Alamos Gold (TSX:AGI) Q2 2026 Earnings Call

0:00 Good morning. I'll now turn the call over to Scott Parsons, Alamos' Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Thank you, operator, and thanks to everybody for attending Alamos' second quarter twenty twenty six conference call. In addition to myself, we have on the line today John Kluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Fischer, Chief Financial Officer Luke Eval, Chief Operating Officer and Scott RG Parsons, Senior Vice President of Exploration. We will be referring to a presentation during the conference call that is available through the webcast and on our website. I would also like to remind everyone that our presentation will be followed by a Q session. As we will be making forward looking statements during the call, please refer to the cautionary notes included in the presentation, news release and MD and A as well as the risk factors set out in our annual information form.

0:54 Technical information in this presentation has been reviewed and approved by Chris Boswick, our Senior Vice President of Technical Services and a qualified person. Also, bear in mind that all of the dollar amounts mentioned in this conference call are in U. S. Dollars unless otherwise noted. Now John will provide you with an overview. Thank you, Scott. I'll start with Slide three. During the second quarter, we produced 130,600 ounces of gold, in line with our revised quarterly guidance and 5% higher than the first quarter. The Island Gold District continues to perform well with a strong overall quarter offsetting lower than expected production from Young Davidson and Mulatos. Total cash costs increased 6% from the first quarter, all in sustaining costs of $17.28 dollars per ounce or 7% lower driven by the timing of sustaining capital spending.

1:52 Financially, we continue to generate strong free cash flow of $144,000,000 net of our reinvestment and high return growth in exploration. Consistent with our balanced approach to capital allocation, we returned $67,000,000 to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends in the second quarter. Through the first half of twenty twenty six, our shareholder returns increased to 84,000,000 already exceeding total returns in 2025. Turning to Slide four, as previously disclosed, the seismic event that occurred in June at Young Davidson has impacted our near term operations and is the main driver of the revision to our full year production and cost guidance.

2:40 There were no injuries, but there was localized damage to underground infrastructure at Young Davidson limiting access to higher grade stopes in the 9410 level that were scheduled to be mined this year. This is expected to result in lower than planned mining rates and grades for the rest of the year which Luke will touch on in more detail later in the call. In addition to the challenges we experienced at Young Davidson, a slower than expected leach pad cycle at Liaki Grande is delaying the recovery of ounces previously stacked on the leach pad. As a result, we've updated our twenty twenty six full year consolidated production guidance to between five and ten thousand and five hundred and sixty thousand ounces, a 12% reduction from the previous guidance. Despite this temporary setback, we expect stronger production in the second half of the year driven by higher underground mining rates and grades at Island Gold.

3:37 Our full year all in sustaining cost guidance has increased 18%. This is due to lower production, higher costs at Young Davidson for rehabilitation work and enhanced ground support as well as increased labor inflation and contractor costs in Canada. Greg will provide more detail on these changes in his financial review. All growth projects are advancing well including the expansion of the Alamos Gold District, which is the key engine of our strong long term outlook. We expect significant improvements in both our production and costs in each of the next several years and remain on track to achieve our target of producing 1,000,000 ounces of gold annually by the end of the decade.

4:25 Turning to Slide five, we significantly increased our shareholder returns in the second quarter with $50,000,000 in share buybacks and our quarterly dividend of $17,000,000 which was increased in the first quarter. We also eliminated all the remaining twenty twenty six gold hedges inherited from the Argonaut gold transaction at a cost of $92,000,000 all funded by ongoing free cash flow. On the exploration front, we increased another series of exceptional high grade results across multiple targets within the Island Gold District. These results highlighted the ongoing evolution of the Island Gold District and significant upside potential to what was outlined at the Island Gold District study earlier in the year.

5:14 Now looking at slide six, we have a clear path outlined to grow our annual production and decrease our costs over the remainder of the decade to reach 1,000,000 ounces by 2030. This growth is expected to be internally funded from ongoing free cash flow generation and a strong balance sheet with $1,200,000,000 in available liquidity. The completion of the Phase three plus shaft expansion at Island Gold is within sight. Our Magino mill expansion is well underway and construction activities continue to ramp up at Lynn Lake and PDA. These are high return projects, all lower cost and largely de risked underpinning one of the best growth profiles in the sector. I'll now turn the call over to our CFO, Greg Fischer, to review our financial performance.

6:02 Greg? Thank you, John. Moving to Slide seven. We sold 130,800 ounces of gold in the second quarter at an average realized price of $4,504 per ounce for quarterly revenues of $594,000,000 Total cash costs were $13.00 $3 per ounce and all in sustaining costs were $17.28 dollars per ounce. Operating cash flow before changes in non cash working capital was $287,000,000 in the second quarter or $0.68 per share. This was down from the previous quarter, reflecting a lower realized gold price and $92,000,000 or $0.22 per share of cash that was used to repurchase and eliminate the remaining 35,000 ounces of legacy Argonaut gold hedges maturing in 2026.

6:54 These hedges were scheduled to mature in the second half of this year and by eliminating them, we have increased upside to higher gold prices. To date, we repurchased approximately 280,000 out of the 330,000 ounces hedged by Argonaut prior to maturity, including 50,000 ounces repurchased this year. We will continue to monitor opportunities to repurchase and eliminate the remaining 50,000 ounces of gold forward contracts maturing in the first half of twenty twenty seven. Our reported net earnings were $270,000,000 in the second quarter or $0.64 per share. This included after tax gains on commodity derivatives of $27,000,000 and after tax inventory net realizable value adjustment of $7,000,000 unrealized foreign exchange gains recorded in deferred taxes of $4,000,000 and other losses of 1,000,000 Excluding these items, our adjusted net earnings were $248,000,000 or $0.59 per share.

7:53 Capital spending in the quarter totaled $181,000,000 and included $36,000,000 of sustaining capital, 130,000,000 of growth capital and $15,000,000 of capitalized exploration. We continue to fund our high return growth internally while generating strong free cash flow. This included $144,000,000 of free cash flow generated in the second quarter. During the first half of the year, we generated $245,000,000 in free cash flow, of which nearly 90% was used to return capital to shareholders and reduce our gold hedge exposure. We were active on our share buyback in the second quarter, repurchasing 1,400,000 shares at a cost of $50,000,000 Including our quarterly dividend payments, we have now returned $84,000,000 to our shareholders and spent $135,000,000 on repurchasing hedges for a combined spending of $219,000,000 this year.

8:45 As John noted, the $84,000,000 returned year to date already exceeds our total shareholder returns from last year. We are focused on delivering increasing returns to our shareholders, including evaluating opportunities to continue to be active on our buyback, while also balancing our other capital allocation priorities. This includes reinvesting in our high return growth projects and capitalizing on opportunities to repurchase the remaining gold hedges set to mature in 2027. We ended the quarter with a healthy cash position of $637,000,000 and net cash of $437,000,000 We expect continued free cash flow generation through the remainder of the year with significant growth starting in 2027, while continuing to self fund our organic growth plans.

9:34 Turning to Slide eight. Following the seismic event at Young Davidson and due to a longer leach cycle at La Yaqui Grande, we revised our 2026 production guidance to between five and ten thousand and five hundred and sixty thousand ounces. This is the largest driver of our increase in cost guidance this year with an expected $190 per ounce impact on all in sustaining costs, given the similar level of gross costs spread over lower production. On the labor front, we are seeing increased contractor costs in Northern Ontario as well as ongoing labor inflation, which is expected to increase our all in sustaining costs by approximately $90 per ounce. However, this also reflects a new compensation and retention program that was implemented midyear at all our Canadian operations, which is expected to improve recruitment and retention to further support our ramp up at Island Gold and overall productivity at our operations.

10:30 Additionally, required rehabilitation work and enhanced ground support underground at Young Davidson are expected to increase consolidated all in sustaining costs by an additional $15 per ounce. These increases are expected to be partially offset by a $20 per ounce benefit due to the weaker Canadian dollar. As a result of these factors, our 2026 total cash cost guidance has increased 14% to a midpoint of $12.25 dollars per ounce and all in sustaining cost guidance is 18% higher to a midpoint of $18.25 dollars per ounce. This is a temporary increase in costs, in large part driven by the lower production and higher costs expected from Young Davidson in the second half of the year. We expect a significant decrease in our costs in 2027 and over the next several years, driven by improvements at Young Davidson and low cost growth at the Island Gold District.

11:25 I will now turn the call over to our COO, Luc Pimon, to provide an overview of our operations. Luc? Thank you, Greg. Over to Slide nine. The Island Gold District had a solid quarter with record production of 67,500 ounces, up 10% from the first quarter. The operation remains on track to achieve its original full year production guidance with further growth expected into the second half of the year, reflecting higher underground mining rates and grades. Underground mining rates averaged a record fifteen fifty tonnes per day, consistent with our ramp up schedule. Grades mined at 9.15 grams per tonne were in line with guidance and are expected to increase slightly in the third quarter, with a further increase in the fourth quarter.

12:15 Open pit operations continue to perform well with mining rates averaging 55,000 tonnes per day, including 13,000 tonnes per day of ore during the quarter. Total milling rates from the Island Gold District averaged a new high of over 10,000 tonnes per day in the second quarter. This included nearly 8,900 tonnes per day from the Magino mill and twelve thirty tonnes per day from the Island Gold mill. Second quarter total cash costs and mine site all in sustaining costs were $13.00 $4 and $17.15 dollars per ounce, respectively. Both are expected to decrease in the second half of the year, reflecting the increase in underground mining rates and grades as well as higher mill throughput at Magino.

13:02 However, given the increased labor and contractor costs reflecting the more competitive labor environment in Northern Ontario as well as increased energy costs, the 2026 total cash cost and mine site all in sustaining cost guidance has been revised higher. The Island Gold District generated record mine site free cash flow of $100,000,000 in the second quarter, net of the significant capital investment related to the Phase III plus shaft project, Magino Mill expansion and exploration. At current gold prices, the Island Gold District is expected to continue generating strong free cash flow, while funding its expansion plans and a significant exploration program. Moving to Slide 10.

13:49 The ramp up of underground mining rates at Island Gold is a key driver of our production growth in the second half of twenty twenty six and over the next several years. During the second quarter, mining rates steadily increased every month and averaged a record fifteen fifty tonnes per day. With an increase in personnel, equipment and mining fronts, our mining rates have continued to increase into the third quarter. We remain on track to reach a year end rate of 2,000 tonnes per day, with a further increase to 2,400 tonnes per day in the first quarter of twenty twenty seven, following the commissioning of the shaft. Moving to Slide 11. Magino's milling rates also increased to a new quarterly record of 8,900 tonnes per day, an 18% increase over the first quarter.

14:38 This included steady improvements on a monthly basis with June averaging a monthly record of 9,800 tonnes per day. The increase is being driven by improving performance and reliability of the overall circuit, as well as the addition of supplemental ore feed from the temporary crusher. This improvement has continued into July with milling rates on pace to average approximately 10,000 tonnes per day. Given the substantial increase in milling rates over the last several months and greater overall consistency of the operation, the mill is on track to average similar milling rates through the remainder of the year. Moving to Slide 12. During the quarter, we spent $66,000,000 in growth capital at the Island Gold District, advancing both the shaft and mill expansion.

15:28 Substantially, all capital for the Phase III plus shaft expansion has been spent or committed. Since shaft sinking was completed late in the first quarter, progress has been made on shaft equipping and the shaft bottom infrastructure, with commissioning expected to be completed in the first quarter of twenty twenty seven. This is an important catalyst to increase underground mining rates to 2,400 tonnes per day in the first quarter of twenty twenty seven and ultimately to 3,000 tonnes per day in 2029. The Island Gold District expansion is also well underway with 33% of the growth capital spent are committed. As shown on the slide, cladding and roofing activities for the new mill building are now complete, with all eight leach tanks and two detox tanks erected. With all the earthworks, concrete foundation and steel erected, the key elements of the mill expansion have been significantly derisked.

16:21 The Island Gold District remains on track for completion in the first quarter of twenty twenty eight and will turn the operation to one of Canada's largest, lowest cost and most profitable gold mines. Over to Slide 13. Young Davidson produced 33,000 ounces of gold in the second quarter, 10% higher than the previous quarter but below plan. Production was impacted by the seismic event in June and weather related power outages in May. The seismic event in June impacted access to higher grade stopes that were supplying approximately 2,500 tonnes per day. This contributed to lower than planned mining rates of 7,132 tonnes per day and grades of 1.75 grams per tonne.

17:08 As previously disclosed, we are expecting lower mining rates through the remainder of the year as well as lower grades. As a result, our full year production guidance for Young Davidson has been reduced to between 100,115 ounces, with a corresponding increase in our cost guidance. Despite what was a challenging quarter for Young Davidson, the operation generated strong mine site free cash flow of million. At current gold prices, we expect the operation will continue generating positive free cash flow through the second half of twenty twenty six. Turning to Slide 14. I'll now provide more detail on the seismic event and impact.

17:53 Seismicity is a normal part of underground mining and seismic events are not uncommon. Our ongoing focus is to extract our mineral reserves with a disciplined and geotechnically sound approach that manages and mitigates stress underground in order to ensure the safety of our workforce and minimize any disruptions. We experienced two seismic events in June, one of which had no impact. The other caused damage to the drift access on the 9410 Level. In both cases, there were no injuries given the systems and protocols we have in place. Seismic event near the 9410 Level has delayed access to higher grade stopes that were supplying approximately 2,500 tonnes per day and scheduled to be mined during the second half of this year.

18:41 As a result, our mining rates are expected to average 5,000 tonnes per day for the remainder of the year, and we expect mine grades to average similar levels as the 1.75 grams per tonne mined in the second quarter. We have not lost any reserves in the impacted area, and we will be completing rehabilitation work to reestablish access to the 9410 level during the second half of twenty twenty six. We also will be implementing enhanced ground support and other measures, which are all expected to support higher mining rates beyond 2026. These include longer primary support to the use of eight foot dynamic ground support bolts, additional cable bolting, use of heavier gauge screen and optimization of the extraction sequence to manage and mitigate stress as underground mining moves deeper.

19:32 The rehabilitation work and additional ground support is expected to add approximately $10,000,000 of sustaining capital. Combined with the lower production rates, Young Davidson's costs are expected to temporarily increase in the second half of the year, with total cash costs averaging $2,100 per ounce and mine site all in sustaining costs averaging $3,300 per ounce. Looking beyond 2026, we expect the rehab work, optimized mine plan and enhanced ground support will drive mining and production rates higher and costs considerably lower. We are currently working on an updated mine plan. We'll provide further detail with our three year guidance release in early twenty twenty seven. Over to slide 15.

20:22 Production from the Miladros District totaled 30,100 ounces, including 25,100 ounces from La Yaqui Grande. Production was 8% lower than the previous quarter, driven by lower tonnes and grade STACK as well as slower than expected recoveries at La Yaqui Grande. Due to a longer leach cycle and increasing pad height, it is taking longer to recover ounces previously stacked on the leach pad. As a result, we have reduced our production guidance for Milados to between 120,135 ounces, with a corresponding increase in costs. Our overall recovery expectations for Liat De Grande remains unchanged, and the 2026 production guidance revision only reflects the impact of timing.

21:10 The Malawi District generated strong mine site free cash flow of $61,000,000 consistent with the first quarter, while funding construction of the PDA project, a significant exploration program and paying $27,000,000 in cash taxes during the quarter. Over to Slide 16. The PDA project remains within budget and on schedule for first production in mid-twenty twenty seven. Work during the quarter included portal construction, underground mine development and structural steel and concrete foundation work for the mill. A total of $21,000,000 of development capital was spent at PDA during the quarter. We expect capital spending to increase in the second half of the year as construction activities ramp up.

21:56 PDA is the future of Mulatos and just a starting point as the operation transitions to processing higher grade sulfide mineralization. The addition of a mill for PDA is opening up a number of new near mine and regional exploration opportunities for additional higher grade mineralization within the district. Over to Slide 17. At Lynn Lake, we spent $36,000,000 in development capital during the quarter, advancing several key construction milestones. Major achievements included completing the temporary camp expansion, progressing work on the permanent camp and continuing site preparation and earthworks for the mill area and other site wide infrastructure. We also began the McCullen starter pit, visible in the top left corner of this photo, taken earlier in July.

22:48 Project remains on budget and on schedule for completion in the first half of twenty twenty nine and will be a key contributor to achieving our goal of producing 1,000,000 ounces annually by the end of the decade. With that, I will turn the call over to our Senior Vice President of Exploration, Scott RG Parsons, to discuss our recent exploration results at the Island Gold District. Thank you, Luke. Turning to Slide 18. In June, we provided an exploration update for the Island Gold District, which outlined why we have confidence the operation will continue growing well beyond what was detailed in Island Gold District expansion study. In addition to ongoing success in the main Island Gold structure, we have continued to define high grade mineralization across several other targets in the district.

23:38 These targets are being evaluated as potential sources of higher additional higher grade mill feed that would allow us to increase the proportion of high grade ore to be processed with an expanded Magino mill and push production rates well above the five and thirty four thousand ounce annual average outlined in the study. These target areas include the Island Gold West Extension, Island Gold West Uplunge located in proximity to existing underground infrastructure, as well as the past producing Klein Pick and Edwards mines located seven kilometers from the Magino Mill. Turning to Slide 19. One of the highlights of the release was the discovery of a new high grade zone located between two fifty and five hundred meters west of existing underground reserves and resources.

24:23 This new zone is along strike from Island Gold Deposit, measures 200 by 300 meters based on drilling completed to date and remains open down plunge into the West. We also further expanded high grade mineralization closer to surface within Island Gold West Up Plunge Area. The West Up Plunge Area is accessible via the existing ramp, offering a low cost near term opportunity to further increase underground mining rates beyond planned 3,000 tonnes per day to be skipped via the shaft. Additional high grade underground ore would boost the district's future annual production by displacing lower grade Magino open pit feed in the expanded mill. Turning to Slide 20. Looking regionally, drilling the path producing Klein Pick and Edwards Mines continues to extend high grade mineralization beyond the limits of previous mining.

25:16 Earlier this year, we reported the best hole drilled to date at Klein Pick, having intersected 178 grams per tonne gold over 3.5 meters. Step out drilling from this hole continues to successfully intersect and extend additional higher grade mineralization. This included another highlight hole announced in June, which intersected 68 grams per ton over 3.1 meters. Over to Slide 21. Taking a step back, this 10 kilometer long section highlights the significant potential across the district. The Island Gold main structure has grown in each and every year that we've owned it, from less than 2,000,000 ounces of reserves and resources in 2017 to what is now approaching 7,000,000 ounces, net of the 1,700,000 ounces produced.

26:02 High grade mineralization at Island Gold has so far been defined to a depth of 1,600 meters and the deposit remains open laterally and at depth. Over to the east, the deepest hole drilled to date at Quine Pick is to a vertical depth of five forty meters and the target remains open in multiple directions, including a depth. By comparison, underground mines within the Canadian Shield are being mined beyond depths of three kilometers, highlighting the significant potential for growth. Additionally, limited drilling has been completed within a seven kilometer gap between Island Gold and Cline Pick and further along strikes the Northeast across our broader 60,000 hectare land package. We have no shortage of high quality, higher grade targets and believe we are only starting to scratch the surface of exploration across the district.

26:53 As we further define these targets and additional sources of high grade ore, we see excellent potential for this to support further production growth by leveraging our existing and planned infrastructure. With that, I'll turn the call back to John. Thank you, Scott. I'll turn the call over to the operator and open the call for your questions. And our first question comes from Satish Kassanathan with Bank of America. Please go ahead. Yes, hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. My first question is on the cost guidance for the year. Thanks for all the details that you provided.

27:39 Can you provide a bit more color on the $90 per ounce increase in costs related to labor inflation? More specifically, what assumptions were embedded in your original guidance at the start of the year? And what changed over the last six months? And how much of this increase should we see as structural as you move into 2027? Hi, Satish, it's Greg here. The $90 per ounce is a combination of contractors and labor, like our internal labor. So, it's not all our internal labor. But our assumption at the beginning of the year was about a 4% increase in labor rates and contractor rates. We've seen more profound increases on the contractor side, especially with respect to underground development.

28:25 And as we're ramping up Island Gold, we're relying a little bit more heavily on contractors and we've seen that cost pressure there. So it's a little bit on that side. It's also on the open pit side with our mechanics and on the contractors that help with the big open pit equipment. That we've seen a little bit of pressure as well and also just a higher reliance on it this year. But as we move to put the truck shop in place by the end of this year, we'll wind that reliance down. But then the last piece is just we implemented what we call a retention program for our Canadian operations midyear. And that had a cost impact of about $30 per ounce at our Canadian operations.

29:13 And it's something that is much more retention focused. So, it will be payable in future years, but we need to accrue that cost over the next couple of years. And that's just something that we had not budgeted, but we implemented mid year just in response to the competitive market environment that we're seeing in Canada. Thank you. Thank you for the color. Maybe my second question is on the underground mining rates at Island Gold. Second quarter saw solid improvement to fifteen fifty tonnes per day. As you think about reaching 2,000 tonnes per day by year end, can you walk us through the key operational milestones required over the next six months? What are the primary gating factors today?

30:00 Satish, it's Luke here. So it's a continuation of our ramp up. Certainly, it's been tracking quite well in the first half of the year. And as we continue to advance with our development rates in the second half of the year to support additional mining fronts, We'll continue to be able to meet the second half expectation with regards to the ramp up. So it will be a gradual ramp up over the next six months, but our plan is to exit at the end of the year at 2,000 tonnes per day. Okay. My final question is on the capital allocation side. With $1,200,000,000 in liquidity, strong free cash flow and a portfolio of organic projects already underway, how are you thinking about M and A today? Has the recent disruption at Young Davidson changed your appetite for acquisitions as a way to diversify your portfolio?

30:49 We're not really that focused on M and A right now. We have a watching brief across the market as you can appreciate all mining companies do. But I think we outlined for you in the presentation on the call so far that we've got plenty of things to focus on over the next six months in terms of getting our Young Davidson operation back on track, completing the all the development work we need to achieve over the course of the balance of this year and into next year to sustain higher mining rates at Island Gold. We are we've moved underground now at Mulatos.

31:34 We've got two drifts going underground. We've got a mill under construction there. And we've got a full blown construction project at Lynn Lake. That's basically a $920,000,000 project building a brand new mine. So we've got plenty of organic growth underway as we speak and plenty of things to focus on. And I think for Alamos at the moment, we see the market as being fairly attractive especially with gold prices having pulled back so strongly over the last number of months. It's just not a focus for us right now.

32:22 Okay. Thanks, John. I'll pass it on. Your next question comes from the line of Fahad Chiruk with Jefferies. Please go ahead. Hi, thanks for taking my questions. Sorry if I missed this, but on La Yaqui Grande, the longer leach cycles, is that expected to can you just provide a bit more detail as to what's causing it? I saw that it was related to the height of the pad. Is there any way to kind of resolve that? And does it impact, I guess, 2027? Yes. It's Luke here. It's two things. It's just the ore characteristic itself that's being stacked as well as the height of the leach pad, which is resulting in the longer leach cycle. But overall, recoveries are still expected to be eighty five percent.

33:09 It's just taking a bit longer to come through over the course of the plan that we expected for 2026. So no loss of ounces. The ounces will just end up being deferred into the 2027 plan, we'll provide further clarity on that as well once we certainly update our three year guidance at the end of the year with regards to our mine plans moving forward for Mexico, including PDA. And I think it's important to note that the mine is right at the very end of its life. I mean, we've we'll continue stacking ore into Q1 of next year. But by that time, it's pretty much done and after that it's residual leaching. So it's not like this is some sort of an ongoing issue for us over many years to come or something. We're talking about a number of months additional months to get out the balance of the gold that we stacked on the leach pad. Yes. The other thing I would add there is just given our experience with the Mulatos operation as well.

34:11 We stopped mining there a couple of years ago, and we've been still residual leaching. But from a point of view, the number of ounces that we stacked at the Mulatos District over the life of that mine, It would take that amount of time to be able to get all the ounces out, but we've been actually getting all the ounces and we expect to recover all the ounces that we had in inventory. So we don't see anything different with regards to Vallaki Grande. Obviously, it's not similar scale to what we did at Milados from a point of view height of the leach pad and the amount of tonnes that we stack. But at the end of the day, we still expect to get all of the ounces in a shorter time frame over the course of 2027. Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe just switching gears to Island Gold. Obviously, a prolific kind of exploration upside there, really high grade, lots of kind of other additional deposits that are being explored. Can you just remind us theoretically, if we think about the underground rates, I recall that it's not constrained, but that 3,000 tonnes per day could be kind of the upper limit or close to the upper limit. Can you just remind us how the ore feed could theoretically change if there's additional high grade ounces that are discovered underground and that can be mined?

35:27 Sorry, could you just repeat that question for me? I'm just trying to get a sense of what Alamos Gold underground, what could be the theoretical kind of upside to the 3,000 tonnes per day? Because there seems to be a lot of underground ounces that are high grade that are being discovered additional deposits more upside. I'm just trying to understand like how much higher than 3,000 tonnes per day could be mined underground at Island Gold? Yes. Well, there's certainly opportunities with regards to the infrastructure that we have in place. I mean, ultimately, with the shaft infrastructure we're putting in place, we'll have capacity to be able to handle 5,500 tonnes a day of ore and waste through that infrastructure. Certainly, we're embarked on the first step is getting us to 2400 tonnes a day when we move into 2027 and ultimately 3,000 tonnes a day once we move into 2029.

36:17 Regionally, are a number of targets within the Island Gold District that provide opportunities for additional mill feed at higher grade, displacing some of the lower grade that we get out of Magino. Certainly, the Upper West area, where we're starting to have some success there with regards to exploration as well as within the region itself with Klein, Pick and Edwards, those are other independent access points for infrastructure requirements that would provide additional mill feed to be able to support higher grade over the long term for that district. And really, that's one of the big visions that we have for that camp and which was really the driver for overall looking at that overall mill expansion as well to 20,000 tonnes per day. In the timeframe Luke's referring to, 3,000 tonnes a day is that's a pretty good rate for that shaft to handle. And you've got to realize it's as much a function of having enough faces open across the mine in order to supply that 3,000 tons a day. Where the opportunity lies is utilizing the ramp.

37:24 Where we're having success in the Upper West extension, that's at a much shallower level than where we're mining underground right now. It's up around the 700 meter level. And we would envision with the operation shifting from ramp to shaft, we'd open up the possibility to bring us as much as 1,000 tons a day up from the Upper West Zone utilizing the ramp. So that's where I think the immediate opportunity lies for us to increase mining rates from underground to island. That's really clear. Thank you so much. Your next question comes from Ovais Habib with Scotiabank.

38:11 Please go ahead. Hi. Good morning, John and team. Just a couple of questions from me. Just starting off with Island Gold District. In terms of mining rates seem to be improving at Island Gold, milling rates and mining rates seem to be improving at Magino as well. I was just wondering in terms of you brought the upper end of the guidance down a little bit on the Island Gold District. Any color on that front? And what's the plan kind of going into then 2027? Is that what we should be expecting going into 2027? Or this is just the ramp up period that we should be kind of considering?

39:00 Ove, So, it's Craig here. I mean, we've kept the original guidance. I mean, ultimately, low end previously was 290,000 ounces. That stays the same. So, we have strong confidence that we're going to hit our guidance as a starting point. As you pointed out, the mining rates are ramping up exactly as we expected. Q1 was over 1,400 tons per day, Q2 was fifteen fifty. We're starting to see that improve even into July as we expected. So mining rates are going very well on the Magino side. Q1 was a slower start, but since then, we've seen a significant improvement with June being at 9,800 tonnes per day and into July, we're at 10,000 tonnes per day. So, the mine is performing very well as expected.

39:46 I think where we just viewed it as we were in a position that we were revising our guidance overall given the seismic events at Island sorry, the seismic events at Young Davidson. We So, just took the opportunity to tighten the range. Ultimately, it was a 40,000 ounce range. And given the first half has already been completed, we just felt that 40,000 ounces was a big range for the second half. So, we just tightened that down to 20,000 ounces, but it's not indicative of our view on this asset meeting its production guidance for 2026 and no impact into 2027 onwards. Got it. Thanks for that, Greg. And then just a follow-up to Fahad's question in terms of increasing mining rates and taking more from island to display some of the ore from Magino.

40:40 I mean, John, you talked about the Westside and that's been showcasing fairly well in terms of what Scott is doing on the exploration side. When would you be in some sort of position to start talking about or start including that into your mine plan? And just how should we look at it? Is that more of a 2027 situation? Or do you think it's more longer term? Just a second. I'll go get my crystal ball. We're in the exploration phase there right now. It's going very, very well. We started the year with roughly 300,000 ounces of inferred. I'd like to see it grow into that zero five million ounce range because that's when it makes sense to start putting a mine plan around the zone and really focus on the effort that it's going to take to develop it as a call it a theoretical 1,000 ton per day ramp operation.

41:48 And we've obviously it's a real focus for us. It's such an immediate it's very low CapEx and very, very quick payback, utilizes existing infrastructure, all falls within our permits. Mean there's very little that we would have to do and very little capital required in order to get that all rolling. So you can imagine it's a real high priority for us. But precisely when we I'd love to see it come in by 2029. That would be a big win. If we get any earlier than that, would be a massive win. But we're throwing everything at it right now and that started with a big portion of our exploration budget.

42:39 Thankfully, the numbers are coming in very, very nicely. And I think we're going to start putting some shapes around those resources at the end of the year and see if we can expand on the reserve. And then from there, we would be working on mine plans and so forth. Okay, got it. Thanks for the color on that. And that's it for me. Thanks for taking my questions. Your next question comes from the line of Cosmos Chiu with CIBC. Please go ahead. Hi. Thanks, John and team. Maybe my first question is on CapEx, especially growth CapEx.

43:25 I see that in Q2 for Island Gold District, for example, growth CapEx decreased from Q1. And Lynn Lake, on the other hand, increased. But if I were to look at those two assets, if I took a look at first half spent, below 50% of your full year guidance. So I guess my question is the Q2 spending, was it as planned? And if that's the case, what's the plans in terms of increasing that velocity of spend in the second half to get to your guidance? Hi, Cosmos, it's Greg here. So the it's timing related. And with Lynn Lake, it's obviously a ramp up. So as we continue on with the project, we're going be spending a little bit more. So Q2 was a little bit lower, but as we get moving to Q3 and Q4, we're going see that continue to step up and that's going to continue to step up even further into 2027 as part of that ramp up. On Island Gold, it was just simply timing.

44:33 Ultimately, we still plan to spend what we had put in our guidance for the year and that's going to put us on track for the shaft being completed in the first quarter and it's setting ourselves up well for expansion to be completed in the first quarter of twenty twenty eight. Great. Maybe talking about guidance here. As you mentioned, you increased your cost guidance for all three assets. And I understand Young Davidson, the reasons behind it, Guilhara is the reason behind it. Island Gold, you talked about inflation as well. But as you mentioned, Greg, production really didn't change. Production guidance didn't really change for Island Gold.

45:20 And so even on that, cost guidance went up by about 17%. So again, is that really pure inflation in terms of Island Gold that cost increase? And would you say Q2 wise, did you see a lot of the inflationary pressure come through in Q2 versus Q1? Was there any kind of impact on Q1? Did they all come through in Q2? And if that's the case, what have you factored in, in terms of further inflationary pressures as you formulated your full year guidance for cost? Like are you seeing another straight line in terms of did you factor in even more inflation into Q3 and Q4 to come up with your new guidance for Island Gold in terms of cost for the year?

46:14 Hi, Cosmos. Yes. So breaking down that, I mean, you're right, production hasn't changed. So it's not a production driver. It is what I'd call inflation and a little bit of scope change on the contractors. And I touched on this earlier in the call. We are relying given the fact that we're going from 8,000 meters of development to 10,000 meters of development this year to we're ultimately getting up to 15,000 meters of development over the longer run at Island Gold. We're hiring, but at the same time, we need to bring contractors in to support that extra development. Those contractors are costing more money than what we had anticipated. We've seen that more profoundly in Q2 than in Q1. And we expect that to continue through the rest of the year.

47:01 The other piece is in, as I mentioned, mid year we put in a new compensation structure, really a retention program for for our Canadian operations that was implemented in June. So that is having an impact on the second half of the year and that will continue in 2027 as something that's impacting the cost structure at Island Gold. But it's also critically important to making sure that we hit our ramp up to achieve what we want to achieve this year and moving into higher even higher mining rates in 2027. Okay. And maybe one last question. Earlier this month, we're all kind of suffocating from those forest fires or the remnants of the forest fires in Northern Ontario, even in Toronto.

47:51 Any kind of impact on your Northern Ontario operations, the both of them in terms of the forest fires up north? Cosmo, it's Luke here. No, nothing significant. Young Davidson had no interruptions at all due to any sort of forest fires in the region. Actually, it's been pretty quiet in that region. The Island District had more it was not necessarily fires in close proximity to the mining operation. It was more related to smoke. We did have some a couple of minor interruptions with a couple of ships, but nothing significant and really had no effect on our performance through the second quarter. At Lynn Lake, we were evacuated for one week. There was a fire evacuation that was provided notice to the community as well as our project.

48:40 But we were only out of the project for a week and remobilized within about a week after that. So probably about a two week effect overall from the notice of evacuating to getting back to full scale construction activities. Other than that, nothing. It's been noneventful for the year. And your next question is from the line of Don DeMarco with National Bank. Please go ahead. Thank you, operator, and good morning, John and team. Thanks for all the color on this call this morning. Luke, I'll just my first question is to you. So you mentioned that in H2 at Young Davidson, the rehabilitation work in the 9,410 levels to be completed and you expect to get back into the stope and continue mining.

49:32 With this, do you expect just a step change right back up to 2,500 tonnes per day? Or will it be more of a progressive ramp up in mining rates? Yes. I mean, our focus is certainly to look at providing the additional enhanced ground support in 9410 but also a couple of other levels within that Western mining front area. And to your point, it was providing about 2,500 tonnes per day of a mining rate through that district. Once we get the rehabilitation completed through the second half of the year, we will look our expectation is to get above 7,000 tonnes a day moving forward. But a part of this is also just reviewing the overall extraction sequence of the ore body at depth below 9,410. And that's part of the work that's ongoing right now. And we'll be looking to provide further clarity to that by the end of the year as part of our three year guidance. But our full expectation is to ramp up certainly as we move forward into 2027 and for the longer term and with the expectation of being above 7,000 tonnes per day.

50:36 Okay. Just continuing with Young Davidson. You mentioned that maybe some of the other levels might require some additional support. Is the higher level ground support, is it mine wide or is it just the 9,410 level or in the vicinity of that area? And how much of the increase in costs are just one time versus those that might be structural? Like do you foresee requiring an indefinite level of higher ground support in some areas? Yes. It's primarily in the lower levels, below 9410, Don, that we're talking about with regards to the enhanced ground support. So the areas that we've already developed, certainly, we'll look to apply that enhanced ground support, which, as I mentioned on the call, refers to no longer embedded dynamic support, some cable bolting requirements as well as the gauge of the mesh that we're using as part of that enhanced ground support.

51:32 So that will occur, like I said, over the rest of the year. The other advantage we have, just be aware of, is there's a lot of the developments that's not actually in place in the lower mine. So that's those are areas that we just hadn't brought into the mine plan yet. But over the course of the next number of years, we would be bringing into the mine plan. So that will be brand new development. And as part of that brand new development, it will have the enhanced ground support that we're implementing currently with what we're upgrading in the areas that we've already developed. So, I mean, just adding that, it will be the standard going forward in the lower mines. We will have added costs associated with that, but it might be $10,000,000 10,000,000 to $15,000,000 a year. That is in sustaining capital. It's not a bigger number than that.

52:18 Okay. And maybe just as a final question and sticking with Young Davidson, can you provide some color on the frequency and magnitude of seismic events over Young Davidson's operating life? Just trying to get a sense of the probability of something like this reoccurring. I mean, you mentioned seismicity is a normal part of mining. Have you noticed trends at Young Davidson? Are the events occurring at a higher frequency as the mine deepens? If you could just provide a little bit more color on the history and looking forward on these type of events. Yes. I think we've touched on this before. It is a normal part of mining activity. Once you're underground mining, you're going to create seismic activity. It is just normal course of business once we started tracking the ore body. But as far as the frequency or the magnitude of the events, not that we're seeing more events overall or higher events overall.

53:17 It's just a function of, obviously, the extraction sequence and what we're doing from an underground perspective. And as part of this review that I'm talking about with regards to the overall extraction sequence in the lower mine and the development plan that we're putting in place with regards to the enhanced ground support in the existing development as well as where we're going to be in the new sections that we haven't developed yet. We fully expect with what we're going to put in place from a ground support point of view and point of view of reviewing the mining sequence that we'll be able to effectively manage seismicity and manage the seismicity and extract the ore bodily responsibly as we continue to do all along and be more reliant on a consistent mining plan to deliver on.

54:04 On. There are no further questions at this time. This concludes the morning's call. If you have any further questions that have not been answered, please feel free to contact Mr. Scott Parsons at (416) 368-9932 extension 5439.