Integra Resources (ITRG) Q3 2026 earnings review
Integra's gold price rises, but pad delays cut its outlook
Higher gold prices lifted Integra's revenue, but slow gold recovery on its leach pads forced a cut to its full-year production plan. Third-quarter revenue edged up 2% to $72 million as a $4,272 realized gold price offset a 15% drop in ounces poured from a year ago. Chief executive George Salamis said chemical leaching did not keep pace with record mining speeds, so the company is slowing mining rates and cutting its 2026 gold output target to between 59,000 and 62,000 ounces.
| Gold produced | 17,652 oz -15% from a year ago (+8% from Q2) |
|---|---|
| Average realized gold price | $4,272/oz +23% from a year ago |
| Mine-site all-in sustaining cost | $3,059/oz +16% from a year ago |
| 2026 gold production outlook | Cut 17% middle of the range: 60,500 oz |
⚖️ Verdict: 🔴 Bearish
The story got worse because a second operational bottleneck in three quarters broke the full-year production plan and pushed unit costs up $550 per ounce at the middle of the all-in cost outlook. Even with gold above $4,200, profit excluding one-offs fell 21% and free cash flow dropped by almost half as unrecovered gold sat on the pads. On the positive side, Integra holds $120 million in cash and kept its flagship DeLamar project on track for a 2027 federal permit decision.
The question now is whether slowing the mining fleet fixes the heap leach chemistry quickly enough for Central Pit ore to lift production in 2027. Either the delayed gold flows out over the next two quarters as a simple timing shift, or uncrushed ore requires more costly crushing that keeps output and cash flow below plan. Fourth-quarter recovery rates and the 2027 outlook will tell.
🐂 Bull Case
New Fleet Lifts Mining Speed to a Record
Integra spent the past year adding haul trucks and loaders at Florida Canyon, its operating gold mine in Nevada, to clear waste rock and reach better ore. That fleet moved a record 97,428 tonnes per day in the third quarter, up 51% from a year ago, which lifted gold output 8% from the second quarter to 17,652 ounces.
The company also completed 31,364 meters of drilling this year, and results between the Radio Tower and Central pits "delineate a compelling zone of gold mineralization immediately adjacent to existing infrastructure". Because the waste-clearing campaign in the Central Pit finishes next year, chief executive George Salamis expects access to higher-grade rock to raise future production.
What to watch: the 2027 production outlook when Integra reports full-year results early next year. A target returning to the 80,000 to 90,000 ounce range management outlined last winter would show the Central Pit stripping paid off.
DeLamar Permitting Advances with $120 Million in Cash
Florida Canyon exists to fund Integra's two development projects: DeLamar in Idaho and Nevada North. In June, the US Bureau of Land Management finished the 30-day public scoping period for DeLamar under the federal environmental review process. Management still anticipates the final environmental impact statement and Record of Decision in the second half of 2027.
To prepare for construction, the gold miner hired GenCap Mining Advisory for "evaluating and structuring potential financing alternatives for the future development of DeLamar". Meanwhile, federal regulators approved the Wildcat exploration plan at Nevada North, where drilling began in August. Integra ended September with $119.5 million in cash, up from $63.1 million in December after a first-quarter stock sale and a $5.3 million surety bond refund.
What to watch: the publication of the draft environmental impact statement for DeLamar in the first half of 2027. An on-time draft would keep the 15-month federal permitting schedule intact.
🐻 Bear Case
Slow Leaching Cuts 2026 Gold Plan by 17%
After first-quarter fine-ore delays, management kept its 70,000 to 75,000 ounce full-year target and said ongoing leaching would recover the delayed gold. Instead, "leaching has not kept pace with these higher mining rates", Salamis said, and Integra cut its 2026 production outlook by 17% at the middle of the range to between 59,000 and 62,000 ounces.
- Run-of-mine (uncrushed) ore placed on pads: 3.3 million tonnes, or 64% of total tonnes placed vs 37% a year ago by our math
- Gold recovery rate: 52.5%, down 8.2 percentage points from 60.7% a year ago
- Gold produced: 17,652 ounces, down 14.5% from 20,653 ounces a year ago
- Implied fourth-quarter production: about 13,834 ounces at the middle of the new plan, down 22% from the third quarter by our math
Because the miner stacked much more uncrushed rock on the pads, chemical percolation recovered a smaller share of the gold. Salamis said "to protect long-term heap leach pad performance and maintain effective blending, we're reducing mining rates for the rest of the year".
What to watch: fourth-quarter gold recovery rates and crushed-to-uncrushed ore ratios. A recovery rate staying near 52% would show pad chemistry remains sluggish even at slower mining speeds.
Higher Mining Costs Eat Up the Gold Rally
Integra sold gold for an average of $4,272 an ounce in the third quarter, up 23% from $3,464 a year ago. Yet earnings excluding one-offs fell 21% to $12.8 million, because higher mining and processing expenses absorbed the entire price gain and more.
- Cost of sales (mining, processing, royalties and depreciation): 67.8% of revenue, up 8.3 percentage points from a year ago by our math
- Mine operating margin: 32%, down 8 percentage points from 40% a year ago
- Cash costs per ounce sold: $2,419, up 29% from $1,876 a year ago
- Mine-site all-in sustaining costs (AISC, which adds ongoing capital and site upkeep): $3,059 per ounce, up 16% from $2,647
The company said unit costs rose on more tonnes mined and stacked, plus higher royalties and taxes "resulting from stronger-than-anticipated gold prices, and higher diesel fuel and explosive costs". Earlier this year, management raised its full-year Mine-site AISC forecast by $550 to between $3,300 and $3,500 per ounce.
What to watch: fourth-quarter Mine-site AISC per ounce. By our math, the middle of the full-year cost plan implies fourth-quarter AISC jumping toward $3,928 an ounce as fourth-quarter production slows.
Pad Inventory Buildup Cuts Free Cash Flow
Integra bought Florida Canyon to generate steady cash for its development pipeline without issuing new shares every year. In the third quarter, operating cash flow dropped 39% from a year ago to $21.8 million, and free cash flow fell 45% to $11.1 million, or $0.05 per share.
Because stacked gold took longer to leach from the pads and the company sold 892 fewer ounces than it poured, cash tied up in inventories grew. Working capital shifts reduced operating cash flow by $15.3 million compared with last year's third quarter. At the same time, basic share count rose 20% from a year ago after the first-quarter stock offering, cutting free cash flow per share by more than half.
What to watch: working capital cash flow in the fourth quarter. As Integra slows mining rates for the rest of the year, gold already sitting on the pads should convert into cash sales.
💲 Other KPIs
Working capital — short-term assets minus short-term liabilities — rose 72% from $92.9 million at the end of 2025, and climbed from $139.7 million in the first quarter. The increase came from the $57.5 million first-quarter stock sale, $5.3 million of returned surety bond cash, and higher gold inventories on the leach pads.
Total capital spending at the mine — $10.6 million for ongoing upkeep and $1.3 million for expansion — fell 30% from $17.1 million a year ago. That equalled 16.4% of revenue by our math, down from 24.2% in last year's third quarter, though management expects ongoing capital spending to continue in the fourth quarter.
Weighted average basic shares rose 20.0% from 169.0 million a year ago, and ticked up from 193.6 million in the first quarter. The increase reflects December's conversion of a $15 million loan into 12.3 million shares and February's public stock offering, which reduced per-share earnings and cash flow.
🔮 Guidance
Cut. Management lowered the full-year gold output plan by 12,000 ounces at the middle of the range, pointing to a 14.7% drop from 2025 production by our math. With 46,666 ounces poured in the first nine months, the new range leaves about 13,834 ounces for the fourth quarter, down 22% from the third quarter as the company slows mining rates to stabilize pad leaching.
Raised earlier in 2026 (a worse cost outlook). The middle of the range sits $400 per ounce above the original plan and 24% above 2025 cash costs of $1,937 by our math. With nine-month cash costs at $2,447 per ounce, the mine is tracking inside the revised range. The plan assumes a $4,200 gold price, where each $100 gold move changes royalties by $7 per ounce.
Raised earlier in 2026 (a worse cost outlook). The middle of the range is $550 per ounce higher than the original target and 26% above 2025 levels by our math. Nine-month Mine-site AISC averaged $3,238 per ounce, and $3,059 in the third quarter. By our math, hitting the $3,400 full-year middle implies fourth-quarter AISC rising toward $3,928 per ounce on lower fourth-quarter volume.
Raised earlier in 2026. The company more than doubled its expansion spending plan at Florida Canyon to fund mobile equipment leases, Phase 3C leach pad engineering, and exploration drilling. Because Integra spent only $3.9 million in the first nine months, the middle of the full-year plan leaves $13.6 million for the fourth quarter by our math, or more than triple the year-to-date total.
❓ Key Questions
Where is the updated Florida Canyon life-of-mine plan?
In the first quarter, management promised an updated technical report and mine plan for Florida Canyon by the end of June 2026. The third-quarter release did not mention the report, leaving investors without the promised multi-year production and capital schedule.
Does the leaching slowdown alter the 2027 production target?
Management previously guided for 80,000 to 90,000 ounces of gold per year in 2027 and 2028. With mining rates now being cut in the fourth quarter to fix pad blending, investors need to know if 2027 output will still reach 80,000 ounces.
Why does the growth capital plan imply $14 million in Q4?
Integra spent $3.9 million on Florida Canyon non-sustaining growth capital in the first nine months, yet the revised full-year plan calls for $16.5 million to $18.5 million. Management did not explain whether $13.6 million will actually be spent in the fourth quarter.
What is the currentfull-year sustaining capital budget?
The release table showed revised targets for cash costs, AISC, and growth capital, but omitted the original $62 million to $68 million sustaining capital target. With $34.9 million spent through September, it is unclear if sustaining capital was also revised.