Skip to main content

Luca Mining – Q2 2026 Operations & Financials; Ongoing Exploration & Development Work At Both Mines

The KE Report Sep 10, 2026 17:43

Summary

Luca's Q2 2026 revenue jumped 47% year-over-year to $58.4M as both producing mines lifted throughput and commodity prices strengthened.

CEO Dan Barnholden targets $10 to $15M of quarterly free cash flow once the Empress silver stream steps down from 100% to 20% of silver.

Tahuehueto mill throughput now averages more than 1,100 tons per day, above its 1,000-ton design capacity, with 1,500 tons per day as the next target.

Campo Morado's three-part recovery plan, mill-feed blending, water treatment, and finer grinding, aims to recapture gold currently reporting to tailings.

The CEO expects at least 1 million ounces of new discovery at Tahuehueto beyond the existing roughly 6 million-tonne, half-million-ounce PEA inventory.

Key points on Luca Mining

  • The CEO argues the path to $10-15M per quarter of steady-state free cash flow is now in place, anchored by Tahoetto's ramp-up, the impending Empress Royalty silver-stream step-down, and Campo Morado recovery gains
  • Tahoetto mill throughput averaged over 1,100 tons per day in Q2 2026 versus the 1,000-tonne nameplate, with the CEO seeing potential to push the mill toward roughly 1,500 tons/day with modest capex and a cut-and-fill to long-haul mining shift
  • A Tahoetto resource update and new technical report are expected before end-2026; the CEO expects better-than-replacement depletion of the current roughly 6-million-tonne, ~500K-oz gold PEA base and meaningful conversion of resource into reserves
  • At Campo Morado, 75-80% of gold currently reports to tails; a three-part recovery plan — a 60,000-tonne blend stockpile, water treatment for acidic/pyritic ore, and finer grinding — will be detailed in a technical report due H2 2026
  • The Empress Royalty silver stream is more than halfway delivered (1.25M oz at 100%, ~30-35K oz/year currently); the CEO expects completion within roughly six quarters, after which the stream steps down to 20% of silver and adds ~$1.5-2M per month in incremental free cash

Key points on Empress Royalty Corp

  • Counterparty on Luca Mining's Tahoetto silver stream — 1.25M oz delivered at 100%, with the step-down to 20% of silver expected within roughly six quarters per the Luca CEO

Shadden Corey's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Frames the commodity backdrop as constructive, observing that zinc has been the best-performing major commodity over the prior 6-9 months, copper is hitting all-time highs, and precious metals have massively outperformed over the last decade