Transcript: Alamos Gold Q1 2026 Earnings Conference Call

On Thursday, Alamos Gold (NYSE:AGI) discussed first-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below. This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/. The full earnings call is available at https://www.gowebcasting.com/events/alamos-gold-inc/2026/04/30/q1-2026-earnings/play Summary Alamos Gold Inc reported first-quarter production of 124,000 ounces, in line with guidance, with strong performance from the Island Gold District. The company achieved record financial results with revenues of $597 million and free cash flow of $102 million. A 32% increase in mineral reserves was noted, with significant growth at the Island Gold District, highlighting strategic expansion plans. Cost management initiatives are in place, anticipating a 5% decrease in all-in sustaining costs in the second quarter. The company remains on track to meet its 2026 production guidance and plans to increase production to 1 million ounces by 2030. Full Transcript OPERATOR Good morning. I'll now turn the call over to Scott Parsons, Alamos Gold Inc. Sorry, Alamos Gold Inc Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Scott Parsons (Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations) Thank you Operator and thanks to everybody for attending Alamos first quarter 2026 conference call in addition to myself, we have on the line today John McCluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Fisher, Chief Financial Officer and Luke Guimon, Chief Operating Officer. 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 and A 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&A as well as the risk factors set out in our annual information form. Technical information in this presentation has been reviewed and approved by Chris Bostwick, our Senior VP, Technical Services and a qualified person. Also, please bear in mind that all the dollar amounts mentioned in this conference call are in US Dollars unless otherwise noted. Now John will provide you with an overview of the quarter. John McCluskey (President and Chief Executive Officer) Thank you Scott and I'm going to start with slide 3. First quarter production was 124,000 ounces in line with quarterly guidance with a strong performance from the Island Gold District offsetting lower than planned production at Young Davidson. The Island Gold District had a solid overall quarter with the shaft and larger mill expansion advancing underground mining rates increasing to a new record of over 1400 tonnes per day and a significant improvement in Magino milling rates over the past six weeks. The continued ramp up of underground mining rates at Island Gold as well as improvements in mining rates and grades at Young Davidson are expected to increase our second quarter production by approximately 20%. With the island Gold District expected to drive further production growth in the second half of the year, we remain well on track to meeting our full year production guidance. With our year end disclosure in February we guided to costs for the first quarter being above the first half guidance range. All in sustaining costs were $1,862 per ounce and are expected to decrease by approximately 5% during the second quarter. A more significant improvement is expected into the second half of the year reflecting an increase in low cost production from the Island Gold District. Financially we had another strong quarter with record revenues and margins relative to a year ago. Our all in sustaining cost margins nearly tripled to approximately $3,000 per ounce. This contributed to record cash flow from operations and another solid quarter of free cash flow of 102 million while reinvesting in High return growth now Turning to slide 4, we had a catalyst rich first quarter that included releasing highlights of a successful 2025 exploration program across our portfolio. This supported a 32% increase in year end mineral reserves to 16 million ounces and included a near doubling of reserves at the Island Gold district to over 8 million ounces. This growth was incorporated into the Island Gold District Expansion Study which was also released in the first quarter. The study outlined a large long life low cost operation that is expected to be one of Canada's most profitable mines. At a $4,500 per ounce gold price, the Island Gold District is expected to generate over $1 billion in annual free cash flow and has a $12 billion after tax NPV making it one of the most valuable gold mines in Canada. Based on the ongoing exploration success we are seeing across the District, we believe there is further upside to come. Toward the end of the first quarter, the shaft sink at Island Gold reached its planned depth 1,381 meters. We expect to complete the commissioning of the shaft early in 2027 which will be a key catalyst driving a further increase in production and decrease in costs. With strong ongoing free cash flow generation at current gold prices and significant growth expected ahead. We announced a 60% increase in our dividend in February and will continue evaluating opportunities for additional shareholder returns. Turning to slide 5, we have previously outlined a clear path to 800,000 ounces of annual production by 2028 with costs expected to decrease 18% relative to 2025. We expect our annual production to continue increasing to 1 million ounces by 2030 with a further decrease in costs. This growth is expected to be internally funded by ongoing free cash flow generation and a strong balance sheet with 1.2 billion in available liquidity. Our team is making strides towards our long term plans across our asset portfolio. The completion of the Phase III Plus shaft expansion at Island Gold is less than a year away. Our larger Magino Mill expansion is well underway and construction activities are ramping 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 Fisher to review our financial performance. Greg Fisher (Chief Financial Officer) Greg thank you John. Moving to Slide 6, we sold 122,000 ounces of gold in the first quarter at an average realized price of $4,829 per ounce for record quarterly revenues of 597 million. Total cash costs were $1,230 per ounce and all in sustaining costs were $1,862 per ounce. As previously disclosed, first quarter costs were expected to be above the first half's guidance range. We are continuing to monitor the impact of ongoing inflationary pressures across our cost structure including higher labor, contractor, diesel and electricity costs. We expect to manage any cost pressures with ongoing productivity improvements through the year which are expected to drive costs lower and significant margin expansion at current gold prices. Operating cash flow before changes in non cash working capital increased to a record 338 million in the first quarter or $0.80 per share. This included a reduction of 43 million or $0.10 per share for cash utilized to buy out an additional 15,000 ounces of the legacy Argonaut gold hedges prior to maturity. Our reported net earnings were 191 million in the first quarter or $0.46 per share. This included after tax losses on commodity hedge derivatives of 20 million, adjustments for unrealized foreign exchange losses of 19 million and other adjustments of 1 million. Excluding these items, our adjusted net earnings were 232 million or $0.55 per share. Capital spending in the quarter totaled $184 million and included $45 million of sustaining capital, $127 million of growth capital and $11 million of capitalized exploration. We continue to fund our high return growth internally while generating strong free cash flow. This included $102 million of free cash flow generated in the first quarter, net of $82 million in cash taxes paid in the first quarter. We repurchased and eliminated an additional 15,000 ounces of gold forward contracts ahead of their maturity in the second half of 2026. These hedges were inherited as part of the Argonaut gold acquisition in 2024. Existing cash of $43 million was used to eliminate these hedges, providing further upside to higher gold prices. To date we have eliminated 245,000 out of the 330,000 ounces that were hedged by Argonaut prior to maturity. We will continue to monitor opportunities to repurchase and eliminate the remaining contracts which total 85,000 ounces across the second half of 2026 and first half of 2027. Our ongoing free cash flow drove a further increase in our cash position to 660 million at the end of the first quarter. We expect growing production and declining costs to drive stronger free cash flow through the remainder of the year and into the next several years while continuing to self fund our organic growth plans. I'll now turn the call over to Our coo, Luc Guimau to provide an overview of our operations. Luke. Luc Guimau Thank you, Greg. Over to slide 7. First quarter production from the Island Gold District totaled 61,200 ounces. In line with plan and improvement from the previous quarter. Underground mining rates averaged a record 1,423 tons per day, a 23% increase from the fourth quarter and in line with our ramp up schedule. Grades mined of 9.4 grams per tonne were also consistent with guidance. We expect a gradual ramp up of mining rates to 2,000 tonnes per day by the end of 2026 and higher grades into the second half of the year to drive growing production through the rest of 2026. Open pit operations continue to perform well with mining rates averaging 50,000 tons per day, including nearly 12,000 tons per day of ore mined during the quarter. Grades mined and milled were in line with guidance. Total milling rates from the Island Gold District averaged close to 8,800 tons per day in the first quarter, with the Magino mill averaging 7,500 tons per day and the island gold mill averaging 1,260 tons per day. Magino milling rates are expected to increase in the second quarter and through the second half of the year, driven by recent improvements to the crushing circuit. Total cash costs and mine site all in sustaining costs were above annual guidance but expected to decrease significantly in the second half of the year. This is expected to be driven by higher mill throughput at Magino as well as an increase in underground mining rates and grades at Island Gold. The Island Gold District generated mine site free cash flow of $58 million in the first quarter, net of the significant capital investment related to the Phase III plus shaft project. Larger Mill, Larger 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 large exploration program. Moving to slide 8 in the latter part of February, a temporary crusher was added to the Magino mill, providing supplementary crushed ore feed into the processing plant. The addition of the crusher has contributed to a substantial improvement in milling rates which averaged 9,200 tons per day over the past six weeks. Milling rates are expected to remain at similar levels in the second quarter with the SAG and ball mill liner changes and conveyor replacements scheduled for the quarter. Consistent with guidance, milling rates are expected to increase to a steady state levels of 10,000 tons per day by the third quarter. Combined with the Island Gold Mill, the district is expected to process in excess of 11,000 tons per day of ore in the second half of the year and into 2027. Over the long term, a number of initiatives currently underway are expected to support higher milling rates and greater operational concerns. Connecting the Magino mill to grid power will provide a more reliable source of power at substantially lower costs into 2027. Additionally, the construction of a gyratory crusher,, new truck dump configuration and ore bins will greatly improve the performance of the existing circuit by reducing rehandling of ore, ensuring a more consistent flow of ore into the mill. All of these improvements will be in place by early 2028 as part of the larger mill expansion to 20,000 tons per day. Moving to Slide 9 growth capital for the Phase 3 plus shaft expansion has been largely all spent or committed. Shaft sinking to a planned depth of 1,381 meters was completed in the first quarter and pace plant construction is on track for completion in the second quarter. Commissioning of the shaft and other surface infrastructure is expected to be completed by early 2027. This is an important catalyst to increase underground mining rates to 2,400 tons per day in 2027 and ultimately 3,000 tons per day in 2029 over to slide 10. In February, we announced the results of the larger Island Goal District Expansion study. The study included an expansion of the magino mill to 20,000 tons per day, accelerated underground development to support mining rates of 3,000 tons per day and other infrastructure investments. The larger expansion is well underway with 11% of the growth capital spent or committed, primarily related to the expansion of the Magino mill to 20,000 tons per day as shown on the slide. Construction of the mill building is well advanced, including structural steel and exterior cladding and all eight leach tanks erected. With all the earthworks, concrete foundations and steel erected, the key elements of the larger expansions have been significantly de risked. The expansion remains on track for completion in early 2028 and will be a game changer for the operation, with production expected to increase to average 534,000 ounces per year at 1025 per ounce, all in sustaining costs starting in 2028, the Island Gold District is expected to evolve into one of Canada's largest, lowest cost and most profitable gold mines over to Slide 11. Young Davidson produced 30,000 ounces in the first quarter, lower than planned, primarily due to lower mining and milling rates. Milling rates of 6,800 tons per day were below guidance, reflecting longer than anticipated downtime to complete scheduled maintenance as well as an unscheduled repair to a transformer in the mill. Underground mining rates were also 5% lower than planned due to longer than expected time to complete rehabilitation work on one of the three ore passes as well as delays in commissioning a newly constructed pass. This resulted in more rehandling of ore, reducing productivity during the quarter. With two passes now fully operational, the total number of active ore passes has increased to 4. This is expected to provide greater operational flexibility and support. Increased mining and milling rates of around 8,000 tons per day in the second quarter and through the remainder of the year. Mine grades were also below the low end of annual guidance reflecting higher than planned mining. Dilution grades are expected to return to guided levels in the second quarter and combined with higher milling rates, we expect a substantial improvement in both production and costs through the rest of the year. Young Davidson continues to deliver strong mine site free cash flow with 72 million generated in the first quarter. At current gold prices, higher production and lower costs are expected to drive further free cash flow growth through the rest of the year. Over to slide 12. Production from the Mulatos district total 32,700 ounces including nearly 27,000 ounces from the Yaqui Grande project. Costs were at the low end of annual guidance reflecting the higher grades. Stacked grades stocked are expected to decrease in the second and third quarters towards the lower end of guidance and costs increased through the remainder of the year to be consistent with annual guidance. The Mulatos district generated strong mine site free cash flow of 61 million while funding the construction of the PDA project project, a robust exploration program and paying 51 million in cash taxes during the quarter. Over to Slide 13. Construction activities on the PDA project project are well underway. Earthworks on key surface infrastructure is now substantially complete. The mill foundation work is progressing and last week we called out the portals and will continue underground development through the rest of the year. The PDA project remains on budget and on schedule for first production in mid-2027. PDA is the future of the Mulatos operation. Based on the PDA deposit alone, this is a low cost high return project which will extend the Mulatos mine life by at least nine years. We believe this is just the starting point as the operation transitions to processing higher grade sulfide mineralization and expect there's a significant upside to come. The addition of a mill for PDA is opening up a number of new opportunities for additional higher grade mineralization within the district such as Cerro Palon and Halcone where we are continuing to see strong ongoing exploration results. With that I will turn the call back to John. John McCluskey (President and Chief Executive Officer) Thank you Luke. I'll now turn the call over to the operator who will open the line for your questions. OPERATOR Thank you. If you have a question, Please press star one on your telephone keypad to raise your hand and join the queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the queue, Simply press star one again. One moment please for your first question. Your first question comes from the line of Ove Habib of Scotiabank. Your line is open. Ove Habib Thanks, operator. Hi, John and Alamo's team. Just a couple of questions for me. My first question is on island gold. Really great to see mining rates averaging 1400 tons per day. And those are expected to grow over the next couple quarters. So looking forward to that. In regards to the area which you had the seismic issue. How much more work is required to completely rehabilitate that area? And second part of that is the. Do you need this area to achieve the 2000 tons per day that you're targeting by the end of the year? Luke Guimau It's Luke here. Yeah. With regards to the island gold mining front that we had to reestablish the escapeway. We completed that at the beginning of the year. So the escape was being re established. So that allows us to actually continue mining in that area. But as far as the overall ramp up for this year in 2026, with what we're expecting, there's not a lot of production actually coming out of that area. So we will see some production starting in the second half of the year. And we're just continuing with some minor rehabilitation in this area since we've completed the escapeway which allows us to continue activities in that region. But not critical to the overall ramp up for 2026. And as we move into 2027. Ove Habib Thanks for that. And then just moving to Young Davidson. Good to hear. Mining rates are expected to now increase to average around 8,000 tons per day. Kind of Q2 onwards as both ore passes. Now for your operations in regards to underground grades, they got hit in Q1 due to some mining. How should we look at grades going to Q2 and then kind of in the second half? Luke Guimau Yeah. As I mentioned on the read, the issue that we had with Q1 was certainly some dilution from a couple of stopes. But as we move in through the rest of the year, we expect to be within our guidance of that 1.9 to 205 grades from underground. And we're on track as we move forward through certainly into Q2 and as we follow the rest of the mine plan for the rest of the year. So grades should be kind of around that 2 gram per ton then kind of going into QQ. Yeah. Within our guidance that we provided, which was, you know, between 1.9 and 2.05. Ove Habib Perfect. Okay. And then just moving on to exploration. And maybe this question is for Scott. Can you give us just kind of a brief overview where you are currently focused on and especially if you continue to have any sort of support at Klein pick. Scott Parsons (Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations) Absolutely. Our 2026 exploration programs are well underway across the board at all sites. We're just concluding a. Starting with Lynn Lake, just concluding a program there focused on testing underground potential below the MacLellan and Gordon deposits. And that was executed on time, just in time for spring breakup. Hopping over to island Gold. The focus there is on continued expansion of island Gold deposits. So we're drilling from surface, focused on extending mineralization to the east end of the west and then also at depth below the bottom of the reserves and resources. And that program is well underway. The other aspect, as you mentioned, was Koin Pik. We're drilling there and excited in what we're seeing as we follow up on some of the results that we had issued earlier in the quarter and really looking at some of the controls on mineralization in that system and testing it down plunge and in and around existing mine workings with the intention of having a resource estimate by the end of 2026. So that's well underway as well. Hopping over to Young Davidson. The underground program is focused on continuing to define the hanging wall zones that we had put out some release results on earlier in the quarter. So both the mid mine conglomerate zone and the south cyanide zone. And that program is well underway as well as testing from surface some of the regional targets. So looking at, we completed a program at Otis Northeast, which is the potential opportunity for additional open pit material to find a resource there. And that was successful in terms of that program as well as some of the other regional targets in the district. And then mulattos, that program is well underway. We're really focused off the start of the year at Halcone and Cerro Palone. We're excited about what we're seeing at Cerro Palone and with the 200,000 ounces we've defined there by the end of 2025. I think that'll be just a starting point for that target as we continue stepping out on that sulfide mineralization both in and around the pods we've defined. But also within the broader Cerro Pelon region and Halcone as well. New discovery in 2025, and we're still defining the extent of that system that's an exciting opportunity as well for additional sulfide mineralization in the Mulatos district. And then the last point I'll make. We're currently ramping up for our Kikavik program, which is our project in Nunavik in northern Quebec. And that'll be underway later in the second quarter. Ove Habib Good stuff, Scott. A lot going on. Looking forward to some results from these programs. That's it from me, guys. Again, looking forward to Q2 for improvement in production and cost and then looking forward to the site trip in. In summer as well. Thanks. Fahad Tariq Your next question comes from the line of Fahad Tariq of Jeffries. Your line is open. Hi. Thanks for taking my question. There was a comment in the press release talking about managing cost pressures with productivity improvements. Can you talk about what specific productivity improvements there are across the portfolio? Greg Fisher (Chief Financial Officer) Yeah, Fahad, it's Greg here that's referencing what we've already identified as part of our plan in 2026 and even moving into 2027. But I mean, the critical thing is obviously ramping up our mining rates at island Gold from 1400 tons per day, which we achieved in Q1, up to 2000 tons per day by the end of the year. And as we increase our production from the underground at island, that is critical for us because it's our lowest cost structure that we have across our portfolio. So that's obviously a focus. The other piece would be ramping up the Magino mill, you know, from 7,500 tons per day in Q1 to closer to 10,000 tonnes through at least the second half of the year. That's obviously going to bring down our cost structure in the second half of the year. And then the last would be the mining rates at Young Davidson getting back up to 8,000 tons per day. So all of those things are items that are going to manage those cost pressures in 2026. And then as we move into 2027, there's the. Obviously moving from ramp mining to shaft mining or skipping up the shaft is going to have a significant impact on our cost structure moving forward. And then the last is the hooking up to grid power at the Magino mill. And that's something that we'll have. We plan to have in place by early 2027 as well. So all of those are things that we outlined previously, but they go a long way to managing any inflationary pressures that we're seeing. Fahad Tariq Okay, great. And then maybe just to follow up on that, can you just talk about what pressures you're seeing? I think, I guess April 1st onwards in terms of diesel, I think the press release even talked about labor, which might be like a second or third order effect, but just what you're seeing across the board on cost inflation. Greg Fisher (Chief Financial Officer) Yeah, you highlighted the two kind of primary ones. So diesel, obviously that's a cost pressure that the entire industry is seeing. We're fortunate in that diesel isn't a big part of our cost structure. It's about 5% and if you break it down, about two thirds of that is in Canada and one third in Mexico. And in Mexico it's a regulated system. So you don't see the same effects of the higher diesel price in Mexico that we do in Canada. And then in Canada it's about 20% of our diesel has been hedged at much lower rates than what we're seeing right now. So all to say, very manageable because it's a small component of our cost structure being less than 5% on labor. I'd say that the bigger pressure is more on contractor labor. We have put in place our increases for the year. All very manageable, all built into our budget. What we're seeing a little bit of is pressure from contractors to make sure that they can fill their roles and some increased cost there. But again, something that is manageable based on our cost guidance that we have for the rest of the year. OPERATOR Got it. Thank you so much. Your next question comes from the line of Ralph Profitti of Stifel. Your line is open. Ralph Profitti Yes, thanks very much. My question is firstly on Young Davidson and within the context of this strong recovery that we're going to see through 2026, there is some discussion around stope over break leading to to a review of the blasting design. And just wondering, is this something new that we're dealing with? Was this identified as a risk when we encountered some of the headwinds in the back half of 25? Just wondering, you know, is the blasting review part of sort of just where we're having these stope overbreak issues or is this part of a broader, you know, all stope encompassing plan? Luke Guimau Yeah, hi, it's Luke here. I mean the drilling and blasting review is at always an ongoing process with regards to the, you know, the mining, I guess close out of the reconciliation of each of our stopes. So this is nothing new. We continue to review that on an ongoing basis. I mean, historically the performance has been, has been good at Young Davidson, but we've been mining there now for, you know, the better part of 13 years. And you know, actual results from a grade perspective usually reconcile quite well. To the, to the model. And we've got a good history of that. And in this specific quarter we did have a couple stopes that underperformed from a dilution aspect where we typically model around 10 to 12% dilution. And we had some higher dilution on the basis of a couple of slopes that we mined in the quarter. But really the process of closing out the reconciliation is also looking at the drilling and blasting design and seeing if there's some improvements there based on that reconciliation to any modifications that we may need to make. And it could be specific to certain regions, maybe some geological structures within those regions that are adding to the dilution. And maybe we need to change our drill and blasting patterns as a result of that. So we take all that into consideration and basically do a full analysis. And part of it is certainly the drill and blast design as well. Ralph Profitti Gotcha. Okay. And just as a sort of a minor follow up, you know, as it stands right now, do you envision the supplementary temporary crushing at Magino to be in place until the 20,000 ton per day expansion is commissioned, or does the existing secondary crusher, once it's optimized, sort of get you to meet the plan? Or do you envision sort of weaning off the temporary? Luke Guimau Yeah, we currently still have it in place. I mean we commissioned that mid February. And really initially it was to help us to get through certainly to west the winter conditions. Some of the challenges that we have operating in the winter, it provided consistency for more supplemental feed into the mill grinding circuit. So we still have it in place currently. But I would say we would rely less on it through the summer months than we need to do in the winter months. But when we do have scheduled maintenance, it allows us to continue to provide. If we have scheduled maintenance on the crushing circuit, it allows us to continue to provide mills feed into the grinding circuit. So that's the advantage of it. So you know, periodically it will get used, continue to get used through the summer months as well. But keep in mind, and I think we've discussed this, is once we do complete that larger mill expansion to 20,000 tons per day, we are going to change some of that crushing circuit. And primarily adding a gyratory crusher will eliminate some of the winter challenges that we had, certainly with regards to the front end of that crushing circuit that we currently own operate with. So come 2028, certainly we would not require that. But periodically we will continue to use it. Yes. Ralph Profitti Okay, helpful answers. Thanks very much. OPERATOR Your next question comes from the line of Don Demarco of national bank. Your line is open. Don Demarco Thanks, Brayder and good morning, John and team. Great to see the growth trajectory affirmed. First question going back to the the discussion on diesel, we see that costs are expected to decrease by 5% in Q2. Does this assume that diesel prices remain flat? Greg Fisher (Chief Financial Officer) Correct. It's based on the spot prices that were in place at March 31st. So the higher rates that we're seeing now is what we've assumed when we talked about that 5% reduction in cost. Don Demarco Okay. And as Luke was mentioning, the island mining rates continue higher in Q1 on their way to 2000 by the end of the year. Are you stockpiling this ore, the delta between the nameplate island gold, or are you putting it through the Magino mill? Luke Guimau Yeah, no stockpiling that's occurring there, Don. I mean, the additional tons that come up from island underground outside of what can be milled at the island mill itself end up over at the Magino mill. And we put process it through the Magino mill and we'll continue that as we move through the certainly the rest of the year. With the ramp up, any additional tons that cannot be fed into the island mill will go into the Magino mill. Don Demarco Okay, and then finally, do you plan to continue to settle the legacy argonaut hedges each quarter and are you looking at it more tactically or kind of are you thinking maybe the same amount that we saw in Q1 each quarter going forward? Greg Fisher (Chief Financial Officer) I think we'll be opportunistic based on where we see the gold price going. So I think we've been tactical all along in taking out close to 250,000 out of the 330,000 ounces that we originally inherited. And we'll look to continue to doing that as we approach the remaining 85,000 ounces. Don Demarco Okay, great. Thanks, Greg. That's all for me. Good luck with Q2. OPERATOR Your next question comes from the line of Lauren McConnell of Paradigm Capital. Your line is open. Lauren McConnell Hi, good morning. Thanks operator. And thanks Alamo's team for taking our questions. Just on the phase three plus expansion. It's good to see the shaft sink complete and 100% of the gross capital spent are committed with commissioning expected early next year. What are kind of the remaining critical path identity? Is it that pace plant that's currently on track for completion in Q2? And what are kind of the next kind of key milestones that we should continue to watch to make sure we keep seeing that on Track for early 2027? Luke Guimau Yeah, it's Luke here. Things are Tracking well, with regards to the certainly the phase three plus expansion. I mean the two critical items, I guess right now is as you mentioned, we've completed all of the rock work in the shaft. So now we're actually, we're furnishing the shafts. We're putting, putting all of the structural steel in the shaft, separating the compartments for skipping personnel travel and services. So that will occur over the rest of this year. Timeline is that would be completed early in the first quarter of 2027. And then the second component of that is away from the shaft, which is actually the ore and waste handling infrastructure that's required to be able to feed the shaft. We're well embarked on, on that as well. So we're in the process of doing some rock work in relation to one of the bins, one of the large bins for the underground loading pocket. And we'll be establishing our grizzly station as well as the loading pocket at 1350. That work is also expected to be completed in early 2027 in the first quarter as well. So that will all kind of tie in together. So I'd say by mid Q1 we should have the ore waste handling components commissioned as well as the shaft commissioned to be able to start utilizing the shaft for ore and waste movement and personnel movement as well. Lauren McConnell Okay, great, that's really helpful. And then just on the overall larger expansion, I think that it said that about 11% of the growth capital has been spent or committed. And so I'm just wondering how much of that remains. I think it was 542 million is still exposed to sort of inflation and procurement risk and you know, any kind of scope changes at this point? Greg Fisher (Chief Financial Officer) Yeah, on that front, I mean a bunch of that is development. So development is subject to labor inflation basically. The other piece would be the kind of core components of the mill. And we've got contracts in place for some of that, but we're still working through contracts. So technically there is some inflationary pressure there, although we're not hearing right now that we're expecting much from that. So I'd say it would be normal course inflationary pressures of 4 to 5%. Lauren McConnell Okay, great, that's really helpful. And that's it for me. Thanks everyone. OPERATOR And your last question comes in the line of Satish Kazinathan of Bank of America. Your line is open. Satish, perhaps your line is on mute. Yeah. Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. My first question is on capital allocation. We saw strong free cash flow generation in the first quarter, but there were no share buybacks. Given the free cash flow is expected Satish Kazinathan to improve to throughout the remainder of the year, how should we think about the potential for getting more active in buybacks? John McCluskey (President and Chief Executive Officer) Hi, this is John speaking. We've always taken a very opportunistic approach to share buybacks. And we had. We had a focus We had a focus in the first quarter on increasing the dividend and the buyback of. We spent 45 million by buying back part of the legacy Argonaut hedges. But you know, you take an opportunity like you see now with our shares underperforming in the market, probably a good guess would be that we're being opportunistic on that front. We expect to be more active with the share buyback in Q2 and for the remainder of the year. Satish Kazinathan Okay. Yeah. Thank you for the color and most of my other questions have been asked and answered. Maybe one on Magino. You expect meaningful cost savings from connecting the Magino Mill to the grid power. Can you maybe quantify the dollar per ounce impact once it is fully online? Greg Fisher (Chief Financial Officer) Yeah, it's about $5 a ton, correct? $5 a ton. OPERATOR Okay. Thank you. Thanks for taking my question. There are no further questions at this time. This concludes this 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 at extension 5439. That is 416-368-9932. Extension 5439. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect. Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company's SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants' and analysts' statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.