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Aris Mining Corporation (ARIS)

Q3 2025 Earnings Call· Thu, Oct 30, 2025

$17.89

-4.64%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Welcome to the Aris Mining Third Quarter 2025 Results Call. We will begin with an overview from management followed by a question-and-answer period. [Operator Instructions] The conference is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] Please note that the accompanying presentation that management will refer to during today's call can be found in the Events and Presentations section of Aris Mining's website at aris-mining.com. Also, Aris Mining's Third Quarter 2025 financials can be -- have been filed on SEDAR+ and EDGAR and can also be found on their website. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Neil Woodyer, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

Neil Woodyer

Analyst

Thank you, operator, and welcome, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our third quarter 2025 earnings call. I'm joined today by members of the management team, including Richard Thomas, Cam Paterson, Oliver Dachsel, Alejandro Jimenez, and we'll be able to answer your questions at the end of the call. Before we begin, please take note of the disclaimers on Slide 2 as we will be making forward-looking statements throughout today's presentation. Now starting on Slide 3. Following the strong first half year's performance, I'm delighted to report that we have delivered an excellent third quarter. Gold production in Q3 totaled 73,236 ounces, a 25% increase over Q2. Segovia has been ramping up production in line with the expectations following the commission of the second ball mill in June, while Marmato has maintained its solid production levels. This brings our total production for the 9 months of '25 to 187,000 ounces. So we're tracking about the midpoint of our full year production guidance of 230,000 to 270,000 ounces. Against the backdrop of rising gold prices, our strong operational performance has driven record financial performance in the third quarter, putting us in a strong position to fund our growth plans. Gold revenue totaled $253 million in Q3, up 27% over Q2. Adjusted EBITDA was $131 million for Q3 and more than $350 million on a trailing 12-month basis. And we ended the third quarter with a cash balance of $418 million. Meanwhile, the construction of the Marmato Bulk Mining Zone continues to advance with first gold pour expected in the second half of 2026. Lastly, we published 2 major technical studies. First, a pre-feasibility study for Soto Norte in September, confirming it as one of the most attractive gold projects in the Americas. And second, a preliminary economic assessment for Toroparu, which outlines a long-life, low-cost open pit gold project with strong financial returns. Our strategy from here is therefore straightforward. We'll advance Toroparu to a pre-feasibility study over the next 10 months or so. And then we will plan to start construction. In parallel, we're advancing the permitting process for Soto Norte. Together, these projects demonstrate the depth of our growth pipeline beyond Segovia and Marmato and position Aris Mining to become a very significant gold producer. Before I hand over, I'd like to share a quick update from our meetings in Guyana last week, where I presented the results of the Toroparu PEA study to Guyana's Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Finance. The meeting gave the project strong support and have confidence that Toroparu can become one of the next major gold mines in Guyana. We're focused on making this happen. With that, I'll pass over to Cam for an update on our financial performance.

Cameron Paterson

Analyst

Thank you, Neil. Turning to Slide 4. Aris Mining reported strong financial results in the third quarter, driven by increased production volumes and a strong gold price environment. As Neil mentioned, this quarter, we generated record revenue of $253 million and record adjusted EBITDA of $131 million, which drove record adjusted net earnings of $72 million or $0.36 per share. We closed the quarter with cash of $418 million, up from the $310 million held at Q2. This increase reflects $91 million of cash flow after sustaining capital and income taxes, $60 million of proceeds from the exercise of warrants, 99% of which got exercised before they expired in July and $13 million of proceeds from closing the sale of the Juby Gold Project on September 29, partially offset by $48 million we invested in growth capital. Moving on to Slide 5. Our AISC margin increased by 36% compared to Q2, reflecting increased production with the successful commissioning of the second mill at Segovia, higher realized gold prices and continued cost controls. Taxes paid totaled $13 million in the quarter compared to $42 million in Q2. Taxes paid in Q2 were substantially higher as a result of the settlement of our 2024 Colombia income tax liability. In Q3, we generated $43 million in free cash flow from operations after expansion capital. That's after investing $48 million in our growth projects, including $31 million at Marmato, which includes $23 million related to the construction of the bulk mining zone, $10 million at Segovia spent on underground exploration and development, completion activities for the mill installation that followed its June commissioning as well as ongoing work on the tailings storage facility and $7 million invested at Toroparu and Soto Norte, which included the technical studies mentioned by Neil earlier. Financing activities driven mainly by the warrant exercises, as I alluded to earlier, resulted in cash inflows of $65 million in the quarter, which together with free cash flow from operations resulted in a net increase to our cash position of $108 million in Q3. With a continued strong gold price environment and solid operational performance, Aris Mining remains well positioned to deliver robust cash flows to organically fund growth initiatives. I'd like to now hand the call over to Richard to discuss our operational results and growth projects.

Richard Thomas

Analyst

Thank you, Cam. Moving to Slide 6, please. As mentioned by Neil earlier, we delivered total gold production of 73,236 ounces across our operations in the third quarter, an increase of 25% from quarter 2, resulting in total gold production of 187,000 ounces for the first 9 months of 2025. Segovia accounted for 65,500 ounces of gold produced, driven by the following 3 things: an increase in gold throughput following the commissioning of the second mill in June, an average gold grade of 9.9 grams per tonne and finally, splendid recoveries of 96.1%. In monetary terms, Segovia's strong performance in the third quarter can be summarized as follows: Segovia's all-in sustaining cost margin totaled $121.5 million, an increase of 39% compared to quarter 2. On a trailing 12-month basis, its all-in sustaining cost margin has reached $328 million. Owner mining all-in sustaining cost was $1,452 per ounce in quarter 3, resulting in an average of $1,482 per ounce for the first 9 months of 2025, trending towards the lower end of the company's full year 2025 guidance of $1,450 to $1,600 per ounce. Gold produced from Contract Mining Partners, mill feed generated an all-in sustaining cost sales margin of 44% in Q3, bringing the average for the first 9 months of the year to 43%, above the top end of the company's full year 2025 guidance range of 35% to 40%. Turning your attention to the bottom right. Rising realized gold prices and continued cost discipline continue to drive the all-in sustaining cost margin expansion at Segovia. In quarter 3, Segovia generated an all-in sustaining cost margin of $1,853 per ounce. Moving on to Slide #7. I'm pleased to report that Segovia's production ramp-up following the installation of the second ball mill in June continues to progress as planned. The…

Oliver Dachsel

Analyst

Thank you, Richard. Moving to our cap table on Slide 14. Our strong operational and financial performance in Q3 has increased our adjusted trailing 12-month EBITDA to $352 million and further strengthened our balance sheet. Our liquidity position has increased to $418 million, and our net debt has decreased to $64 million as of September 30. Total leverage has decreased to 1.4x, which is 1.6 turns lower compared to Q4 2024. Net leverage has decreased to 0.2x, which is 1.3 turns lower compared to Q4 2024. With low and decreasing financial leverage, no meaningful debt maturities until October 2029, stable credit ratings at B1/B+/B+. Our balance sheet is in even stronger shape to support our growth strategy. With that, I'd like to hand over the call to Neil for closing remarks.

Neil Woodyer

Analyst

I'd like to conclude our prepared remarks on Slide 15. And our message is straightforward as it's exciting. Aris Mining is in a strong position to deliver exceptional growth in the near term to more than 500,000 ounces of annual gold production while advancing Toroparu and Soto Norte, which could potentially unlock 370,000 ounces of additional annual gold production on an attributable basis. We have the building blocks in place to create a leading gold mining company in South America. And importantly, we also have the team and the balance sheet to do it. Looking ahead, we are committed to building on our solid operational and financial momentum, finishing the year strongly and positioning Aris Mining for a successful 2026 and beyond. With that, I'd like to thank you for your time today and look forward to your questions. I'll now turn the call back to the operator to open the line for questions.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Carey MacRury with Canaccord Genuity.

Carey MacRury

Analyst

On the great quarter. Just wondering if you could give us a bit more color on how the Segovia mill expansion is going now that we're through October, just sort of what the run rate is sitting at? And should we still expect 3,000 tonnes a day by the end of the year?

Richard Thomas

Analyst

Absolutely. It's going very well. At the moment, we're taking very nicely at about 2,500 to 2,600. As we -- as our development improves and increases to the end of the year, we get to 2,800 to 2,900 and then early next year, we'll be at 3,000 tonnes per day.

Carey MacRury

Analyst

Okay. Great. And do you have all the Contract Mining Partners lined up to deliver the tonnes that you're expecting?

Richard Thomas

Analyst

Yes, we do. We're adding additional 6 contracts in early in next year. The quotas and all the contracts are in place, so we're ready for that. But the bulk of that increase will come from our own operations, and we are well on track for that.

Carey MacRury

Analyst

Okay. Great. And then maybe one final one. In terms of Toroparu or Soto Norte, I'm assuming you would sequence those, you wouldn't do them at the same time. Is that fair?

Neil Woodyer

Analyst

Toroparu pre-feasibility, feasibility should be complete within about 10 months. We will be putting in the license on Soto Norte about midyear. That's going to take 18 months to go through. So Toroparu is a little bit ahead of Soto Norte. So we will see where we are as to which to build, probably Toroparu straight into it.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The next question is from Don DeMarco with National Bank Financial.

Don DeMarco

Analyst

Congratulations on the quarter and also on the Toroparu PEA. I'll just continue with the questions on Toroparu from the last caller. Do you see this asset as a -- I mean, what your bias appears to be in favor of developing it? But is it also potentially a divestment candidate? And what are your thinking on those 2 or potentially other options?

Neil Woodyer

Analyst

It is not a diversification. It's an ideal mine for us to build. It's the right size. We have the cash. We have the team. It fits in very nicely after Marmato. It's totally within our financial capability building. It's another 200,000 ounces, and it is geographic diversification. Very clear in my mind, this is a mine for us to build.

Don DeMarco

Analyst

Okay. And then for my next question, just looking at the development of the Marmato Bulk Mining Zone. What level of CapEx should we be modeling in the home stretch? I see that first pour is still on track for late next year, maybe $30 million was spent in Q3. So should we model an increase in CapEx going forward? Will it be more heavy lifting as we get into 2026 and get closer to first pour?

Richard Thomas

Analyst

Definitely, Don. So at the moment, we've completed the pad. So we are now ready for the construction of the mill. So you can expect a sharp increase in the capital spend rate going forward. We have signed a contract with our main contractor. They have mobilized on site and they are starting the foundations as early as next week on the 4th of November. So once that starts, the amount of money we'll be spending on a monthly basis will increase.

Operator

Operator

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Woodyer for any closing remarks.

Neil Woodyer

Analyst

Well, thank you, everybody, for joining us today. We appreciate your interest, and please don't hesitate to reach out to Oliver if you have any questions. And again, thank you very much.

Operator

Operator

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