Steppe Gold Announces Q3 2025 Financial Results
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Steppe Gold announced its Q3 2025 financial results. Key reported figures include revenue of $27.3 million, adjusted EBITDA of $15.6 million, and gold sales of 7,988 ounces at an extremely high average realized price of $3,412/oz. The CEO, Bataa Tumur-Ochir, stated the high price was achieved by timing sales into a rising gold price environment in early October 2025 (i.e., holding Q3 production and selling it in Q4). The company reported an alarmingly high site All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of $2,499/oz and a total AISC of $2,780/oz. The company notes that the ATO oxide phase is essentially depleted and that discussions for financing the ATO Phase 2 expansion are "advancing constructively." They estimate 15,000 ounces of production for Q4 2025.
Despite the positive spin from management focusing on adjusted EBITDA and a high realized gold price, this news is materially negative. The underlying operational metrics are disastrous.
- Unsustainable Costs: An AISC of $2,780 per ounce is unsustainable and indicates severe operational issues or extremely low-grade ore being processed. This is a dramatic and negative escalation from Q1 ($991/oz) and Q2 ($1475/oz) 2025. Even with an exceptionally high, strategically-timed realized price of $3,412/oz, the margin is thin. At a more realistic spot gold price, the company would be losing a significant amount of money on every ounce produced.
- Declining Production Sold: The company only sold 7,988 ounces, a sharp decline from 15,058 oz in Q2 and 15,611 oz in Q1. While management attributes this to timing sales, it creates lumpy, unpredictable revenue streams and masks the true performance of the quarter. Relying on timing the market is a speculative strategy, not a sound operational one.
- ATO Phase 1 Depletion: The company confirms the low-cost ATO oxide ore is "essentially depleted." This removes a key source of cash flow. The company's future now hinges entirely on developing the more complex Phase 2 sulfide project.
- No Progress on Phase 2 Financing: The language "discussions... are advancing constructively" is identical to the vague commentary from Q2 2025. There is no tangible evidence of progress toward securing the necessary financing for the critical Phase 2 expansion. This was also highlighted as a risk in the August 13, 2025 release, where the company noted negotiations were "taking longer than expected" and they might need to seek third-party partners.
In the context of historical news, this report marks a significant deterioration in operational performance. The "transformational" Boroo Gold acquisition has not led to stable, low-cost production. Instead, costs are spiraling out of control, management has been shuffled (President and COO stepped down in August 2025), and the primary growth catalyst remains unfunded. The positive headline numbers are a result of financial maneuvering, not operational success, and fail to conceal the deeply negative underlying trends.
Steppe Gold is a precious metals producer operating in Mongolia. Its flagship assets are the producing Altan Tsagaan Ovoo (ATO) and Boroo Gold mines. The company's primary growth driver is the ATO Phase 2 Expansion, which aims to process sulphide ores and significantly increase production and mine life. The company sold its Tres Cruces project in Peru in 2024.