2/19/2026

speaker
Conference Operator

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator, and welcome to the Equinox Gold fourth quarter and four-year 2025 results and corporate update. As a reminder, all participants are in a listen-only mode, and the conference call 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 call, you may reach an operator by pressing star then zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Ryan King, EVP of Capital Markets for Equinox Gold. Please go ahead.

speaker
Ryan King
EVP of Capital Markets, Equinox Gold

Well, thank you, Operator. Well, good morning, everyone, and thank you for taking the time to join the call this morning. Before we commence, I'd like to direct everyone to our forward-looking statements on slide two. Our remarks and answers to your questions today may contain forward-looking information about the company's future performance. Although management believes our forward-looking statements are based on fair and reasonable assumptions, actual results may turn out to be different from these forward-looking statements. For a complete discussion of the risks, uncertainties, and factors that may lead to actual operating and financial results being different from the estimates contained in our forward-looking statements, please refer to the risks identified in the section titled Risks Related to the Business in Equinox Gold's most recently filed annual information form, which is available on CDAR+, on EDGAR, and on our website. Due to the caliber merger, asset sales, and classifying Brazil as discontinuing operations, the audit is taking a bit longer. We do not expect any changes compared to the unaudited results we have released, and we will issue a news release once the final audited results are filed in the coming days. Finally, I should mention that all figures in today's presentation are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. With me on the call today are Darren Hall, Chief Executive Officer, Peter Hardy, Chief Financial Officer, and David Schumer, Chief Operating Officer. Today we will be discussing our fourth quarter and full year 2025 production and cost results, provide an update on ramp-up progress at our Greenstone and Valentine gold mines, Darren will also discuss the improvements in our balance sheet that allowed us to announce capital return initiatives, and then we'll take questions. The slide deck we're referencing is available for download on our website at equinoxgold.com. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Darren.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Turning to slide three, and thanks, Ryan. Good morning, and thank you for joining the call today. Firstly, I would like to thank the entire Equinox Gold team, including all of our business partners across the Americas, for their commitment to safety, operational excellence and disciplined execution. There is no better demonstration of their commitment than delivering a year with no material environmental events and a 30% reduction in our all injury frequency rate. Well done and thank you to the entire team. 2025 was a transformational year for Equinox Gold. one that not only reset the foundation of the business but marked the beginning of a new chapter. The team delivered record goal production, streamlined the portfolio and dramatically strengthened the balance sheet, positioning the company to deliver meaningful value as we look to the future. The entire organisation is aligned on creating shareholder value by consistently delivering on their commitments, which are focused on demonstrating operational excellence, maintaining strict cost discipline and advancing high return organic growth. We have made material progress on all fronts, including delivering 922,000 ounces in 2025 within cash and all-in cost guidance. This strong finish to the year reflects continued progress at Greenstone and Valentine, alongside reliable performance from the balance of the portfolio. Greenstone ramped steadily throughout the year, with Q4 gold production 60% higher than Q1. Valentine commissioning progress exceeded expectations, with first gold achieved in September and commercial production declared in November. The result of the team's focus and commitment to deliver is also measured in the significant transformation of our balance sheet. In June 2025, our net debt was approximately $1.4 billion, and at the end of January, we had reduced it to $75 million, all while completing construction and commissioning at Ballantyne. With a stronger balance sheet and consistent robust cash flow, we are well positioned to take the next step in returning capital to our shareholders. Given this strong position, I am pleased to announce the company's inaugural quarterly cash dividend of 1.5 cents per share. Additionally, we are filing our notice of intent to initiate a share buyback of up to 5% of the issued and outstanding shares. Together, These actions mark the start of a disciplined capital return strategy and reinforce our commitment to delivering long-term per share value. Turning to slide four, touching briefly on the financial results, and Pete can provide additional colour as required. Equinox had a strong finish to the year with 247,000 ounces produced in Q4. We sold over 242,000 ounces at a realised price of $4,060 per ounce, generating $579 million in adjusted EBITDA and $272 million in adjusted net income, or 35 cents per share. Importantly, we exited 2025 with over $400 million in cash and minimal net debt, giving us financial flexibility heading into 2026. Looking forward, we are encouraged by the strength of the gold price, however, the organised Organisation's focus is clear, cost control, disciplined capital allocation and delivering consistent performance across the portfolio. As our Cornerstone assets ramp up to nameplate, we see a clear path to expanding margins and strengthening free cash flow generation. Turning to slide five, Greenstone finished with a strong fourth quarter, producing over 72,000 ounces, a 29% increase over Q3. we saw meaningful improvements in mining rates, mill throughputs and grade, with the plant achieving nameplate capacity for 30 consecutive days during December. For 2026, we anticipate production of 250,000 to 300,000 ounces at all-in sustaining costs of between $17.50 and $18.50 per ounce. To support continued performance gains, we are making targeted investments in the operations, including the purchase of a trommel and other mobile equipment designed to optimize mine and process plant performance. Our long-term objective remains clear at Greenstone to establish life of mine production around 300,000 ounces annually. We've demonstrated that the mill can process 30,000 tons a day. With the team we now have in place, I'm confident that we'll continue to build on the demonstrating meaningful operational improvements. Consider the progress on the key metric of daily tons processed greater than nameplate over the last year. In H1 2025, we delivered 17% of the days greater than nameplate. In Q3, we increased to 28. In Q4, to 36. Looking at Q1 to date, through yesterday, we're at 50%. So we're demonstrating continued and demonstrated steady ramp up of the assets. which sets us up well for the future. At Valentine, we poured over 23,000 ounces of gold in Q4, its first quarter, with the plant averaging 90% of nameplate capacity. We expect to achieve constant or consistent nameplate throughput during Q2 2026, as we anticipate Valentine to contribute 150,000 to 200,000 ounces of gold this year. We are working on the feasibility study for the Phase 2 expansion that would increase throughput to 4.5 to 5 million tonnes per year and result in production of greater than 200,000 ounces a year for more than the next decade. I anticipate completing the feasibility study over the next couple of months, which would then go to the Board for investment approval in Q2, with work anticipated to commence in the second half of the year. Ballantyne continues to show strong exploration upsides. Our 2025 drill results confirm consistent high-grade mineralisation over broad widths at the Franks Zone, supporting the potential for a fourth open pit. In 2026, we have 25,000 metres of drilling planned to advance the Franks Zone. We also announced a new discovery, the Minotaur Zone, located eight kilometres north of the mill. With a 20,000 metre drill program set to begin this spring, the zone remains open for expansion. Importantly, the Minotaur discovery confirms that significant gold mineralisation exists well outside of the main Ballantyne Lake shear zone, opening the broader property and reinforcing the long-term growth potential of the Ballantyne District beyond the current mine plan. Turning to slide six, as we close, I want to underscore the momentum across the business. We have the key ingredients in place to deliver top quartile valuation. new, high-quality, long-life assets in Tier 1 jurisdictions, an organic growth pipeline, a team focused on delivering into expectations, which deliver strong pre-cash flow and return capital to shareholders. In 2026, our priorities are clear. Ramp up Greenstone and Valentine to nameplate capacity, allocate capital in a disciplined and balanced manner across the portfolio, sustaining investment and shareholder returns, while maintaining a strong balance sheet. Our inaugural dividend and application for a share buyback are key steps in this strategy. Consistent with our focus on discipline growth, we are investing in the long-term value creation. This year, we will advance phase two at Valentine, refresh Castle Mountain Studies, and progress Los Feliz, both technically and socially. At Los Feliz, I'm encouraged by the continued engagement with our host communities and support from the state and national governments, as we remain focused on realizing the asset's full potential and unlocking significant long-term value for all stakeholders. With a stronger portfolio, solid cash flow, and clear execution priorities, we are entering into 2026 from a position of strength. Our focus remains on discipline growth, operational delivery, and creating long-term value responsibly and consistently for our shareholders and all stakeholders. With that, we'll turn it over to the operator for any questions.

speaker
Conference Operator

Thank you. Once again, to join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone acknowledging your request. If you are on a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. And to withdraw your question, please press star then two. And we ask that you limit yourself to one question, and if you have further questions, the company is available for follow-up calls. And the first call for today will come from Francisco Costanzo with Scotiabank. Please go ahead.

speaker
Francisco Costanzo
Analyst, Scotiabank

Hi, Darren and team. Thanks all for taking my question. I'll start with my first one here. It's great to see the announcement of an inaugural dividend alongside an NCIB and with production of free cash flow growth on the horizon. Can you speak to the potential for this dividend to grow in the future and maybe your approach to fixed versus variable dividends? And then on the buyback program, can you explain your strategy for how you plan to deploy those funds?

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, Francisco, thanks for the comments. And I'll pass it across to Pete to talk about some capital allocation and specifically the rest of the questions in around dividends and buybacks.

speaker
Peter Hardy
Chief Financial Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, thanks, Darren. Yeah, we're really excited to be in a position to announce the inaugural dividend. It's been a long-term goal for the company, something we have talked about over the past years. So we're really pleased to be able to do that now. And it underscores the confidence we have in our forward production philosophy. profile and in our forward cash flow. We started small with our inaugural dividend. We started with a fixed dividend. You can expect it to stay there for the coming future, probably the next 12, 24 months, as we firm up the development pipeline, the peer-leading development pipeline that we have, starting with our Valentine Phase II that Darren already mentioned, and then looking forward to Castle Mountain heading into 2027. So with that development in front of us, you can expect we'll stay on a fixed dividend and we will be looking to increase that over time. And that'll be a bit of a stay tuned story with respect to those plans. But again, we're just really excited to have been able to announce the inaugural dividend. With respect to the share buyback, we still feel there's a lot of opportunity in our stock price. And at these levels, and again, being conservative in our approach, we wanted to be in a position to, when we felt like the shares were not trading as we think they should, to be able to buy some of those back and also return capital to shareholders in that manner. And you can expect us to continue to do that. But again, with the peer-leading development pipeline we have and the dollars we're going to devote to that over the coming years, for it to remain somewhat conservative.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Thanks, Pete. And just kind of later there, Francisco, is that we will take a somewhat conservative view, but as we work through 2026 and we have a fulsome understanding about our capital requirements in 2027 in light of Valentine phase two, importantly, Castle Mountain with a record of decision anticipated at the end of the year, and the positivity we see in and around the dialogue In Mexico, you know, we will have some demands in 2027. We feel very comfortable in being able to fund those organically. But we want to make sure we don't put ourselves in a position where we overcommit to a return on capital through dividends and find ourselves compromised to fund the organic growth, which we don't anticipate. But I think that, you know, we've got an outstandingly positive look forward on our organic growth. So thanks for the question.

speaker
Francisco Costanzo
Analyst, Scotiabank

Yeah, that's great. Thanks, Darren and Pete. And maybe just one more switching gears here. The sale of the Brazilian assets definitely simplified the portfolio and it accelerated deleveraging with the transaction closing in late January and the $900 million check already cleared. Although post-close, there was a bit of news out of a certain Brazilian regulator. So I'm just wondering, Darren, if you can just explain the situation from your side of the table and tell us if there's anything to be concerned about here.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, no, thanks, Francisco. No, it's an interesting situation there. I mean, You know, we're confident that the sale of the Brazilian operations fully comply with all laws and contractual obligations. And, you know, I'll provide a little context and bear with me as I do. And, you know, in Brazil, mineral resources are constitutionally owned by the federal government and mining titles are granted and administrated by the National Mining Agency. Mining titles such as those for Arizona, Fazenda and RDM are administered through this federal framework. A group in Bahia, CB, BPM has made claim that their consent was required regarding the sale of the Santa Luz operation. However, the transaction took effect through the sale of the outstanding shares of two non-Brazilian wholly owned subsidiaries that then indirectly own all of the Brazilian operations. So we're kind of arm's length away from that claim. But again, we as Equinox and the partners on the other side of the transaction are confident that the sale to Brazilian operations fully complied with Brazilian law and all contractual obligations were met and we remain committed to constructive dialogue with any party who wants to raise an issue. And as you mentioned, as the sale closed on January 23rd, We deployed proceeds towards debt reduction, strengthening the balance sheet, and along with cash flow from operations, result in ending cash with net debt of around $75 million, which has positioned the company to commence the capital return programs, which we just discussed.

speaker
Francisco Costanzo
Analyst, Scotiabank

Yeah, that's some great clarity. Thanks a lot, Darren.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Appreciate it. Thank you, Francisco.

speaker
Conference Operator

The next question will come from Jeremy Hoy with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.

speaker
Jeremy Hoy
Analyst, Canaccord Genuity

Hi again, Peter Ryan. Thanks for taking my question. I'd just like to revisit something that was asked about a month ago when some of the team was through Toronto. And that's, you know, if there was to be a positive development at Los Felos, it seems like the timing of that build could coincide with Castle Mountain. Could you Give us an update and a refresh on your thinking about how you would approach the development of both of those opportunities if they were both available at the same time.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, no, Jeremy, I mean, it'd be great to be in that Sophie's Choice First World sort of situation. But, you know, we are encouraged by the dialogue we're having in Mexico. We've got still a lot of work to do to establish robust 20-year land access agreements, which sets us up for you know most reliable production over the long term but you know fuel loss is a significant asset you know if we think about you know 16 million ounces in all resource category the opportunity that sits there is significant so our focus this year is really about understanding scope and scale and the early works that were done there in back in 21 2022 with the feasibility study were all conceived at a $1,350 gold price in terms of the designs and around the open pits and the undergrounds. Not suggesting we would plan around a $4,500 metal price, but if we consider something at $2,000 to $3,000 an ounce, the scope and scale of that asset changes materially. So we'll work diligently through that this year, which will allow us to be in a much more intelligent position at the end of the year to make a decision that if we're presented with the opportunity to develop. But, you know, we are comfortable in, we see great opportunity in, and to my earlier comments in and around, you know, the rate at which we increase dividends and buybacks will be somewhat foreshadowed by the rate at which we see these organic growth opportunities presented. But to make a decision between those two properties, you know, we're a long way from that right now. We're confident in what we're seeing at Los Felos. But we do have a guaranteed record of decision at Castle Mountain here in December of this year. So, you know, that is a known entity. We are working on that feasibility to be able to firm up those estimates so we're well positioned to be able to make a commitment decision in there in H1 in 2027. So let's see how the year progresses. But, yes, spoiled for choices is kind of the way I would characterise it and funded as well for whatever choices we make, which will be great.

speaker
Jeremy Hoy
Analyst, Canaccord Genuity

Yeah, thanks for that insight, Darren, and we'll watch for developments at Los Filos and Castle eagerly. You did mention that we're going to see a refreshed study for Castle Mountain. Also, we would see the same for Los Filos if positive developments come there. Are you planning to release anything on Greenstone as, you know, we've spoken often about, you know, expectations for that operation to be somewhat different from what was presented in the last feasibility study? I'm just wondering what we might see in terms of an updated, like, line plan. Will it come in the form of a study? What the timing might be, et cetera?

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, no, absolutely, Jeremy. You know, to remove any ambiguity, we will provide updated technical reports for both Greenstone and Valentine right around the end of this quarter associated with our annual filings. So we get everything current, nice and ticked and tied with the AIF, and the AIF will also include a refresh and clarity on our reserves and resources as at December 31st as well. So that's the timing for those properties. For Castle, We're continuing to work in the background on the feasibility study and no surprises from what we've articulated over the last six months. We're just going through, crossing T's, dotting I's, firming things up so that we have a high level of confidence in and around the scope of work so we can go out there and have constructive discussions with EPCM contractors and the like in the back half of this year. Fear loss is a little earlier in the process. We're in the process of kind of doing an order of magnitude study to understand scope and scale associated with that property. And I would anticipate that that will probably lead into a, I'll call it a pre-fees, if you will, early in Q2, as we have a bit of an appreciation for scope and scale. Hopefully we're in the situation where we've de-bottlenecked some of the land access agreements, which allow us then to actively explore across all portions of the deposit and then, you know, allow us to appropriately scope and scale. So a little bit of what might sound like confusion there in field loss, but it's actually very positive. And, you know, again, we see, you know, again, I think the stat is probably somewhere in the fourth or fifth largest not operating gold asset in the Americas right now. So, you know, the talk there is significant. The opportunity is real. And we're definitely seeing a change in narrative out of Mexico, which is great.

speaker
Jeremy Hoy
Analyst, Canaccord Genuity

Great, Darren. Thanks for that clarity. Thanks again for taking my questions, and I'll step back in the queue.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Appreciate it. Thanks, Jeremy.

speaker
Conference Operator

The next question will come from Anita Soni with CIBC World Markets. Please go ahead.

speaker
Anita Soni
Analyst, CIBC World Markets

Good morning, Darren, David, and Peter. Just a few on Greenstone. So, I was just wondering, the recovery rate declined a little bit from third quarter to fourth quarter. Can you give us some colour on why that was?

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, Anita, no, thank you. Absolutely it did. I think we've discussed previously that there is an association with arsenic and grade. We did see much higher grades in the fourth quarter and, as a consequence, saw lower recoveries associated with the arsenic lock-up. So not an issue per se. It's kind of all anticipated and expected as part of the metallurgy of the deposit.

speaker
Anita Soni
Analyst, CIBC World Markets

And then just a similar question, just on the unit costs, the GNA was a little bit higher this quarter. Was there anything specific that was happening this quarter that would be alleviated in the go forward?

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, there is. I'll pass it to Pete.

speaker
Peter Hardy
Chief Financial Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, Anita, sorry. I don't have the DNA details at hand. Can I reach out to you or one of your associates after the call? I'll pull that together.

speaker
Anita Soni
Analyst, CIBC World Markets

And then I had one more on just a question that I noticed for both Valentine and Greenstone. I wanted you to explain to me how you guys are calculating the recovery rates as they come out. Because when I put the tons, the grade, and the output of production, I'm getting to recovery rates that are A little bit different, said differently, you know, I would have got about 75,000 ounces of gold by the three numbers there, and you reported 72, and Valentine's a similar issue. So I'm just wondering, like, are you calculating it as it, you know, exits the mill, or is there a different point at which you're saying this is production?

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

No, I think we'll find that the small differences we may see there is that The numbers we quote as production are poured and bullion, and some of the tons grade recovery will be metallurgical as well. So there will be a minor change there based on inventory changes. And to your point, I think you'll probably end up with a marginally higher recovery at Greenstone in Q4 than maybe what we reported if you're back into the metal content, because we actually did see an inventory build at Greenstone in fourth quarter. But we're happy to sit down and walk through that in a model discussion, happy to do that. But I think we'll find it's kind of the metallurgical production versus the poured production differences.

speaker
Anita Soni
Analyst, CIBC World Markets

All right. Thank you. That's it for my question.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

No, I appreciate it. Thanks, Anita. Appreciate your support.

speaker
Conference Operator

The next question will come from Muhammad Sidibe with National Bank. Please go ahead.

speaker
Muhammad Sidibe
Analyst, National Bank

Good morning, Darren and Tim, and thanks for taking my question. Maybe staying on Greenstone, and given your comments on the throughput and the ability to achieve over the nameplate capacity, how should we think about the throughput levels in 2026 and call it in the medium term at Greenstone? Should we still be thinking about 27,000 tons per day or work towards increasing it towards that 30,000 tons per day to maybe offset some of the other updates that may be coming with the tech report? Thank you.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, no, thanks, Mohamed, and yeah, say here is that have a good Ramadan, right, for day one. So if we think about throughput, you know, we've guided, you know, 250,000 to 300,000 ounces at Greenstone this year, and we hold firm on that. You know, we will see opportunities over the course of the year to continue to improve throughput. Some of that is already baked into our numbers. You know, we've demonstrated the ability to do more than 30,000 tonnes a day, which will be more longer term. But through this year, I think that, you know, the big round numbers are, if you think about, you know, 9.5 million tonnes of around 1.1 grams per tonne at feasibility recoveries, you get into that midpoint of guidance. And I think that's a good place to hang our hat. So, you know, I think of recoveries average over the year and that, you know, 25,000, 26,000 tonnes a day. There will be days we do better. And, you know, as we're demonstrating, as we When we operate the plant, as I mentioned earlier, I mean, month or quarter to date, we've got 49 or 50% of the day is greater than nameplate. So we are seeing sustained and improved performance on a daily basis. Our focus now is reducing downtime and getting the operations guys more time to be able to run the plant. And that's our focus. And it's gonna be a journey through this year, and there will be dips and weaves along the way. You know, the grades will be higher and lower depending on where we're mining. The recoveries, as Anita foreshadowed, will be different based on different metallurgical types. So there will be some peaks and valleys through the year, but the trends on a quarter-by-quarter basis will remain positive. And, you know, I would like us to see us coming out of 2027 looking to be talking more intelligently to those 30,000 tonne a day rates going forward, you know, as we The HBGRs have installed capacity of probably mid-30s, 34,000, 35,000 tons a day. But we've got to get the reliable performance through the plant before we can start to talk about those sort of numbers openly in public. I am now, but to be able to commit to those, we've got some work to do this year.

speaker
Muhammad Sidibe
Analyst, National Bank

Thanks, Aaron, and thanks for the wishes. Maybe if I could switch quickly to Valentine. And given the asset is in ramp-up phase, Can you give us some color of the cadence in terms of quarter over quarter production? Should we expect, you know, higher production second half and, you know, what magnitude should we be modeling for, for 2026? Thank you.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, you know, we're, we're in the second quarter, um, of a ramp up and, uh, And, you know, Newfoundland threw some surprises at us in January. You know, full disclosure, you know, we think about, you know, we had 90% throughput in, a percentage of nameplate in Q4. And we think about January, and January was 70%, right? It got cold, it got bitter. There was some learnings associated with the winter, and we've worked through those. I mean, in February, we're now at 110% of nameplate. So there's peaks and troughs and valleys as we work through. but the team are systematically addressing those things. We will continue to see quarter-on-quarter improvements in reliability in the plant, which will lead to higher tonnes, which will lead to improved confidence in feeding higher-grade materials. So we'll see that grades will be manifested that way as well. So we're still comfortable with our guidance of 150,000 to 200,000 ounces, but it's definitely H2-weighted as a function of throughput and also, you know, greater making progress in developing the Berry Pit. So, but we're happy to sit down and walk through a model and fill in some blanks for you as well, quarter on quarter. Not fill in, but just with that math. Thank you. Appreciate it. Appreciate it. Thank you.

speaker
Conference Operator

The next question will come from John Tomazos with John Tomazos Very Independent Research. Please go ahead.

speaker
John Tomazos
Analyst, Very Independent Research

Thank you very much. Looking at the big picture, the current gold price is $5,000 neighborhood and say $800 million of capex. You generate something like $600 million more cash paying off all the debt. It looks like you've got a couple extra dollars laying around. Are you planning the business on $400 gold plus success at all five locations where all the capital calls come in because you've got more gold to produce, as opposed to building a war chest for acquisitions.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, hi, John. No, it's a first world predicament we're in, I guess, is that our focus is given the opportunities we see with organic growth. is ensuring that we exit this year well-funded to be able to do that organic growth. M&A is not on our radar. If something passes our screen that makes sense, we will do something. But I can assure you, as of today, we do not have a CA signed with anyone. So our focus is absolutely optimising what we've got. We've spent a lot of time and effort you know, putting all of these assets together over the last six or seven years, and now is our time to be able to start to realise that from that growth. You know, with 400,000 to 500,000 ounces of organic growth in our portfolio that, you know, we can see over the next five years, I mean, that's where our focus is. So, you know, there's a bit of positive confusion in our story right now as we've, you know, significantly delivered from $1.5 billion worth of net debt to zero. We're generating cash. We see the opportunities that present in 2027 and beyond. And let's make sure that we do the intelligent thing for the long term in 2026, which is to remain absolutely focused on operational performance and don't lose sight of the fact that we produce widgets at a cost. So let's keep that business focused on that so we can maximize our margin at whatever goal price there is and then use that capture to be able to fund our organic growth. I know, Pete, anything you'd layer on that, Bob?

speaker
Peter Hardy
Chief Financial Officer, Equinox Gold

You've highlighted, John, really well that we're in a great position to fund this future growth, and we're really focused on ensuring that we retain the very solid and build on the very solid foundation that we've laid in place here over the last several months, as Darren said, to build out these world-class assets that we are – we're very fortunate to have in our pipeline. Thank you.

speaker
John Tomazos
Analyst, Very Independent Research

I can ask one more.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Sorry, go on, John.

speaker
John Tomazos
Analyst, Very Independent Research

No, you go ahead. You're the boss.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

No, no, no, no. You guys, we work for you, right? So, you know, as the investors, I mean, our focus is we're aligned with you.

speaker
John Tomazos
Analyst, Very Independent Research

So in Nicaragua, you projected $1,800 cash costs up 40% or a little more. on 225,000 ounces of output. The second half came in better than that. Could you give us some color on how the costs are going up so much in Nicaragua?

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, no, thanks, John. It's a bit of a first world problem. You know, What we're seeing here is the majority of the cost increase is not cost inflation per se, but it's volume driven. As we develop some newer pits and an underground that are going to basically fund or fuel a level of production at that 200,000 to 250,000 ounces a year over the next five years, there's some increased capital that results in those higher strip ratios. and reflects in a higher oil and sustaining cost. So that's really where that comes from. It's not a drive in a kind of cost per tonne mind or a cost per tonne process. It's volume driven as we go from arguably what I'll call smaller pitlets to larger pits, highest repratios this year, and that's manifested itself in higher oil and sustaining costs. So which, you know, lays us up well for the next five years, which is kind of, you know, what our story's been over the last five years in Nicaragua is to you know, take some assets that were headed towards closure and, you know, we produced, what, a million, two, million, three ounces from those properties in the last five years and we've taken reserves from, you know, ostensibly zero, 100,000 ounces to in excess of a million ounces. So, you know, five, what's that, you know, five years, 400,000 ounces a year of organic growth. Now we're starting to see track in front of the train. We're investing in that from developing these larger pits, which will continue that momentum for the next five years. So that's really what it is, John.

speaker
John Tomazos
Analyst, Very Independent Research

Well, the cash costs in the second year out, 2027, dropped, say, to $1,500 in Nicaragua after this surge.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

I mean, I think we'll see that the syrup ratio go down, and that'll have a positive impact on all in sustaining costs. Yep.

speaker
John Tomazos
Analyst, Very Independent Research

Thank you, and congratulations.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Appreciate it, John. Thanks for your support. I know you've been a shareholder for a long time and persistent through the journey, so thank you. Thank you.

speaker
Conference Operator

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Commissioner Darren Hall for any closing remarks. Please go ahead.

speaker
Darren Hall
Chief Executive Officer, Equinox Gold

Yeah, thank you, Operator, and I'd like to thank all of our shareholders for their continued support and your participation in the questions today. It is appreciated and valued. As always, Ryan, Dave, Pete, and I are always available if you have any further questions. And take care, be well, and I'll pass it back to the operator.

speaker
Conference Operator

This brings a close to today's conference call. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you for your participation and have a pleasant day.

Disclaimer

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