Orla’s acquisition of Musselwhite resulted in a step-change in scale, more than doubling annual gold production in 2025 (Musselwhite produced nearly 76,000 oz in Q4) and enabling the company to delever and initiate its first quarterly dividend.

Pipeline and permitting advanced: a Camino Rojo PEA forecasts >220,000 oz/year over the first 10 years and Mexican permits now allow underground exploration, while the South Railroad optimized feasibility study shows an after-tax NPV of $1.7 billion and a 95% IRR with a Record of Decision targeted mid‑2026.

Solid Q4 cash generation and a bullish 2026 outlook — Q4 revenue was $378 million with net income of $79 million (adjusted $143 million), $421 million cash ($481 million total liquidity) and free cash flow of $133 million, while guidance for 2026 is 340,000–360,000 oz at AISC $1,550–$1,750/oz.

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Orla Mining (NYSEAMERICAN:ORLA) highlighted a step-change in scale and cash generation during its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, driven by the addition of the Musselwhite mine and supported by higher gold prices. Management said 2025 marked a “pivotal year,” with the company more than doubling annual gold production following the Musselwhite acquisition, allowing Orla to delever, initiate a dividend, and continue funding growth across Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

President and CEO Jason Simpson said Musselwhite exceeded expectations in its first year under Orla ownership, citing both exploration success and improved operating performance. Simpson noted the company ended 2025 with “six consecutive months of nearly uninterrupted ore supply,” averaging nearly 4,000 tonnes per day, which he described as the highest throughput since at least 2012.

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Chief Operating Officer Andrew Cormier reported that in the fourth quarter Musselwhite mined 371,000 tons and processed 361,000 tons at a mill grade of 6.77 grams per tonne gold, with recoveries of 95.65%, producing nearly 76,000 ounces of gold. Cormier said the mill benefited from improved access to higher-grade areas in the second half of the year, including PQ Deeps and Red Wings, driving processed grades to about 6.8 g/t in the quarter. He added that main ramp development was extended to a new level in the PQ Zone, while work continued on the 1080 exploration ramp ahead of additional underground drills expected in early 2026. Orla had six underground drills running at the time of the call, and lateral development totaled 3,338 meters in the quarter.

At Camino Rojo in Mexico, the oxide operation produced 19,587 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter. Cormier said the mine moved nearly 1.8 million tons of ore and 2.7 million tons of waste, implying a strip ratio of 1.52, which he attributed to continued stabilization work following a pit wall event in July 2025. The company established a new ramp that required additional overburden and waste removal, raising stripping above normal levels. During the quarter, 1.9 million tons of ore grading an average of 0.47 g/t were stacked on the heap leach pad, including material from upper benches as operations returned to full capacity after the July event.

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Management emphasized two major growth initiatives: an underground expansion at Camino Rojo and development of the South Railroad project in Nevada.

Cormier said Orla released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for a standalone underground project beneath the existing Camino Rojo open pit. The study outlines a potential large-scale, long-life underground operation and processing facility. He said the PEA forecasts annual production exceeding 220,000 ounces over the first 10 years—“effectively doubling” current output—while noting the deposit remains open in Zone 22 with potential resource upside beyond the initial study.

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Orla also announced what it described as a key permitting milestone: Mexican authorities approved the environmental impact statement at Camino Rojo, along with a change of land use authorization. Cormier said the approvals permit mining the remainder of the oxide pit, including the northern layback area, and also allow construction of an underground exploration drift to support advancement of the underground project. Subject to board approval, Orla intends to begin work on an exploration decline in the second half of 2026 and is targeting a pre-feasibility study in 2027.

In Nevada, Cormier said Orla released an optimized feasibility study for the South Railroad Project in January 2026. The study outlines average production of 103,000 ounces of gold annually over the first five years, with an all-in sustaining cost of about $1,485 per ounce. Using a $4,500 gold price assumption, management said the project shows an after-tax net present value of $1.7 billion and a 95% internal rate of return. Cormier added that South Railroad is advancing through environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act and is a FAST-41 covered project led by the Bureau of Land Management. Orla is targeting a Record of Decision in mid-2026, with construction to start shortly thereafter and first gold in 2028 based on an 18-month build schedule.

Chief Financial Officer Etienne Morin said Orla sold just under 93,000 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter at a realized price of $4,025 per ounce, including the impact of a gold prepay arrangement, generating $378 million in revenue. The company delivered a little over 12,000 ounces toward the gold prepay in the quarter at an average price of $2,940 per ounce. Excluding the prepay impact, Morin said average realized price would have been $4,187 per ounce.

Morin said Orla ended 2025 with about 105,000 ounces remaining under the gold prepay, with equal monthly deliveries of just over 4,000 ounces through February 2028. Consolidated cash costs and all-in sustaining costs in the quarter were $1,093 and $1,536 per ounce of gold sold, respectively.

Orla reported quarterly net income of $79 million, or $0.23 per share, and adjusted earnings of $143 million, or $0.42 per share. Cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital totaled $165 million, and free cash flow was $133 million. Exploration and project development spending was $43.9 million, with $12.3 million expensed and $31.6 million capitalized.

The company finished December 2025 with $421 million in cash and total liquidity of $481 million, including an undrawn revolver. Morin said Orla repaid $30 million on its revolving credit facility after quarter end, leaving $60 million outstanding. He also flagged several near-term cash outflows in the first quarter, including $68 million at Musselwhite related to 2025 income tax and a $24 million annual Special Mining Duty payment at Camino Rojo due at the end of March. Morin added that Orla made the first of two $20 million contingent payments to Newmont tied to gold prices following the Musselwhite acquisition after the average gold price exceeded $2,900 per ounce in the first year.

Orla also discussed its first quarterly dividend, announced in December 2025 and initially paid in February. Morin said the policy reflects a balanced approach across growth investment, exploration, deleveraging, and shareholder returns, and he said Orla’s cash position supports self-funding development at South Railroad alongside other growth initiatives.

Senior Vice President of Exploration Sylvain Guerard said 2025 drilling at Musselwhite confirmed that mineralization continues to at least 2 kilometers beyond current operations, based on more than 12,500 meters of deep directional drilling during the year. He said the company is observing stockwork mineralization zones interpreted as lenses in PQ areas, and indicated additional potential remains to be tested deeper as Orla works through 2026 to define geometry and grade distribution.

Guerard said Orla completed more than 32,000 meters of underground drilling at Musselwhite in 2025 aimed at reserve replacement and resource expansion in the lenses, Red Wings, and PQ zones, producing multiple strong intersections and supporting near-term production confidence. He added that near-mine surface work returned shallow mineralization across several targets, and follow-up drilling began in the Camp Bay area in early 2026, with more drilling planned along a 4-kilometer trend southeast of the mine.

At Camino Rojo, Guerard said Orla completed close to 22,000 meters of drilling in 2025 to advance the Zone 22 underground resource, supporting the updated underground resource estimate used in the February PEA. He said a 4,300-meter program has started in 2026 to gather metallurgical, geotechnical, and hydrogeological data for the targeted 2027 pre-feasibility study.

In Nevada, Guerard said Orla’s 2025 South Carlin Complex drilling totaled more than 18,000 meters and confirmed mineralization outside projected pit boundaries at Darkstar and Pinion, while also identifying new oxide mineralization at Spike and Far Drop. Orla’s 2026 Nevada program is scheduled to begin in the second quarter, targeting pit extensions and continued work on oxide targets near the development project.

Chief Sustainability Officer Silvana Costa outlined community and workforce initiatives, including a $6.6 million, 10-year partnership with Newmont and First Nations LP (a partnership of 24 First Nations in northern Ontario) to fund STEM and trades training and land-based learning. At Camino Rojo, she said Orla renewed agreements with local ejido communities and advanced social investments including infrastructure, education, and the San Tiburcio egg farm project. In Nevada, she cited a partnership with Great Basin College and continued community engagement. Costa added that Orla’s updated ESG ratings improved or remained stable and that the company trained almost 300 employees through leadership training programs during the fourth quarter.

Simpson said Orla is forecasting another record year in 2026, guiding to 340,000 to 360,000 ounces of gold production at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,550 to $1,750 per ounce. He cited upcoming catalysts including advancing South Railroad toward construction pending final permits anticipated for mid-2026, continued Musselwhite drilling to extend mineralization and mine life, and continued work at Camino Rojo toward a pre-feasibility study and permit submission in 2027.

In Q&A, Simpson said the newly announced Camino Rojo permit approval does not change the 2026 mine plan because guidance already assumed receipt of the permit in the quarter. He said 2026 work at Camino Rojo will focus on returning to the top of the deposit and stripping back to the Fresnillo boundary, while also preparing the bottom of the pit for portal establishment. He added that Orla intends to mine oxides “until the end of the decade,” positioning the site for a transition to underground operations.

On South Railroad, Simpson and Cormier described continued engineering and procurement work in advance of a Record of Decision, including placing purchase orders to obtain certified drawings, awarding long-lead equipment orders, and tendering early civil works. In response to a question on capital timing, Simpson said Orla’s guided spending for South Railroad is contingent on receiving the Record of Decision, with the potential for higher 2026 spending if the decision is advanced and lower spending if delayed.

On Musselwhite, Simpson acknowledged that mining costs typically rise at depth due to material handling requirements. He said Orla plans to study material handling improvements over the first 24 months of ownership, with the aim of presenting a solution by 2027 that could reduce operating costs as the mine goes deeper. He also said Orla is seeing additional lateral potential—including satellite lenses and more gold in upper areas than initially expected—which could influence material handling choices and future capital decisions. Simpson added that Orla believes it can push Musselwhite toward 300,000 ounces without a material handling upgrade and said the company plans to provide a longer-term update on the asset in 2027.

Orla Mining is a Canada-based mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing gold and silver projects in the Americas. Its flagship asset is the Cerro Quema oxide gold-silver project in Panama, where the company holds approximately 13,000 hectares of mineral concessions. Through feasibility studies and pilot plant testing, Orla has demonstrated the potential of heap leach processing at Cerro Quema, positioning the asset for transition into construction and production phases.

In addition to Cerro Quema, Orla Mining expanded its portfolio in early 2023 with the acquisition of the Gold Springs project located along the Utah–Nevada border in the United States.

The article "Orla Mining Q4 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat.