Orezone’s Record Gold Quarter Raises the Bar for Its Year-End Finish

Orezone Gold’s record third-quarter production has improved the company’s operating momentum, but it has also made the scale of the required year-end finish unusually clear. The company produced 59,674 ounces of gold in the quarter ended September 30, taking nine-month output to 157,029 ounces. It maintained its 2026 production guidance, which means it must deliver at least 64,971 ounces in the fourth quarter to reach the bottom of that range. That is roughly 9% more than the third-quarter record. 12

The calculation matters because the third quarter was not merely a recovery from a weak prior period. Orezone’s second-quarter output was 58,566 ounces, also close to the new record, while first-quarter production was 38,789 ounces. The September-quarter result therefore indicates that both Bomboré in Burkina Faso and Casa Berardi in Quebec are contributing materially, but it does not by itself complete the production task embedded in the company’s full-year outlook. 1

Management expects another record quarter, saying both operations should benefit from more higher-grade direct-feed ore in the final three months of the year. That expectation is central to the guidance case. Alliance Equity Research’s reconciliation indicates that the bottom of the annual range requires a fourth-quarter production increase of about 9% from the latest record, while reaching the top would require about 51% more output. The maintained range consequently encompasses sharply different operating outcomes rather than a modest variation around the third-quarter run rate. 2

Bomboré supplied 40,562 ounces in the third quarter, up from 38,063 ounces in the second quarter and 37,563 ounces in the first. Ore milled rose to 2.54 million tonnes from 2.48 million tonnes in the preceding quarter, while reported head grade increased to 0.57 grams per tonne from 0.55 grams per tonne. Orezone said tonnes mined exceeded plan during the period. Those trends provide a base for a stronger finish, although the expected benefit from access to better ore still needs to translate into processed ounces. 12

Casa Berardi produced 19,112 ounces during the quarter, compared with 20,503 ounces in the second quarter. Its nine-month total was 40,841 ounces, but that number includes only production since Orezone acquired the Quebec mine on March 25. The operation processed 356,619 tonnes in the third quarter at a head grade of 1.87 grams per tonne. As a wholly owned asset with both underground and open-pit mining, Casa Berardi broadens Orezone’s operating base, but its near-term contribution remains part of a rebuilding and development effort rather than a settled production profile. 12

The distinction between a stronger operating quarter and guidance delivery is especially important for Orezone because the fourth-quarter requirement exceeds the company’s recent peak. Completing waste stripping is expected to improve access to higher-grade ore at Bomboré, according to the research analysis, but the financial and production benefit depends on that material reaching the plant and performing as expected. At Casa Berardi, sustained development spending and investment in access, equipment and future open pits are tied to the longer-term ramp rather than an immediate guarantee of higher output. 2

Orezone sold 56,461 ounces in the third quarter, below ounces produced, at an average realized gold price of $4,174 per ounce. The company is scheduled to release third-quarter financial results after market close on November 16, when investors will receive a fuller view of costs, cash generation and the effect of the two-mine portfolio. 1

For now, the record quarter supports management’s confidence in a stronger finish. Yet the arithmetic leaves little room to treat the minimum guidance outcome as automatic: Orezone must set another production record in the fourth quarter simply to reach the low end of its stated annual objective.