused on empowering local female entrepreneurs, supporting youth education, strengthening environmental stewardship, and contributing to broader community development. Through initiatives like these, we continue to strive to create lasting positive impact. And with that, I'll pass the call over to David to walk through our operational performance for the quarter of the year.
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