Newmont (NEM) Q2 2026 earnings call transcript

Thank you, Holly. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining Newmont's second quarter 2026 results conference call. Joining me today are Natasha Foyon, our president and chief executive officer, Brian Table, our newly appointed 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 Natasha.

Thank you, Neil, and hello, everyone. To begin today's call, I'd like to start by acknowledging the executive leadership appointments we announced last month, reflecting the depth and talent we have within Newmont and reinforcing our commitment to building a future radio organization with the leadership capabilities needed to execute our strategy. Together, these appointments strengthen our financial, operational, technical and project development expertise that will help us deliver consistent performance and steward our world class portfolio.

Brian Table has been appointed as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Since joining Newmont in 2021, Brian has held several senior finance roles, helping to strengthen financial oversight, integrated planning and capital allocation priorities across the business. Most recently, Brian served as the chief accounting officer and group head finance and brings more than 20 years of experience to the role.

I also want to recognize and thank Peter Wexler, who served as interim CFL over the past year, providing steady leadership and continuity during an important period for Newmont. And we are grateful for the discipline and commitment he brought to the position.

Mark Rogers has been appointed as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Mark joined Newmont in 2020 and has held senior leadership roles across several regions, most recently as managing director for Africa and Asia Pacific. Mark has over 30 years of experience in the industry and as chief operating officer, he will lead performance across our 12 managed operations with a strong focus on safe, consistent delivery and operational excellence, inclusive of health, safety, security and environment.

Dave Thornton has been appointed as executive vice president and chief technical officer. Dave has more than 25 years of mining experience and joined Newmont in 2016, where he has since held leadership roles across North and South America and Africa, most recently serving as the managing director of the Americas. In his new role, he will lead the technical services team, bringing together exploration, mining and mining planning, processing, asset management and digital capabilities to strengthen technical excellence in support of operational and project performance.

And finally, David Fry has been promoted to the newly created position as executive vice president project development. David joined Newmont in 2022 and most recently served as group-paid global projects. He brings significant international project delivery experience across mining, energy and infrastructure sectors and will continue to focus on disciplined execution as we advance our highest return growth opportunities.

These appointments reflect the confidence we have in the people who know our business best. To pair them with existing team members, Peter Wexler, Peter Tof and David Laver, they have helped shape the company we are today and share accountability for delivering the plans that define our future, executing our strategy, advancing our world-class portfolio and leading with cost and capital discipline.

With that, I will turn now to our second-order highlights. Newmont delivered a strong second-order and reminds on track to achieve a full year 2026 guidance supported by disciplined execution across the portfolio and continued momentum as we head into the second half of the year. Beginning with our operational performance, in the second-order, we produced 1.3 million ounces of gold, 17,000 tons of copper and 7 million ounces of silver from the full portfolio.

The performance supported $2.9 billion of cash flow from operations after working capital and a second-quarter record of $2.2 billion in free cash flow. Since our last earnings call and including share repurchases in July, we have returned approximately $1.9 billion to shareholders through quarterly dividends and ongoing share repurchases.

I also want to highlight that we have now repurchased over 100 million shares since we began our share repurchases program a little over two years ago.

This is a meaningful milestone that Brian will discuss later in the call. During the quarter, we also achieved several important milestones within our portfolio.

First, at Redcris, the Block Hive Project received key regulatory approvals from the province of British Columbia. This includes an amendment, environmental assessments certificate, achieved through a consent-based process with the Delta and nation, reflecting the strength of our partnerships and shared commitment to advancing the project responsibly.

With these approvals in place, we are focused on completing the feasibility study and advancing the project toward board approval and final investment decisions for this promising new project. We might significant progress on the recovery efforts at Kaidia following the seismic event that occurred on April 14th. Production from the operating cives resumed in mid-June and the team is working to complete the remaining ground support upgrades.

Development rights at PC-12 have returned to normal levels and we are working to secure the regulatory approvals required to safely restart Kaid establishment at both of the project's case later in the year.

We continue to expect no impact on Newmont's full year production guidance. Collectively, our second quarter results continue to demonstrate the strength of Newmont's portfolio and its ability to convert solid operational performance into significant free cash flow and returns to our shareholders.

Turning now to the operational drivers supporting our full year outlook. Our second quarter operational performance was modestly ahead of the expectations we communicated in April, primarily due to certain ounces being realised earlier than expected, driving some third quarter production forward into the second quarter. The most notable drivers were Janakocha, where ounces were produced earlier than planned and Lehiu, which delivered a stronger quarter as results of the ongoing asset reliability work at this world-class operation.

Together, these assets delivered approximately 50,000 ounces of production that was initially expected in the second half of the year. During the quarter, we also benefited from a stable performance from our Nevada gold mines joint venture.

Taking these results into account, we now expect approximately 49% of full year production to have been delivered in the first half, with 51% expected in the second half. Looking ahead, we expect third quarter production for the total portfolio to be broadly in line with the second quarter. Before picking up again in the fourth quarter, which is still expected to be our strongest of the year, as Lehiu completes planned maintenance in the third quarter and our whole phone north reaches its full run rate.

Shifting now to cost. We remain focused on controlling our absolute cost base to maximise margins and continue supporting strong free cash flow. As we signal the last quarter, higher world prices contributed to the expected increase in second quarter cost. However, even after absorbing that pressure, both cost applicable to sales and all-in-sustaining costs remain firmly within our full year guidance ranges, reflecting the continued discipline and cost and productivity initiatives we have been implementing across the portfolio.

To make the work that we've been doing more tangible, I want to highlight a few examples. We have parked nearly 50 mining production units across the portfolio without affecting production.

At Sierra Negro, more efficient pre-start activities have increased underground productive time by approximately 15% per shift. At our off-home north, we have made targeted investments to operationalise and improve milling efficiency.

And in Merian, we have improved road conditions and overall with weather preparedness to optimise existing equipment performance during the rainy seasons. Across the portfolio, we continue to reduce contract utilisation with possible. These are practical, site led actions that collectively improve productivity and help offset external cost pressures.

Finally, our capital spend for 2026 is on track to land within the guidance ranges that we said at the beginning of the year. Starting with sustaining capital, we now expect spending to be approximately 58% weighted towards the second half of the year, primarily due to the timing of key programmes at Boddington and Cadia, ongoing ventilation work at TANMI and seasonal surface construction at Bruce Jack and Redcris during the warmest summer months in British Columbia.

Development capital is now expected to be 63% wider to the second half, reflecting the timing of work at our key projects in execution, as well as the progression of feasibility study work at Redcris. At Cadia, development spending is expected to increase as work recommences at the panel-cave projects following the April seismic event. At the year, mobilization of the near-shore barrier will ramp up in the third quarter, unlocking access to more than 5 million ounces beginning in 2028.

And the second expansion at TANMI continues to progress to plan with all underground infrastructure expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter.

With that, I will now turn it over to Brian to review our financial performance and capital allocation priorities. Brian, I bet you.

Thank you, Natasha, and hello, everyone. I want to start by expressing how honored I am to step into the CFO role here at Newmont. Since joining the company in 2021 and having worked closely with teams across the business, including the newly appointed and existing members of the executive leadership team, I have developed a deep understanding of our portfolio, financial priorities, and the discipline required to deliver consistent shareholder value.

And I look forward to building on that work in my new role. I also want to thank Peter and the broader finance team for the strong foundation and continuity they have provided through this transition.

Turning to the second quarter, Newmont delivered strong financial results supported by stable operations, discipline cost management, and continued execution across the portfolio.

We generated $3.8 billion of adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted net income of $2.10 per share. We realized an average gold price of $4,414 per ounce, generated $2.9 billion of cashflow from operations after working capital, and delivered $2.2 billion of free cashflow.

Working capital was a modest use of cash during the quarter, primarily reflecting reclamation spending at Yannacocha, normal course inventory and stockpile builds, and the timing of cash tax payments.

This was partly offset by favorable receivable movements at Penisquito and Cadia, where strong collections and lower sales volumes reduce outstanding balances.

As we move into the second half of the year, working capital variability may continue, including the potential unwinding of a portion of the receivable benefit recorded in the quarter.

During the calendar quarter, we returned approximately $1.8 billion through quarterly dividends and share repurchases, marking the second consecutive quarter in which we return more than 80% of the free cashflow generated during the period. Importantly, we achieved this while continuing to fund our organic growth pipeline and maintaining a strong net cash position, further differentiating new month from our peers, and demonstrating the strength of our business through the commodity and investment cycles.

Our second quarter results also demonstrate the significant operating leverage embedded in the portfolio. Year over year, our realized gold price increased by approximately $1,100 per ounce, or about 33%, while absolute cost applicable to sales increased just 4%. As a result, a substantial portion of the higher gold price translated into stronger margins and free cashflow.

Turning to costs, gold, all in sustaining costs, were $1,621 per ounce on a by-product basis, remaining well below our full year guidance of $1,680 per ounce. Unit costs increased sequentially quarter over quarter, as expected, primarily reflecting lower gold in silver production and sales volumes, a lower by-product contribution, and the full quarter impact of higher Ghana royalties and higher diesel prices.

Despite these factors, our absolute cost-based remains well controlled, and we continue to monitor the geopolitical environment and its potential cost implications, while remaining encouraged by our demonstrated ability to manage costs and improve productivity.

As Natasha mentioned, total portfolio production in the third quarter has expected to remain broadly in line with the second quarter, which, when coupled with the planned approximate $150 million quarter over quarter increase in sustaining capital, is expected to result in moderately higher unit costs in the third quarter. We remain focused on managing absolute costs, protecting margins, and maintaining discipline as we work through the higher capital spend expected in the second half of the year, turning now to our capital allocation priorities.

The capital allocation framework introduced earlier this year continues to provide the right balance between reinvesting in our world-class portfolio, maintaining financial flexibility, and returning excess cash to shareholders.

Having been closely involved in the development of this framework, our focus remains on executing against it with discipline, consistency, and transparency.

Beginning with the sustaining capital, we invested $438 million in the second quarter to support safe production and long-term sustainable cash generation.

We remain on track to meet our foliar guidance of $1.95 billion, with spending expected increase in the second half as we progress critical work that preserves the integrity and longevity of our assets.

Turning to the dividend in the second quarter, we declared a dividend of $0.26 per share, unchanged from the prior quarter.

Moving to development capital, we invested $285 million during the quarter. As Natasha discussed earlier, foliar guidance remains unchanged at $1.4 billion, with spending expected to increase in the second half as we advance projects at Katie, Tanamai, and Lahir. We also remain committed to maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet, ending the quarter with $3.4 billion of net cash, modestly above the upper end of the range of our net cash target of $1 billion, plus or minus $2 billion.

That position will naturally fluctuate as we fund our capital programs, pay dividends, and return excess cash to shareholders. In stronger price environments, we would expect our cash position to remain toward the upper end of our net cash range. If prices were to decline, entering that part of the cycle with additional cash would help us to continue funding our capital program, while returning capital to shareholders, consistent with our through-the-cycle approach to creating shareholder value.

With those priorities funded, the framework directs all excess cash to share repurchases. Since our last earnings call, we have repurchased $1.7 billion of shares under the $6 billion authorization approved in April. This includes more than $600 million were purchased in July to date, leaving approximately $4.3 billion under the current authorization.

Since launching our repurchase program over two years ago, we have reduced our share account by more than 100 million shares, or approximately 9%.

Based on the repurchases completed today, the formula under our framework would support a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share at the next annual review, $0.01 above the current quarterly dividend, or $0.04 on an annualized basis, while maintaining the same targeted annual cash commitment. This would equate to an 8% increase of the dividend since we introduced the new framework only a few months ago.

Any increase would remain subject to approval and declaration by the board as part of its annual review next February. But we continue to execute the program consistently, reflecting our confidence in the intrinsic value of new month shares, and the long-term benefits these repurchases deliver to shareholders.

As we look to the remainder of the year, our priorities remain clear. Continue funding sustaining capital to preserve the integrity and longevity of our assets. Continuing advancing our highest return development projects, maintain financial flexibility with our net cash target range, and return excess cash to shareholders through ongoing share repurchases.

With that, I'll turn it back to Natasha for closing remarks.

Thank you, Brian. In closing, our strong first-off performance positions as well to continue delivering on our commitments and creating value for our shareholders. We remain on track to achieve our 2026 guidance supported by solid execution across the portfolio. Our operations continue to generate significantly free cash flow, allowing us to invest in the business, maintain a strong and resilient balance sheet, and return capital to shareholders through our consistent capital education framework.

As we enter new month's next fires of delivery, we do so with a renewed executive leadership team that has deep knowledge of our operations and the jurisdictions in which we operate. These leaders have helped shape the company we are today and they understand our assets, our people, and the opportunities ahead, and they share the clear accountability for delivering new month's future.

Their appointments demonstrate the depth of our internal bench strength and provide important continuity in how we execute our strategy. More importantly, the team is fully aligned around the priorities that will drive long-term value. SIFE and consistent operational performance and project delivery, rigorous cost and capital discipline, and focusing investment in the highest return opportunities within our portfolio.

Looking ahead, we will continue to leverage our industry-leading portfolio, deep technical expertise, and experience leadership team to build a stable and resilient future for new month.

Finally, before we open the floor for questions, I would like to make a brief reference to our discussions with Barrick.

I want to specifically refer to our notice of default, as well as our overall efforts to protect the right and value of the new month's shareholders. We have actively engaged with Barrick over the last few months to find mutually acceptable solutions to our diverging legal, technical, and commercial views on the various aspects of the joint ventures management and past performance.

The proposed IPO and the potential resulting complexities and contribution process for all excluded properties with the goal of maximizing NGM's performance both in the near and long term. We have remained resolute in protecting the interests and rights of new month shareholders throughout this process. While I remain hopeful of reaching a successful near-term resolution, we find ourselves nearing the end of this extensive direct engagement period with several key issues still unresolved.

Most importantly, as I mentioned on previous calls, we remain committed to fostering a strong working relationship with Barrick, playing a role to ensure NGM delivers to its full potential and protecting, and if required, enforcing our legal rights enshrined in the GIV agreement. You will appreciate that, given the ongoing discussions and sensitivities on both sides, I will not be able to answer any specific questions regarding the issue.

And with that, we look forward to addressing your questions about new month's operational and financial performance. Handing over to Neil.

Yeah, all right. Well, I think we're ready for Q&A. So I'll turn it over to you to bring up the first question.

Hi, Fahad, this is Brian Table. I'll take your question. As it relates to oil price and diesel, notably obviously today with the oil price jumping up to $100 a barrel, we are watching and monitoring cost pressures across the business. Notably in the second quarter, you'll see part of our our CAS increases driven by that fuel cost of about $100 a barrel that we experienced on average in the second quarter.

We would expect that to continue in the third quarter based on current price, the current price environment. There is a bit of a lag in terms of when the price of oil hits our diesel. Each of the sites has a slightly different arrangement as it relates to the supply of oil. And so we will see some of that continue to flow through in the third quarter. As it relates to other costs in terms of indirects, we continue to monitor that, notably the impacts in terms of explosive cyanide grinding media, and then inevitably the tail in terms of labor contract or spend.

We do see some costs as it relates to freight hitting those indirects, but in terms of the escalation, we're still just in a and monitoring stage in terms of that cost pressure. As we've noted in our materials, we do have about a for every $10 per barrel change in the price of oil. You'll see on a full year basis about a $60 million impact in terms of indirects that would be a knock on impact. But again, right now we're just monitoring to see how that that cost pressure continues to persist.

For hard, we're still working at the moment on the MOU with a major project office in Canada to determine the full terms and conditions of the grant. In the meantime, we feel quite encouraged by the confidence that the Canadian government's got in the project, and also just the support that we get from the Canadian government.

Yeah, thanks, Hugo, and a really good question. So we are, firstly, the development of the KDA archives we list reliant on in terms of the long-term production. We will see certainly the new CAVES PC23 as it comes on. We will see that CAVED tagging over some of the lower-grade production out of PC1, and we will see an improvement in the in the grades.

As we've said in our prepared remarks, we do not, we see predominantly the outstanding work on PC12 as we think PC2, well, well, the plan is for PC23 to still be handed over to the production team with the last drawbells here at the end of the end of this year. Then we have all of the other elements that we continuously talk to, of our north. We'll be ramping up to do full production.

Seren Negro, Tanami. We will have Boddington in high-grade areas, Lihir near Shorbaria and in high-grade areas. So let's rely on in this medium term on the CAVES coming on.

So you've got the biggest impact on energy would be in the mines that we have, the biggest fleet, which would be typically your open-pit mines, and that's Boddington in a ski tower as an example. You would have seen the improvements that we have made, I should have mentioned here as well. You would have seen the improvements we've made on productivity across all three of those big sites.

And we've seen a number of the pieces of equipment that we've popped in those areas. I think I might have missed Mirian as well. All of them are able. Mirian, Lihir, Boddington, and Finiskeetome. So it's important that we've reduced our consumption in those areas. I think that is of particular importance. And then across the entire portfolio, every asset is doing work to have cost focus, productivity improvement, and obviously the increase in ounces as we step into next year will help to offset some of our unit costs.

Where is the asset on the pathway to what you think are incapable of under Newmont ownership? Daniel, we feel quite positive and encouraged by the work that that team has done. And I think we'll feel particularly pleased that Lihir has contributed to the additional ounces produced in the second quarter. We've seen stability through the mining operations. We see an improvement in reliability in our fixed assets.

We've seen a reduction in cost and labor across the asset. And we continue to see with good work happening to build strong relationships with our communities. So the work that we set out to do is starting to bear fruit. We have also now got access into two high-grade areas that will allow us with a stability in production to see the benefit from high-grade areas through the risk of the processing facilities.

So I think quite encouraged with the progress that we are making earlier. We just recently had our board there in June to go and show them the progress that we have been making. And I think all of us feel quite pleased with the team's performance.

What might logically be the next projects you look at? Yeah, Daniel, I think I'm going to distinguish here between brown fields and green fields opportunities. We've got brown fields opportunities in many of our assets. That would be the first target areas for us to expand production. That of course comes at lower risk forster turn around to actual production.

We see some of those brown fields opportunities playing itself out in the year. We've got the initial barrier that we've recently approved. We have Sierra Negro expansion project that is underway and that we've brought back online at the beginning of the year after the productivity improvements that team has made. There are several options for us in Ghana, specifically our south underground and also at our north. So if I just consider across many of our assets, brown fields opportunities, and then we continue to invest money in the development of our projects to identify the next best value creative project in that green fields projects, and then a little bit longer term, we are continuing to invest money in near mine exploration and other exploration opportunities.

And if we consider near mine exploration, two areas that I want to highlight there that are also brown fields opportunities. The one is at Bruce Jack, where we have identified dozer zone, just over 700 metres from existing infrastructures, meaning that it's very limited capital to get into that area. And then Mirian is the other near mine exploration success that we've had, giving us another brown field opportunity to materially increase production.

So if I think about the sequencing aligned and shortly after Bred Chris would certainly be these brown fields opportunities.

Yes, we can hear you, Richard. And apologies to everybody on the call. We weren't sure what was happening there. And thank you for your patience with us.

How are you thinking about you know, cable costs, which have been inflating recently? And how are you to mitigate that? And then also just, you know, you remind us what the prior timeline was for construction and potential startup.

Okay, there's quite a bit in that question, Richard. I'm going to take it step by step. Firstly, with all the, well, with the main regulatory approvals now behind us, we continue with the final feasibility steps. We have a very rigorous process, both in terms of firstly technical and then financial review. That's done by an internal but independent team to ensure that the development work that has been done has been meeting our standards.

We will then put the right economic lens across the project, making sure that it does meet our hurdle rights. And that will also consider both near-term economic parameters and long-term strategic fit for the project, in enhancing the long-term strategy for new mode. But also then considering that that is the first block cave at the start of a number of additional block caves to come and a key investment in that golden triangle area.

You are right that we have seen, we expect the capital to be higher than what the original numbers were under new crest.

And it has been predominantly driven by the inflationary cost we've seen around project development across the sector. And then productivity rights are certainly the other area that is getting attention. We are offsetting that through this project and then either project evaluation process, making sure that our engineering and capital cost is appropriate for what we are building.

We did see from the original timeline quite a bit of delay, the reason for the delay, if you consider the last time that was under new crystal, when we brought it into the new mode portfolio, we did take it back to full feasibility, even though the project at the time was already broadly in execution. The reason for that was two-fold. The one is that the regulatory approvals were not completed yet, which is not aligned with the way we run projects at new mode. And then secondly, the feasibility study was not on our standard.

I think it was beneficial for us to have that delay. If you remember, we had the fall of round last year in September. We've learned quite a bit about the design that was in place at the time. We've improved that design through our feasibility study. And in the process, didn't only de-risk the project, but also improved economics even with the expected higher capital.

So overall, there has been a delay, but in lastly, we envisaging completing it towards the end of the year to take to the board. My view on these projects is a material project that we are considering approving. So if we have to delay a month or three to make sure that we get everything right and that we've closed out on all of our items, that is something we will do. But when we get back to the market, make the commitment of the capital allocation, we'll make sure that we can deliver against it both in time and capital.

And maybe just a question on half and north. I believe you're expecting higher goal grades as you ramp up in the fourth quarter. Can you remind us sort of what type of levels we should expect from half and north heading into the fourth quarter in 27?

I think I read that it had, but I was just confused on the pre-call about that. Yes, and these are quickly just take a stay back because there's various elements that has started and a couple of smaller elements. So we've got two operating cives. The two operating cives are fully back in production in mid-June. Then we have all of the project development work around the two new cives, of which PC23 is furthest developed. And there's only a loss to better. Well, it's the kind of establishment that is still under wide. Seven more draw bells and then the final maturity of the curve that's up of the kive that's outstanding for PC23.

All the development work is continuing at the moment. We've got approval for that. It's just the kive establishment that has been halted that we need to restart. PC12 similar in that the normal development work is under wide, but kive establishment has still been halted. The work that we are doing there is making sure that we've learned from the events. We're working with the regulator, ensuring that all of our models are accurate, updating and calibrating our latest models, making sure that all of our safety controls are in place.

And then we will be able to restart the kive establishment again. So various components and apologies if that was not clear in the script.

The difference is in the seismic activity that exists around existing kive operations. So PC1 and PC2, because it's mature kives, has gone back to background seismicity, and there's no risk around seismicity. The nature of kive development however, and we have been managing it through very well established trigger action response plans, is that you do see seismic activity during the establishment of the kives.

That is why we do have controls in place, like our trigger action response plans, reentry plans, support systems underground.

So there's lessons to be learned from these incidents. And like we do out of learning from any incident similar to the TE2 vitality, we're learning from the incidents, we're making sure that our controls are up to standard and in place, and then we restart. So these are now dissimilar to what we will do under any other circumstances where we have events that we need to learn from.

Yeah, Anita, this is Brian. As it relates to the capital, yes, we are confident in holding to our guidance for both sustaining and development capital. As I mentioned in the pre-prepared remarks, the sustaining capital is about $150 million increase from Q2 to Q3, is what we're anticipating. And a similar amount from a development capital perspective, the uplift in the third quarter and then leading into a relatively level, third and fourth quarter on a comparative basis for sustaining capital. It's driven by the tailings projects at Badington and Cadia, and as Natasha mentioned, being back up at Cadia is a big component associated with that, as well as the ongoing ventilation upgrades that we have at Tanami, which will be more in the fourth quarter.

And then we also have increased summer construction activity at Bruce Jack and Red Cross, so that's sustaining capital. On the development capital side, it's going to be related to the timing of that PC-12 spend deferred due to that seismic event, as well as the significant work that we have at Leher for the near short barrier that that's now planned to ramp up in the second half, and then increase spend at Sarah Negro for the expansion one.

There will be this, there will be benefit from the synergies out of the NGM operations that should be, that will contribute to capital benefit, and that should offset against any capital requirement from Newmont. So it's absolute and offset, and that that synergies do exist and will be considered.

Okay, that's very helpful.

Does that hold when you add the red Chris cat-backs, assuming you'll proceed with that project? Yeah, Lawson, the one point four billion was for 2026. I think as Natasha mentioned, when we're in a position to provide an update on the red Chris, full funds decision later this year, or into early Q1 27, the impact the red Chris would be consideration on top of that 1.4 billion. But again, that's 2026 only. We'll provide an update on 27 in February.

I think it was important to consider that some of the other projects will start to drop off in the following years, because we will be completing BC23, we'll be completing T2, so just that's for the consideration.

Yeah, Josh, it's a very good question. The answer to that is yes. We, as you know, we've got long-standing relationships in Ghana, and we've got, we had the benefit of long-term stable relationships in Ghana with the half-up district being the product of that. We have been in active conversations. I've personally had the opportunity to engage with the president as recently as last week. Me and my team saw the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.

All of this, I mean, to to develop joint objectives between Ghana and Newmont. We know that the Ghanaian government is keen to ensure that there's local Ghanaian development happening, economic development, but they are very keen to ensure that they protect shareholders' interest and long-term investment. We have entered into agreement through the Minister of Lands to create a working group for Newmont between us and the Minister of Lands to develop what would be an forward-looking agreement to allow us that stability that we need for future potential investments. So active conversations on all of the elements that you would see in the future with UBS.

We are aiming to review the way that we give guidance in February next year. The detail of that is under development. In the meantime, we'll continue to give you some insights and broader insights into the business that will help you. So in the next quarter, we will, for instance, give you a deeper insight in our thinking about exploration and how we taking that piece of work forward. So whilst we're working to give you multi-year guidance and what that looks like, we will certainly continue to grow the understanding of our broader business.

And then a follow-up, maybe for Brian, just around kind of free cash flow and capital returns. You previously indicated a $1 to $3 billion net cash range, you're $400 million above that now. Should we therefore factor in that you will be getting back to $3 billion in the subsequent quarters? So capital returns can exceed three cash flow in the second half of the year. Yeah, thanks, Daniel. And yeah, we are slightly above the high end of our target for net cash. You're right. We're about $400 million over. Some of the prepared remarks referenced some of the working capital benefits that we saw in the second quarter. That combined with obviously some level of seasonality. So we do target on average to be within that targeted range.

But as it relates to share buybacks and thinking through the excess cash component of our capital allocation framework, we do provide that flexibility for exactly that reason. So yes, there is a potential that we would leverage the utilization of that to get us back within the targeted net cash balance.

But just a very specific one. You previously referenced that there was no timeline around the legal enforcement that noticed the default in terms of a specific deadline. Is that still the case?

They do, they do comply to our definition of what a world-class asset looks like. As long as they deserve their rights, they apply to the portfolio and they can compete for capital at the moment. We are very comfortable with the 12 assets because as I've touched on earlier, we've got real meaningful ground fields opportunities on most of these assets and they are contributing to our performance. We do however continually evaluate that. We don't, we don't stop, we're making sure that they deserve their place in the portfolio.

I've touched earlier a little bit on green fields and brown fields opportunities and I've just commented on the portfolio that we have in terms of our projects pipeline. I didn't go into the detail for the green fields projects. We do have a number of these in the pipeline, Tanya.

We have evaluated them and sequenced them in terms of development because it's important that we continue to move projects through the development pipeline and I would argue, if you consider the ones that you have spoken about, we do, we have projects in Peru, we have projects in Chile, we have Wafigalpu, I would argue that Wafigalpu would be typically one of those that's fairly four out store for us to develop. It's on the outer end of our project pipeline. Some of these others are near return. So spending the right amount of capital on the development to bring these projects to a point that we can make capital allocation decisions around them is an important part of the work.

Yeah, okay, yeah, okay, so that's fine. And then I just wanted to circle back to just the inflationary environment and I can't keep count on how many tariffs are being hit everywhere in the world and what else is going on. But the slight fuel that we've talked about in terms of any precious for you, are you seeing anything else where you're concerned and have your suppliers pulsing on the pulse looking at for maybe underground equipment or any other input into your cost and capital that you're starting to see a little bit of a tightening of supply.

No, I don't think so, Tanya. We're monitoring that pretty closely with our supply chain and again just picking up on the availability. We continue to have no concerns from an availability perspective, but we do run scenarios to consider, you know, potential mitigating action should scenarios manifest themselves. And I think from a cost perspective, we're still on a monitoring brief. I think it's an element of watching like the rest of the world, how long the conflict goes on, how long the stickiness of inflation flows through the supply chain, and then ultimately how that impacts the input costs that we have or the capital dynamics, like you mentioned with equipment. But at the moment, not no major concerns, but we continue to monitor it like I think most companies.

You know, I think that's something that we review annually as part of our guidance setting process and budgeting process as it relates to where we are right now. I think the component on that would be obviously we're guiding to assumption in 2026 of Brent being at $70 a barrel. Obviously that dynamic has been a bit volatile, so there would be a bit of an uptick associated with that. But I think the broader kind of general assumption around inflation, I think that's fairly fair with again the caveat that we may see some of that indirect spend start to come through if oil does stick and it starts to make its way through the supply chain.