Newmont Corporation 2026 Q3 Earnings Call

Please go ahead. Thank you, Rebecca.

Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining Newmont's third quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today are Natascha Viljoen, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Brian Tabolt, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, as well as other members of our management team who will be available to answer questions at the end of the call. Before we begin, please take a moment to review our cautionary statement shown here and refer to our SEC filings, which can be found on our website. With that, I'll turn the call over to Natascha.

Thank you, Neil, and hello, everyone. Newmont delivered a stable third quarter, demonstrating the quality, resilience, and value generation capacity of our world-class portfolio. Robust safety and operational performance, disciplined cost management, and higher silver production with realized prices enabled us to improve our full-year cost guidance while remaining firmly on track to achieve our production, capital, and other guidance metrics. I want to start with our operational performance. In the third quarter, Newmont safely produced approximately 1.3 million ounces of gold, 23,000 tons of copper, and a notable 11 million ounces of silver. As we indicated last quarter, gold production was broadly in line with the second quarter and reflected strong execution across the portfolio. This operational performance translated into strong financial results, including $1.9 billion of free cash flow and an adjusted net income of $2.20 per share, representing a third-quarter record.

This strong cash generation continues to support our balanced approach to capital allocation. Since our last earnings call, we have returned approximately $1.9 billion to shareholders through our quarterly dividend and ongoing share repurchases. I'm also pleased to share that we have now repurchased more than 115 million shares, representing approximately 10% of shares outstanding since launching the repurchase program in February 2024. Beyond our safe operational and financial performance, we achieved several important milestones this quarter. First, we announced an amended joint venture agreement for Nevada Gold Mines, under which the previously excluded Fourmile, Fiberline, and Mike properties will be contributed. We are very pleased with the outcome of this agreement, which aligns the interests of both partners and positions us to maximize the value of one of the world's premier gold districts.

We continue to work collaboratively with our partner and expect to close the transaction during the fourth quarter. At Lihir, we safely completed the planned September shutdown on schedule and according to plan. We continue to expect higher grade ore in the fourth quarter as planned. Finally, at Red Chris, we are finalizing the feasibility study for the block cave project and continue to advance toward a full funds decision early next year. I will provide more detail a little bit later. As we move beyond the production trough previously indicated for in 2026, we expect production growth to begin in 2027. Looking further ahead, our portfolio of operating assets, projects in execution, and future development opportunities position Newmont to grow and sustain production for decades to come.

Supporting both our near-term production growth and longer-term outlook is the progress we continue to make advancing our projects across the portfolio. In the third quarter, we continued to advance our development pipeline, achieving key milestones across multiple projects. Most notably at the second expansion at Tanami, we have now completed construction on the 1.5-kilometer shaft. We remain on track for full mechanical completion by the end of this year, and our focus will shift towards commissioning as we move into 2027. We now expect commercial production by the end of the second quarter of 2027, earlier than previously anticipated, with ramp-up activities continuing to the end of the year. At Cadia PC2-3, we remain on track for completion by the end of this year, with the final drawbell fired in September. This represents an important milestone as we begin transitioning activities from the project teams to operations.

At PC1, PC2, cave establishment activities continue to advance on schedule, and we are pleased to report that the key regulatory approvals and associated requirements following the April seismic event have been achieved, allowing the project to continue advancing towards cave establishment. The two water treatment plants at Yanacocha are progressing well and are approaching mechanical completion with commissioning activities underway. As these projects advance towards completion in 2027, closure spending is expected to be approximately $200 million lower in 2027 and $400 million lower in 2028 compared with 2026 levels. As this cash flow becomes available, it will be reallocated to growth, partially offsetting an increase in development capital as we continue to invest in future projects and opportunities across our portfolio that generates the highest returns.

These project milestones reinforce our confidence in Newmont's proven ability to execute large, complex projects across jurisdictions safely, responsibly, and on schedule. With this capability and confidence, we are advancing the Red Chris block cave project, a fully permitted, shovel-ready gold copper development in British Columbia's Golden Triangle and the next major reinvestment in our business, directly supporting our strategy to lead in gold and grow in copper. With a full funds decision anticipated early next year, Red Chris is positioned to deliver long-term production in one of the industry's premier mining jurisdictions. Red Chris is a multi-phase project anchored by an endowment that supports 70 years of mine life. It represents a rare combination of scale, quality, and growth, located within a highly prospective porphyry district.

With all our regulatory and consent-based approvals already in place, it benefits from strong partnerships with the Tahltan Nation and support from both provincial and federal governments, demonstrated by the government of Canada's announcement of 500 million Canadian dollars of funding for the project, recognizing its importance to Canada's critical mineral strategy. This established support creates a stable and predictable environment for investment and reinforces our confidence in the long-term opportunity at Red Chris and the broader Golden Triangle. The block cave development will leverage Newmont's extensive experience developing and operating large-scale block cave mines, supported by an established team with over 150 years of combined block cave experience.

It's important to note that while the initial phase, macro block 1, 2, represents less than 20% of potential mine life at Red Chris, approximately 40% of the planned investment in processing facilities, material handling systems, and other key infrastructure is expected to support future expansions. This foundation positions Red Chris to evolve into an increasingly meaningful contributor to Newmont's future production profile and a significant driver of shareholder value over time. We continue to refine and validate the underlying assumptions and execution plan with a clear focus on ensuring the Red Chris Block Cave project meets our investment criteria and project execution standards. While final review and governance work remain underway, I'm encouraged by the project economics and the value this operation can create for Newmont.

We have completed a rigorous feasibility study and advanced engineering beyond 60%, resulting in an optimized mine design that improves metal recovery and incorporates geotechnical learnings, execution, and long-term operational experience into our plan. Based on results from the feasibility study and subject to board approval, construction for the project is anticipated to ramp up in 2027, with commercial production targeted for 2033. This builds upon the early works that have already advanced the mine decline, conveyor to surface decline, and ventilation rise boring. The initial development is expected to support a mine life of approximately 13 years, producing approximately 3 million ounces of gold and 850,000 tons of copper on a 100% basis over this period.

Following ramp-up, we expect Red Chris to produce an estimated 275,000 to 325,000 ounces of gold annually, along with 65,000 to 85,000 tons of copper per year, highlighting the quality of the initial cave. We currently estimate development capital to be between $4.2 billion and $4.8 billion US, which is equivalent to 5.6 billion and 6.4 billion Canadian dollars on a 100% basis and includes the benefit from the anticipated grant from the Canadian government. This estimate reflects the latest development plan, updated productivity assumptions, current market inputs, and a mature understanding of the infrastructure, development sequence, capital requirements, and operating profile required to successfully deliver the project. Supported by a robust technical plan and refined execution strategy, we believe Red Chris is well-positioned to meet our investment criteria.

As we move towards a final investment decision, I want to spend a moment to reflect on the principles that will guide that decision. Regardless of the source of growth, whether advancing the next phase of an existing operation, evaluating an organic development project, or assessing any potential inorganic opportunity, every investment must compete for capital and satisfy three core criteria. First, the opportunity must be a strategic fit for Newmont. We prioritize investments that reinforce our position as the world's leading gold company while supporting organic growth in copper. We look for opportunities that strengthen our presence in attractive mining jurisdictions and leverage our deep technical expertise, capabilities, extensive infrastructure, and established partner relationships. Secondly, the investment must ensure the quality of the portfolio.