Lower sales, higher royalties push Northern Star’s cost guidance higher
Gold producer Northern Star Resources has revised its all-in sustaining cost (AISC) guidance for the 2026 financial year higher, reflecting lower gold sales volumes and increased royalty payments amid elevated gold prices.
The miner now expects its full-year AISC to range between A$2 600/oz and A$2 800/oz, up from its previous guidance of A$2 300/oz to A$2 700/oz. The revision follows the operational update released earlier this month, in which Northern Star downgraded its full-year production outlook.
On January 2, the company reduced its group production guidance to 1.6-million to 1.7-million ounces, from an earlier range of 1.7-million to 1.85-million ounces, citing lower gold sales across all three of its production centres during the December quarter.
Northern Star had flagged at the time that the weaker sales performance was likely to affect its yearly cost guidance. The company has now said it has sufficient information to form a “reasonably certain view” of the impact and its materiality.
The higher AISC outlook is being driven predominantly by the reduced sales base, as well as higher royalty costs linked to stronger gold prices, which are expected to add about A$40/oz compared with the initial forecast.
The sustaining capital guidance remains unchanged at about A$750-million, equating to about A$450/oz, compared with the previous estimate of A$420/oz.
For the first half of 2026, Northern Star reported an actual group AISC of A$2 720/oz, following costs of A$2 522/oz in the September quarter and A$2 937/oz in the December quarter.
The company is scheduled to release its December quarterly results on January 22.
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