Why did GAU's Q4 earnings fall short of forecasts?

Galiano Gold Inc. (GAU) experienced a shortfall in its Q4 earnings relative to forecasts due to several operational and logistical challenges:

1. **Production Challenges at AGM**: The primary asset of GAU, the Asanko Gold Mine (AGM) in Ghana, faced production challenges. Despite a 13% increase in gold production compared to the previous quarter, production fell by 10.8% year-over-year, reaching nearly 30,000 ounces. This decline, coupled with lower-than-expected sales volumes, contributed to the revenue shortfall.
2. **Crusher Availability Issues**: The AGM encountered crusher availability issues, which affected the processing capacity of the mine. This led to lower throughput and, consequently, reduced gold production.
3. **Harder Ore Processing**: The mine had to deal with harder ore reserves, which are more difficult and expensive to process. This harder ore, coupled with the crusher availability issues, ultimately led to a slight miss on production guidance.
4. **Unplanned Mill Shutdown**: An unplanned 14-day mill shutdown in February 2025 further impacted Q4 production, as the shutdown affected the processing of mined ore and resulted in lost production days.

These operational challenges, despite favorable gold prices, led to GAU's Q4 earnings falling short of forecasts.