AAUC.TOAAUC.TOTSX
Loading
Operator: Thank you all for joining us this morning. Before I turn the call over, I need to advise that certain statements made during this call today may contain forward-looking information, and actual results could differ from the conclusions or projections in that forward-looking information, which include, but not limited to, statements with respect to the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the timing and amounts of estimated future production, cost of production, capital expenditures, future metal prices, and the cost and timing of the development of new projects. For a complete discussion of the risks, uncertainties, and factors, which may lead to the actual financial results and performance being different from the estimate contained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to Allied Gold's press release issued last night announcing quarter 3, 2025, operating and financial results. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded and will be available for replay later on today. Replay information and the presentation slides accompanying this conference call and webcast are available on Allied Gold's website at alliedgold.com. I will now turn the call over to Peter Marrone, Chairman and CEO.
Peter Marrone: Operator, thank you very much. And ladies and gentlemen, let me begin this conference call by pointing to the quote at the bottom of the first slide of our presentation, and I would like to repeat that quote. Let's not react to speculative headlines and geopolitical matters. We continue to operate normally. We refer to Mali in particular, and particularly in light of recent headlines. Let me begin by talking about the people of the country. They are industrious, entrepreneurial, and overwhelmingly in the country across the population, there is support for mining. Similar to many countries, the politics, geopolitical circumstances go on. Mostly, they are stable, sometimes changes occur. But business goes on, and this is especially true for mining. Recent disruptions in fuel supply into the capital of the country, affect only the capital, and there are signs of improvement. Regional governments and internationally support has been offered. And national efforts to counter the factors that have disrupted the fuel supply have received local, regional, and international endorsement. Prolonged fuel shortages do risk civil unrest and other challenges. But so far, this has not occurred and fuel supplies have begun to enter the capital. While there has been unexpected government change in the country before, and this is true for many countries, it has not been the result of external forces, and that seems to be true now as well. And in those times of government change, I remind everyone that mines have continued to operate normally, production and cash flows were generated. We have no reason to believe that this is not true now, and we attribute that to the industrious and entrepreneurial nature of the people, who support business as usual regardless of political affiliation or affinity and regardless of localized conflicts. So with that then, our Q3 was certainly ordinary and normal course. We had solid production of just over 87,000 ounces that sets us up for a strong Q4. We had strong cash generation, just under $110 million of adjusted EBITDA and our operating cash flow of just under $200 million. We made significant progress on the Sadiola Phase 1 expansion and the Kurmuk development. Our all-in sustaining costs of $2,092 per ounce were down 11% as compared to the second quarter. As we had indicated with our second quarter conference call, we would expect, and we expect further reductions in Q4 with higher grades at Sadiola, particularly with the Phase 1 expansion completed over the course of the next few weeks into December. Operations are performing well, we're operating normally at Sadiola, and that carries strong momentum into the fourth quarter. At Agbaou production quarter-over-quarter from Q2 to Q3 was up 43%. We expect that sustained production to continue into Q4 and into next year. And at Bonikro, we're on plan, grades are where we expect them to be, recoveries and throughput improved. And again, we expect that that will continue into this quarter and the quarters to follow. We had adjusted EBITDA to conclude of $110 million, cash flow of just under $200 million and cash balances at the end of the third quarter of just over $262 million. What to expect then in Q4 and beyond? Sadiola and Bonikro will be notably higher. We indicated up to 40% higher in Q4 over Q3. We are almost halfway through the quarter, and we can see that production ramp-up progressing very well. Our Q4 costs are expected to improve. Momentum from that is expected to continue into the first quarter of next year and throughout the year. And we stand by the guidance of a production level for 2025 that is greater than 375,000 ounces, that sets us up for a consistent 100,000 ounces per quarter at improved costs, leading to improved financial performance and then Kurmuk kicks into production by the middle of the year. With that, ladies and gentlemen, let me pass the call to Johan, our Chief Operations Officer to go through our production in more detail.
Johannes Stoltz: Good morning, Peter, and good morning, everybody. Thank you very much, Peter, for the headlines. I would like to start off with the -- on Slide 3, the operations, and starting off with Sadiola. The operations were stable and on plan. I was at Sadiola last week and operations are running normally. We're not seeing any logistic disruption and consumable inventories, including fuel remains at normal levels. The operation is running normally with noticeable improvements. Production is on track to meet the full year guidance with Q4 expected to be 40% higher than previous quarters. Phase 1 expansion remains on schedule for completion in December, enabling us to treat up to 60% fresh ore in the mill feed. Bonikro was on plan with higher grades, better throughput and recoveries. The stripping and maturity of Pushback 5 and Pushback 3 will provide us access to higher grades at lower cost in Q4. Agbaou production increased 43% quarter-on-quarter, as Peter also alluded to, and driven by higher grades and throughput and operational improvements. Overall, operations were on plan, positioning us higher production and lower unit cost in Q4. If we go to the next slide regarding the Sadiola Phase 1 expansion progress. The Phase 1 expansion remains on schedule and continued to advance through Q3 and into Q4. Mechanical installation of the new mill and crushing circuit is complete. The mobile pebble crusher is on site and ready for the December commencement. Engineering and pre-leach thickener is on its way to support higher fresh ore processing with Phase 1 nearing completion. We expect new commission circuit to be ready to receive ore late in the fourth quarter. At that point, Sadiola will be able to process up to 60% fresh ore through the plant, which will materially lift throughput rates, improved recoveries, and lowering processing costs. This expansion will bring additional flexibility into the operation and pave the way for lower cost and improved predictability. So in short, Phase 1 is on plan, commissioning begins in December, and it will set up structural setup change for Sadiola production and cost base. Moving over then to the Kurmuk progress. Kurmuk continues to advance on schedule. Engineering and the substantial complete and the site extension is well underway. The plant construction, including the mechanical erection, concrete works, and the key infrastructure such as water, the water dam is advancing. Logistics are active. Long lead equipment is on site. Initial ore supply has been established from both Ashashire and Dish Mountain. The plant capacity has been approved to the 6.4 million tonnes per year, which enhances the long-term production profile. Looking ahead, priorities to complete the mechanical and electrical infrastructure works, build up to the 3-month high-grade stockpiles, connect the power line, and advance to the pre-commissioning. Upcoming priorities include the completion of the construction, build the high-grade stockpiles, as alluded earlier, provide the line connection and for -- and the pre-commissioning. We maintain on track for first gold by mid-2026. And with this, I'd like to pass over to our Chief Exploration Officer, Don Dudek. Thank you.
Don Dudek: Thanks, Johan, and good morning. Hello, everybody. One thing I want to emphasize for Sadiola, and it's something we tend to forget because of time. But this deposit has produced over 8 million ounces of gold, and we have 10 million ounces of mineral resources on the books. Because of the robustness of the system, we see the potential or we have an exploration goal to add another 3.5 million ounces of resources within the next 5 years. Including within that is about 1 million ounces of oxide inventory and resources. Our exploration strategy underpins our long-term production profile for this project and supports mine life extension at attractive returns. The oxide zones are located near infrastructure, and oxide boosts flexibility and profitability within our operations. Our drilling is focused on near-mine targets. And really, we're targeting those zones, which have higher-than-average grades, which again supports the long-term plan. And they also provide an optionality for production that will again service us over the long term. We have 19 years of mineral reserves, and we see this increasing over time, just again based on the robustness of the system. When you look at these systems in West Africa, a lot of the large gold zones, they really don't -- we haven't found the limits of them, and the limits are more defined by operation cost profile versus running out of mineralization. So that's something very important to keep in mind. In this last year, we've seen significant success at 4 different zones. And again, that was touched upon in the exploration news release. And these discoveries, as noted before, validate the scale and the scope and the potential of this mineralized system. Going forward, drilling will remain active into year-end, and continue through 2026 and beyond. We are prioritizing the targets with the highest potential, and again, with a focus on oxides. We're initiating new geophysical surveys over a 2.5 kilometer stretch of productive stratigraphy, that already has produced a couple of recent near-term gold deposits. This area has never been systematically tested. And as we march ahead with the drill, we keep on finding more mineralization. Our results from this work will be summarized in an updated mineral resource estimate in Q1 2026. And this update will capture new discoveries, oxide additions, and extensions. Furthermore, we plan exploration updates for Kurmuk in Ethiopia late this month, and for our project group in Cote d'Ivoire in early '26. With that, I'll pass things off to Jason to discuss the Q3 financial performance.
Jason LeBlanc: Great. Thanks, Don. Good morning, everyone. In Q3, the business delivered another solid quarter of financial results. Adjusted net earnings were $0.29 per share and adjusted EBITDA came in at almost $110 million, reflecting strong operating performance and improving costs across the portfolio. We generated $182 million in net operating cash flow during the quarter and ended with a cash balance of $262 million, giving us strong liquidity into Q4 and as we finish up the construction of Phase 1 at Sadiola and at Kurmuk in Q2 next year. All-in sustaining costs were $2,092 per ounce, an improvement of 11% quarter-over-quarter despite higher royalties from gold price. So overall, Q3 delivered strong cash flow generation, improving costs and higher margins. More importantly, we're positioned for a stronger Q4 with a combination of increased production, lower unit costs and higher gold prices that will result in a step change in cash flow generation to end the year. As just mentioned, most imminently in Q4, we have our best production quarter of the year, driven by production increases at Sadiola and Bonikro in the range of up to 40% over Q3. At Sadiola, we wrap up the Phase 1 expansion and have the benefit of new oxide zones to complement higher-grade fresh ore that can now be processed through the new mill at a higher throughput rate than before. At Bonikro, our intensive stripping campaign over the last year is finishing up and the mine starts a higher-grade mining sequence with modest waste removal in Q4. But our improving performance doesn't end there. As we look to 2026, the operating and financial performance will transition to a higher sustainable platform with the completion of our development projects. Importantly, the predictability and operational flexibility of Sadiola and our Cote d'Ivoire complex improved prospectively. In Cote d'Ivoire, we moved to more direct ore extraction at higher grades with less waste movement. At Sadiola, we're able to primarily rely on the abundant higher-grade fresh ore reserves as primary plant feed for up to 60% of throughput. Oxides fill the balance of the mill compared with being the primary feed source in this and recent years. Furthermore, new oxide discoveries represent optionality to potentially increase production levels at Sadiola up to 230 ounces per year in the medium term. And finally, at Kurmuk, first gold is fast approaching. This will be a step change for Allied, adding a new long-life, low-cost asset that significantly increases group production and cash flow. Kurmuk is expected to be transformational to our portfolio and financial profile. On the chart here, you can see the production growth we're expecting in coming years. This will correspond to impressive top line growth in today's gold environment, the more impressive will be the leverage effect we see in EBITDA and cash flow generation, because of our fixed overhead and decreasing unit operating costs or AISC. With that, I'll hand things back to Peter for his wrap-up.
Peter Marrone: Thank you very much, Jason. So in terms of -- just to conclude the presentation, upcoming milestones with our Sadiola exploration update, as Don mentioned, we have demonstrated value creation short term and long term, finding more oxides and expanding the already robust inventory of fresh ore. We have updates coming for our other mines. That includes an exploration update for Kurmuk in November and for the Cote d'Ivoire complex in January. Expect that we will have completed the Sadiola Phase 1 expansion late this year, literally over the course of a few weeks now. That has a huge impact on operational flexibility because of that abundance of fresh ore. We have an analyst and investor site visit at Kurmuk, which is expected early in Q1. We have the Sadiola Phase 2 expansion update, how we intend to progress to get to that 350,000 ounces to 400,000 ounces per year, which we plan to deliver in January next year. We have had a team in Mali and in Cote d'Ivoire last week on our reserves and resources to complete their work, so that we can provide an end of year reserve and resource update, including the impact of Oume on the Cote d'Ivoire complex. And of course, including in that is Kurmuk, which we expect in February. Our Q4 results, of course, are expected soon after the completion of the quarter, in late January or early February. We will provide an update on Agbaou and its reserves and resources, which we expect in the second quarter. We start Kurmuk operations in the middle of the year. I should say with respect to Agbaou that of course, the objective there is an extension of mine-life. Ladies and gentlemen, we've committed to improving improvements in block models and mine plans, our mining efforts, our processing, creating organizational effectiveness that begins with hiring senior local persons to manage our operations. All of that is now in place. We do not identify here the results of that, but those results include improving production and costs this quarter, the quarter that we are now in and into next year. New equipment, better utilization, better mine plans, confident operators, access to higher grade ore, enhanced mining access, and flexibility. And that positions us for a strong fourth quarter and an even stronger 2026 across all measures, including production, costs, and cash flow. Operator, perhaps at this point, we can open the call to questions.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] And your first question comes from Carey MacRury from Canaccord Genuity.
Carey MacRury: Hello, good morning, Peter and team, and congrats on the good quarter. I guess my first question is just on Sadiola Phase 2 -- Phase 2 -- or sorry, Phase 1 is almost complete. It sounds like you're adding more oxide. When realistically -- like how should we think about the timing of when you'd actually commit to Phase 2 in terms of putting a shovel on the ground?
Peter Marrone: Yes. So let's begin with first principles, Carey. As I said a few moments ago, in -- either with our year-end results or in advance of that, so that would mean in January, we will provide an update on what we intend to do with Phase 2. We have a feasibility study for a new plant up to 10 million tonnes per year, and that gets us that production platform of 350,000 ounces to 400,000 ounces. That would idle the existing plant. We would commit to expenditure by the end of 2026, and we would be in production by late '28, early 2029. As I mentioned, that would also mean that we will have decommissioned the existing plant. But over the course of the last 15 months to 18 months, we've been looking at an alternative. It's something that we were very familiar with as a management in Yamana. We're looking at how can we take the existing plant, further modify it to increase its throughput, not to 10 million tonnes per year, but something in between the current level to 10 million. How do we improve recoveries so that we get to a similar production level in the range of 350,000 ounces per year, but with 2 improvements. The first is potentially less capital. And the second is better capital efficiency. In other words, we're not committing to that capital completely upfront. We're just about complete on that technical work. And with the completion of that technical work, we have Board meetings in December, and we expect then that in January at the latest with our fourth quarter results, we will provide you with our take on what is the best course for us, taking all factors into account, what is the best capital efficiency, delivers the best results and the greatest certainty.
Carey MacRury: And then maybe just reserves and resource price is pretty low compared to -- we were sitting at $4,000 an ounce. I guess within your portfolio, are there any specific assets that really have better optionality at maybe not $4,000, but higher prices than reserves and resources?
Peter Marrone: Yes. Really good question. And that one really applies to Agbaou. So part of the effort on Agbaou is a 3-part program that we've undertaken to improve mine life. And one of -- the first part of that is can we look at the pit design at a higher gold price. And we're looking at a $2,000 pit design. What does that do in -- and of course, the infill that follows from that and what does that do in terms of extending mine life. The other 2 components, of course, is a possible underground and regional exploration opportunity. We'll have more to say on that into next year, as I mentioned, but you should expect that for that asset, we will be using a $2,000 gold price for reserve estimation. We're reviewing what our peers are doing more generally to see what they have already done or what they're planning to do. So we are evaluating at this point, where I'm personally leaning, but we have to have lots of discussions with management is a $2,000 gold price for reserves across the board to complement what we're already doing at Agbaou and $2,300 for resources.
Operator: And your next question comes from Justin Chan from SCP Resource Finance.
Justin Chan: Congrats on the quarter. I'll consolidate. I have 2 -- instead of one question, a follow-up, I'll just -- if you wouldn't mind, I'll ask 2 separate questions. Just one is on -- just on the accounting. Is the 2 prepays that were mentioned at the end of September in the documentation, were those included in cash flow from ops, just to make sure my model is accounting for everything correctly. That's my first one.
Peter Marrone: Yes, that's right, Justin. There weren't much…
Justin Chan: Okay. Appreciate the color.
Peter Marrone: Hey, look at maybe the EBITDA, they're not…
Justin Chan: And then the second one is, I mean, there's a lot of headlines over the weekend, especially just on supply chains and fuel availability in Mali. I was just curious if you guys could give some color on maybe what you're seeing on the ground. Sometimes there's obviously a difference between what media says and what the actual operators are seeing? So yes, could you give us your perspective on the current operating situation?
Peter Marrone: Yes. I tried to address that at the beginning, Justin. I think it would be wrong for us to talk about what is the geopolitics of one thing or another other than to say that, look, it's business as usual. There is a fuel disruption. There are many reasons for that fuel disruption in -- that it has affected the capital. Interestingly, as that -- the first of these articles was published on Friday of last week, we understand that roughly 200, 250 trucks filled with fuel came into the capital. And that's about a week supply, and that's typically the way that the capital runs. So the best that we can say at this point is that there is no disruption to fuel supply lines or other supply lines relating to the mines. There has been some disruption as a result of some insurgency activity in and around the capital. It does appear to us as if there is some alleviation of that. And I repeat what I said before, this is a business-as-usual situation. We in the country, those who are familiar with the country, those who are familiar with countries such as this have seen this sort of thing before. But at the end of the day, the best way that I can describe it is regardless of disruptions, business must go on and does go on, and that's what we expect here.
Operator: And your next question comes from Mohamed Sidibe from National Bank Capital Markets.
Mohamed Sidibe: Just maybe to start with the Q4 guide that you gave with Sadiola and Bonikro being potentially up to 40% higher. What would it take to see, I guess, both operations be closer to that 40% mark? What are the key drivers that we should look for Sadiola and Bonikro?
Peter Marrone: I'll turn it to Johan in a moment, but bear with us, Mohammed. We are ahead of our expectations for the quarter so far. In the case of the Cote d'Ivoire, we're more than 5% ahead. In the case of Sadiola, just a few percentages ahead. But again, on a production platform, we expect to be greater than Q3. So I think you should expect that we will be able to meet the expectations of getting close to or at that 40%. Johan, I will summarize by saying that in the case of Sadiola, it is these oxide discoveries that were made earlier this year that you're bringing into production, going through the development process and bringing into production. But of course, by the end of the year, it's the Phase 1 expansion that completes and being able to process some of a greater percentage of fresh ore. And in the case of Cote d'Ivoire, all that effort that's been undertaken to date, including, for example, at Agbaou, where we had waste removal that was very significant in the second quarter that increases production. We're going to higher grades at Bonikro as a result of that waste removal. And that's what accounts for that higher level of production. Johan, did you want to supplement that with anything more specific?
Johannes Stoltz: Peter, you've summarized most of it. I want to say that the hard work from the team started in January up to now, created flexibility within Sadiola. You've alluded to the oxide deposits and also the mill start-up that will enhance the throughput in Sadiola with higher recoveries. So more predictable, more flexibility was given into the Sadiola as well as into the CDI complex that enable us to move ore to and from between the various plants that set ourselves up to where we are currently. We're ahead of the Q4 numbers. As you alluded, we're halfway through the quarter already and a positive trend. The teams are doing well. The plans are coming together nicely. Looking forward to the end result, definitely very close to the 40% mark, if not slightly higher, Peter.
Mohamed Sidibe: And then just if I can move on, maybe on exploration. I think you provided a pretty good update at Sadiola with a lot of outside potential on your exploration target there. But I wanted to maybe shift to Cote d'Ivoire and the visibility at Agbaou and Bonikro. I know there's an update that is coming, but how do you currently look at those 2 assets in terms of mine life remaining? And what do you envision them to ultimately be as a potential source of production for you guys?
Peter Marrone: Again, at this point, we have not completed the work, but Oume contributes comfortably to Bonikro's increase in mine life. We publicly have said we want to get to at least 180,000 ounces per year from the complex. So roughly 50% from Bonikro and 50% coming from Agbaou. Oume contributes very meaningfully to that mine life extension. It looks as if we'll be above the 10 years for Bonikro. Agbaou is a bit more complex, because it's further behind in terms of the exploration effort. But with what we're doing, looking at and doing drilling into reachable through added reachable underground, what we're doing with the pit shell with a $2,000 gold assumption and what we're doing with the broader outside of the compensated area exploration effort, we'll begin to demonstrate. We won't get with that update next year. I don't believe that we'll get to 10 years of mine life for Agbaou, but we'll begin to demonstrate that it's more than the roughly 2 years of mine life that we currently carry. And we think significantly in excess of that. I believe in our MD&A with our second quarter, we indicated that we were looking at 4 years to 5 years of extension. That was our objective. We expect that the exploration results and the other efforts that we're undertaking for with technical services will demonstrate at least that. Finally, then, what's our objective? Our objective is at least 10 years of mine life at 180,000 ounces per year. But we're refining that objective. We're trying to get to 200,000 ounces per year at least that 10 years of mine life. With that, this becomes a meaningful asset, a very meaningful asset. It will not have the prominence. It does not have the Tier 1 status of Kurmuk and Sadiola, but it does -- it is meaningful. It does contribute to the share price. By my estimation, taking the existing mine life as we show it based on reserves and resources and getting to 10 years of mine life at 200,000 ounces per year, by my estimation, it adds somewhere between $8 and $10 per share. I think that's pretty significant.
Mohamed Sidibe: And then I guess, finally, with -- you've strengthened your balance sheet with the forward sales agreement, the rates post quarter as well as the good cash flow from operations there. As you're heading into the completion at Kurmuk, better 2026 on free cash flow, the sector is getting, I guess, a little bit harder in terms of M&A. Could you maybe share your thoughts on further consolidation down in West Africa or M&A opportunities that you may be looking at from the acquisition side? Or is that more of a 2027 event and Kurmuk remains a main priority alongside Sadiola?
Peter Marrone: What a question. So if we gone back a year ago, Mohammed, I would have said, of course, we should be looking at acquisitions, what are the opportunities in Africa, in other developing parts of the world, that's where we still think there's the best juice, where that we think the best value. But frankly, over the course of the last several quarters, we've had a bit of an epiphany. When we look at Kurmuk, that's a real prize. It's a Tier 1 asset. I repeat what I said before, it's a Tier 1 asset. And we're now looking at how we expand its throughput to match the size that we already carry for the SAG mill to that 6.4 million tonnes per year from the 6 million tonnes per year. That gets the production platform to over 300,000 ounces per year. And with all-in sustaining costs, as we've described them, that means that we're generating some impressively robust cash flows. From a production point of view, mine life point of view and from a cash flow point of view, it is a Tier 1 asset. And the same would be true for Sadiola. I can't think of very many mid-tier companies that are underpinned by 2 Tier 1 assets. And so that epiphany to which I referred is that we're going to keep our eyes on the prize this year. Keep your eyes on the prize. We don't think that there is anything that is as compelling as engaging in the completion of these efforts that we have inside the company that get us to that roughly 800,000 ounces of production beginning next year to 600,000 ounces and then a few years after that to that 800,000 ounces. We think that that is what delivers the best value for shareholders. We've become a real catch at that point as well, and that has not escaped us.
Operator: And your next question comes from Ingrid Rico from Stifel.
Ingrid Rico: I have, I guess, 2 follow-ups on Sadiola. And I appreciate the comments, Peter, on the progressive expansion options and how you guys are evaluating that? But I noticed in the press release, I think it was that you will be proceeding with a pre-leach thickener and you're going to be adding that in 2026. So I guess my question would be, one, on what sort of cost budget do you have for that? And two, what would it do with the recoveries or the improvement on the circuit by adding that thickener?
Gerardo Fernandez: Hello, Ingrid. Its Gerardo. Yes. It's a small CapEx ticket. It's about $7 million to $8 million. What it does is allow us to manage the density better, so we can increase the proportion of fresh rock up to 90%. And depending on the flexibility from oxides also can lead to increased throughput. So the beauty of it is it works -- it's necessary for both scenarios, the full expansion or the progressive expansion. So we decided to go ahead and start engineering and start the construction next year, so we can see the benefits as soon as possible.
Ingrid Rico: And then just, I guess, more near term and sort of the grade expectation that we could start to see as the Phase 1 expansion is completed and you're able to put more of the fresh ore in. Should we think of grades picking up Q4 and into 2026? And what sort of grades should we be looking for with that Phase 1 completed?
Peter Marrone: Yes, we should -- you should expect to see the grade improves. Gerardo or Johan, do you want to address where we expect the grade to be?
Gerardo Fernandez: Maybe I can comment long term. Ingrid, if you look at the inventory of fresh rock in Sadiola, that is in the range of 1.8 grams per tonne. Some areas are higher than that, some areas are lower, but that's the bulk of the -- or that's the average of the -- bulk of the reserves, which is the fresh rock. So long term, that's what we should be tracking towards. And in terms of oxide, there is an upside to connect with what Don was describing with the new opportunities to add moderate grade or high-grade oxides, which allowed the plant to increase capacity and recoveries. Maybe Johan can comment on the short term.
Johannes Stoltz: Great question, and Gerardo, I think your numbers are spot on around the 1.7 grams to 1.8 grams a tonne. We do find these honeypots around the Sadiola property with higher oxide grades. But if we look at the average over the life of mine, it sits around [indiscernible].
Peter Marrone: And Ingrid, we're not complete the quarter yet. But if we go over the course of the last couple of weeks, so it's a meaningful part of the short term of the quarter. We are experiencing, because of some of those honeypots, as Johan described it, we are experiencing grades that are better than what we had planned.
Ingrid Rico: And if I can squeeze just one last question on Kurmuk. And I appreciate that we're going to get that update on the exploration very soon. But just how should we think -- and maybe just some comments, if you can, on the infill drilling and how that's shaping up for grade reconciliation and looking into the grades as you start sort of commissioning and ramping up next year?
Peter Marrone: Don is on the line. Don, did you want -- Don is remote. So if you're available, Don, did you want -- can you answer that?
Don Dudek: Yes. So we're not doing a lot of infill drilling. We're mostly focusing on extending the resources down dip, down plunge, along strike. And so really trying to bulk out the reserve pits as we see them today. We are seeing continuations of the mineralized zones, and yet have not found the limits of the system. And then we're also looking for other optionality things. We've talked about [ Sekenke ] before, which is a 7-kilometer long gold and soil trend. We've been drilling at the south end of that for a good part of the year. And we have a few other targets that we're moving up the list. We've talked about this for Sadiola in terms of optionality. And again, newer close to surface discoveries will provide more optionality for Kurmuk going forward. So the update near the end of this month should -- we'll present all of that.
Peter Marrone: Maybe to complement Don's comments and addressing your question, Don was referring to what we're doing now looking into the future, but we -- what was done in the past in 2024 and into the beginning of 2025 was to do confirmation drilling, especially around Dish, not much in Ashashire, but heavily in Dish. And that information has been modeled. We have ore exposure now with the mining at both deposits, and we're confirming the interpretation of the geology and the drilling is also confirming the grades and the mineralization as we had it in the plan. So it's very positive from that perspective on risk management and setting us in a good position to the -- start our operations next year.
Ingrid Rico: So looking forward to that Kurmuk update later this month.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] And your next question comes from Luke Bertozzi from CIBC.
Luke Bertozzi: Just to follow-up on Ingrid's question on the pre-leach thickener at Sadiola. Can you give us any indication of when that pre-leach thickener could come online? Should we be expecting that to impact 2026 production?
Peter Marrone: Yes. Look, towards the end of 2026, we haven't issued our guidance, so we cannot quantify how much the impact will be or disclose it. We have an idea, but bear with us when we issue guidance, we'll reflect it there.
Jason LeBlanc: Luke, we've indicated that we see Sadiola in its current form before the second Phase partial or whole expansion being in a range of 200,000 ounces to 230,000 ounces per year. This is part of the plan to get that higher level of production. We'll have more to say on it as we complete some of the work to the end of this year when we give our guidance for the next year.
Luke Bertozzi: The rest of my questions have been answered. So, I'll leave it there.
Peter Marrone: Operator, are there any other questions?
Operator: No, there are no further questions at this time. So I would now like to turn the call back over to Peter Marrone for the closing remarks. Please go ahead.
Peter Marrone: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your participation on this call. We look forward to several of the milestones that we mentioned being provided. Any questions or comments, please do reach out to any of us. And we look forward to seeing many of you on -- in-person at our site visit at Kurmuk in January. Thank you very much.