Latitude 66’s gold-cobalt portfolio gains momentum despite a thin cash buffer

Profit arrives through asset sales

Latitude 66 Ltd (ASX:LAT) has returned to profit, but the headline number came from selling assets rather than mining revenue. The gold and cobalt explorer reported a A$1.71 million profit after tax for the year ended 30 June 2026, reversing a A$13.27 million loss a year earlier, after recognising a A$5.84 million gain on the sale of its 17.5% Greater Duchess copper-gold joint venture and gains from selling listed investments.

The balance sheet improved, with cash rising to A$1.49 million from A$438,025. Yet the underlying cash picture remains demanding: operating activities consumed A$1.78 million and exploration and evaluation spending absorbed A$3.58 million during the year. The company also recorded a A$2.45 million exploration write-off or adjustment, underscoring the uneven accounting profile of an explorer carrying substantial project expenditure rather than producing cash flow.

KSB study sets an ambitious development case

The most consequential project milestone came after year end at the Kuusamo Schist Belt Project in northern Finland. Latitude 66’s 2026 Scoping Study outlined a proposed 7.5-year operation producing about 65,000 ounces of gold and 475 tonnes of cobalt a year, with estimated initial capital of about US$130 million and all-in sustaining costs of approximately US$1,283 an ounce of gold.

At a US$3,500 an ounce gold price, the study reported a post-tax NPV8 of about US$485 million and an 85% post-tax internal rate of return. Its spot-price case, based on US$4,500 an ounce gold, lifted NPV8 to US$753 million and IRR to 122%. Those figures are study outputs, not a production outcome: KSB still requires further studies, permitting, funding and development work before it could become a mine. The company has also secured exploration permits covering K1, K2 and K3, while its environmental assessment program has established the scope of further investigations with Finnish authorities.

Laverton adds 339,000 ounces

In Western Australia, the Laverton Gold Project gave Latitude 66 a second substantial growth platform. The combined Tin Dog and Red Dog Mineral Resource Estimate reached 10.7 million tonnes at 1.0 grams per tonne gold for 339,000 ounces, with 40% classified as Indicated. Added to the Finnish resource of 650,000 ounces, the group’s ownership-weighted Indicated and Inferred resource totals 918,000 ounces.

Tin Dog accounts for most of the Laverton inventory, with a maiden estimate of 309,000 ounces, while Red Dog’s updated estimate increased contained gold by about 122% from the historical remnant resource. Latitude 66 holds an 80% interest in the project and says the deposits remain open for further growth, with additional drilling and work aimed at expanding resources and moving higher-confidence areas towards development studies.

Funding runway remains the central constraint

The annual report’s most important caution sits in the auditor’s report rather than the profit line. PKF Perth issued an unmodified audit opinion but highlighted a material uncertainty related to going concern, pointing to the A$1.78 million operating cash outflow and A$1.49 million cash balance at year end. Latitude 66 said it expects to manage expenditure, defer discretionary work if necessary and use asset sales, equity, joint ventures or other financing to fund its programs, while acknowledging that additional funding may be required.

Since 30 June, the company has reported A$3.4 million of cash consideration from selling two non-core royalty interests and received Capricorn Metals shares valued at about A$1.79 million for the Piastri Project. Those transactions improve flexibility, but they do not remove the question facing the next phase of the story: whether Latitude 66 can convert an increasingly valuable project portfolio into a funded development pathway without repeatedly returning to the market.