Centerra Gold (TSX:CG) reported third-quarter financial results on Friday. The transcript from the company’s third-quarter earnings call has been provided below.
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Summary
Centerra Gold reported strong financial performance in Q3 2026 with adjusted net earnings of $72 million or $0.37 per share, driven by consistent operational execution and strong cost performance.
The company completed a record $53 million in share buybacks in Q3, totaling $125 million year-to-date, underscoring its commitment to shareholder returns.
Mount Milligan achieved a fourth consecutive quarter on plan, enabling a reduction in full-year guidance for all-in sustaining costs due to strong copper by-product credits.
The Goldfield project reached important milestones with permits secured for the Gemfield deposit, and development activities are advancing towards first production expected in late 2028.
Öksüt’s life-of-mine optimization study progresses, with results anticipated in early 2027; production tracks within increased guidance.
Thompson Creek is on track for first molybdenum production by mid-2027, with infrastructure refurbishment 75% complete by late October.
The company maintains a strong liquidity position of $998 million, providing flexibility for funding growth projects and shareholder returns.
Management highlighted a disciplined approach to capital allocation, prioritizing NAV-per-share growth and share buybacks.
Centerra Gold remains focused on sustainability initiatives, having held a Sustainability Summit to advance its broader strategy.
Full Transcript
OPERATOR
Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Centerra Gold third quarter 2026 conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may reach an operator by pressing star then zero.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Lisa Wilkinson, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications with Centerra Gold. Please go ahead.
Lisa Wilkinson (Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications)
Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Centerra Gold’s third quarter 2026 results conference call. Joining me on the call today are Paul Tomori, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Snyder, Chief Financial Officer, and Kelly Strong, our Chief Operating Officer. Other members of the executive team are available for the Q&A session. Our news release last night outlines our third quarter 2026 results and is complemented by our MD&A and financial statements which are available on SEDAR+, EDGAR, and our website. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. Presentation slides accompanying this webcast are available on Centerra’s website. Following the prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions.
Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that today’s discussion may include forward-looking statements which are subject to risks that could cause our actual results to differ from those expressed or implied. For more information, please refer to the cautionary statements in our presentation and the risk factors outlined in our annual information form. We will also be referring to certain non-GAAP measures during today’s discussion. For a detailed description of these measures, please see our news release and MD&A issued yesterday.
I will now turn the call over to Paul Tomori.
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Thank you, Lisa. Good morning, everyone. Our third quarter results reflect continued consistent execution at our operations. Mount Milligan delivered a fourth consecutive quarter on plan and remains on track to achieve its 2026 production guidance. Strong copper by-product credits have enabled us to lower Mount Milligan’s full-year guidance for all-in sustaining costs, while Öksüt production continues to track in line with its previously increased full-year production guidance and original cost guidance ranges.
We are pleased with our cost performance in the quarter and year to date, particularly in an environment of continued industry cost pressures. In the third quarter we completed a record $53 million in share buybacks, bringing our year-to-date total share repurchases to $125 million. This demonstrates our commitment to shareholder returns and reflects the strength of our balance sheet, our ability to generate cash flow, and our disciplined approach to capital allocation. Our growth pipeline is moving closer to several important milestones. Goldfield has achieved an important permitting milestone in the third quarter with all major permits now in place for the Gemfield deposit, which accounts for approximately 80% of the life-of-mine production.
Development activities also advanced in the quarter, including detailed engineering, long-lead equipment procurement, and initial works for stormwater diversion channels, overburden stockpiles, and borrow material excavation. Further construction site prep activities are planned for the remainder of 2026. The Goldfield project represents our next source of near-term gold production growth with first production expected in late 2028. At Öksüt, work on our life-of-mine optimization study is well underway with results expected in early 2027, alongside our year-end disclosures. Our focus remains on maximizing the value of what has already been a very strong operation in our portfolio. Meanwhile, our team continues to advance engineering and technical work at Kemess with a PFS expected in mid-2027. Following the positive PEA release in January, Kemess represents a project with the potential to become our second long-life gold-copper cornerstone asset in British Columbia.
And finally, at Thompson Creek, we remain on track for first molybdenum production in mid-2027, now less than one year away, and in a very constructive price environment. U.S. Moly offers exposure to strategic minerals with the ability to generate robust cash flow to support balance sheet strength and help build our gold-focused projects. Molybdenum prices are continuing to trend well above the assumptions used in our feasibility study, reinforcing the attractive economics of the project.
Together with the continued ramp-up at Langeloth, we see a significant opportunity to create value through an integrated U.S. molybdenum business. When we look across our portfolio we see a high-quality asset base, a robust balance sheet, multiple organic growth opportunities across gold, copper, and molybdenum, and substantial exploration upside. We believe this positions the company to deliver meaningful long-term value for shareholders. Our key priorities remain disciplined execution, advancing our growth projects, and delivering strong operational performance.
I’d now like to provide an update on our sustainability initiatives. Earlier this month we held our annual Sustainability Summit in Vancouver, bringing together environmental and community relations teams from across our operations and corporate office. The summit provided an opportunity to share best practices, strengthen collaboration, and advance company-wide initiatives in support of Centerra’s broader sustainability strategy. By bringing together our sustainability leaders, we are working to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach to sustainability across our operations, supporting our long-term success and our commitment to creating lasting value for the communities in which we operate.
During the third quarter, our teams also participated in several community initiatives across our operations. At Goldfield, our team participated in Goldfield Days, an annual event celebrating the town’s rich mining history. Alongside our partners, we had the opportunity to engage with community members, showcase our activities at Goldfield, and provide an up-close look at some of the equipment being used on site. At Langeloth, our team donated specialized vehicle stabilization equipment to the Smith Township Slovan Volunteer Fire Department, supporting the department’s emergency response capabilities and helping strengthen local emergency preparedness.
These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to being a responsible operator and supporting communities where our employees live and work. With that, I’ll turn the call over to Kelly Strong for his first quarterly operating update as our new Chief Operating Officer.
Kelly Strong (Chief Operating Officer)
Thanks, Paul. I want to say how pleased I am to have joined Centerra Gold’s team at an exciting time for the company. Since joining, I’ve had the opportunity to visit all of our mine sites and gain a deeper understanding of our operations and projects. I’ve been impressed by the quality of our assets and the depth of experience across the organization. I look forward to building on a strong operational foundation already in place with a continued focus on safe, reliable operations and disciplined execution as we advance our growth projects.
Turning now to our third quarter operating results, starting with Mount Milligan. Mount Milligan produced over 44,000 ounces of gold in the quarter, a 15% increase over the previous quarter, consistent with the production profile previously outlined. Copper production totaled 12.8 million pounds, largely in line with the previous quarter, reflecting planned mine sequencing. Year to date, gold and copper production remains aligned with the PFS mine plan, and we remain on track to achieve our full-year production guidance of 140,000 to 155,000 ounces of gold and 50 to 60 million pounds of copper.
All-in sustaining costs on a by-product basis were $985 per ounce in the third quarter, 22% lower quarter over quarter as a result of strong gold production and sales and copper by-product credits. We reaffirmed our full-year gold production cost guidance of $1,450 to $1,550 per ounce at Mount Milligan, while strong year-to-date copper by-product credits have enabled us to lower our full-year AISC guidance to $1,100 to $1,200 per ounce, from $1,200 to $1,300 per ounce.
Moving on to Öksüt, third quarter gold production was over 31,000 ounces, driven by higher grades, enhanced operating practices, and solution management. We remain on track to achieve the previously increased full-year production guidance of 120,000 to 135,000 ounces of gold. AISC on a by-product basis was $1,893 per ounce in the third quarter, an improvement over the previous quarter, driven …by lower royalty expense per ounce due to lower gold prices. We continue to expect Öksüt’s full-year AISC on a by-product basis to be within our guidance range of $1,850 to $1,900 per ounce.
Thompson Creek restart activities continue to advance as planned, with approximately 65% of the infrastructure refurbishment complete at the end of September, increasing to 75% complete as of late October. During the third quarter, the project progressed with most long-lead equipment shipped. Installation of approximately two-thirds of the flotation tanks and agitators is completed, and refurbishment of key mill equipment and electrical work advances.
In October, the final electrical equipment required for the mill refurbishment was delivered to site, and construction of the tailings toe dam was completed. Non-sustaining capex in the third quarter was $81 million. Project-to-date capital expenditures have totaled $337 million. The project remains in line with the total capex estimate of $425 to $450 million and is on track for first production by mid-2027. I’ll now pass it over to Ryan to walk through our financial highlights for the quarter.
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
Thanks, Kelly. Shifting to the financials, slide 11 details our third-quarter financial results. Adjusted net earnings in the third quarter were $72 million, or $0.37 per share. Key adjustments to net earnings include $10 million of deferred income tax adjustments and $7 million related to a reclamation provision revaluation recovery, among other things. In the third quarter, sales were over 74,000 ounces of gold and 13.2 million pounds of copper. The average realized price was $3,483 per ounce of gold and $5.74 per pound of copper, which incorporates the existing streaming arrangements at Mount Milligan. Approximately 4.6 million pounds of molybdenum were sold in the third quarter at the Langeloth facility at an average realized price of $33.43 per pound. Consolidated all-in sustaining costs on a by-product basis in the third quarter were $1,775 per ounce.
We remain well positioned to achieve our full-year AISC guidance of $1,650 to $1,750 per ounce. Slide 12 shows our financial highlights. In the third quarter, we generated cash flow from operations of $143 million and free cash flow of $17 million in the quarter. Mount Milligan generated $107 million in cash from operations and $63 million in free cash flow, and Öksüt generated $68 million in cash from operations and $66 million in free cash flow. U.S. Moly generated $2.9 million of cash from operations and had a free cash flow deficit of $54 million, mainly related to spending on Thompson Creek.
Returning capital to shareholders remains a key pillar in our disciplined approach to capital allocation. In the third quarter, we repurchased 2.6 million shares for a record total consideration of $53 million, bringing our total year-to-date share repurchases to $125 million. We continue to believe that repurchasing our shares is an accretive, high-return use of cash. We also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share at the end of the quarter.
Total liquidity was $998 million, with $398 million of cash and $600 million available under our corporate credit facility. This strong financial position gives us the flexibility to fully fund our North American organic growth pipeline while continuing to return capital to shareholders. I’ll pass it back to Paul for some concluding remarks.
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Thanks, Ryan. We’re very pleased with our performance through the first nine months of 2026, reflecting consistent operational execution, Mount Milligan and Öksüt, strong cost performance, and continued progress across our growth pipeline. With several important milestones approaching, including first production at Thompson Creek in mid-2027 and continued advancement of the Goldfield Project and the Kemess PFS, we are well positioned to deliver on our self-funded growth strategy.
Our strong operating base and balance sheet provide the financial flexibility to advance these growth opportunities while continuing to return capital to our shareholders. With a disciplined approach to capital allocation and a clear path to meaningful production growth, we believe Centerra is well positioned to create long-term value for our shareholders. With that, we can open the call to questions.
OPERATOR
We will now begin the question-and-answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. You will hear someone acknowledging your request. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. The first question comes from Luke Bertozzi with CIBC. Please go ahead.
Luke Bertozzi (Analyst)
Morning, Paul and team. Congrats on a solid quarter. My first question is on Thompson Creek. With infrastructure refurbishment approximately 65% complete, what are the main critical paths between now and first production?
Kelly Strong (Chief Operating Officer)
So we are 65% at the end of September; we’re actually 75% here at the end of October. We had a tremendous month here on progress. We’re into final structural, mechanical, and electrical. The last of the electrical switchgear arrived over the course of the last couple weeks, so we’re doing final connections and final mechanical installations. We’ll be in a position to start early commissioning works sometime late in the first quarter. So the critical path items are really simple: installations and connections, and powering up and commissioning.
Luke Bertozzi (Analyst)
Okay, thanks. That’s helpful. And perhaps as a follow-up, with molybdenum prices quite high, are there any practical opportunities to lock in pricing on a portion of the initial production? Is that something you’d consider to protect early cash flows?
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Unfortunately, there’s no real forward or hedging market available in molybdenum. Most contracts are effected essentially off a spot basis. So, unfortunately, the answer is no. Molybdenum is not a market that can be hedged, so it’s spot exposure all around.
Luke Bertozzi (Analyst)
Gotcha. Okay, I understand. And I guess my second question would be on capital allocation. Centerra’s cash balance declined approximately $50 million this quarter. Just with the investments in growth and the share buybacks, how do you think about a minimum cash balance you’d want to maintain through the remaining construction period? And how could that influence the pace of buybacks?
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Well, Luke, let me just answer that first with an overarching view on strategy. We’re really focused on numerator NAV and driving NAV-per-share growth through the development of our projects, all the while reducing the denominator by buying back our shares. So our capital allocation framework is informed by that—driving NAV in our projects and then reducing our share count through buybacks. Ryan will have a perspective on how we manage minimum cash.
But we are very confident we can fund our entire growth program out of the balance sheet. And that really is how we govern our capital allocation strategy. But, Ryan, why don’t you talk about minimum balances?
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
Yeah, I mean, I’ll echo what Paul said. I think we’ve long held a very large cash balance, and we don’t need to hold $400 or $500 million. We’re happy to deploy that cash into our projects and into their development, as well as into share buybacks when it makes sense. And so you may see that cash step down again as we invest in both of those areas. And we’d like to hold somewhere in the range of $100 to $200 million of cash just to manage operational movements month over month.
But if there are good uses of investment of that cash, we also have the credit facility that we can access if necessary. So the focus for us, as Paul said, is investing in our projects and bringing them online, and given where our share price is trading, continuing to buy back our shares.
Luke Bertozzi (Analyst)
Yeah, thanks Paul. Thanks Ryan. That’s helpful. Thanks for taking my questions and congrats again on a great quarter.
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Thanks, Luke.
OPERATOR
The next question comes from Don DeMarco with National Bank. Please go ahead.
Don DeMarco (Analyst)
Thank you, operator, and good morning, Paul and team. Thanks for taking my question. Start off with a couple questions on Thompson Creek. Great to see that it’s advancing. First one for either Paul or Ryan: just wondering, how should we allocate capex over the remaining quarters of development? Yeah, how much per quarter?
Brian
Hey Don, it’s Brian. You see the number that we’re at project to date, which is a little under $340 million. I would allocate that pretty evenly between now and the middle of next year as we get to first production. Again, that capex range in total is $425 to $450, but it’s about even between now and then.
Don DeMarco (Analyst)
Right, so really Q3 was the high watermark of spend. We’re going to see a big drop-off in spend heading into Q3, I would imagine, then.
Brian
Yeah, Q3 was a big quarter because there was a lot of activity in the mill. It was the big push to do the mill refurbishment and install equipment and things like that. As Paul said, we’re kind of 75% done the installations and all of that, and so that is going to tail off a little bit into Q4 and into the front end of next year.
Don DeMarco (Analyst)
Okay, great. And so then looking beyond completion and commissioning, can you frame the expectations for the ramp-up following first production? I’ll look at the 2026 guidance when you release it, but can you give some color now on how you expect production and costs to trend, or any milestones to watch in the first few quarters of operations?
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Well, first of all, we’re really happy with the timing, where we remain very much on schedule here. And we reiterate our view, which we’ve held since the publishing of the study, that we will have first production in the middle part of next year, and we’re adhering to that and we’re tracking very well against that. I suppose that our strategy will be to disclose major milestones through the first quarter. I suspect the first one will come with our year-end release.
We intend, with our guidance, to provide a little bit more granularity on production and cost for 2027. But as I mentioned, our timing is broadly in line. In fact, we’re very happy with the schedule progress against the study.
Don DeMarco (Analyst)
Okay, great. Well, we’ll look forward to those details, and congratulations so far then. Final question, just shifting to Mount Milligan. The mine has now delivered four consecutive quarters on plan. So what has structurally improved in the operation? And how confident are you that the recent operating consistency can carry through and over the longer-term mine plan?
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Don, we’ve done two things. The PFS that we put out last year had as its principal objective the extension of the mine life to 2045, which we achieved. But equally importantly, we wanted to have a higher degree of confidence in the technical parameters—so, for example, ore characteristics around geochem, geomet, grade, pyrite, chalcopyrite. So we built in a much greater degree of understanding into the ore body model, and that was on the back of significant infill drilling.
To supplement that, we’ve carried out over the past year a pretty extensive grade-control RC drilling program to give us better confidence in the material that we will be mining in the short term—so meaning looking out one, two, three, four quarters. So a better understanding of the ore body model, a better understanding of the mine-to-mill interaction, and a strong supplement with a grade-control program has given us much greater confidence in our ability to forecast, plan, and deliver at Mount Milligan.
The other critical thing that we’ve done at Mount Milligan is we have significantly invested in the team. We have a world-class general manager leading the site. We have Kelly Strong here as our new Chief Operating Officer. So we’ve made significant investments in human capital, in beefing up our capabilities at that site. So it’s really a combination of a better technical understanding and a much stronger technical and operating team supporting the asset.
Don DeMarco (Analyst)
Okay, thank you very much. Appreciate the caller. That’s all for me and thanks again for taking my questions.
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Yeah, see you, Don.
OPERATOR
The next question comes from Simon Wildsmith with Desjardins. Please go ahead.
Simon Wildsmith (Analyst)
Thanks, operator. And thank you, Paul. And team, congrats on a solid quarter. Just two questions for me. Um, so just first on Thompson Creek cost to complete, just confirming that that 337 million to date is comparable against the 425 to $450,000. And if so, what’s your confidence in landing inside that range? Just given that that’s about 75 to 80% of the range versus the 65% completion. Just trying to… yeah, I guess just cadence on that. And if you think you’ll beat that range?
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
Yeah. Hey, Simon. Yeah. That is the right comparative. That 337 is being counted against the original 425 to 450 guidance we put out there. We still feel pretty good that we’re on track for that range. Again, all the key equipment is already on site, so you’re not really waiting on big pieces of equipment or procurement-type areas where you could have cost inflation and things like that. And so really it’s the team on site putting the rest of the mill together and connecting everything, as Paul said, and continuing to do our stripping in the mining area, which we have a good handle on and we’ve been doing for quite some period of time. So feel pretty good about staying within that cost estimate as we kind of get to first production here.
Simon Wildsmith (Analyst)
Okay. Okay, thanks. Yeah, I mean, it sounds like we’re sort of through that, maybe through the peak, so. And then, yeah, sort of. Last question, just on U.S. Moly strategic options with moly prices strong as they are. So where does the potential review of a U.S. Moly sale or IPO stand? Would you monetize before or after Thompson Creek reaches commercial production?
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Well, first and foremost, we’re focused on delivering the mine and getting up and running there. We are thrilled with where molybdenum prices are going. The overall molybdenum market is extremely constructive right now. There are constraints on the supply side and the demand is very strongly driven by many thematics that are in effect demanding more molybdenum than had been forecast. So, for example, pipelines, energy in general, defense, aerospace.
We take a constructive view on molybdenum and we really like where we are with respect to the cycle and the delivery of the mine. In terms of strategic options, we will continue to monitor the market. We believe that there’s yet more upside to come here in molybdenum and we continue to do the steps internally to prepare for an IPO or some other separation event, but we’re not in a hurry to do that because we think that there’s a lot of value yet to be recognized in our valuation as it relates to these molybdenum assets. So we’re not in a hurry, but it’s certainly something that will remain part of our strategic framework.
Simon Wildsmith (Analyst)
Yeah, no, that all makes sense. Thanks for that. That’s it for me, team. Thanks again and congrats again on a solid quarter.
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Thanks, Simon.
OPERATOR
The next question comes from Lawson Winder with Bank of America Securities. Please go ahead.
Lawson Winder (Analyst)
Thank you very much, operator, and good morning, Paul and team. Could I ask a few questions just on the cost pressure? So in Turkey, you’ve noted cost inflation. We’ve heard that from some of your peers. Could you just help us quantify that, especially as we think about 2027 budgeting. So what was the cost inflation budget in Turkey for 2026? And then how has that been realized year to date vis-à-vis that budget? And then based on that, what is a reasonable expectation for U.S. dollar inflation in Turkey?
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
Hey, Lawson, it’s Ryan. Yeah, we look at the Turkish operation on a kind of a net basis, right. There’s obviously high inflation in Turkey. There’s usually a partially offsetting devaluation of the lira against the U.S. dollar and you end up in a net inflation position on your U.S. dollar cost base. Going into 2026, we planned for that net inflation to be in the range of 5 to 10%. I think that’s roughly where it is, obviously in our cost structure.
We also have the big government royalty, which moves along with gold prices. But we’ve kind of always assumed this 5 to 10% net inflation. I think that’s the prevailing view for next year as well as we go into 2027.
Lawson Winder (Analyst)
Okay, that’s really helpful. I guess I would ask a similar question for Mount Milligan. I mean, very different situation, but I mean, you’ve been more detailed in terms of calling out some of the specific costs at Mount Milligan. So you mentioned, you know, camp costs, freight, dewatering, diesel, SAG liners. It’s a pretty, pretty long list. I mean, so how has Mount Milligan compared to budget in 2026? And then again, like, what does that imply for 2027?
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
Yeah, I would say absolute costs are up a little bit. Right. And all the areas you noted are true. Right. And there’s labor inflation in B.C. and diesel’s obviously up and things like that. We’re probably tracking about 5% higher on absolute costs. But again, the high copper credits, some silver credits, and some really strong production has essentially offset that at Mount Milligan. Now, we’re just into our budgeting process for the 2027 year. There will be a modest amount of inflation, but I don’t think anything kind of major or overarchingly terrible at Mount Milligan. But we’ll have to get through that process first. But there’s always a little bit of cost pressure which we try to offset with operational improvements and strong production.
Lawson Winder (Analyst)
Okay, yeah, that’s very helpful. So would you say something around that 5% level for Mount Milligan heading into 2027 is reasonable, all else equal? I mean, obviously who knows what diesel prices are going to do, but you know, all else equal. Does that kind of make sense?
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
I think so. Again, it’s early stages on the budget, so I don’t want to commit to that. But that kind of range is, I think, what most people are seeing and again, we’ll try to manage that a little bit tighter as best we can and again try to offset it with production improvements and efficiencies where we can. But I think that range is kind of the norm for that area over the long term.
Lawson Winder (Analyst)
Yeah, that’s super helpful, thank you. On Öksüt. So the update is getting closer and closer. I mean, I think it’s a really important update for Centerra Gold in the sense of what it potentially means for the gold production profile. Paul, you mentioned, you know, something in the range of a one- to three-year extension is what you’d be looking for. One- to three-year extension of the mine life. I mean, is that still a valid assumption? And you’ve alluded to this idea that, you know, there could potentially be more to do beyond that?
I mean, is that still a valid idea?
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Definitely. Kelly and I were in Turkey last week and we were there to review progress on the project and we’re definitely landing in that range and, as we said, it’s a combination of a better understanding of the leaching parameters of recoveries and also grades, but also bringing in a lower-grade oxide halo in the pit. The other thing we reviewed while we were at site is the very extensive exploration program that we’re carrying out. So this project result that we’re going to release in February will essentially incorporate the first round of drilling, but there’s a lot more drilling that we’re doing at Öksüt and I would expect that we will have further work to do after this project update to look at further potential extensions. So what I’m saying is that this extension that we release the results of in February is potentially a first step, but we need to see the results of the exploration drilling.
With our year-end we typically provide more detail on exploration results and we’ll have more detailed commentary on Öksüt drilling and some of the results we’re seeing there. But we are on track to that range that you referenced.
Lawson Winder (Analyst)
Any indication as to whether, you know, closer to one, the midpoint, or the higher end of that?
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
It’s closer to the midpoint. Yeah, no, it’s a very deliberate range. We’re close to the midpoint there.
Lawson Winder (Analyst)
Okay. On Langeloth, you really materially increased the EBITDA guidance for this year, which, I mean, is obviously a really nice surprise given the issues that that operation had had with the fire earlier in the year. The guidance you provided for this year is very materially above 24 and 25 as well. And it’s kind of hard to parse out what is run rate versus the full-year guide. So of that 17 to 22 million for full year 2026, is that a good run rate, or what is a sensible run rate now for that operation?
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
Yeah, Lawson, it’s a good question. I mean, I think now that the Langeloth operations have normalized, we expect it to be EBITDA positive. Right. That’s our view of Langeloth on a go-forward basis. Q3 was a bit outsized. Moly prices ran up and, because of the issues earlier this year, we had built up inventories at a lower price. And so we were sitting on inventories priced at a much lower moly market than where we are today. So I would say Q3 was a bit of an outsized quarter in terms of the EBITDA that drove the change in guidance for the full year.
So, generally speaking, we look at Langeloth all the time. We try to optimize it. We expect it to be EBITDA positive. Probably a little bit less so than what we did in Q3 though.
Lawson Winder (Analyst)
Okay. And then just one final question with respect to Langeloth. Pardon me. Okay, so as TCM ramps up in the second half of 2027, will there be a need to take Langeloth offline for a period of time to make room for that additional TCM feed? Or, like, how should we think about the interplay on that and potential 2027 outlook for Langeloth?
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
Yeah, Lawson, I’m going to introduce Elaine Timpano. I think she’s been on a couple of calls before. She’s our President of U.S. Moly. I’ll ask her to comment on our operating strategy.
Elaine Timpano (President of U.S. Moly)
Yeah. Hi, Lawson. So the strategy for next year is to start feathering in the TCM concentrate, but I think just recognizing that it will be the ramp-up year, we’re going to be doing that in a measured way. We will still—just recall that the business plan for Langeloth will continue to rely on third-party concentrate. And so if you look at the volumes that we’re contracting currently, that’s kind of a good indication of what we probably need going forward.
And then TCM will be the source of additional growth at Langeloth. The TCM concentrate is very valuable at Langeloth because, in a tight concentrate market, it gives us a lot of secure supply, which is difficult to achieve when the conditions are so competitive. But it also, being so pure, gives us a lot of opportunities either on creating higher-margin products and/or as a source of blending for some of the more challenging concentrates to process. So it’s really an important component of our value proposition in U.S. Moly.
Lawson Winder (Analyst)
And then just to sort of clarify there, given the statement you’ve made about the intention to continue processing third-party concentrate, I mean, is the implication then that ramping up capacity to add the additional TCM material will not cause any impact? And ultimately where I’m coming from is, like, part of the idea of this is to run Langeloth more effectively at higher utilization rates. So maybe the question I should introduce here is, like, at what utilization rate are you running at today?
Where do you expect to be in 2028 once you introduce TCM? And then is there any transitory impact in 2027 as a result of that shift to higher utilization?
Kelly Strong (Chief Operating Officer)
Yeah, the capacity of the facility is £40 million. Now, that doesn’t mean that we’ll necessarily be running at £40 million. It will need to be a decision made in light of the market conditions. The other point that I didn’t touch on, on your earlier question, is just in regards to a shutdown in order to actually achieve the vertical integration. I think the better way to think about that is just the fact that this asset does need periodic maintenance. So we are planning an outage in the first part of next year. And I think coming out of that outage, we’ll be fully refreshed on our maintenance program, and it will give us a really strong platform to be ramping up through the balance of the year.
OPERATOR
Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Jeremy Hoy with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.
Jeremy Hoy (Analyst)
Hi Paul and team. Thanks for taking my questions. At Öksüt, we’re looking forward to that study. There was a surprise tax cut that impacted the mining industry. Could you quickly comment on that? Do you expect that to be applicable at Öksüt for the remainder of current life of mine? And also, if you’re successful with exploration strategies and there is growth coming from that, is that expected to be applicable for all that growth as well?
Ryan Snyder (Chief Financial Officer)
Yeah, thanks, Jeremy, it’s Ryan. That’s our understanding right now. So the Turkish government has changed the tax rates from 25% to 12.5% starting at the start of 2027 for manufacturing companies, which mining falls under. We disclosed that last quarter. Our understanding is that applies to us, and therefore our income tax will step down next year. I believe Eldorado has a similar disclosure in their financials for their Turkish operations. So that’s our understanding.
Obviously things can always change in Turkey, but we’re approaching this as if every ounce of gold we have at Öksüt and anything we find on the exploration side is more valuable due to the lower taxes going forward.
Jeremy Hoy (Analyst)
Great, thanks for that confirmation. And just a high-level question for me. There’s been some great discussion with the management additions, Paul, that you’ve mentioned. You’ve got some new eyes on the portfolio and the assets. Are there any new initiatives that you might talk about, things that have come up as, you know, Kelly, a new COO, takes a look at the portfolio? Or is it generally business as usual on the several operations and development projects you’ve got going on?
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Well, our principal focus is on delivering the value associated with very significant metal inventories in the ground. When you look at our total metal inventory, it is very significant relative to our enterprise value. And so the first order is essentially delivering on the projects that will unlock those mineral inventories. Kelly, you might talk about some of the initiatives, for example, Mount Milligan, that you’ve seen opportunities for.
Kelly Strong (Chief Operating Officer)
Yeah, thanks, Jeremy. I think my role here is going to really keep continuing the momentum that already exists here in the company. But then with that I can augment some of that with my own background experiences, particularly at the operating sites like Mount Milligan and Öksüt. And I think, thirdly, it’s really around making sure that we transition the projects into the operating phase as smooth as possible. So that’s a big focus of mine as well, working with the project team and making sure once those are handed off that we have the best transition possible.
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Jeremy, I will add, if you’re asking about next-generation type work, we’re not into any detailed study, but we’re starting to think about things like, what does a potential future at Goldfield look like beyond the current study? We’re in very early stages. Given the strong molybdenum price, we’re looking at what role could Endako play in the portfolio. So there is a next generation of study, or as I referred to earlier with Öksüt, there might be a further extension there, but we’re in the very early stages of framing up those opportunities.
Jeremy Hoy (Analyst)
Okay, understood. That’s great color. And thanks, Paul. Thanks, Ryan, and thanks, Kelly, for the commentary. I’ll step back in the queue.
Paul Tomori (President and Chief Executive Officer)
All right, see you, Jeremy.
OPERATOR
Once again, if you have a question, please press star then 1. Since there are no further questions, this concludes the question-and-answer session and today’s conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.
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