Why is this popular ASX 200 gold stock tumbling today?

Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) shares are on the slide on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the ASX 200 gold stock is down 3% to $4.12.

Why is this ASX 200 gold stock dropping?

Investors have been selling the gold miner's shares for a couple of reasons.

One is a pullback in the gold price, which is putting pressure on most ASX 200 gold stocks today.

The other reason is the release of Ramelius' quarterly update.

What did it announce?

For the three months ended 31 December, the company achieved gold production of 45,610 ounces. This was down 17% from 55,013 ounces in the previous quarter.

This means that year to date gold production is now 100,623 ounces. Management believes this leaves it positioned to meet its FY 2026 guidance of 185,000 ounces to 205,000 ounces.

The ASX 200 gold stock also revealed that it delivered underlying free cash flow of $67 million for the three months, which is down from $129 million in the first quarter. This was before an FY 2025 income tax payment of $118.2 million and a return of $60.3 million through dividend payments to shareholders.

At the end of the period, its cash and gold balance of $694.3 million.

What else?

Outside this, the company provided an update on its developments.

It advised that the Dalgaranga mine development remains on time and on budget with first Never Never ore targeted to be delivered to the Mt Magnet hub in the March 2026 quarter.

In addition, Mt Magnet plant expansion activities were focused on plant engineering works, preliminary site works and establishment of the execution team.

A significant milestone was achieved on the Rebecca-Roe project with the signing of the Native Title Mining Agreement with Kakarra Part B Native Title Holders.

Commenting on its performance, the ASX 200 gold stock's chief operating officer, Tim Hewitt, said:

We continue to build on the strong momentum from our first quarter and remain on track to deliver our FY26 guidance with production year-to-date of 100,623 ounces. Mt Magnet produced 45,610 ounces in the quarter, in line with our plan with strong contribution from Penny and Cue mines.

Importantly, the development of the Dalgaranga mine is on time and on budget with first ore from Never Never to be delivered to the Mt Magnet processing plant in the March 2026 quarter. We look forward to sharing an update from the recently accelerated drilling program at priority targets within our exploration portfolio in coming weeks demonstrating the significant potential upside at the Mt Magnet production hub.

The post Why is this popular ASX 200 gold stock tumbling today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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