>>23072940Looking at the company's 10-K, in FY2023 Newmont's operating costs per ounce before D&A were $1,065/oz, and $991/oz less royalties. They produced 6.4Moz AuEq that year and finalized the Newcrest takeover in early November.
In FY2024 those same cost numbers were $1,145/oz and $1,051/oz respectively, but if we exclude the divested Telfer and the five other mines held for sale from those 2024 figures we get $954/oz costs before D&A and $869/oz less royalties. Even with the royalties kept in, the operating costs without those six non-core mines would have been lower in 2024 than the operating costs in 2023 with royalties subtracted, and that's when royalty costs were up 27% YoY.
For 2025 they are guiding 5.9Mozpa AuEq production, and 5.6Moz for the core portfolio. So production will come down by about 0.8Mozpa or 12.5% while operating costs are kept in check as we can see by looking at the FY2024 numbers while ruling out the impact of the non-core mines. You're right to point out that the company is leaving NAV and revenues on the table (which in a bull market might admittedly not be the beat strategy as margins are expanding) but you're wrong to focus solely on AISC since that number is largely dependent on the timing sustaining capital spend, and rising royalty costs need to be taken into account when considering the impact of dispositions on margins.
