Sierra Metals Inc.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Sierra Metals' fourth quarter 2022 and year-end 2022 Consolidated Financial Results Conference Call. On today's call is Oscar Cabrera, Chair of the Board of Directors, Ernesto Valerio Valdez, our Interim CEO, and Jose Fernandez-Beca, our Interim CFO. Following the prepared remarks, a question and answer period will follow. The accompanying presentation for today's call is available for download through the webcast or from the company's webcast at sierrametals.com. Yesterday's press release, the financial statements, and the management discussion and analysis are also posted on our site and on CDAR. I'd like to note that this earnings call contains forward-looking information that is based on the company's current expectations, estimates, and beliefs. This forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors. Actual results could differ materially from our conclusions, forecasts, or projections as reflected in the forward-looking information. Additionally, information about the material factors that could cause or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection as reflected in the forward-looking information is contained in the company's annual information form, which is publicly available on CEASAR and on the company's website. Please note that all dollar amounts mentioned on today's call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. Now I'd like to hand the call over to Oscar.

Thank you, Christiana, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us this morning. My comments today will be brief, as I will leave it to Ernesto and Jose to review the company's results and outlook. As Board Chair and a member of the Special Committee of Independent Directors that is undertaking a strategic review I would like to provide an update on that process. The special committee continues to evaluate certain strategic alternatives. The company will report to shareholders at the conclusion of the strategic review process. Therefore, on today's call, other than the following remarks, we will not be commenting further or taking questions on the special committee's work. I would like to remind our shareholders of the mandate that the special committee took on last fall based on the challenges the company faced at the time. We're responsible for exploring, reviewing, and considering options to optimize the operations of the company and possible financing, restructuring, and strategic options in the best interest of the company. Consistent with that mandate, the members of the special committee have provided recommendations where appropriate and supported the management team to identify opportunities to improve operational and financial performance. In that respect, the efforts of the special committee have made an impact ahead of the completion of the strategic review process. Much of what you'll hear from Ernesto and Jose today will be a summary of initiatives they have identified and begun to implement. I believe the efforts of the entire Sierra Metals team have already and will continue to make a significant difference in the company's operational performance and growth outlook. The Board has confidence that the company is on the right track. I would now like to turn the call over to Ernesto.

Thank you, Oscar. Good morning, everyone. It is my pleasure to be part of my first earning call with Sierra Metals as Interim CEO. As many of you know, I joined the company in late November 2022. It has been a very busy time since I have joined, and I wanted to make a few comments before I provide an overview of our operating results. First, I am pleased to report that I have joined a company with a dedicated and hardworking team of professionals across the organization. The challenges the company faced in 2022 are well documented. In spite of those, our team has remained focused on the task at hand and has embraced the initiatives we have put in place during my first 100 days on the job. Most notably, the entire company has embraced our renewed focus on safety. For me, safety is the top priority. As we say in the business, a safe mind is an operating mind. And I truly believe one of my top priorities as CEO is to ensure we provide a workplace environment where all employees and contractors are safe and able to return home safely after a day's work. Later in the presentation, I will return to discuss more specifics about the plant improvements. But first, let me provide an overview of our results. Consolidated 2022 ore throughput was 2.3 million tons, a decrease of 21% from 2021, mainly driven by the 30% and 16% decline in the annual throughputs from the Bolívar and Yauricocha mines, respectively. As a result, consolidated 2022 copper equivalent production decreased 29% compared to 2021. Consolidated fourth quarter 2022 ore throughput of half a million tons, a sequential decrease of 12% from Q3 2022, mainly due to the decline in throughput at Yauricoche. As a result, consolidated Q4 2022 copper equivalent production decreased 15% compared to Q3 2022. At Yauricocha, our flagship mine in Peru, throughput was severely impacted in Q4 2022 by the match light incident that occurred in September, followed by a road blockade by the local communities. As compared to Q4 2021, Yauricocha throughput was 40% lower while on a year-over-year basis, throughput was 16% lower as compared to 2021. At the Bolivar mine, throughput increased 19% in the fourth quarter over the third quarter, and that momentum has carried over into the first quarter of 2023. However, the annual throughput at the Bolivar mine was 30% lower as the improvements in Q4 2022 production could not make up for the delays in installation of critical infrastructure during the first half of the year and unexpected flooding during Q3 2022. Also, during the fourth quarter, recovery rates and copper, silver, and gold rates were substantially higher, all of which we are encouraged by. Clearly, there were many challenges at Bolivar last year. However, that critical infrastructure bottleneck have been resolved, and most notably, this has included the installation of pumping and ventilation systems. With these issues addressed, we are seeing indications of improved performance year-to-date at Bolívar. We will look to build on this momentum for the remainder of 2023. At our Cusi mine in Mexico, we processed 11% more ore in Q4 than in Q3, as mining resumed in the area where flooding occurred earlier in the year. The increased throughput helped offset the impact of lower grades and a lower silver and gold recovery rate during the quarter. Annual throughput at Cusimine in 2022 was 292,000 tons, or 1% lower than 2021. In addition to higher silver grades, crushing and grinding improvements at the plant have helped enhance silver and gold recovery. resulting in an 8% increase in silver equivalent production when compared to 2021. As noted in our earnings release, we have made a strategic decision with input from our board of directors to classify CUSI as a non-core asset. To that end, we will continue to operate CUSI while we explore a strategic alternative. Despite the challenges the company faced in 2022, I'm encouraged by the recent progress we have made. We have seen improved performance carry over into the start of 2023. I will discuss our outlook in greater detail in a moment. First, I will pass the call to Jose, our CFO.