IAMGOLD Corporation

IAMGOLD Corporation

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Q2 FY2026 · Earnings Call TranscriptAugust 7, 2026

Operator

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator.

Welcome to the IAMGOLD Second Quarter 2026 Operating and Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded.

After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad.

Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may reach an operator by pressing star, then zero. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Graeme Jennings, Vice President, Business Development and Investor Relations for IAMGOLD.

Please go ahead, Mr. Jennings.

Graeme Jennings

Thank you, operator, and welcome everyone to our conference call this morning. Joining us on the call are Renaud Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer; Maarten Theunissen, Chief Financial Officer; Bruno Lemelin, Chief Operating Officer; Ankit Shah, Chief Strategy Officer; and Annie Torkia Lagacé, Chief Legal Officer.

We are calling today from IAMGOLD's Toronto office, which is located on Treaty 13 territory on the traditional lands of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. At IAMGOLD, we believe respecting and upholding Indigenous rights is founded upon the relationships that foster trust, transparency, and mutual respect.

Please note that our remarks on this call will include forward-looking statements and refer to non-IFRS measures. We encourage you to refer to the cautionary statements and disclosures on non-IFRS measures included in the presentation and the reconciliations of these measures in our most recent MD&A, each under the heading Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

With respect to the technical information to be discussed, please refer to the information in the presentation under the heading Qualified Person and Technical Information. The slides referenced on this call can be viewed on our website.

I will now turn the call over to our President and CEO, Renaud Adams.

Renaud Adams

Thank you, Graeme, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today.

It was another strong and safe quarter for IAMGOLD. We produced 188,100 ounces of gold in the second quarter, bringing our year-to-date production to 371,700 ounces, positioning IAMGOLD firmly on track to meet our full-year guidance of 720,000 to 820,000 ounces.

Our company continues to generate strong free strong cash flow, with nearly $900 million of mine-site free cash flow produced year-to-date. This allows us to invest in our assets, strengthen our balance sheet, and return capital to our shareholders at the same time.

Since December, we have repurchased more than half a billion dollars of IAMGOLD shares. These repurchases, reflects our confidence in the company's future and our view that our shares represents compelling value.

That confidence is built on the growth we have across each of our mines. Over the coming quarters, we expect updated studies at Côté, Essakane, Westwood, and Nelligan.

Our next phase of value creation starts at Côté. The first step is the updated mine plan and the technical report, which remains on track for the end of the year.

For the first time, this plan will bring the Côté and Gosselin deposit together, building on the more than 20 million ounces of measured and indicated resources across the combined zone. The updated plan will define a near path to a near a near-term path to increase throughput towards 40,000 tonnes per day through targeted debottlenecking of the existing plant.

This work is expected to be low cost and high return, supported by a larger reserve base and a longer mine life. In parallel, we are advancing trade-off study on a large studies on a larger expansion of Côté.

We have adjusted the scope of this work to reflect the significant size and opportunity at Côté. We are taking the time to assess the full scales of the asset, evaluating multiple scenarios to ensure that Côté is positioned to deliver value for generations to come.

At Essakane, we continue to see strong cash flow generation, which remains a key driver of our share buyback program. In the first half of the year, we plan to release an updated mine plan that is expected to outline a mine life extension to 2035.

At Westwood, our Quebec underground mine continues to redefine itself as a stable, cash-generative operation. Next year, we are excited to outline a path to extend mine life and increase underground throughput with the potential to transform Westwood into a larger, higher throughput, lower cost operation.

Of course, at Nelligan, we are advancing one of the Canadian Canada's largest emerging gold camp toward an initial economic study next year, marking an important step in defining its long-term development potential. In summary, IAMGOLD is performing well, generating strong cash flow, returning capital to shareholders, and building real growth for the years ahead.

With that, let's get into the quarter. Starting with health and safety, our total recordable injury frequency rate was 0.70 for the quarter and is tracking at 0.56 year-to-date.

I would like to recognize the West the Westwood team in particular. Whose continued focus on on safe operations set a strong standard.

Safety comes first to us, and I want to thank our teams across our operations for their ongoing commitment to safe and responsible mining. Turning to operations, IAMGOLD produced 188,100 ounces to our account in the second quarter.

At Côté, attributable production was 67,300 ounces, or 96,200 ounces on a 100% basis, which was made possible as the plant operated at near full capacity in June, following the conveyor belt replacement and the commissioning of the second cone crusher. Essakane and Westwood also deliver strong quarters, with grades slightly above forecast.

Cash costs, including royalty, were $1,289 per ounce for the quarter and $1,244 per ounce year-to-date. For the full year, cash costs are tracking towards the upper half of our guidance range, with improvement expected in the second half as Côté production increases.

All-in sustaining costs, including royalty, are likewise tracking towards the upper half of the guided range. As a remainder reminder, both Côté and Essakane has royalty structure tied directly to the gold price.

With the realized gold price averaging over $4,600 per ounce year-to-date, royalties have added approximately $380 per ounce so far this year, about $55 per ounce above our guidance assumptions. We continue to monitor inflation and energy market volatility closely.

In the first half of the year, certain input costs increased by approximately 3%, in line with our expectations. In the second quarter, oil prices were approximately $25 to $30 per barrel above our guidance assumptions, adding about $35 per ounce above our cost guidance.

With that, I will pass the call over to our CFO to walk us through our financial matters. Maarten?

Maarten Theunissen

Thank you, Renaud, and good morning, everyone. The combination of strong operating performance and a favorable gold price environment continue to generate significant cash flow during the quarter.

Our capital allocation strategy is to deploy funds to sustain and optimize our operations, fund our expansion and mine life extension initiatives, and then use remaining funds for strategic opportunities and shareholder returns. Net cash from operating activities totals $445.1 million during the quarter, an increase of $359.3 million when compared to the $85.8 million of cash from operating activities in Q2 2025.

We used the operating cash flows to fund $115.6 million of capital expenditures, the full repayment of the remaining $100 million outstanding on the credit facility, $74 million paid to the government of Burkina Faso related to the Essakane dividend distribution, and $147.9 million of shares share repurchases under our share buyback program. As Renaud noted, since we initiated the share buyback in December, IAMGOLD has repurchased approximately 20.8 million shares for $510.4 million, which equates to approximately 45% of our mine-site free cash flow returned to shareholders, a clear signal of our confidence in the value of our shares.

In June, we further enhanced our financial flexibility by amending the credit facility, increasing total capacity from $650 to $850 million, extending the maturity to 2030, improving covenant terms, and lowering overall borrowing costs. The amended facility also includes a further $250 million accordion feature, providing additional liquidity potential.

As a result, we ended the quarter with $501.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, no amounts drawn on the revolving facility, and total available liquidity of approximately $1.35 billion. Revenues for the second quarter was $856.9 million on sales of 195,100 ounces at an average realized gold price of $4,384 per ounce.

This was slightly below the quarter average as production was weighted towards the back end of the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter was $507.1 million, and adjusted net earnings attributable to equity holders of $241.6 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $77.3 million and 13 cents per share in the prior period.

On a trailing 12-month basis, adjusted EBITDA has increased to approximately $2.2 billion. Cash flow from operating activities, excluding working capital adjustments, was $442 million in the quarter, an increase of $315.6 million year-over-year.

Mine-site free cash flow was $368.9 million in the second quarter, a $228.4 million or 169% increase compared to Q2 2025. Year-to-date mine-site free cash flow was $893.5 million, a $613.5 million or 219% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

Taken together, these results speak to fundamental transformation of the company's financial position. Just over a year ago, IAMGOLD carried more than $800 million of net debt.

As of June 30, 2026, the company is in a net cash position, with an undrawn and increasing revolving facility and a balance sheet capacity to fund growth and return capital to shareholders concurrently. With that, I will pass the call to Bruno Lemelin, our Chief Operations Officer, to discuss our operating results and outlook.

Bruno?

Bruno Lemelin

Thank you, Maarten. Starting with Côté Gold, Côté produced 96,200 ounces on a 100% basis in the quarter, bringing the year-to-date production to 170,900 ounces.

Strong production is expected in the second half, putting Côté well on track to meet the production guidance of 390 to 440,000 ounces this year. The story of the quarter is really the story of June, when the plant operated at near full capacity, following the conveyor belt replacement in May and the commissioning of the second cone crusher earlier in the year.

On the mining side, we moved 11.7 million tonnes of total material with 3.1 million tonnes of ore at a strip ratio of 2.8 to 1. Grade mined averaged 0.86 gram per tonne.

Both the strip ratio and the grade reflect where we are in the mine plan. We worked on pushback areas and focus on opening up the new bench to set up the second half of the year.

In the plant, we milled 2.9 million tonnes. We managed throughput early in the quarter ahead of the CV10 conveyor replacement in late May.

Once the new heavier gauge belt was installed, we ramped the plant back to nameplate and processed over 1 million tonnes in the month of June alone. Head grades averaged 1.12 gram per tonne at recoveries of 93%, and I would note that reconciliation between our reserve model and mill feed continues to sit well within expected tolerances.

The most significant operational milestone in the quarter was discontinuing external contractor crushing by the end of June. We are already seeing the benefits as the processing costs in June averaged $17.72 per tonne, down from an average of $22.50 per tonne over the prior three quarters.

We have seen additional operating improvement, first, with better-sized material now feeding the HPGR. We are seeing improved wear rates on the rollers.

A longer HPGR lifespan should translate into lower maintenance costs and better crushing circuit availability going forward. Second, the mining fleet that had been dedicated to rehandling material for the contract crusher is now being redeployed onto mining activities.

Combined with three new haul trucks coming into service, we expect mining rates to step up in the second half. Looking forward, we anticipate the plant averaging nameplate of 36,000 tonnes per day over the course of the year and head grades between 1.05 and 1.15 gram per tonne.

Production is weighted to the second half on both higher throughput and higher grades. Turning to costs, Côté reported second quarter cash costs, excluding royalties, of $1,245 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of $2,082 per ounce.

Costs remain elevated on external contractor crushing, contractor support for the conveyor repair, and scheduled maintenance, compounded by higher diesel prices. On a unit basis, mining costs averaged $4.49 per tonne mined, and milling costs $20.85 per tonne milled in the quarter.

Both remain above where we intend to operate, and the path to improvement is clear. On mining, the contractor crusher required significant rehandling and tied up haul truck utilization.

With the contractor phased out and three new haul trucks coming into service, that capacity returns to the pit. On milling, June's costs of $17.72 per tonne gives us a real-world data point for what the circuit delivers without contracted crushing.

We are targeting mining costs of $4 per tonne and milling costs of $15 per tonne by year-end, with further reductions expected into 2027. On capital, we invested $54.6 million at Côté in the quarter on an attributable basis.

Capital expenditures are to be weighted to the second half on equipment delivery timing and project schedules. Putting that together for the year, we expect cash costs, excluding royalties at Côté, near the top end of our $900 to $1,050 per ounce guidance range and ASIC, excluding royalties, at the top end of the $1,475 to $1,625 range.

Côté carries a 7.5 gross margin royalties and various net smelter return royalties, which accounted for $309 per ounce in our cash costs, or 20% of cash costs. Costs are expected to improve through the second half on higher production volumes, the removal of contracted crushing, improved maintenance cycles, and greater efficiencies as the pit opens up.

With the clear path to higher production and lower costs, attention now turns to the next phase for Côté. On June 1st, we announced an updated mineral resource estimate that for the first time combined the Côté and Gosselin zones together into a single block model.

On a 100% basis, measured and indicated resources increased to 20.3 million ounces, with 3.5 million ounces of inferred. This larger resource base will support our updated technical report and life of mine plan, which we expect to release towards the end of the year.

The plan is expected to show a significant increase in both reserves and mine life. It will also set out a near-term path to raise processing capacity beyond the current nameplate of 36,000 tonnes per day toward a sustained rate of about 40,000 tonnes per day.

That first step comes from further debottlenecking and targeted plant improvements, not from a major new build. It includes accelerating certain works such as an additional vertimill.

In parallel, we are evaluating longer-term expansion scenarios beyond 40,000 tonnes per day through technical, infrastructure, and permitting studies. Our objective is to determine the right scale and the right development path for Côté.

For a project of this size, scope, and importance, it is critical we determine the optimal long-term expansion strategy. The additional non-recurring sustaining and expansion capital we are investing today supports that work.

The plant improvements improve availability and capacity. The phase two pit pushback gives us operating flexibility in the near term, and it also prepares the ground for a larger operation.

We are reducing the risk of the bigger build well before we commit to it. We also continue to grow the resource.

At Côté and Gosselin, we are drilling over 30,000 meters to test the extensions to the northeast to improve confidence in the resource and to convert inferred ounces into the indicated category. Turning to Westwood, the operation delivered another strong quarter, producing 32,400 ounces, supported by solid underground performance.

Year-to-date, Westwood has produced 68,600 ounces, positioning well on track with our guidance target of 110 to 130,000 ounces. Underground mining totaled 104,000 tonnes at an average grade of 8.4 grams per tonne, with the Grand Duc open pit contributed 109,000 tonnes of ore as waste stripping continue to position the pit for future production.

Mill throughput was 287,000 tonnes at a blended grade of 3.75 grams per tonne and recoveries of 94%. Throughput was lower than the prior year due to a planned mill shutdown early in the quarter, but overall operating performance remains strong.

Most importantly, Westwood generated $56.5 million of mine-site free cash flow during the quarter and $166.5 million year-to-date. The operation continues to demonstrate the value of the technical and operational changes implemented over the past years, delivering safe and reliable production, strong margins, and meaningful cash flow generation.

Turning to costs and outlook, Westwood continues to perform well across both operational and financial metrics. Cash costs were $1,606 per ounce in the quarter, and all-in sustaining costs were $2,163 per ounce.

Year-to-date, ASIC is averaging $1,921 per ounce, which is tracking below our full-year guidance range. While we have seen modest cost increases related to additional drilling activity and higher explosive costs, overall cost performance remains strong.

Looking ahead, our focus is on unlocking the next phase of value at Westwood. This year, we are investing around $30 million of expansion capital to advance exploration and development activities in the eastern extension of the mine, where drilling continues to demonstrate encouraging results, including a thickening of the mineralized system.

Our teams are now advancing underground development into this area and conducting bulk testing to better understand its long-term potential. We expect to publish an updated technical report in the second half of 2027.

This work is expected to support an extension of mine life and evaluate the potential for more productive bulk mining methods within the eastern zone. If successful, this could support higher underground throughput, improved mining costs, and increase production over time.

Turning to Essakane, the operation delivered another strong quarter, producing 88,400 attributable ounces, an increase of 15% over the prior year period. Year-to-date, Essakane has produced 183,500 ounces, putting the mine well on track with our guidance targets.

Performance in the quarter continued to benefit from positive grade reconciliation as mining progressed deeper into Phase 7, consistent with what we have observed in previous phases of the deposit. Mining activities totaled 12 million tonnes during the quarter, including 2.5 million tonnes of ore, while waste stripping remained elevated as we continue to advance the adjacent Lauro pit.

Despite the higher stripping requirements, the operation delivered solid throughput of 3.2 million tonnes with head grades of 1.13 grams per tonne and recoveries of 88%. Most importantly, Essakane continues to generate substantial cash flows.

Mine-site free cash flows totaled $162.1 million during the quarter and $464.8 million year-to-date, even after a $60.2 million tax payment. Over the last 12 months, Essakane has generated more than $800 million of mine-site free cash flow, highlighting the strength of the asset in the current gold price environment.

As we look into the second half of the year, mining will remain focused on Phase 7 and the development of the Lauro pit. While grades are expected to normalize as additional Lauro ore enters the mine plan, the operation remains well positioned to achieve annual production guidance and continue generating significant free cash flow.

Turning to costs, Essakane delivered a strong quarter. Cash costs, excluding royalties, were $1,214 per ounce, a reduction of 22% from the prior year period, and all-in sustaining costs, excluding royalties, were $1,691 per ounce.

The improvement was driven largely by unit cost performance in the pit, where open pit mining costs fell to $4.79 per tonne mined from $6.02 a year ago, as free digging in the initial saprolite benches of the Lauro pit reduced both explosives and energy consumption. Milling costs also improved to $18.88 per tonne as the liner replacement was completed in the first quarter this year rather than the second.

Royalties accounted for $510 per ounce, representing approximately 30% of cash costs and an increase of $220 per ounce over the prior year period. This reflects both the higher gold price and the current royalty regime, in which our average royalty rate in the quarter was 12%, against 9% a year ago.

Looking beyond 2026, we intend to publish an updated technical report in the first half of 2027, which is expected to demonstrate the potential to extend Essakane's mine life through 2035, supported by additional phases in the Essakane pit and the adjacent open pits. With that, I will pass it back to Renaud.

Renaud?

Renaud Adams

Thank you, Bruno, and congrats to you and your teams on strong and safe operational results. Turning to growth, beyond our three operating mines, the Nelligan Mining Complex in Quebec is where we see the next chapter of this company.

Nelligan now hosts 4.3 million ounces of indicated and 7.5 million ounces of inferred mineral resources. The consolidations completed last December gives us 100% ownership of one of the largest pre-production gold camps in Canada, on a single, contiguous land package.

Our focus this year is on drilling. We have budgeted approximately $24 million across the complex in 2026, with programs at Nelligan, Philibert, and Monster Lake.

Roughly 45,000 meters of close to 70,000 meters are complete, and we expanded the Nelligan program during the quarter from 18,000 to 24,000 meters on the strength of results to date. Mineralization remains open along strike and at depth, and we expect to release drill results later this year.

What makes this district compelling is not any single deposit, but the relationship between them. All of the primary deposits sits within 17 kilometers radius, which supports the conceptual vision of a central processing facility fed from multiple ore sources.

That is the concept our teams are working to define. We expect to publish an inaugural technical report for the complex in the first half of 2027, which will bring this deposit together into a single development concept for the first time.

Nelligan has the potential to become one of the premier development projects in Canada, and with the deposits still open, our focus remains on growing the resource and defining the full scales of this district. Before we open the line for questions, a few closing thoughts.

This was another quarter of safe, consistent execution. We remain on track for guidance.

We have generated nearly $900 million of mine-site free cash flow year-to-date, and we ended the quarter in a net cash position, with nearly $1.4 billion of liquidity, while returning over half a billion dollars to shareholders since last December. Looking ahead, we have work underway across every asset.

At Côté, an updated technical report later this year, integrating Côté and Gosselin for the first time, with a much larger reserve base, a longer mine life, and a near path to approximately 40,000 tonnes per day. The consolidated resource point to a larger operations over time, and will continue to advance that work.

At Essakane, an updated mine plan in the first half of 2027 evaluating a mine life extension through 2035. At Westwood, mine life extension and underground expansion study in the second half of 2027.

At Nelligan, our inaugural technical report in the middle of next year. Each is about the same objective: understanding the full scale of what we hold, and doing it from a position of financial strength.

Thank you for your continued support. Operator, you can now open the line for questions.

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session.

To join the question queue, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone acknowledging your request.

If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two.

We will pause for a moment as callers join the queue. The first question comes from Sathish Kasinathan with Bank of America Securities.

Please go ahead.

Sathish Kasinathan

Yeah. Hi, good morning.

Thanks for taking my questions. My first question is on the Côté expansion study.

Could you maybe provide a bit more color on what changed over the past three months that drove the shift to a more phased approach? Are you now leaning towards a much larger expansion, maybe doubling the capacity to 70 to 80,000 tonnes per day?

Or did you come across some technical findings that require more time to complete the studies? Thank you.

Renaud Adams

Thanks for your questions and happy to provide more questions, and Bruno, you can add to it. Not to read more than call it disciplined and diligent capital allocation at this stage.

Became obvious over the last few months as we advance and continue to look at the opportunity that this large resource base at Côté and Gosselin provide for potentially multiple different scenarios. Quite frankly, when you're looking at the next three years will be pretty much executing on the same.

It doesn't really matter of the scenario. The next three years are a lot around focusing on the improvement, on reducing our costs, on hitting our 36 on a very sustaining basis, and then slowly ramping up to 40,000.

We're not going to waste our time, obviously. We're going to continue with our baselines, we're going to work on vibrations, dust, all what is required to potentially.

As you mentioned, it's not so much about is it a 50, 60, 70, more than we just don't want to limit ourselves on the multiple and take just more time to really assess different scenarios. If you remember back in 20 2022, the company released a 43-101 at 36,000 moving towards 42,000, from which now we're sitting in about 7 million of reserves.

The opportunity here is to update this with new projections from 36 to roughly 40. We could potentially do a little more, and update our costs and so forth, and just continue to reassess and just pick what we think is the best.

This is one of the top resource base in Canada. It's not about rushing the outcome of that, but really take the time for proper and disciplined.

There is no technical challenges beyond, it's just a multiple opportunities. We have mentioned up to very recently the opportunity to go up to 50,000, and we were challenging ourselves, do we do the dry right away at a higher throughput?

Clearly there is opportunities at Côté that deserve a little more of disciplined look at and come out down the road with what is the best. Again, nothing to be worried about.

Definitely no technical challenges, more than disciplined and diligent approach. Bruno, happy if you want to add anything.

Bruno Lemelin

The main objective of this technical report is also to confirm the reserve on the Gosselin side, you will see a large expansion on the reserve side coming from that report.

Renaud Adams

Quite frankly, as Bruno mentioned, there's very little to mill differences that we will capture the massive increase of the reserve base. In the short term, the 40, 50, and so forth, this is not what drive the value more than the extensions of the life of mine and the massive extensions of the reserve base and so forth.

Work diligently to hit the 36 consistently and up to 40, lowering our costs, open the pit. Again, pretty much the same execution over the next two years.

We'll use the time for environmental baseline and advance whatever. There's some permitting that could advance as well, water dam and so forth.

We'll be more specific in the report, and we'll be capable to provide the next three years through this. Again, depending on the expansion down the road, it doesn't really change the next three years anyway.

Sathish Kasinathan

Thank you. Looking forward for the update in fourth quarter.

Maybe my second question is on your capital allocation priorities. Great to see continued strong buybacks.

With the company now in a net cash position and generating strong free cash flow, what is your latest thinking on buying back the 50% Côté royalty from Franco-Nevada and on the initiation of dividends? Where does M&A fit into this priority list?

Renaud Adams

Maarten, please go ahead.

Maarten Theunissen

Good morning, Sathish. We continue to look at that buyback opportunity of that royalty at Franco, and there's many reasons why it would make sense for us.

The price would be the same as the price that was set a year ago in a much lower gold price environment, and there's many other impacts, including reducing the cost structure and burden on Côté. We continue looking at that.

In the future, we can fund that with internally generated cash flow, and we have until April of next year to make that decision. We are looking at that very closely.

The price doesn't change, there's no real reason for us to do it earlier than when it makes economic sense to do so. On the dividend, we continue to look at this year as a good year to buy back shares, and we continue using the Essakane cash flows to fund that buyback.

Then beginning of next year, as we are in that net cash position, as you mentioned, it would start making sense for us, we are looking at that dividend starting early next year.

Sathish Kasinathan

Any thoughts on M&A?

Renaud Adams

I don't think so. No comment on M&A at this stage.

We remain very focused and continue to create value for shareholders.

Sathish Kasinathan

Thank you. Congrats on a strong quarter.

Renaud Adams

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from Mohamed Sidibe with National Bank.

Please go ahead.

Mohamed Sidibe

Hi, everyone. Thanks for taking my questions and congrats on a strong operating quarter there.

Maybe just a follow-up on the expansion to the 40,000 tonnes per day there. If I recall correctly, the prior-touted expansion to 50,000 tonnes per day also was understood to have a doubling of the dry line, a third vertimill, and an increase on ore dome capacity.

For this debottlenecking to 40,000 tonnes per day, can you provide us with a little bit more color on how we should think about capital for that optimization versus the previously, call it maybe $500 million, in change that was envisioned for the 50,000 tonne per day case? Thank you.

Renaud Adams

Essentially, as I said, the most important thing is the next three years is pretty much the same scenario. If you remove the expansion and you're looking at optimizations, we have discussed at large.

This year, we're spending around $80, $85 million in growth capital to open the pit, prepare the pit for larger volume and so forth, advancing well. You could expect this spending to continue in '27, '28.

At that point, we hope that the pit will be fully opens, and well, not fully open to the full, but provide for larger volume mining and more efficiencies. We also spending more sustaining capital this years to improvement in some aspect, and expect that to continue as well as we want to install the repeat systems in the fines and the coarse and proper continuing of pop-up operations.

This is a huge ticket item. We'll improve some infrastructure as well as we continue to expand the mine fleet, there would be some need for maintenance facilities as well, improvement and so forth.

The next three years is really about positioning the sites to be a very strong, low-cost, a long-term asset. This is the focus.

Not much of a difference to what we have already discussed in the past of the next three years. The only thing is we had mentioned that the 50,000, starting maybe 2029-30, could be in the range of the $500 to $750 million of capital.

This was really to bring it from 40 towards the 50. This is what we're parking for the time being until we have a better view of what is the optimal scenario down the road.

Expect the execution pretty much on the sustaining capital, optimizations, improvement of infrastructure and operational equipment around the crushing to continue, and the growth path to on the mining side to continue. No change there.

The only difference so far is about the $700 $500 to $700 million of extra capital for expansion that were for the time being parked.

Mohamed Sidibe

Glad to hear that. That's very helpful.

Then maybe if I can move on to Côté into the quarter. Great to see the process cost improvement in June, and I think mining costs were also lower quarter-over-quarter.

How should we think about mining and processing costs specifically? I think you're pointing to about $18 per tonne realized in June on the process cost front, but how can we think about that improvement into Q3 and Q4 at the asset and into 2027 towards kind of your target of $4 and $15 there?

Thank you.

Renaud Adams

Go ahead, Bruno.

Bruno Lemelin

Hello, Mohamed. This is Bruno.

First, we have a program that is tracking those costs, and we have close to 31 initiatives meeting and tracking those costs and trying to get them down. That I would say that the reduction or the elimination of the contracted crushing is going to help, because now the fleet, like I mentioned, is going to be fully dedicated to expert mining.

That will increase the volume of mining, just on the volume basis that will help decreasing your unit cost. Also we are adding new units in the fleet.

After that, our continuous improvement program has identified, like I mentioned, 31 initiatives that we're tracking, and we're very very confident and we're fitting strong that we're going to be able to meet our $4 targets on the mining side by year-end. Same thing is happening with processing.

What happens is we have the second cone crusher is helping to have the best granulometry entering the HPGR, the top end that goes to the HPGR is as per spec. We expect longer life from our local rollers, or tires, at the HPGR.

In the past we used to change them twice a year, now we expect to change them once a year. That's going to have a big positive impact on our maintenance cost, and also availability, because you don't stop the HPGR for nothing.

Increased availability, improved granulometry, and better efficiency in your maintenance cycle. We have also identified a numerous amount of initiative from our cost improvement program, and we're very well positioned to be meeting our $15 per tonne target by year-end, too.

Mohamed Sidibe

Great. Thanks a lot for that, caller.

Then if I may, a final question for Maarten, just on the income tax payment for the remaining second half of the year. How should we think about that spread for the remaining about $100, $115 million there?

Thank you.

Maarten Theunissen

Good morning, Mohamed. For the income taxes, we made a larger payment in Q2 in Burkina, and that's normally what happens.

It's your catch-up payment every year because we do pay quarterly payments, and then the future payments is based on what you expect it to be. The income tax payments for the remaining of the year is between $35 to $40 million per quarter.

Then we also will be paying the withholding tax on the new declared dividend in Burkina Faso of $26.8 million in the third quarter. We are still kind of falling in that range of $205 to $215 for the year.

Mohamed Sidibe

Great. Thanks for taking my questions.

Maarten Theunissen

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from Anita Soni with CIBC.

Please go ahead.

Anita Soni

Hi, good morning, and congrats on a strong operational quarter. I think a lot of the questions have been asked and answered.

I just wanted to, I guess, with Bruno talking about the mining rates, I was going to ask about the stripping. How should we think about that into the back half of the year?

Because I think the beginning of the year was a little lighter on the stripping side than I had expected. This is at Côté.

Bruno Lemelin

The stripping ratio should be around I'd say about 2.6 tonne to 1. 2.4, and so

Anita Soni

that's in the back half of the year, okay. Any change to the grade in the back half of the year?

I know you guided to 1.05 to 1.1 1.15. Any variability in terms of lower than higher or higher than lower in Q3 versus Q4?

Bruno Lemelin

That's correct. We expect stronger head grades or grade mined in the second half of the year, like I mentioned, ranging between 1.05 to 1.15 gram per tonne, which will help having a stronger H2.

Anita Soni

Okay. Then just in terms of going back to the study, could you just clarify for me in simple terms what we should expect to see in the study?

A path to 40k tonne per day with the CapEx associated with that, and then longer term, what would you be including in the study that you'll release in Q4, or I guess is it in Q4 or with Q4 results?

Bruno Lemelin

We expect to release the results of the report at the end of this year that will indicate, okay, how we can valorize the Gosselin reserve. Like I mentioned, the main objective of this report is to understand, okay, how much how many reserves we have from Gosselin.

We expect a large expansion in our reserve base when you tie the Côté and Gosselin block model all together. It's called the super pit concept.

That's objective one at a 40,000 tonne per day cadence and it's adjusted cost structure. This is basically what we need to be expecting.

Also in that technical report, there's a section on future opportunities, and that's where we're going to also indicate what we see in the future in terms of potential expansion.

Renaud Adams

If I could just add one thing, Anita. The way to really looking at is let's say at the 36 to up to 40, I think it's fair to say that you maximize the depletions of Côté before you have the obligation to cross and start mining the Gosselin.

You maximize potentially in pit Côté disposal and so forth, as we have largely discussed. As you advance the throughput towards the 50 and eventually beyond the 50,000 comes the obligation to start Gosselin a little quicker, to a point that a scenario like a 70,000 basically you would be mining as soon as possible both pits.

That's really where it's being played, so that a capital allocation versus benefits. We want to do the proper continue to work hard on the trade-offs and so forth.

Again, as I mentioned, focusing on the next two, three years on optimizations, which basically is the same. As we advance in time, the game is there.

The game is about balancing capital allocation versus how fast and quicker you want to build, you want to mine Gosselin, and what does that play in the capital allocation. This is really how we trade

Anita Soni

off this. That was going to be my next question.

With respect to the tailings capacity under the 40k tonne per day scenario, is the capacity you have sufficient to what you would expect the 40k tonne per day scenario and the reserves that you would incorporate with this study at year-end? Or would you have to do some additional permitting?

Bruno Lemelin

That will require, right now, the TSF or the TMF has a capacity up to 233 million tonnes. Of course, by just including Gosselin, it will need additional tailings capacity.

That's what the project team is currently looking, adding more capacity, but also looking other options like co-disposal, like Renaud mentioned. Those are the kind of trade-offs that are going to be published in the technical report at the end of this year.

Renaud Adams

As a rule of thumb, there is maybe somewhat around the 200 million tonnes of tailings that are, where do they go? Yes, they wouldn't be any issues to find the space for.

As you increase the throughput of the mining, as you reduce your chance of co-disposal, but you would just build extra capacity larger, but it's all fits.

Anita Soni

Co-disposal meaning that you would be placing some ore within parts of the Côté pit that have been depleted and somehow sectioned off?

Bruno Lemelin

That is correct.

Renaud Adams

That is correct. There is an opportunity here as Côté is depleted that not just use it for tailings, but eventually some waste as well, co-disposal.

Anita Soni

Okay. Great, thank you.

That's it for my questions.

Renaud Adams

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from Matthew Murphy with BMO Capital Markets.

Please go ahead. Excuse me, Mr.

Murphy, your line is open. Is your phone muted accidentally?

Matthew Murphy

Thanks. Thank you.

Operator

Please go ahead. Yes, sir.

No worries.

Matthew Murphy

Morning. Had a question on Essakane.

You have another dividend declared, and while you're studying this mine life extension, how much cash do you keep in Burkina? Do you have to let that build up a bit in the event you go forward with the extension?

Renaud Adams

Go ahead, Maarten. Sorry.

It's we're looking for the answer here, go ahead.

Maarten Theunissen

Good morning, Matt. It's our decision how much cash we keep in Burkina.

At the moment, it depending on the timing of the year and when the tax payments and payments like that is scheduled, it's between $100 to $200 million. When we look at next year, there is more than enough cash flow for Essakane to fund all of the potential mine life extension by itself, and then still a considerable portion to repatriate to IAMGOLD.

The timing of the cash flow means we don't really need to build a larger balance there. It just is sufficient as they generate cash to fund additional capital.

Matthew Murphy

Got it. Okay.

Then this latest dividend, should we think about that when it comes out in regular payments, that's a year-long process, and then you look at the next dividend?

Maarten Theunissen

The current dividend that we declare, the $400 million of our portion, if the gold price averages about $4,000, it will take three quarters, maybe a bit more than three quarters, for us to get there, and then we are into the new cycle once again. At a higher gold price, it could happen faster, but we'll balance that with the funding of the mine life extension as you refer to, as well.

Matthew Murphy

Got it. Thank you.

Maarten Theunissen

Thanks.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from Tanya Jakusconek with Scotiabank.

Please go ahead. Oh,

Tanya Jakusconek

great. Good morning, everybody.

Thank you for taking my question. Just so that I understand completely on this Côté, and just some of your cash flow that would be going out.

Renaud, I think you said that $80, $85 million of expansion capital for the next couple of years just to get to 40,000 tonnes per day and maintaining that would be about, for three years, that'd be about $250 million or thereabout. Then I've got this $350 million potentially going out for Côté royalty if I was to buy that back.

Should I be thinking then that expansion of $500 to 50,000 tonnes per day would be something that probably you wouldn't look at spending until your 2029-2030 timeframe? I'm just trying to see the cash flow and what sort of things are going out.

Renaud Adams

No, and Maarten, you would add to it. The $80, $85 million of growth capital that I referred to, it's pretty much for the mining side of the business, right?

We have a plan to open, enlarge the pit of Côté, increase the fleet, and be more efficient. That's on the mining side and as a growth capital.

Some of the improvement, like we discussed, to go to the 40,000, you would definitely put repeat system and improve some aspect operational, but this is not the expansion per se. That would continue.

To your point, you're right. Far, what is no longer on the paper, and we'll see how it goes as we continue, is the extra probably $5 to $700 million that we have accounted for starting potentially in '29 over 2029-30 to bring it from the 40 to the 50.

That portion only is parked, but anything else, expect the growth capital for the mine component to continue in '27, '28, and expect our sustaining capital to have a component like this year of improvement. The quickest we could install those repeat system that we will get to the 40,000, so that would be the priority.

We may increase it to go fasters, but roughly the next three years is really about limiting the capital as much as possible to the 40 stage. Maarten, happy to.

Maarten Theunissen

Thanks, Renaud, and morning, Tanya. This year, we are spending about $50 million of capital to help us increase the efficiency of our operation and reduce the unit cost.

We include that in sustaining cost in our reporting, and we expect to continue to spend up to that amount every year maybe a bit more in the next couple of years. That is to fund the initiatives that Bruno also alluded to to bring down the unit cost, and if the payback on that is pretty good because the amount of tonnes in this large resource, any improvement on your dollar per tonne cost pays back that capital pretty quickly, and that's why we want to make this investment in the next few years.

Tanya Jakusconek

That's in your $160 million, plus or minus, sustaining costs that you have guided for this year. I guess what I'm really trying to get at is, for us to get to that 40,000, which you're going to be providing in the study, from the mining side, there's something, from the processing side, there's something, the allocation of growth between expansion and sustaining is sort of for the two.

How should I think of that cost for the complex, your share, for the next three years? Should I be thinking it's $160 plus $85 per annum for the next three years?

Renaud Adams

I'm afraid, Tanya, we cannot be that precise, to be very frank, because that's exactly what is the last portion that we're refining as we speak is the capital for each block. We would be releasing those numbers in the fourth quarter, you'll be fully equipped to foresee the next three years as soon as or the latest December.

I would not advance too much on it, and I would refer to the upcoming report, which will clarify our next three years.

Tanya Jakusconek

We'll wait for that. Maybe just on Nelligan, I look at that complex, one processing facility, and I see the four deposits.

How should we be thinking about that from a conceptual level, in a high level? Is this a camp that could do 300,000 ounces, 400, from 100,000 each from each deposit?

I'm just trying to think of what could this complex do.

Renaud Adams

The complex has definitely the resource base to eventually come up with a scenario that could be probably as high as 400,000. This is our objective here.

Not saying that Essakane doesn't have any potential beyond the 2035, but it's very important to us that we find a way for the continuum here. Eventually, should the mine doesn't go beyond '35, at least we have a continuum, but in Canada.

We think with the starting of Nelligan, with Philibert, and with the underground of Monster Lake, the concept of the three, we're working and generating something that's between the three and the four, but we're definitely looking towards the 400 per annum.

Tanya Jakusconek

We'll look forward to that study as well. Then maybe just lastly, how should I be thinking, you gave guidance on Côté for the second half of the year with the higher throughput, higher grade, how does Westwood and Essakane, how do they look for Q3, Q4?

Is it evenly distributed or is there anything grade or throughput that I should know about?

Bruno Lemelin

For Essakane, it's going to be pretty much even, a little bit stronger on the Q4.

Tanya Jakusconek

Oh, sorry. Is that for

Renaud Adams

Westwood

Tanya Jakusconek

Yeah. For Westwood, a bit stronger in Q4?

Bruno Lemelin

Oh. I thought you were talking about Essakane.

Yeah. For Westwood, it's stronger in Q4

Tanya Jakusconek

Yeah.

Bruno Lemelin

than Q3. Now

Renaud Adams

we did have a very strong H1 at Westwood. H1 times two will definitely put beyond.

We see an H2 that would be strong, but not necessarily stronger than H1. I think Essakane, Bruno, pretty much the same.

Bruno Lemelin

Essakane, because you have the rainy season right now, it's going to be just a tad lower than Q4. Not materially.

Tanya Jakusconek

Okay. All right, thank you.

Renaud Adams

Thank you, Tanya. Appreciate.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from Carey MacRury with Canaccord Genuity.

Please go ahead.

Carey MacRury

Hey, good morning, guys. Just a quick one for me.

You mentioned the performance at Côté in June. Just wondering how it's gone, we're through July now and into August, if that's still running at that nameplate.

Bruno Lemelin

It goes very well. The thing that we're seeing is the addition of the second cone crusher is giving us great performance.

I call it peak performance, that goes even beyond the 36,000 tonnes per day. The name of the game is to have sustainment, is to have that short-term performance and to be having it sustain over time.

This is our current plan right now. That's what we've been doing in July, great results, but what we want to do is to be able to have that kind of performance along over the year, and then we can have a good baseline for what is the next bottleneck and how we can get to the 40,000 tonnes per day.

Right now, that's what we work, but we really like what we see with the additions we made lately with the second cone crusher, HPGR that is well aligned, the interface between the mine and the mill, we see great integration between the mine team, the mill team. We see peak performance that are truly impressing us, but the fact here is that we need to have those kind of performance to be sustained over time.

Carey MacRury

Still comfortable with the 36,000 for the second half of the year?

Renaud Adams

Yep. Everything is in place to average it, and there's a little bit of a transitions, getting used to not having the aggregate plans to rely on.

It's you rip the band-aid. We had a good month of June.

Like Bruno says, we see several days with peak above, now it's about learning to stabilize and producing those tonnes. The capacity is there, for sure.

Bruno Lemelin

I need to mention that in August it's our annual shutdown, we need to take that into consideration as well.

Carey MacRury

How long is the shutdown?

Bruno Lemelin

5 days.

Carey MacRury

5 days. Great.

That's it for me. Thanks, guys.

Bruno Lemelin

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes the question-and-answer session.

I would like to turn the conference back over to Graeme Jennings for any closing remarks.

Graeme Jennings

Thank you very much, operator, and thanks everyone for joining us this morning. As always, should you have any additional questions, please reach out to Renaud or myself.

Thank you all, be safe, and have a great day.

Operator

Thank you. This brings to a close today's conference call.

You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.