Lundin Gold posted record production in FY24. Could you comment?

Fruta del Norte has proven itself as a true tier-one asset, surpassing 500,000 oz/y of production in 2024 and maintaining a guidance of 475-525,000 oz/y over the next three years. Our teams have also shown excellence in reducing operational costs, with an AISC of US$875/oz – positioning us among the world’s lowest-cost gold producers. Even more impressive is that we maintained this competitive cost profile despite Ecuador's power crisis, which required us to get creative in offsetting the higher costs of running our own generators as well as collaborating closely with the government. 

What motivated the recent increase of 50% in the quarterly dividend? 

After paying back our gold prepay credit facility and our senior debt  in 2023, as well as buying back the Newmont stream in full, Lundin Gold has become debt-free as of June 2024. This has enabled us to focus on returning the capital that would have gone to debt holders to our shareholders. We doubled our quarterly dividends from the original 10 cents/share to 20 cents in mid-2024, and now we announced a further 50% increase to 30 cents. This makes Lundin Gold one of the highest-yielding gold stocks in the industry. 

Could you walk us through your exploration focus and the upside potential at Fruta del Norte and the broader district?

We increased our exploration programs significantly in recent years, and the results are shown in our 2025 resource and reserve update: We added resources at an approximate cost of US$25/oz, a great return for our shareholders. We replaced the 2.4 million oz mined to date with 3.1 million oz. Our resources and reserves today are higher than they were when we put out the DFS. 

Ecuador has one of the highest geological potentials in the world. Our near-mine program is proving untapped district prospectivity, with discoveries like FDNS, the Bonza Sur deposit, or the most recently announced Trancaloma discovery. A potential porphyry-style deposit, Trancaloma could become a real game changer for Lundin. 

For 2025, we plan a 30,000 m conversion drilling campaign to convert inferred to indicated resources. FDNS remains open at depth and along strike to the north and south. The second priority this year will be Bonza Sur, where we have two drill rigs.

Lundin Gold is celebrating 10 years in Ecuador. What has been the company’s role in uplifting communities in the Zamora Chinchipe province in Ecuador? 

Over the past decade since signing the agreement with Kinross, we have witnessed a remarkable transformation. Out of the 24 provinces in Ecuador, Zamora Chinchipe ranked 23rd in terms of poverty levels, but today it has climbed up to the top 10 as a result of a 13% drop in poverty. But you can see the real impact behind the statistics through people's stories. Young people that I met 10 years ago now have thriving careers.

Transparency and communication have always been key to our community engagement programs. From the beginning, we set up roundtables where we would not be the talkers, but the listeners. Every six weeks, we listened to the needs of the community to identify how we could be a better responsible miner - and it is not about handing out money, but improving lives. 

How has Ecuador itself changed in the past decade?

There is a growing acceptance of mining in the country and a greater understanding of what responsible mining means in terms of generating benefits like tax revenues and jobs while still protecting the environment. Like any young mining jurisdiction, Ecuador needs time to mature. Lundin Gold and Ecuacorriente (ECSA) are among the top 10 largest taxpayers in the country and I feel like we have been the torchbearers for the whole industry in terms of demonstrating the benefits of mining. 

How do you think gold surpassing the US$3,000/oz mark will impact the industry?

A high gold price is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it translates to increases in margins; on the other, the high price is a reflection of a very turbulent global environment. The junior sector is still not seeing the love from investors. Even at Lundin, we have only started to see new, more generalist-style investors in the last six months. The gold sector has had to earn back the trust and respect of investors after the last cycle.