Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (WDO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Good morning. Welcome to West Dome Goldmines' conference call to discuss the company's financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. Your host for today is Trish Moran, West Dome's Vice President of Investor Relations. Ms. Moran, please go ahead.

Thank you and good morning, everyone. Before we get started, I'd like to point out that during today's call, we may make forward-looking statements as defined under Canadian securities law. I ask that you view our slide presentation for cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements and the risk factors pertaining to these statements. Please note that all figures discussed on this call are in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted. Our press release, MD&A, and financial statements are available both on CDAR+, and on our corporate website, westome.com. With us on today's call is Anthea Bath, West Dome's President and CEO, Phil Yee, our Chief Financial Officer, Tyler Mitchelson, our COO, Jonah Lawrence, Senior Vice President, Exploration, and Kevin Lonergan, SVP Technical Services. Following management's formal remarks, we will then open the call to questions. And now over to Anthea.

Thank you, Trish, and good morning, everyone. Q2 was another strong call for West Dome and another demonstration of how fundamentally this company has changed. We delivered net income of $94 million and $42 million of free cash flow and ended the quarter with more than $390 million in cash, after returning more than $80 million to our shareholders through our share buyback program. At Eagle River, increasing throughput reflects our deliberate move towards a larger, more productive operating model. We are beginning to leverage our fixed cost infrastructure and expect those benefits to become increasingly visible as throughput grows. Kena also delivered a strong quarter on production and costs. In July, we blasted the first production stope at Preskill, establishing three active mining horizons and achieved the breakthrough of our new ramp from surface. There is another number from the quarter worth highlighting, and that number is eight. For the first time in West Ham's history, both Eagle River and Kena are underpinned by reserve-based mine plans extending approximately eight years. Last week, we filed the independent technical report supporting those plans, culminating nearly three years of work to build longer life, more predictable and more resilient operations. And that changes the conversation. We now have greater time, financial capability and operational flexibility. We can now move beyond asking the question about extending our mine lives and increasingly ask, what can these two mining districts ultimately become? Importantly, the eight-year plans are not the limits of either asset. Opportunities dependent on further optimization, exploration, resource conversion, and technical work are not actually even included. The technical reports established the foundation. Our opportunity is now to build beyond that. At KINA, our immediate priority remains operational execution, reliable production across multiple mining fronts and continued productivity improvement. We see a pathway over time to increase annual production. That opportunity comes from two reinforcing drivers, improving mine productivity and exploration success that increases ounce per vertical meter and creates additional high-quality mining fronts. The recent Norbert Knight discovery is just one example. Together with additional mining fronts, with better equipment utilization and higher productivities, this creates the potential to grow production while leveraging the existing infrastructure that's already in place that upside is not included in the current reserve plan and requires further operating execution drilling and technical evaluation beyond the existing mine keen east which includes zone 134 duperson and shore key point to a broad opportunity that we systematically evaluating. These are early stage and require considerably more work, but they are changing how we think about Kina, not simply as a mine, but as an infrastructure platform within a much larger mineralized district. At Eagle River, the reserve plan provides a larger, more resilient operating base and sees us filling the mill as early as next year. It also preserves important flexibility. If we continue replacing high-grade reserves at the pace that we've been achieving, we retained the ability to re-sequence this plan and potentially defer global model material for years. Beyond the underground mine, Mishi Magnacon and other bulk deposits provide the opportunity to evaluate an integrated open pit and underground development, leveraging existing Eagle River infrastructure. We expect to advance conceptual work over the next 12 to 18 months to assess mining and processing scenarios and guide future investment. Increasingly, we see Eagle River as a high-grade underground mine at the centre of a far broader regional mining and infrastructure opportunity. Finally, the technical reports identify conceptual exploration targets of approximately 2.4 to 6.3 million ounces across Eagle River and Kina. These are conceptual targets, they're not resources or reserves, but they illustrate the scale of the opportunity beyond our current plans. Importantly, much of the infrastructure and the operating platform required to systematically test these opportunities is already in place eight years is an important milestone but it's not the destination it's the platform from which we can build the next generation of western since 2023 we have strengthened our operations extended our reserve life built our balance sheet and significantly increased the capability of the organization collectively that has changed what is possible for this company western our ambition is to regressively build two pre-machinated mining districts capable of supporting multiple mining centers around established infrastructure while generating significant long-term value. We're increasing ECR opportunity at district scale and not mine scale. The model is straightforward. Exploration creates more and better mining opportunities. Operational improvement allows us to extract more value from them. And existing infrastructure allows us to translate both into growth efficiently and our competitive advantage extends beyond geology the technical capability the leadership the capital discipline the culture and the community relationships we have built are increasingly important to our ability to capture that opportunity we are not pursuing production or scale for their own sake we are focused on growing intrinsic value per share scale should be the outcome of creating value not the objective our longer reserve lives strong balance sheet and cash generation give us the ability to be prudent and investing returns justified, returning capital where appropriate and remaining selective on external opportunities. Three years ago, our priority was to strengthen the foundations of Westdome. Today, those foundations are largely in place. We believe the opportunity in front of Westdome is considerably larger than the company is here today. Our responsibility now is to convert that opportunity into value, deliberately, systematically, and per share. And with that, I'll hand over to Phil to walk you through the financials.

Thank you, Anthea. Good morning, everyone. Turning to slide eight, Q2 2026 was a strong quarter. Revenue came in at $267 million, leading to net income of $94 million, or $0.64 per share. Adjusted for a $2.3 million impact of non-recurring payments, Adjusted earnings per share was $0.65 per share. EBITDA and net cash flow from operating activities were $170 million and $88 million, respectively. Free cash flow in the quarter was $42 million, or $0.28 per share, compared to $53 million, or $0.35 per share, in the second quarter of last year. the year-over-year decrease reflects several items most notably the timing of a 21 million prepaid tax installment in q2 of 2026. we expect quarterly free cash flow to significant significantly increase in the second half of the year turning to slide nine on a consolidated consolidated basis asic per ounce of gold sold was 1763 us in the quarter at the site level eagle river came in at just over two thousand dollars u.s per ounce sold reflecting a 17 increase in ounces sold and certain one-time costs which taken together make it difficult to see the positive underlying cost trend we are seeing at the operation we expect asic brown sold at eagle river to be lower in the second half of the year at kena asic was 1497 u.s per ounce sold driven by higher contractor costs supporting the development of prescale year-over-year sustaining capital also decreased due to timing corporate gna of nearly 11 million included costs primarily relating to unplanned corporate development and the technical reports we continue to diligently manage our corporate gna costs margin resiliency is a priority for us and we are taking concrete steps to make improvements across three areas the first areas is supply chain over the past six months we have strengthened the team and improved structure and processes around inventory and supplier management and key contract improvements already savings of several million dollars have been identified with several more million expected by year end savings are anticipated to flow through progressively over the next 12 months supply chain is a structural and meaningful opportunity to optimize costs and improve efficiencies across our operations the second area we are reviewing is reducing our reliance on contractors we see a meaningful economic opportunity to transition certain roles from external contractors to our permanent workforce our hr team is actively developing plans and programs to support this transition at those sites. Thirdly, we are reviewing maintenance practices across business with a focus on further reducing unplanned downtime and lowering overall costs and capital costs. These three initiatives represent a coordinated effort to drive improved margin resiliency over time. Our ambition is to be a sector-leading low-cost producer. Turning to guidance on slide 10, While we are reaffirming full-year production and cost guidance, we have made a few updates to the guidance table to align with our internal forecast. At Eagle River, we continue to expect full-year production of 105,000 to 150,000 ounces at an average grade of 11.5 to 12.5 grams per tonne, compared to initial guidance of 13 to 14 grams per tonne. In the second half, the continued integration of global model ore into the mine plan is anticipated to reflect higher mill throughput and slightly improved grades relative to the first half of the year. We are also reducing our depreciation and depletion guidance to 100 million from 130 million previously. This reduction is a direct result of the meaningful increase in our mineral reserves announced in June. With respect to CapEx, we continue to invest in high-return organic growth initiatives to improve operational flexibility, increase mine life, execute on our fill-the-mill strategy, and pursue growth. Based on our most recent forecast, full-year consolidated capital could track up to 10% higher than the initial guidance of $205 million, primarily driven by the timing of growth expenditures at Kena. Management continues to diligently assess the timing of these costs. Turning to slide 11, we close the second quarter with a cash balance of $391 million. Importantly, that is after returning more than $80 million to shareholders through our normal course issuer bid during the second quarter. Including our revolving credit facility, total liquidity was roughly $746 million as of June 30th. and we expect that figure to remain strong as we move through the year. Our balance sheet remains debt free and flexible and we are deploying capital with discipline. Our priority is to return meaningful capital to shareholders while investing in our organic growth strategy. I'm pleased to highlight two recent important milestones in our capital return program. First, at the end of June, we initiated a quarterly dividend. The first payment is due at the end of September. on an annualized basis the dividend amounts to approximately 12 cents per share while modest to start it reflects our confidence in the durability of our free cash flow profile and our commitment to a disciplined shareholder first approach to capital allocation second alongside the dividend announcement we expanded our share buyback program to up to six percent of shares outstanding since last november we've repurchased nearly 8 million shares at roughly 24 dollars per share or approximately 190 million dollars in total a meaningful demonstration of our conviction in the intrinsic value of this business commensurate with the implementation of the ncib last year our board approved the repurchase of up to 10 of our public float As we progress through the program, our capital allocation thinking continues to evolve alongside our business. Buybacks are one tool in the toolkit, and we will continue to use that opportunistically. We believe our financial flexibility is a strength, and shareholders can expect us to deploy capital where we see the highest return, whether that's in the ground, on the balance sheet, or returning value directly to you. metrics such as return on capital remain paramount in our decision making according to the latest calculations we continue to rank third across the industry on this measure reinforcing our discipline approach to deploying capital with that i'll turn it over to tyler to walk you through our operational performance thank you phil and good morning everyone i'll begin where we always begin safety.

In the second quarter, we recorded zero lost time incidents. Our TRIFER was 1.67, slightly above the prior year quarter, serving as a reminder there's always more work to do. What is particularly encouraging is a significant improvement this quarter in our high potential incident frequency rate, which declined 69% year over year to 0.67. This reflects the strong commitment to safety across our organization focusing on critical risks and the continuous improvements being made every day last month we completed the implementation of our company-wide 10-point critical hazards program building on that progress we are now developing a comprehensive mobile equipment safety standard focusing on addressing our highest risk hazards at West Dome safety is a non-negotiable and our actions reflect that commitment every day moving to Eagle River on slide 13 before diving into the details I want to step back and frame 2026 in the proper perspective both Eagle River and Kena are in the midst of a deliberate value creating transition to new long-term mine plans and while there is meaningful work still ahead we are committed to shaping these assets into the low-cost predictable scalable producers we know they can be eagle river has fundamentally change has been fundamentally changing for several years and that pace is picked up in h1 with the integration of the global model or as part of our updated mine plan this reflected a strategic shift towards a value focused operation one that prioritizes improved mill and mine utilization over the long term not just quarter to quarter ounce maximization the change has started but it is far from done eagle river performed in line with our mine plan during the second quarter we processed over 72 000 tons through the mill producing 22,000 ounces at an average grade of 9.7 grams per tonne. As mine output increases, the mill is responding well by increasing throughput. Quarterly grade variation is a natural feature of our ore bodies and sequencing. Grades on a given level can range from 6 all the way up to 30 grams per tonne. In July, grades averaged nearly 12.5 grams per tonne, reinforcing our confidence in a stronger second half the operation the operational setup also supports our confidence the next 300 zone stope is fully drilled off with approximately 25 ton 25,000 tons ready to mine in the coming months at grades reaching up to 25 grams per ton analysts who joined our mine site tour in mid-july saw this impressive stope and our our preparations firsthand. Based on our forecast, we remain confident in delivering Eagle River's full year production guidance. The fill the mill story at Eagle River is gaining real traction and the numbers back it up. Throughput averaged nearly 800 tons per day in Q2, a nearly 50% improvement year over year. And we are targeting a further 10% increase in the second half. this puts us firmly on track to fill the mill in 2027 as outlined in our recently filed technical reports at eagle river our eight-year reserve mine life plan projects average daily mill throughput of approximately 988 tons per day but we are not satisfied with stopping there we are actively assessing opportunities to push the mill as we continue to optimize and embed operational improvements we see a critical credible path to ratcheting up tons per day beyond the current 80 percent overall equipment effectiveness the operational improvements behind this throughput growth are broad-based and measurable as you can see on slide 14 since 2025 milling rates are up 14 percent unplanned downtime down 60 percent mill operating time and energy efficiency are both up 12 these are not one-off wins they're a result of a fundamental shift from reactive to proactive system-based maintenance embedded across scheduling mining practices and site management the mine is running more reliably and more efficiently than ever and we expect that trajectory to continue moving now to costs eagle rivers cost per ton in q2 was 631 essentially unchanged from 626 in q2 of 2025 a result we are pleased with given the inflationary pressures broadly felt across the industry and while tonnage costs are essentially flat year over year, it is worth noting that the quarter included identifiable one-off items that added approximately $45 a tonne. Additionally, it is important to highlight that we are starting to see the fixed cost benefits of nearly 50% year-over-year increase in daily mill throughput and its positive impact on the fixed cost leverage that underpins our fill-the-mill strategy. We expect this to be more visible in our unit costs through the balance of the year as one-time items roll off. As grades normalize in the second half and production strengthens, we expect Eagle River's all-in sustaining costs to return in line with full-year guidance. In the first half of the year, Eagle River invested $27 million against a full-year budget of $105 million. Capital deployment will ramp up meaningfully in the second half with spending focused on critical infrastructure investments that are required for the long-term future of the operation. Turning now to Kena on slide 16. The updated mine plan at Kena is focused on improved operational flexibility and the implementation of the operating model for stability first and then growth. keen had delivered an exceptional second quarter with production rising 28 year over year to more than 22 000 ounces driven by a 13 increase in tons processed and a strong average grade of just over 11 grams per ton this performance reflects expanding mine flexibility and executing with discipline the 129 and 136 levels within keen a deep remained our primary sources of mill feed contributing roughly 540 tons per day importantly we have added for skill as an active mining horizon at kena the first production stove was blasted in july and we expect commercial production in q4 this brings us to three active mining horizons with a fourth at level 142 expected to come online in 2027 expanding option optionality at kena is a meaningful meaningful de-risking of the asset and the and a foundation for greater growth predictability planning stability going forward with multiple active mining horizons and a growing platform we have built the infrastructure for sustained scalable growth at kena while we expect operational momentum to continue this is still an emerging program the benefits are still coming through and we are not finished building the implementation of the operating model is driving meaningful improvement paired with the major projects to enhance operational flexibility including additional mining horizons and site infrastructure upgrades to move people and equipment more efficiently this model is foundational to keena's long-term growth plan while it is early days productivity metrics are trending positively mobile equipment availability is up 10 to 15 year to date daily average tons for the mill have risen by about 30 since last september and milling rates have increased by 10 to 15 from 2025. stope cycle operating delays have declined by approximately 30 percent year over year continuing our focus on these improvements and the additional mine flexibility gives us confidence in the h2 ramp up to deliver on our guidance keenest q2 cost per ton were 526 dollars flat compared to the prior year quarter this reflects the deliberate cost of building operational flexibility including bringing bringing additional mining horizons online investing in maintenance our current reliance on contractors we view these as transitional and not structural as kena deep and perscale ramp up the full utilization following commercial production in q4 fixed cost leverage will become increasingly evident in the per ton cost profile total capital expenditures in the first half of 2026 were 54 million including approximately 36 million in growth capital elevated spending reflects contractor costs tied to the completion of the new ramp construction as well as accelerated development at perscale and keen indeed both investments directly advance our long-term production capacity the breakthrough of the new ramp in q2 represented a significant operational milestone it established direct access from surface to the bottom of kena mine this enhances the flexibility for material and equipment movement and critically enables our ventilation expansion project the project which will double ventilation is a key enabler for higher mining rates and underpins our three-year production outlet for the balance of the year growth capital will continue to further push for steel development and the ventilation fan upgrades. Sustaining capital will further extend the Kena deep ramp to the 142 level with additional investment and exploration, ventilation on demand and power factor improvements to enhance efficiency and reduce our operating costs over time. Collectively, these investments positioned west dome to deliver on its production growth targets while we have a way to go yet stability is gradually taking hold at kena equipment availability has improved following several quarters of discipline maintenance work since implementing our new operating model in h1 stoping delays relative to plan have declined by 30 percent that is a clear and measurable indication the changes we are making are delivering results. The implementation of the operating model is now advancing and we are focused on embedding processes, improving schedule adherence and reducing variability across the operation. The achievement of these milestones will position Kena as a more stable and operationally flexible than any point since its commercial production began and provide the foundation that can deliver on Kina's long-term growth profile. With that I'll turn it over to Jono to review exploration.

Thank you Tyler and good morning everyone. Exploration at West Dome continues to be the engine of long-term organic value creation for shareholders with 1.4 million ounces of mineral reserves the largest in company history and eight-year reserve-based mine plans at both Eagle River and Kena, we are building from a position of strength. Our focus is on extending that runway, growing inventory and covering the next phase of value. Increasingly, technology is accelerating our ability to do that. Better tools, richer data sets and artificial intelligence, which I will address in a moment, are allowing us to allocate exploration capital with greater precision and confidence than ever before. Our 2026 exploration program totals 270,000 metres, one of the most ambitious programs we have undertaken. Year to date, we have drilled approximately 110,000 metres across the portfolio, representing more than 40 per cent of the plan. Drilling is second half weighted with a particularly aggressive third quarter already underway. Underpinning all of this This is capital discipline. Our exploration management system guides capital deployment to meet short, medium and long-term objectives. The EMS enables upscaling of drill programs efficiently and cost effectively whilst maintaining quality in financial and technological returns. Every exploration target is assessed on size, geologic confidence and cost metrics with objective of de-risking target ounces by effectively, efficiently designed drill programs. The completion of exploration drifts on levels 109 and 134 at Kena is a good example of this, where underground development was executed with the aim of converting previously expensive drill target areas into areas that could be tested with efficient, effective drill programs. That is how we run an aggressive exploration program, while protecting returns on every dollar of capital invested. At the same time, operating some of the best golden down districts globally means we maintain a healthy risk appetite. Testing new ideas and less conventional targets is inherent to systematically exploring these districts. And it is how exploration ideas ultimately convert into gold bars. Let me now walk you through the key highlights, asset by asset. Turning to slide 19, at Eagle River, our exploration program is built around four interconnected objectives. Replacing annual depletion at grade to sustain the reserve base. Scaling our asset through reserve and resource growth. Advancing new discoveries within the Eagle River mine complex as well as in the broader highly prospective land package and unlocking bulk scale lower grade potential as part of uncovering the district's potential. At Eagle River our 2026 program totals 145,000 metres with approximately 82,000 metres completed through the end of June split roughly equally between growth drilling and delineation and conversion. On the bulk scale opportunity, the Michi-Magnicon area continues to demonstrate meaningful brownfield potential. Surface drilling targeting both open pit and underground mineralisation at Michi continued in Q2 and will continue throughout the second half of the year. We're also advancing other prospective bulk scale targets along the Michi-Bishu defamation zone, namely Magnicon East and the Feather River area, and in other areas including Dorset West and the Cameron Lake iron formation. These are areas that broaden the long-term optionality of the Eagle River land package. Turning to slide 20, in conjunction with the updated technical reports, we published initial exploration targets at Eagle River. We identified over 160 opportunities that were distilled into 11 priority targets representing a combined exploration potential of 1.5 to 3.4 million ounces. This is not a speculative target list. It is grounded in a structured, data-driven methodology that clearly defined near, medium and long-term catalysts. Each opportunity was ranked and prioritised to ensure capital is deployed where it has the highest probability of converting into shareholder value. To sharpen our targeting, we engage specialised consultants to apply AI-based modelling to Eagle River's extensive dataset. At its core, this tool works by aggregating multiple level datasets, including drilling, geophysical, geochemical and geologic information to generate prospective areas for hosting gold mineralisation. The workflow does not run in a vacuum. We've built a feedback loop with our teams, where geologists review the AI-generated opportunities against their own field knowledge and interpretation. The result of that iteration is geo-analytical targeting. It's not a black box producing a target list, but an interactive process led by our exceptional team that grows with every round of review, converting data into forward-looking opportunities that we can act on. Slide 21 shows the output of that AI initiative, overlaying on the same plan view as the previous slide. The AI models generated prospectivity rankings across the entire property, with area scoring above the 90th percentile flagged as high priority. Five new high-priority perspectivity areas have already emerged from this work, including Feather River South, hosting two areas with minimal surface work, Mishi West at the convergence of the Iron Lake defamation zone with the Abbey Lake structure, north of Mishi in a strange shadow of intrusion and possible second thrust zone similar to the Mishi Bishu defamation zone, Rook Lake West and a strange shadow of intrusion where the Dorset defamation zone may be trending. The southeast portion of the Cameron Lake Iron Formation is a complex area with favourable host lithologies and structure. The takeaway is straightforward. AI is accelerating our ability to identify potential high-value targets earlier with greater capital efficiency and increased confidence than a traditional approach would allow. These efficiency maximising tools, they optimise time for our teams and their programs and will play an increasingly important role in how we advance our growth pipeline. Incorporating AI into our workflow leverages time and the skills of our excellent exploration teams to increase the potential of delivering more ounces per metre drilled. Moving to slide 22, let's look at the progression of our high-grade underground program at Eagle River. Drilling in the first six months of the year is focused on the 6th central, 800 and 700 zones. 6th central is an increasingly important focus area at Eagle River. Growth drilling continues to confirm down plunge continuity at grades and widths, consistent with prior reporting. At 800 zone, we targeted a gap in drill coverage coinciding with up plunge extension, intersecting shear zones with quartz veining. Assays are pending. At 700 zone, highlight intercepts include 28.9 grams over two metres, confirming mineralisation continuity in the shallower parts of the mine. Taken together, these results reinforce that Eagle River continues to deliver at depth and a long strike. Grade and continuity are holding. The pipeline of targets is active and we are systematically building the confidence needed to convert exploration success into future reserves. Eagle River is a mine that continues to deliver to the upside. Moving to Keener on slide 23, at Keener our primary exploration objectives mirror Eagle River. Replace it grade, convert and expand, deliver new discoveries and advance lower grade bulk tonnage opportunities. And we are making tangible progress on all fronts. In the first six months of the year we've drilled approximately 29,000 metres, with approximately 55% focused on growth and 45% on delineation and conversion. On the bulk tonnage opportunity, a land-based rig has commenced drilling at Shalky South. Shalky South is part of a group of targets, including Zone 134 and Dubasson, collectively known as Keener East. The drilling will evaluate a bulk tonnage-style quartz tourmaline vein associated mineralisation of depth. These Kena east targets exhibit mineralisation characteristics analogous to other significant Abitibi operations and represent a meaningful source of incremental long-term value. While we have a lot of great results so far this year, the standout story at Kena is the Norbanite football discovery announced in June and shown on slide 24. Drilling from the new level 134 exploration drift has confirmed the mineralised zone beyond the Norbanite fault, an area previously interpreted as barren foot wall. The results were exceptional. Hole 52W1 returned 6.9 grams over 42.1 metres, including 8.3 over 29.5 metres. Hosted in basalt, a potentially more favourable host rock than the schist mineralisation typical of Kena Deep. This intercept sits approximately 40 metres beyond the normalite fault, and correlates with a 2022 hole which returned 9.9 grams per tonne over 83 metres, located roughly 150 metres vertically below. Together, these results define a new mineralised corridor spanning at least 150 metres vertically. It's open in all directions, with untested ground extending above it to the footwall zones. The scale of this corridor and its openness and grade is what makes this discovery so compelling. Two follow-up holes were drilled in Q2 that were looking to infill the 150-metre zone between holes 52W1 and 52W10. Whilst assay results are pending, the new holes intersected geology with similar thickness, veining and localised observations of visible gold as the previously reported holds, growing confidence in the continuity of the mineralisation. We believe the Norbanite footwall has the potential to be transformational for Kina's long-term resource profile. Drilling continues to delineate the geometry and extent of this corridor, and it is a program we'll be tracking closely for the remainder of 2026. Beyond the Norbanite footwall, our teams have been active across multiple fronts, as you can see on slide 25. On the 109 level drift, drilling of the VC zone is intersect basalt-hosted mineralisation within 100 metres of the drill bay. The mineralisation is interpreted as a potential new zone separate from the VC zone itself. Follow-up polls are underway to confirm. Notably, the VC zone shows a mineralisation style analogous to Kena Deep and remains open at depth. VC is close to infrastructure. it projects approximately 350 metres from the 107 level at Keener Deeps, even closer from the 109 exploration drift from where we are drilling, and it has the potential to grow our reserve ounces per vertical metre at the shallower levels. On the 134 level, two drills are confirming continuity of the high-grade Keener Deeps A and the Keener Deep footwall zones and will remain in place for the balance of the year. From the 33 level, drilling targeting the northwest continuation of the Shulky Main towards the wish deposit has intersected quartz veins at target depths, with assays pending. Finally, similar to the AI initiative at Eagle River, we are planning to deploy AI-based targeting at Kena beginning in Q4. This will allow us to incorporate data from this year's deep drilling programs into the workflow before modelling begins. The results at Eagle River have given us confidence that this general approach will generate material value at Keener as well. Looking into the second half of the year, Q3 will be our most active drilling quarter. Summer barge and land-based drilling are underway at Keener, alongside our deep continuous drilling, and at Eagle River helicopter supported drill programs are active. Every metre we drill this summer is building the density and confidence required ahead of our next mineral resource and reserve update. Several assay results are expected back through the third quarter and we plan to issue press release updates in late Q3 and into Q4. Every metre drill this year is drilled with the objective of conversion into mineable ounces, mine life extension and the optionality that will define West Dome's next decade. We remain focused on locking value across the portfolio and will continue to share results as they become available. Operator, please open the line for questions.

At this time, I would like to remind everyone in order to ask a question, press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. We will pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Harrison Reynolds with RBC Capital Markets. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning, West Dom team. Congratulations on a good first half of the year and appreciate the detail provided so far. Just on the buyback, you've been buying back stock at a good pace, $8 million of $9 million authorization, big buyback in July. Can you talk a bit more about what you're seeing in terms of value in the buyback?

What drove that large buyback in July and how we should think about the cadence going forward hi harrison i you know i would say it's really reactive to the market uh you know coinciding with the drop in in the gold price um the way we set up our buyback is really you know based on our our basically our PNAV, our trailing PNAV. So I think you would see the volume increase is really tied to the dips in the gold price. I think that's pretty well answered the question, I think.

Yeah, no, understood. And then shifting to, you know, operations, it was great to see both sites earlier this summer, and at Eagle River, good to hear about the ongoing conceptual study on Mishi and regional potential at Eagle River. Obviously, it's early days, but could you outline some of the potential trade-offs you're looking at with Mishi and how incremental you think that could be for Eagle River's output?

Harrison, I'll comment here, then I'll hand over to Tyler as well. But I think, I mean, right now, we're still in the early stages of that. I think we're getting quite excited about what we're seeing. we we're looking at it in a phased approach as well as a as a larger from a larger perspective so phase wise first of all how to incrementally grow the operation with what we have quickly so we can get it quicker into the mill but secondly what is the scale of the region itself the work we're doing in conceptually understanding the potential targets across all of these open pits is going to define the scale of the potential opportunity in front of us which will then use to actually work on the processing and mining options that are available to Westone to do that. My feeling is that this is going to be quite a substantial growth opportunity for Westone. It's just a function of time. We are currently working on the technical review initiatives that are needed to actually unlock this, which includes the metallurgical test work, the sampling, as well as some of the, you know, even, you know, opportunity to do all sorting in certain ways as well to maximize the value of the region. So there's many, many things that are influencing this right now. The only thing I do know is it's going to be substantially larger than what we thought it would be. We just need to do the work. Tyler, do you want to add?

Oh, I think you've captured it well. I think the exciting part about this is the optionality that's sitting in front of us right now. You know, you've got we did see the portal as we drove by into MagnaCon as some near-term potential there, but also what does that whole district look like? And every time we drill a hole, it seems to be getting bigger and more potential there. So it's great having the optionality. It gives us tons of flexibility in the short, but also in the long term as well.

I think, Harrison, what's happened in the last while is with us having, you know, put out these technical reports and having the opportunity to review these mines, you know, from what we thought they were before as discrete systems i think the fact that we understand now is more big complexes and even eagle river mine itself looking at it for more of a you know what is this perspective rather than a discrete mining opportunity i think you know this is a question this entire team needs to ask itself is what is the scale even of what we know let alone the scale of what the region offers i think that's going to be the learning work that we're going to do over the next short while. It's just really reflecting on what is Eagle River actually from its own perspective? What is the region actually from that perspective? And then that will articulate into the work we'll do from a conceptual study perspective. But yeah, it's still early, but it's quite exciting.

Understood. Yeah, that's great. Great color. Thank you very much for taking my questions.

Next question comes from the line of Don DeMarco with National Bank Financial. please go ahead thank you operator and good morning at the end team um maybe just to dig into the uh eagle uh grade guidance adjustment a little bit um i saw the reference that you're you know bringing more of the global analysis into the model um but really what prompted the reduction was there a change in sequencing maybe more dilution difference in reconciliation since the guidance was laid out maybe if you just add some incremental color on this thank you Tyler can you grab this one here sure hi Don I think as we were starting to get the global model

information and we updated the models and started running through what is you know optimizing the sequence that we could from the stopes that we had in there some of this is as you know you saw when you were on this on the tour on a level you got anywhere from six grams to those 30 gram areas and so we extended some of those drifts out picking up some of the lower grade high margin material because we're already there so this has been an ongoing process i'd say for the last three months of looking at the sequence i think what we have in place now for the second half of the year the sequence is pretty much set and we'll just continue to try to drive productivity and keep pushing you know you saw the tons going through increased in the second quarter i'm pushing even harder for the third and fourth quarter bringing more of this material forward so it's the opportunistic to take those value adding tons through as we as we drive the productivity okay thanks and uh you know the kena costs are pretty strong in q2 um you're you're in front of a back-end loaded year so do you expect the cost to trend lower into q2 um commensurate with the production increase or will the introduction to press or sort of moderate those costs a little bit?

I can comment a little bit here, and I'll let the guys follow on if I may. I think what you'll see is, you know, from an efficiency perspective at a cost per ton level, yes, and, you know, from a cost per ounce perspective, but you'll also see sustaining capital increase as well. So I think they'll offset to some degree, Don. But I think we'll, you know, I think we guide towards, well, we said we'll remain within guidance. I think ultimately we should land there, but the two will have a bit of a countering effect. I don't know if there's anything more to add for my team.

Yeah, Don, it's Phil here. I would also point out that for Kina, because of the continued development at Preskill, that growth capital, mainly due to the timing of equipment, may trend upwards.

I mean, we're still working, managing that process, but that potentially has, if the timing comes in as it may, it may result in slightly higher growth capital by the end of the year yeah and don we're pushing development pretty hard as well because i want to get more meters here if i can it's a wise thing to keep doing don if we just you know from our perspective is to you know if we have the opportunity to use productivity levers to drive more development um we're going to do that and we and we should do that because that's going to create value in you know, forward aid of ourselves.

Okay, I appreciate the color. And then just for final questions, shifting over to exploration, John, I appreciate all the color you provided. And obviously, there's a lot going on. When we look ahead to the next resource update, and I know you just had one out, but looking at the next year, I mean, how is the program balanced between expectations for infill, or, you know, that is converting up some of the endowment you have right now or expansion of what the endowment is and and you kind of get the sense now you've been drilling for a few years that momentum is building with respect to resource accretion just trying to get some early insights into that next update given the magnitude of the current program thanks don good question uh look one thing that we've got to highlight at the end of the year update we have been drilling all year in our efficiencies and drilling especially for long

year at Eagle River, over twice, two months this year, in the six months, they've breached 10,000 metres, the teams, with the four rigs underground, they have been increasing in their efficiencies, and it's been fantastic to see. We are actually holding them back whilst we adjust other areas for drilling. We have a lot of assays coming through to build into it, and the design of our programs is broadly like 50 per cent between the growth conversion and infill so whilst we will see opportunities to push the growth side of things we maintain that discipline it may go to a 60 40 per cent ratio where we wouldn't change dramatically to say a 75 25 or even a 70 30 per cent ratio on pushing the growth, we maintain our conversion and delineation work as we go through. I do see areas as results are coming through of the step-out programs showing us that we have growth opportunities and we are looking at a disciplined approach and a conversion of those so far. But our ratios at the moment we are not looking at changing. It's a step process that we'll see each year we grow and replace our reserves and we start to step out and grow our geologic potential which will infill to convert to inferred and give us that inventory that we can look forward to in years to come we're slowly building the base for that now don okay okay thank you very much um thanks again for taking my questions your next question comes from the line of wayne lamb with a pd Please go ahead.

Yeah, thanks, guys. Yeah, maybe just a follow-up to the grades at Eagle River. I was just curious if the grade revision was also mostly just a function of Allure Q2, as I think it implies 12 plus gram per ton, which is kind of close to what you did in Q1. So I just wanted to confirm with the increase in tonnage over the coming quarters, if you still see the sustained high grades kind of in the 12-plus gram range in the back half of the year?

I mean, I'll answer, then I'll let Tyler talk. He's probably jumping into it quicker. I mean, Wayne, the reality is, and I think Tyler explained it to a large degree, we're starting to build in this better sequence. If you think about it, the mine plan was updated the first quarter of this year from the work we did at the end of last year. So you can imagine there has been a change in the mine planning side, as you can imagine, because we only closed the models the end of last year and only got the mine plans to tile the first quarter this year. So that is, it's natural, it's correct. It's nothing, there's nothing that's about like, you know, somebody didn't deliver well or any of that. It's a function of that transition towards a value-based mining company that's driving tons and the right process. The big thing here is about making sure we, I can't say we honour the ore body that Westoam has, and we look after in the right kind of way. So when we're in the areas, we take advantage of leveraging those stopes that are there at the right time. So I would really want everybody to understand there's nothing wrong in the grade here. In fact, you should probably see this as an opportunity more than anything else. The only time it becomes a problem is when you can't keep your sequence or your productivity at the right level. And I think Tyler's explained to you how he's strongly working on marrying the two together, both the, you know, tons as well as productivity to drive that value through the milk. So, yes, your grade does go up in the second half, and that's predominantly part of the sequence. And we said that before. We made the comments in the technical report when we put out that release that we'll see double-digit grade, we believe. And we still believe that that's going to continue because what we would do is we're going to keep drilling out a high grade and keep pushing on our efficiencies and drive that that high grade, you know, remains the base of what Western continues to do. So, yes, the grade will go up purely because of the sequence, not because we've done anything special.

It's the mind plan we have in front of us, Wayne. And I think that, as Anthea said, that's the sequence we have.

It's pretty much locked in right now. focus of the team is really around pushing the productivity if we can cycle faster you bring more material through but that you know is going to be at the grade that's in in the sequence that we have so okay yeah thanks uh understood and thanks for the caller um akina just on the uh kind of expectations uh coming from prescale as you get into oral over the coming quarters Is there a ramp up in grades the mill expected from Preskill as the amount of sloping ore increases from that area? And is the proportion of tonnage still in kind of the 250 ton per day range to start?

And just curious what the exit run rate is for the year target from Preskill. yeah as we ramp up the stopes it'll it'll ramp up gradually you know going into q4 q4 we expect to be kind of at a run rate of that three to four hundred tons per day kind of six to seven hundred out of the key to deep so you know pushing towards the total of a thousand and then we should be at that rate going in through 2027. okay great thank you and then uh maybe just last one for phil So just on the comment on the buyback in relation to your internal NAV model, I was just wondering if you might be able to share with us, you know,

what kind of gold price you use on that internally. And just curious if you guys view the buyback as significantly accretive and using one times cash to buy back the shares.

Yeah, hi, Wayne. Well, it's, I mean, the gold price has an impact, but it's really the impact of the gold price on the share price. um the the approach we've taken to the to the buyback is really tied to a trailing pnav so if they if they if you know as you've seen the the gold price swing you've seen the share price swing as well and if the share price swings below the trailing pnav it provides an opportunity to buy at a price that's, you know, that's going to be opportunistic. I mean, overall, you know, our buybacks have been at an average around $24 a share, considerably below where, you know, the share price has been trading when it's been on an upswing. Sorry, can you repeat the second question, if you don't mind, Wayne?

Yeah, I was just wondering if you guys viewed the buyback as significantly accretive using one times cash to buy back the shares. And just on that comment, you know, with, you know, the kind of share price that you're using as like the swing factor with the shares having performed pretty well. like does that kind of mean that as the share price continues to outperform then the buyback uh execution like the pace of the execution will slow down exactly i mean that's the opportunistic approach to it and i mean i i think you know given the the amount of buyback at this point um and and i mean the share price has been performing well um i would expect it to slow down

And, you know, we look at our, I mean, we look at our capital allocation continuously, you know, as our business evolves. And, you know, we've seen the impact of the technical reports, for example, and how that's kind of changing in the business. So from a, when you're asking from an accretive perspective, I would say that, you know, buybacks are just one tool. And we look at it as purely an opportunistic tool. but there's other things that we look at as well and uh we need to continue to uh to assess you know our our our position and our capital allocation going forward as as i mentioned before as well we we've got a dividend being initiated in september so that's one more tool um i hope hope that answers your question wayne yeah that's great thank you for the color i'm And I can see the operational momentum with the fill the mill strategy and the strong by that program.

So best of luck in the month ahead.

Thanks.

That concludes our Q&A session. Thank you all for joining and we all disconnect. Everyone have a great day.