ACG Metals Ltd (LSE:ACG, OTC:ACGAF) chairman and CEO, Artem Volynets, talked with Proactive about the company’s upgraded production guidance, operational performance, and strategic transition plans at Gediktepe.
ACG Metals Ltd has increased its full-year production forecast to an average of 36,000–38,000 ounces of gold equivalent, up from the previous guidance of 30,000–33,000 ounces.
Volynets attributed this improvement to sustained increases in recoveries and disciplined cost management. “We have managed to reduce all-in sustaining cost by 13% versus the previous year,” Volynets said, highlighting the team’s focus on operational delivery and free cash flow generation.
The company’s Gediktepe project is also preparing for a transition from gold and silver production to copper and zinc concentrate, targeting 20,000 to 25,000 tonnes of copper equivalent. The new sulfide plant is on track to be commissioned in the first quarter of next year.
Volynets noted that ACG Metals Ltd has strengthened its balance sheet by repaying sponsor loans and making its first bond payments. With around $130 million of cash on the balance sheet and net debt of $60 million, the company is fully funded for completing the project.
Proactive: Can you take us through the main operational changes or investments that drove that 17% increase in your production guidance for the year?
Artem Volynets: There are really no such substantial changes other than the hard work of the team, of our operating team at the site. We are making excellent progress on operational delivery. Sustained increase in recoveries achieved by the team led to the higher gold and silver production in Q2, as well as our upgraded guidance for the whole year.
We upgraded our production forecast from 30,000 ounces to 33,000 ounces of gold equivalent to 36,000 ounces to 38,000 ounces on average. That should give us an additional sixteen to seventeen million dollars of cash at today’s gold price. So it’s a very good result. This is a good showcase of what our team is capable of delivering. Perhaps even more importantly, or equally important, is the ability to manage costs. In any country, it’s crucial to any mining operation, but especially in a jurisdiction with reasonably high inflation, such as Turkey.
But we have managed to reduce all-in sustaining cost by thirteen per cent versus the previous year in the first half of 2025. That obviously goes straight to the bottom line in terms of the free cash flow. ACG Metals has always been focused on cash generation. We have a simple view that mining assets are not more, and not less, than a giant cash printing machine. Our first asset, Gediktepe, is proving to be just the case.
And finally, one other important update—as you well know, we are executing on a transition from gold and silver production to the production of copper concentrate and zinc concentrate, to the tune of twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand tonnes of copper equivalent. We are very much on track to commission the new sulfide plant in Q1 next year. The project is being executed on time and on budget, which is also a testimony to the capabilities of our team on the ground.
Proactive: You strengthened the balance sheet by repaying sponsor loans and making your first bond payments. How does this improved capital structure position ACG for growth?
Artem Volynets: In very simple terms, again, this is our focus on cash. We have roughly one hundred thirty million dollars of cash on the balance. The net debt is sixty million dollars. Even though we have drawn just over one hundred million dollars from two hundred million dollars in bond proceeds to invest in the project and repay the original acquisition loans.
So we are more than fully funded for the completion of the project. And we have a strong and robust balance sheet.
Proactive: Well, Artem, I hope you’ll continue to keep us updated on your progress. Thank you very much for taking the time today.