“Annual production (based on the results of 2024 – "Kursiv") has remained virtually unchanged compared to last year, totaling 490,000 ounces in gold equivalent, which is 3% above the annual production plan of 475,000 ounces... In 2025, management expects production levels to be around 470,000 ounces of gold equivalent,” the company stated in its published message.
The decrease compared to last year will be attributed to a planned reduction in grades and recoveries at the Kyzyl and Varvarinskoye deposits. The company will also begin directing high-carbon concentrate from Kyzyl to an external hydrometallurgical plant.
The company's capital expenditures in 2025 are expected to be around $300 million. The increase compared to 2024 will be due to the start of full-scale construction of the Irtysh GOK (Ertis GOK), with expenses for this year amounting to $160 million, as well as the construction of solar and gas-piston power plants at Varvarinskoye. Costs at existing facilities will involve further expansion of the tailings storage facility at Kyzyl, upgrading the mining equipment fleet at Komarovskoye, exploration at Elevatorskoye (Varvarinskoye hub), and constructing a sample-analysis laboratory in Karaganda. It is worth noting that the company made its projected calculations based on an expected exchange rate of 560 tenge per $1 and an inflation rate of 16% in 2025.
Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter of 2024, production decreased by 18% compared to the previous year, amounting to 119,000 ounces due to a planned reduction in gold content associated with processing more refractory ore at Kyzyl. At the same time, sales volume last year increased by 17% compared to 2023, reaching 536,000 ounces of gold equivalent, exceeding production volumes, as the company managed to sell significant stocks of Kyzyl concentrate accumulated in 2023 due to logistical difficulties in the first half of the year.
Sales in the fourth quarter amounted to 122,000 ounces of gold equivalent, which is 14% lower than in the same period of 2023 due to a timing difference between the shipment of Varvarinskoye concentrate for refining and the production of doré alloy (an alloy containing at least 70% gold and silver), as well as due to issues with a shortage of railcars on eastern railroads, impacting Kyzyl sales.
Revenue for 2024 increased by 49% compared to 2023, reaching $1.3 billion, driven by rising gold prices and sales volumes. Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024 grew by 10% year-on-year, reaching $322 million, amid favorable prices despite a decline in quarterly sales.
The company expects that annual cash costs (TCC) and all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for 2024 will remain within the announced forecast range of $900–1000 and $1250–1350 per ounce of gold equivalent, respectively. Additionally, the company forecasts that capital expenditures for 2024 will align with the initial forecast of $225 million.
In 2025, TCC and AISC are estimated to be in the ranges of $1000–1100 and $1350–1450 per ounce of gold equivalent, respectively. The year-on-year increase is mainly explained by the reduction in grades and recoveries, along with ongoing domestic inflation, which offsets the favorable effect for the company from the devaluation of the tenge.
In Solidcore, they reminded that in 2024 the company achieved significant progress in the implementation of the Irtysh hydrometallurgical plant project. In particular, it received approval for construction from the board of directors, completed the assembly and delivery of an autoclave to the transshipment port for winter storage, began procurement of technological equipment and long-lead items, and obtained positive expert opinions on the working project for the construction of temporary buildings and structures. According to the company, the project is progressing according to the established plan.