Q2 2025 Sandstorm Gold Ltd Earnings Call
Speaker #1: Good morning. My name is John, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the SANDSTORM GOLD 2025 second quarter results conference call.
Speaker #1: All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. Please be aware that some of the commentary may contain forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Speaker #1: After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star, then the number one on our telephone keypad.
Speaker #1: If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star, then the number two. Thank you. Mr. Watson, you may begin your conference.
Speaker #2: Thank you, John. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for calling into our Q2 earnings call. Good morning. I'll give an update on the sale of our business, Aurora Gold, as well as a quick reminder of why we like this transaction so much.
Speaker #2: And then I'm going to hand it over to Erfan, our CFO, to discuss the specific financial results, and then, David Awram, to provide some asset-specific updates.
Speaker #2: Overall, SANDSTORM continues to recognize very strong cash flow with over 38 million dollars US of operating cash flow in Q2. Since announcement of the acquisition of SANDSTORM by Aurora Gold, we've had a positive response from our areholders.
Speaker #2: And based on those conversations, we do not expect any challenges getting the required votes to complete the transaction from the Sandstorm side. And I'm told the response from Aurora Gold's institutional investors appears to be positive as well.
Speaker #2: So we're looking forward to completing this transaction likely in Q4. The next step in the transaction is for Aurora Gold to file their preliminary proxy statement, which I understand is currently expected within the next week.
Speaker #2: After that, there will be a period of time for SEC comments, if any, and once the comment period is complete, Sandstorm and Horizon will file our information circulars, and all three companies will go to shareholder vote.
Speaker #2: After which, we will complete the transaction. Our best estimate timing to complete everything is somewhere toward the middle to end of Q4. As we've been discussing the transaction with our estors, the story has been resonating, and again, the highlights as to why are because this transaction gives an immediate value bump and solidification of value to our estors.
Speaker #2: It maintains our exposure to gold. It improves the portfolio maturity. It provides meaningful long-term re-rating potential, as well as diversification. Once this transaction is complete, Aurora Gold will have an industry-leading portfolio of diversified, high-quality, and long-life assets with growth potential.
Speaker #2: Their portfolio will have over 80 cash-flowing royalties and streams, and a total of nearly 400 royalties and streams. One of the things that I like most about the transaction is the diversification it brings to both SANDSTORM and Aurora Gold investors.
Speaker #2: The main previous knock about Aurora Gold was that it had the least diversification of the majors, with a highest percentage of their NAV coming from their top 10 assets.
Speaker #2: Specifically, prior to announcing the Sandstorm acquisition, 79% of their NAV came from their top 10 assets. Now, after the Sandstorm acquisition, as well as the $1 billion consent sheet gold stream acquisition they recently announced, their top 10 assets now only represent 61% of their value, which puts their diversification approximately the same as Franco-Nevada's and more diversified than Wheaton.
Speaker #2: Both of which trade at material NAV premiums to Aurora Gold. When you look at the list of the top 11 assets that Aurora will have pro forma this transaction, it is an impressive list.
Speaker #2: With no one asset being more than 12% of NAV, the list comprises Mount Milligan, Consent Sheet, Pueblo Viejo, Cortez, Acoyo, Comicao, Podmodern, Flat Reef, and Tamina and Mara— the dream list of quality anchor assets.
Speaker #2: So we're looking ward to working to close this transaction over the coming months. With that, I'll hand it over to Erfan.
Speaker #3: Thank you, Nolan. Turning to the financial results for the three months period ended June 30th, SANDSTORM delivered another record quarter in terms of revenue and operating margins.
Speaker #3: Total revenue for the second quarter was 51.4 million dollars, a 24% increase compared to the same period last year. This was driven by strong realized gold prices, which average over 3,300 dollars per trivial ounce from our gold stream.
Speaker #3: SANDSTORM sold approximately 15,100 trivial gold ounces in Q2, which was a decrease year over year, in part due to the outperformance of gold relative to other commodities.
Speaker #3: This reduces the gold equivalent conversion of our copper and silver stream. We also expect production to be slightly weighted in the second half of the year based on operator guidance at certain assets, which I'll discuss in a minute.
Speaker #3: Despite lower GOs compared to Q1, the strong gold price environment offset this impact, driving our record revenue and operating margins. During the quarter, the average cash cost per traded ounce was $350, resulting in record cash operating margins of $2,981 per ounce.
Speaker #3: Robust operating cash flow of $37.7 million excluding changes in non-cash working capital continued to support our de-leveraging efforts, and the company made net debt repayments of $25 million during the quarter.
Speaker #3: We ended the quarter with net income of 16.9 million. A 61% increase year over year. SANDSTORM's attributable production in the first half of 2025 totaled 33,590, gold equivalent ounces.
Speaker #3: And we continue to forecast full-year production to be between 65,000 and 80,000 gold equivalent ounces. At Chapada, production in the second quarter was impacted by lower recoveries due to increased processing of lower-grade stockpiles.
Speaker #3: However, Lending Mining expects production in the latter half of the year to benefit from higher-grade ore. On the exploration front, the Suave deposit, located 15 kilometers north of Chapada, represents a compelling growth opportunity.
Speaker #3: And a pre-feasibility study is underway and expected by year end. Another solid quarter of production from Bonacro was driven by increased throughput and operational improvements.
Speaker #3: Allied Gold expects production stripping in the first half of 2025 to expose higher-grade material for the second half of 2025, as well as for the full years of 2026 and 2027.
Speaker #3: Allied Gold also continues to focus on exploration activities at several targets, located on SANDSTORM's area of interest. At Greenstone, production continues to ramp up after achieving commercial production in November of last year.
Speaker #3: Equinox Gold reported nearly 95,600 ounces of gold produced in first half of 2025. And full year guidance has been adjusted to be between 220,000 and 260,000 ounces.
Speaker #3: Which is in line with Sandstorm's internal estimates, which is factored into our annual guidance range. Sandstorm received and sold nearly 1,200 ounces from Greenstone in Q2.
Speaker #3: And we expect this to increase in the second half as optimization efforts continue. Equinox is implementing a comprehensive improvement plan with continued ramp-up through the remainder of the year.
Speaker #3: We saw increased mining activity on our royalty ground at the Hyundai Gold Mine in Q2, which positively impacted attributable royalty revenue. Endeavor Mining is now sourcing ore from the Kari West Pit, with supplemental feed from Vindaloo Main and Vindaloo North.
Speaker #3: All within Sandstorm's royalty claim. Furthermore, exploration of Vindaloo Deeps is ongoing, with a maiden underground resource expected in the first half of 2026. Sandstorm also received its first silver deliveries from the Woodlawn mine subsequent to quarter end.
Speaker #3: Develop Global, the operator, reported that the site commissioning is proceeding to plan and ramp-up is in line with the project schedule. Looking at the breakdown of our production by region and metal type, approximately 45% of attributable GOs in Q2 came from South America.
Speaker #3: 34% from North America, including 19% from Canada, and 25%, 21% from other jurisdictions. On a metals basis, 82% of GOs were from precious metals, with copper contributing 11%, and other base metals making up the remaining 7%.
Speaker #3: This distribution continues to reflect our strong exposure to gold and silver while maintaining meaningful leverage to copper. And with that, I'll turn it over to Dave for a ok at some of SANDSTORM's development assets.
Speaker #3: Dave?
Speaker #4: Great. Thanks, Erfan. And good morning, everyone. Today, I'll focus on a couple of projects in our pipeline now. Starting with Greenstone. As Erfan just talked about.
Speaker #4: So since Q1 2025, Equinox's Greenstone mine has demonstrated very clear improvements in production output and operational efficiency. In Q2 2025, gold production from Greenstone rose from 51,000 to 51,274.000 ounces.
Speaker #4: Up to 44,449 ounces from Q1. This 15% quarter-over-quarter increase indicates that ramp-up efforts are very much yielding results. Higher production was driven by mining more ore and more efficient milling process and processing.
Speaker #4: By mid-2025, Equinox reported mining rates at Greenstone reached about 175,000 tons per day, roughly 25% higher. Then the average rate in Q1. This acceleration in mine output makes a substantial improvement.
Speaker #4: From all previous quarters, alongside mining rate improvements, the mill throughput and gold recovery rates have been improving as well. While the company acknowledged that year-to-date processing performance is still below the ideal plan, the trend is positive.
Speaker #4: The processing plan is handling increased volume and extracting gold much more efficiently. This solid output of close to 96,000 ounces in the last two quarters positions Greenstone where it belongs: at the top of Equinox's portfolio.
Speaker #4: Even more improvements are anticipated in the coming months as operational optimizations continue. The project's trajectory is clearly upward, evidenced by the quarter-on-quarter gains and the expectation of even stronger results in the latter half of 2025.
Speaker #4: At Flat Reef, the first feed of ore into the phase-one concentrator is scheduled to take place in Q4 2025, targeting initial production rates of around 100,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold.
Speaker #4: As the project progresses to phase two and phase three expansions, Flat Reef is projected to be one of the largest and lowest-cost PGM producers worldwide.
Speaker #4: Phase two life of mine costs are estimated to be $509,000 per ounce of platinum palladium rhodium and gold, which compares very well to the current spot basket prices of these same four precious metals of approximately 1,600 dollars per ounce.
Speaker #4: On May 8th, underground development commenced in ore for the first time. The ore is being stockpiled on surface and will be used in the phase one concentrator ramp-up in the coming months.
Speaker #4: Shaft three is on schedule to be ready to hoist from Q1 2026, which not only supports the phase one ramp-up but will also play a key part in the future phase two expansion.
Speaker #4: Of course, a key part of the Phase Two expansion is the completion of Shaft Two, which has now had raised boring completed to a depth of 950 meters. The process of widening to the final 10-meter diameter is set for early 2026.
Speaker #4: Together, these two shafts will have a hoisting capacity of over 12 million tons per year. Overall, the development is on schedule, and while phase one ramp-up is imminent, the project is preparing for phase two, targeting late 2027.
Speaker #4: I was going to finish my asset update on this, but it just didn't feel right considering the extraordinary exploration results recently released by Lending Gold on Prudential Norte.
Speaker #4: Lending's gold exploration program has delivered outstanding results since Q1, uncovering new high-grade gold zones and even a new copper-gold system. Near-mine drilling is extending the known deposit, notably at FDN South.
Speaker #4: And East Side, with multiple bonanza-grade intercepts confirming additional gold resources. These successes have prompted lending to significantly expand its 2025 drill campaign as the company moves to convert these discoveries into reserves and extend Pruda's 12-year mine life.
Speaker #4: Conversion drilling at Pruda del Norte South returned some of the highest grades ever recorded at Pruda. For example, intercepts 139.5 grams gold over nine meters and 43.8 grams gold over 9.8 meters.
Speaker #4: These results confirm that the rich vein system continues to the south of the current mine with new gold zones discovered outside the previous resource model.
Speaker #4: Engineering studies are underway to integrate FDN-S into the mine plan, potentially adding many more years to Pruda's production profile. Drilling at FDN East, a new target just 100 meters east of the mine, has expanded the mineralized zone with hits like 6.6 grams over 10 meters at depth.
Speaker #4: Multiple subparallel veins have been delineated, and the latest holes confirm that gold mineralization remains open to the north, indicating room for further growth. I think these results successfully demonstrate FDN East as a significant new gold system that has a great chance of becoming the next new ore body adjacent to the main deposit.
Speaker #4: Beyond the epithermal gold system, exploration has uncovered a large copper-gold porphyry system at Tranquiloma. This is evidenced by a remarkably broad intercept of 0.5% copper equivalent over 858 meters.
Speaker #4: Additionally, drilling at Bonanza Sewer outlined a broad near-surface gold zone, for example, 101.1 grams per ton over 162 meters, suggesting a sizable mineralized envelope that may connect with the Tranquiloma system.
Speaker #4: These finds highlight a district-scale potential around Pruda del Norte, with geologists now eyeing other targets like the nearby Castillo and Sandia prospects for similar mineralization.
Speaker #4: Spurred by these successes, lending is expanding its 2025 drill program from 80,000 meters to 108,000 meters. Seventeen drill rigs are active on site. This is certainly the largest annual drill campaign ever at Pruda, but also the largest in all of America and probably the entire world.
Speaker #4: So with that, I'll pass the call over to the operator, John, and we can begin the question and answer period.
Speaker #5: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please press star, followed by the number one on your touchstone phone.
Speaker #5: You will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Do you wish to decline from the polling process? Please press star, followed by the number two.
Speaker #5: If you're ing a speaker phone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. Once again, it is star one if you wish to ask a question.
Speaker #5: As a reminder, if you have any questions, please press star one.
Speaker #2: Sounds good. Looks like there are no questions, and as normal, we'll be here if anyone has any follow-up questions. So we'll in the office.
Speaker #2: So, thanks everyone for calling in, and have a good day.