# Discovery Mining's Mexican permit fee came in at $11.6 million, shrinking its 2026 Cordero budget to $20–30M - Published: 2026-11-10 - Author: [CFO Drive](https://cfodrive.com/author/cfodrive-com.md) - Topics: [News](https://cfodrive.com/news.md) - About: [Discovery Mining Ltd.](https://www.dsvmining.com/) - Based on: [Discovery Reports Record Gold Production & Sales, Solid Earnings, Strong Cash Generation in Q3 2026](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/10/3399263/0/en/discovery-reports-record-gold-production-sales-solid-earnings-strong-cash-generation-in-q3-2026.html), GlobeNewswire, 2026-11-10 - Based on: [Daily exchange rates](https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/exchange/daily-exchange-rates/), Bank of Canada - Source: https://cfodrive.com/news/discovery-mining-q3-2026-results-cordero-budget/ - Publication: CFO Drive - Publisher: Connectively (Terkel, Inc.) - Editorial policy: https://cfodrive.com/editorial-policy/ - AI use: Connectively's automated system wrote this article with AI from a press release issued by Discovery Mining on November 10, 2026, linked under Sources. Statements about the company and its products are the company's. The illustration was generated with AI. The article was assembled and published automatically, without an editor's review. Report errors to corrections@connectively.us. The Discovery Mining Q3 2026 results show its Cordero land-use permit fee in Mexico cost US$11.6 million, far less than planned. On November 10, 2026, the Toronto miner cut its 2026 Cordero spending guidance from $90–100 million to $20–30 million and reported record gold production. ## Key points - Discovery says it paid the Change of Land Use permit fee for its Cordero silver project in Q3 2026, and that the $11.6 million was well below what its initial guidance assumed. - The company lowered 2026 guidance for Cordero fees and growth capital to $20–30 million from $90–100 million; it had spent $18.0 million on Cordero by the end of September. - The Porcupine operations produced a record 70,564 ounces of gold in the quarter, and gold sold totaled 71,200 ounces. - Cash rose 24% from the previous quarter to $450.7 million, after operating cash flow of $203.3 million and free cash flow of $86.9 million. - Gold all-in sustaining cost was $2,293 an ounce in Q3 and $2,170 for the year to date, against full-year guidance of $1,950–2,250. ## Why did Discovery cut its Cordero budget? Discovery cut its 2026 Cordero budget because the largest planned item, a permit fee, cost much less than expected. The company says the Change of Land Use permit fee made up a significant part of the original $90–100 million Cordero guidance, and the fee it paid in Q3 came to $11.6 million, so it reset the year's Cordero budget to $20–30 million. The fee came with the permit itself. Discovery received the Change of Land Use permit from Mexico's environment ministry, SEMARNAT, on September 28, 2026, and approval of its Environmental Impact Assessment (MIA) on October 5. The company says the two complete the federal environmental permitting for Cordero, and it is updating the capital and cost estimates in its 2024 feasibility study, with the update due over the next few months. > "Receiving these approvals completes the Federal environmental permitting process and positions Cordero to advance towards development." > > — Tony Makuch, President, CEO & Chairman, Discovery Mining ## How did the Discovery Mining Q3 2026 results look? Discovery Mining's third quarter of 2026 brought record gold ounces, a higher realized gold price and more cash. All amounts are in U.S. dollars, as Discovery reports them. Revenue was $371.4 million against $237.0 million a year earlier, with $299.1 million of it from Porcupine gold sales. Discovery attributes the 26% rise in gold revenue to 3% more gold sold and a 23% higher realized gold price, which averaged $4,283 an ounce. | Measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | |---|---|---| | Gold produced (oz) | 70,564 | 63,154 | | Average realized gold price ($/oz) | 4,283 | 3,489 | | Gold AISC ($/oz) | 2,293 | 1,734 | | Gold revenue ($M) | 299.1 | 237.0 | | Total revenue, including Kidd from June 2026 ($M) | 371.4 | 237.0 | | Net earnings ($M) | 58.4 | 42.4 | | Operating cash flow ($M) | 203.3 | 153.5 | | Free cash flow ($M) | 86.9 | 86.8 | The quarter is the first full one to include the Kidd Operations, the copper and zinc mine and processing site near Timmins that Discovery acquired on June 1, 2026; Kidd is not in the 2026 guidance. ## Where are Discovery's costs against guidance? Discovery's 2026 gold unit costs are running around the top end of guidance. Year to date, operating cash cost of $1,426 an ounce is just above its $1,250–1,400 range and all-in sustaining cost of $2,170 is inside its $1,950–2,250 range; third-quarter all-in sustaining cost alone was $2,293. Discovery expects both measures to finish the year in line with guidance, with operating cash costs at the top of the range. | 2026 measure | Year to date | Full-year guidance | |---|---|---| | Gold produced (oz) | 198,142 | 260,000–300,000 | | Gold operating cash cost ($/oz sold) | 1,426 | 1,250–1,400 | | Gold all-in sustaining cost ($/oz sold) | 2,170 | 1,950–2,250 | | Cordero fees and growth capital ($M) | 18.0 | 20–30 (was 90–100) | ## What should finance leaders take from it? Our analysis: the Cordero reset is a reminder of how much a single assumed fee can move a capital budget. One permit payment, which Discovery calls a significant component of its February guidance for Cordero, took the project's 2026 budget from $90–100 million down to $20–30 million once the actual bill arrived. Finance teams that carry large regulatory or permit payments in guidance can take two lessons: show the assumption separately, so a revision is easy to explain, and pull it forward into the forecast as soon as the amount is known, as Discovery did in its Q3 update. Our contributors cover that trade-off in [how finance leaders know when to reset the budget](https://cfodrive.com/qa/how-finance-leaders-know-when-to-reset-the-budget/). Currency is the other assumption in the guidance. Discovery's 2026 guidance assumes 1.36 Canadian dollars to the U.S. dollar; the Bank of Canada's daily rate averaged about 1.40 in the third quarter and stood at 1.41 on November 9, 2026 ([Bank of Canada](https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/exchange/daily-exchange-rates/)). For another gold producer's Q3, see our report on [McEwen's third-quarter results](https://cfodrive.com/news/mcewen-q3-2026-results-gold-bar-oversight/). ## Frequently asked questions ### What are Discovery Mining's ticker symbols? Discovery trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange as DSV and on the OTCQX as DSVSF. ### How much gold does Discovery expect to produce in 2026? The company says it remains on track for 260,000 to 300,000 ounces, after producing 198,142 ounces in the first nine months. ### How much liquidity does Discovery have? Discovery reports total liquidity of $844.2 million at September 30, 2026, made up of cash and its revolving credit facility. ### What comes next at Porcupine? Discovery says it remains on track to issue an updated technical report for Porcupine early in 2027. ## Sources - [Discovery's Q3 2026 results release](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/10/3399263/0/en/discovery-reports-record-gold-production-sales-solid-earnings-strong-cash-generation-in-q3-2026.html): press release from Discovery Mining via GlobeNewswire, 10 November 2026. - [Daily exchange rates](https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/exchange/daily-exchange-rates/): the Bank of Canada's USD/CAD series. - [Discovery Mining](https://www.dsvmining.com/): the company's website.