Steppe Gold Announces Q3 2025 Financial Results

13:15 Uhr  |  Newsfile

Ulaanbaatar, November 14, 2025 - Steppe Gold Ltd. (TSX: STGO) (OTCQX: STPGF) (FSE: 2J9) ("Steppe Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025.

Third Quarter Highlights

(all figures in US$000's unless stated otherwise, except per unit figures which are in US$. References to the "Group" include the Company and its subsidiaries including Boroo Gold LLC ("Boroo Gold"))

• For the three months ended September 30, 2025, total Group revenue was $27,302, derived from sales of 7,988 ounces of gold and 1,475 ounces of silver, as well as $2,096 from processing third-party ore. Following the quarter's close, the Group sold an additional 7,966 ounces of gold, generating revenue of $32,116 at an average sales price of $4,032 per ounce. On a pro forma basis, including the finished goods balance, third-quarter sales would have totalled 15,954 ounces of gold, resulting in total revenue of $59,418.

• For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, total Group revenue was $91,997, from the sale of 38,590 ounces of gold and 23,700 ounces of silver, as well as third-party ore processing revenue amounting to $2,096. After adjusting for finished goods as of September 30, 2025, pro forma Group sales for the period would have totalled 46,556 ounces of gold, resulting in consolidated revenue of $124,113.

• With continuing strong gold prices, the Group expects to see strong operating cash flow in the fourth quarter of 2025 driven by production at the Boroo Gold mine. Estimated production for the fourth quarter is 15,000 ounces and estimated capital expenditures will be approximately $12,000 for the quarter.

• Average realized prices for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, were $3,412 and $2,367 per gold ounce, respectively. All sales are now occurring at spot price, following expiry of the forward sales contract on June 10, 2025.

• The Group reported Adjusted EBITDA of $15,595 and $51,793 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, respectively. Following the end of the quarter, the Group sold 7,966 ounces of finished goods that generated revenue of $32,116. Pro forma adjusted EBITDA, which includes sales of third quarter finished goods, amounted to $38,032 and $74,230 for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2025, respectively.

• For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, site all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") for the Group were $2,499 and $1,375, respectively. Total All-in Sustaining Costs for these periods were $2,780 and $1,544, respectively. The increase in AISC during the quarter was primarily attributable to the timing of gold sales and higher sustaining capital expenditures including major equipment upgrades. On a pro forma basis, including sales of finished goods from the third quarter, site AISC and total AISC were $1,869 and $2,010 for the quarter, and $1,350 and $1,492 for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, respectively.

• The Group reported strong working capital of $124,497 as at September 30, 2025. Working capital included high interest bond investments of $102,085 which accrue interest at between 8% to 13.4% and mature on December 31, 2025. The repayment of these bonds, with an estimated value at maturity of approximately $104,000, will be applied to debt reduction and working capital needs.

• As at September 30, 2025, Group net debt was $61,657, after deduction of the bond investments. The Group has been actively working with its principal lenders at Trade and Development Bank ("TDB") to restructure debt facilities, repay higher rate loans, and better align its combined debt facilities with cash flow at the operating mines and the upcoming bond maturity.

• Higher gold prices are providing strong support for exploration activities. This should lead to mine life extensions at Boroo and Ulaanbulag with revised feasibility studies expected early next year.

• The ATO oxide phase is now essentially depleted, with only residual leaching occurring in 2025. The limited sales proceeds are being allocated to critical operating costs. Payments to other suppliers and the stream partner have been delayed to prioritise suppliers that are critical to ongoing production, and protection of local jobs.

• The Group is actively evaluating various financing options for the Phase 2 Expansion, with particular attention to the significant effects of the stream arrangements on project debt returns and risk-reward negotiations. Discussions with project finance partners and Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. are ongoing.

• ATO Phase 2 Expansion is progressing with turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract (the "EPC Contract") and consulting partners, focusing on boosting annual capacity and recoveries. This is expected to raise output and efficiency, but may shorten the mine's lifespan. A revised feasibility study is in progress for completion in the second half of 2026. Further delays in finalising project financing could postpone the planned start date.

• At the Boroo Gold and ATO mine sites, there were 355,595 tonnes of ore mined and 484,103 tonnes of ore processed, with an average gold grade of 1.29 g/t and 666,074 tonnes of ore with an average grade of 0.29 g/t that underwent primary leaching during the three months ended September 30, 2025. There were 2,472,176 tonnes of ore mined and 1,407,205 tonnes of ore processed, with an average gold grade of 1.25 g/t and 1,172,024 tonnes of ore with an average grade of 0.29 g/t that underwent primary leaching during the nine months ended September 30, 2025.

Steppe Gold's Chairman and CEO, Bataa Tumur-Ochir, stated, "The third quarter was another successful quarter operationally, and we are entering the fourth quarter with strong momentum. At Boroo, we maximized value by timing sales into a rising gold price environment, which significantly boosted revenue and cash flow in early October 2025. Our investment in a new mining fleet is already improving productivity, and we expect these gains to accelerate meaningfully through 2026. With encouraging exploration potential and one of the region's only large-scale processing facilities, Boroo is becoming a multi-asset hub, with growing opportunities to process both our own ore and third-party material.

"The start of the fourth quarter has been very strong, and the continued cash generation at Boroo is enabling us to accelerate debt reduction on higher cost loans and better align our capital structure with our long-life portfolio.

"We continue to make steady progress at ATO Phase 2. The updated feasibility study is well underway, incorporating higher metal prices and our optimization plan focused on increased throughput, improved recoveries, and a shorter, more efficient mine life. Discussions with our project finance partners are advancing constructively as we work toward the financing package for Phase 2."

Outlook

The focus for the Group in 2025 has been on maximizing production and cash flows at its producing mines and sourcing more material, both in situ and nearby within and outside the license areas and extending mine life.

The Group is optimistic that it will expand its production profile in the coming years as nearby projects seek processing capabilities and the Board is reviewing mill expansion to accommodate these opportunities. The Group is actively pursuing growth in reserves and resources through organic exploration opportunities as well as potential acquisitions.

Regarding the ATO Phase 2 Expansion, negotiations with stream and project finance partners to determine the optimal financing structure are taking longer than expected. There is no guarantee that these negotiations will yield a successful outcome and we may need to seek third party partners to realise value for this project.

The Company's condensed interim consolidated financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025 have been filed on SEDAR+. The full version of the condensed interim consolidated financial statements and associated management's discussion & analysis can be viewed on the Company's website at www.steppegold.com or under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Steppe Gold Ltd.

Steppe Gold is Mongolia's premier precious metals company.

Non-IFRS Performance Measures

The Company uses the following non-IFRS measures: EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and AISC. EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. AISC is calculated using cash costs in addition to general and administration, asset retirement costs, and sustaining capital, less certain non-recurring costs to provide an overall company outlook on the total cost required to sell an ounce of gold.

Management believes that these non-IFRS measures provide useful information to investors in measuring the financial performance of the Company. These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other publicly traded companies and should not be construed as an alternative to other financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS. The Company believes that these measures, together with measures determined in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. The inclusion of these measures is meant to provide additional information and should not be used as a substitute for performance measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures are not necessarily standard and therefore may not be comparable to other issuers. Further details of non-IFRS measures noted above can be found in the Company's management's discussion & analysis for the three and six months ended September 30, 2025.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements or disclosures relating to the Company or the Group that are based on the expectations of its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company which may constitute forward-looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. All such statements and disclosures, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results, or developments that the Company anticipates or expects may, or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the words "continues", "focus", "may", "will", "projected", "opportunities", "expected", "planned", "potential", "should" and similar expressions. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the following discussion of future plans, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts and the timing related thereto, including, but not limited to: future financial position; the Group's future outlook and anticipated events; the realization of the bonds entered into by the Group; the repayment of the bonds to be applied to debt reduction and working capital needs; restructuring of debt facilities and repayment of loans; the renegotiation of the ATO Phase 2 Expansion financing terms with stakeholders and the potential success of such negotiations; ability to raise additional capital and complete future financings; compliance with key covenants of the Group's contracts; the negotiation and success thereof with stream and finance partners; future exploration and production; growth in reserves and resources through organic exploration opportunities as well as potential acquisitions; expectations regarding mine life extensions and the timing of revised feasibility studies; anticipated gold production of Boroo Gold and combined gold production of the Group; the anticipated cash flow of the Group; expectations on the price of gold; increasing reserves; mineral resource potential; exploration drilling; the expected results of exploration activities; discussion of future plans, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts and the timing related thereto; and events or developments that the Group expects to take place in the future.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release reflect several material factors and expectations and assumptions of the Company including, without limitation: management team and board of directors of Steppe Gold; material adverse effects on the business, properties and assets of the Company; changes in business plans and strategies; risk of litigation; market and capital finance conditions; risks inherent to any capital financing transactions; changes in world commodity markets; currency fluctuations; costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry; change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry; discrepancies between actual and estimated production and test results, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries; and such other risk factors detailed from time to time in Steppe Gold's public disclosure documents, including, without limitation, those risks identified in Steppe Gold's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2024, which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. Except as required by applicable law, Steppe Gold assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If Steppe Gold updates any one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the company will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/274489