Galiano Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:GAU) used its full-year 2025 results call to highlight a fourth consecutive quarter of improved production at its operations, record quarterly revenue, and a stepped-up operating and exploration plan aimed at increasing output and extending mine life.
Q4 and full-year operating performance
President and CEO Matt Badylak said the company “continued to build momentum” through the fourth quarter toward what it described as an improved operational outlook in 2026. The company reported no lost time injuries in Q4, extending what management characterized as a strong safety record.
Chief Operating Officer Michael Cardinaels added that the company ended 2025 with a lost time injury frequency rate of 0.24 and a total recordable injury frequency rate of 0.48 per million hours worked. He said Esaase mining restarted in early November and was ramping up in Q1 2026, while late wet-season rains had a slight impact on mining movement.
At Nkran, Cardinaels said pre-stripping continued ahead of plan, with 23% more material moved compared with Q3, including small quantities of oxide ore that are being identified and blended with Abore fresh ore “to supplement the plant feed.” He said an additional excavator fleet is expected to be operational before the end of Q1 2026 as the company continues the expansion of Cut 3.
On processing, management pointed to ongoing circuit modifications following the commissioning of a secondary crusher. Cardinaels said milling rates rose about 7% from Q3, while December throughput exceeded the targeted 5.8 million-ton-per-annum run rate. Mill feed grade improved about 9% quarter-over-quarter to an average of 1.0 gram per ton, and plant recovery averaged just above 91% in Q4, which management said supported the higher production result.
2026 guidance and ramp-up considerations
Galiano guided to 2026 production of 140,000 to 160,000 ounces at all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of $2,000 to $2,300 per ounce. Cardinaels said ore supply is expected to come primarily from the Abore pit, where the company has modified its reserve pit design to take advantage of higher gold prices. He said this would lead to a “slightly slower ramp-up” of gold production in 2026 but would enable improved recovery of the resource.
Management said production is expected to be weighted toward the second half of the year. Cardinaels provided a split of 60,000 to 70,000 ounces in the first half and 80,000 to 90,000 ounces in the second half.
In response to a question about execution risks for the second-half weighting, management emphasized two key drivers:
- Throughput: Management said it was encouraged by the secondary crusher ramp-up in the second half of 2025 and said it was comfortable the crushing circuit can support the 5.8 million-ton-per-annum range.
- Grades: Management said grades are expected to increase steadily as mining advances to lower elevations at Abore.
Asked how earlier guidance changes in 2025 could affect the company’s longer-term outlook, management said it expects a slightly lower production profile in 2026 but anticipates ramping further in 2027 “more in line with previous guidance.”
Financial results, liquidity, and hedges
Chief Financial Officer Matt Freeman said Q4 was the strongest operational quarter of 2025 and, with higher gold prices, resulted in record revenue of $160 million and cash flows from operations of $56 million. Freeman said headline earnings were still affected by losses on the company’s hedges, but he noted only 60,000 ounces remained to be settled. He said that would represent a lower percentage of production in 2026, allowing the company to participate more fully in gold prices going forward.
Freeman said that after adjusting for unrealized hedge losses to be settled in 2026, the company recognized adjusted net income of $0.15 per share.
On liquidity, Freeman said the balance sheet remained “very healthy,” citing over $100 million in cash even after making the first deferred payment to Gold Fields. He also noted a revolving credit facility of close to $75 million that was established during the quarter and remains undrawn.
Freeman said operating costs were generally well controlled and highlighted that processing costs fell on a unit basis through 2025 as throughput improved. He said Q4 AISC decreased significantly versus earlier quarters, primarily due to higher production, illustrating margin leverage to output.
Looking to 2026, Freeman said the guided AISC range reflects, in part, an increasing royalty burden tied to higher gold prices. He also noted Ghana’s government has proposed a new royalty regime, and the company will assess any impact on AISC if enacted.
Freeman said the company expects 2026 to be another investment year, including further acceleration of stripping at Nkran and the final deferred payment to Gold Fields. He described 2027 as an “inflection point,” when fixed payments to Gold Fields will be behind the company and hedges are expected to have expired later in 2026, increasing exposure to gold prices.
Reserves and resources: maiden underground resource
Cardinaels said the key update in the year-end mineral reserve and resource statement as of December 31, 2025 was the declaration of a maiden underground resource. He said open-pit resources for Nkran and Abore were limited to current reserve pit shells as the company looks to target higher-value underground ounces and consider longer-term transitions to underground operations.
Cardinaels presented sections showing newly defined underground resource “stocks” at both Nkran and Abore, and said the company sees a strong correlation between drilling density and stock generation, which he said supports confidence that the resource could expand with additional drilling. He said both mineralized systems remain open in multiple directions, suggesting potential for further underground resource additions.
Exploration: Abore drilling results and 2026 program
Vice President of Exploration Chris Pettman said Q4 was focused on infill and step-out drilling at Abore to support inclusion in the maiden underground resource. He said the team completed 10,950 meters of drilling at Abore in Q4, bringing the total Abore program to over 33,000 meters in 2025.
Pettman said Q4 drilling expanded high-grade zones at Abore Main and Abore North, improved continuity at Abore South, and extended the footprint of mineralization up to 200 meters below previous drilling. He described four step-out holes drilled 100 to 200 meters below existing drilling, saying all four intersected mineralized Abore granite. He highlighted hole 448, which he said intersected 87 meters of granite containing three mineralized zones at grades of 2.5, 3.0, and 3.4 grams per ton over 27 meters, 11 meters, and 15 meters, respectively, in an area 200 meters below existing drilling and “open in all directions.” He also referenced hole 444, which he said intercepted 30 meters at 4.4 grams per ton and 18 meters at 2.0 grams per ton below the previous open-pit resource.
For 2026, Pettman said the company has an initial exploration budget of $17 million and three primary growth objectives, intended to support what he called a potentially “transformational” life-of-mine update in 2027:
- Abore: Minimum of 30,000 meters of drilling aimed at expanding underground resources and advancing conversion drilling toward a potential maiden underground reserve in 2027.
- Esaase: Up to 35,000 meters of conversion drilling to convert inferred resources to indicated at a $2,500 gold price ahead of the 2027 MRMR and life-of-mine work.
- Greenfields targets: Continued early-stage work and drill testing around the Nsoroma area, about six kilometers southwest of Nkran, where 2025 drilling confirmed the extension of the Nkran shear and favorable geology indicators.
Pettman said the 2026 program was already underway with rigs active at both Abore and Esaase. Badylak closed by reiterating management’s view that 2025’s operational improvements, the planned production increase in 2026, the final deferred payment to Gold Fields, and the expected expiry of hedges later in 2026 together set up a near-term shift in cash flow generation, while exploration success and underground potential could support mine life extension beyond the current eight-year outlook.
About Galiano Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:GAU)
Galiano Gold Incorporated is a Canada-based gold exploration and development company listed on the NYSE American under the symbol GAU. The company’s primary focus is the acquisition, exploration and advancement of gold deposits in the Americas. Galiano Gold pursues a value-driven strategy to build gold resources by identifying high-potential projects, conducting systematic drilling programs and advancing resource definition toward a development decision.
Galiano Gold’s flagship asset is the Oko West and Oko East gold project located in the Essequibo region of Guyana, where multiple oxide and primary gold mineralized zones have been outlined through extensive drilling.
