Highlights

  • Austral Gold cuts full-year 2026 guidance to 24,000–27,000 gold equivalent ounces, from a prior range of 27,000–33,000 ounces.
  • Casposo's first full quarter of self-processing drove a 50% lift in group quarterly production to 6,479 gold equivalent ounces.
  • Guanaco guidance is lowered to 13,000–14,000 gold equivalent ounces after severe weather, high ore moisture and unplanned maintenance.
  • Austral moves to a net cash position of US$2.5 million, with financial debt falling US$4.4 million to US$17.6 million.

A 50% quarterly production lift sounds like good news — and for Casposo, it is. But for Austral Gold (ASX:AGD), the September quarter told two very different stories. While its Argentine operation logged its first full period processing its own ore, winter storms and unplanned stoppages at the Guanaco mine in Chile were severe enough to force the company to reset its 2026 production guidance.

Casposo's Milestone Quarter

Casposo, in Argentina's San Juan province, moved from toll-processing third-party ore to running its own feedstock this year. The September quarter was the first full three months reflecting that shift, and the difference showed: monthly output climbed from 803 gold equivalent ounces in July to 1,334 in September. For the group, attributable production rose to 6,479 gold equivalent ounces, up from 4,313 in the June quarter.

Year to date, Casposo's cash cost averaged US$2,159 per gold equivalent ounce, tracking below its now-revised full-year guidance range of US$2,400–2,600 per ounce. The September quarter alone came in at US$3,123 per ounce cash cost and US$4,032 per ounce all-in sustaining cost, well above the annual average — a reminder that a single-quarter result can be a poor guide to steady-state costs when a circuit is still stabilising.

Guanaco's Rough Quarter

Guanaco, in Chile's Antofagasta region, has historically been the company's core asset. In the September quarter it delivered 3,313 gold equivalent ounces at a cash cost of US$2,726 per ounce and an all-in sustaining cost of US$2,984 per ounce. The company cited severe winter weather, high ore moisture and unplanned maintenance as the drivers of underperformance. Guidance for Guanaco was lowered to 13,000–14,000 ounces for the full year, with cost guidance maintained but flagged to land towards the upper end.

The 26-year mine life and after-tax NPV of US$192.1 million at a 10% discount rate cited in an updated technical report effective 31 May 2026 remain the company's stated base case for Guanaco.

Revenue and Balance Sheet

Group revenue fell to US$23.4 million from US$32.4 million in the June quarter, though the prior period included US$6.5 million in toll processing fees from Casposo. Sales of 5,354 gold equivalent ounces lagged production because of export shipment timing. The average cash margin was 32.5%. Financial debt fell by US$4.4 million to US$17.6 million against cash of US$20.1 million, taking the company to a net cash position of US$2.5 million. At the June quarter end, Austral had net financial debt of US$1.7 million. Chief executive Stabro Kasaneva described the operation as having moved to a net cash position.

What to Watch

The revised guidance range of 24,000–27,000 gold equivalent ounces for 2026 rests on a strong December quarter from both assets. Kasaneva said the focus would be operational reliability, throughput and cost control. With nine months of production on record, the December quarter result will determine whether Austral lands within its tightened range. For investors, the key variables are whether Casposo costs normalise from their elevated September-quarter level and whether Guanaco can recover from the weather-related disruptions without further slippage.