Toronto – October 15, 2026 -- Orvana Minerals Corp. produced 45,160 gold equivalent ounces (GEO) in fiscal 2026, with its Spanish Orovalle mine beating gold guidance while the Bolivian EMIPA unit fell far short of its withdrawn targets.
Orovalle exceeds gold guidance at 37,775 ounces
Orovalle produced 37,775 ounces of gold in FY2026, about 2% above the top of its 34,000 to 37,000 ounce guidance range. Copper output of 2.9 million pounds landed within the 2.7 to 3.0 million pound range. The mine processed 518,525 tonnes of ore and produced 43,074 GEO, including 100,255 ounces of silver.
In Q4, Orovalle poured 10,347 ounces of gold, up 7% on the prior quarter, on a 10% higher gold grade and a 0.8% recovery gain. Copper output rose 17% to 0.8 million pounds on a 13% grade increase and 7% better recovery. Tonnes milled fell 3%. Orvana attributed the grade shifts to changing oxide and skarn proportions and blending sequences.
CEO Juan Gavidia said additional contractor services helped offset labour shortages and absenteeism. He flagged inflationary cost pressures and continued workforce challenges as FY2027 risks.
Consolidated Q4 output reaches 12,947 GEO
Q4 FY2026 consolidated production comprised 10,895 ounces of gold, 1.0 million pounds of copper and 35,502 ounces of silver. Full-year output was 39,282 ounces of gold, 3.1 million pounds of copper and 112,499 ounces of silver. GEO calculations used average Q4 prices of $4,269.51 per ounce of gold, $62.73 per ounce of silver and $6.40 per pound of copper.
EMIPA produces first doré and cathodes but misses guidance
EMIPA produced its first gold doré bars and copper cathodes from the expanded Don Mario plant in Q4. Q4 output totalled 1,109 GEO from 16,769 tonnes of oxide ore: 548 ounces of gold, 265 thousand pounds of copper and 11,165 ounces of silver. FY2026 output was 2,086 GEO from 64,156 tonnes of ore, including 1,507 ounces of gold.
Orvana guided on February 11, 2026 to 13,000-14,000 ounces of gold and 6.7-7.5 million pounds of copper, based on roughly 256,000 tonnes of oxide stockpile ore in the second half. It cut that to 4,200-4,700 ounces of gold and 1.9-2.1 million pounds of copper on August 13, then withdrew guidance on September 17. The company is not currently providing production or cost guidance for EMIPA.
Orvana blamed the shortfall on far fewer oxide tonnes processed than planned. Civil unrest and logistics disruptions in Bolivia in May and June delayed the start of oxide processing, and ramp-up throughput was lower than anticipated. Metallurgical recoveries also ran below plan.
Monthly throughput climbs to 11,160 tonnes in September
Oxide ore throughput rose from 1,694 tonnes in July to 3,914 tonnes in August and 11,160 tonnes in September. EMIPA has substantially completed operational validation of the copper, gold, silver and comminution circuits. Acid leaching and filtration are now the principal optimization targets, including trials of different filter cloth configurations.
The company aims to reach the plant's design capacity of about 1,700 tonnes per day by the end of calendar 2026 and to cut unit costs as throughput increases. Q4 consolidated financial results are due with audited FY2026 statements in late November 2026.