SSR Mining Inc.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to SSR Mining's third quarter 2023 conference call. This call is being recorded. At this time, for opening remarks and introduction, I would like to turn the conference over to Alex Honchek from SSR Mining. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator, and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining SSR Mining's third quarter 2023 conference call, during which we'll provide an update on our business and a review of our financial performance. Our third quarter 2023 consultative financial statements have been presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These financial statements have been filed on EDGAR, CDAR, the ASX, and are also available on our website. To accompany our call, there is an online webcast and you will find the information to access the webcast in our news release relating to this call. Please note that all figures discussed during the call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. Today's discussion will include forward-looking statements. so please read the disclosures in the relevant documents. Joining us on the call today are Edward Farid, Chief Corporate Development Officer, Alison White, Chief Financial Officer, and Bill McNevin, Executive Vice President, Operations and Sustainability. Now I will turn the call over to Eddie for his opening remarks on slide three.

Thanks, Alex. Good afternoon to you all, and thank you for joining us today. First of all, I want to communicate that our Executive Chairman, Rod Enthal, sends his regrets for not being able to join us today. Unfortunately, he is dealing with a family health emergency and is currently in transit. With respect to the quarter, as planned, we are pleased to report a strong third quarter operationally, which included record production from Marigold, as well as record throughputs of Puna. Third quarter production, of 192,000 gold equivalent ounces at all and sustaining costs of $1,289 an ounce was a meaningful improvement over first half results. These metrics drove nearly $100 million in free cash flow generation in the quarter. And we anticipate further production and cost improvement in the fourth quarter of this year as we continue to track towards the lower end of our full-year production guidance of 700,000 gold equivalent ounces, and as a result, the high end of our all-in sustaining cost guidance. We are also proud to have marked a significant milestone in the third quarter with the delivery of first production from Chakmak Tepe Extension. This timeline is well aligned to our internal expectations. and most impressively was delivered just six years after the initial drill hole was completed at the project. Since our 2021 technical report, we have had significant exploration success at Chakmak Tepe Extension and are excited about the continued growth potential of the project. As a result, we are now evaluating opportunities to optimize the flow sheet and meaningfully improve gold recoveries. I will discuss these opportunities in more detail along with other aspects of our organic growth profile in a few moments. I wanted to also communicate a number of other key highlights from the third quarter. First, at Hot Madden, initial earthworks site preparations and infill drilling have begun as we advance the project toward the construction decision in mid 2024. Second, Our overall liquidity position was enhanced during the quarter with an amendment to our revolving credit facility, expanding the facility's total capacity to an undrawn $500 million at a reduced margin and bringing our total liquidity position to more than $900 million. Third, our brownfield exploration portfolio continues to advance successfully as we look to extend mine lives at both Seabee and Poonah. Impressive drilling results from campaigns across the portfolio including 46 grams a ton intercept over six meters at CB's Porky West target and 190 meters of 155 gram per ton silver and 10.6 percent zinc from the Cortaderas target at Puna. These are truly spectacular results and a strong reminder of our brownfield organic growth plans. And finally we continue to track We continued our track record of robust capital returns with nearly $90 million returned to shareholders over the year-to-date period as we track toward the minimum total return yield of 3.6% for the year. As we head towards the end of 2023, it is worth noting that we have committed substantive efforts towards the advancement of refreshed technical reports for both Marigold and Cholper. As we evaluate the interim results of the technical analysis being completed at both assets, we are working to maximize value while also ensuring an optimized production profile for the portfolio over the long term. At Choppeler, as I have noted, our continued success expanding the scale of the Chakmak Tepe extension has triggered a revision to the prior Life of Mine plan, which featured 1.2 million ounces of production with the majority of the projects ore stacked on heap leach pads and averaging approximately 60% recoveries. By planning to install grinding and leaching capacity at Chokler, we can materially improve those recoveries and potentially deliver a significant valuation uplift for the entire operation. However, this will mean a slower ramp up to full production levels until later in 2026 when this additional processing equipment is installed. Combined with the expectation of a positive construction decision for Hot Madden next year, it is clear our business is moving into a reinvestment cycle over the next three years that will see production lower than the prior 2024 guidance range by approximately 10% to 15%. We do, however, expect that the near-term reinvestment in our portfolio will drive production growth in the medium to long-term timeframe as Marigold production profile improves The grind leach circuit comes online at Chopler and the Hot Madden project build is completed. We are excited by what's ahead, both into year end and over the coming years. Our portfolio features an abundance of high return, low capital intensity growth opportunities that we expect will drive further NAV expansion going forward. SSR Mining has a proud history as explorers, mine builders and operators, as well as a long track record of prudent value added of M&A. Our business is in a strong position, supported by a robust balance sheet, including more than $900 million in total liquidity, and we are keen to continue building on our solid foundations. On to slide four, where I'll comment on ESG. ESG is and long has been a core value and focus for the company, as it firmly underpins our success. We continue to prioritize the health and safety of our employees and business partners and are seeing positive results with respect to our safety metrics across the portfolio. In 2023, we reinvigorated a focused and formal leadership in the field initiative to drive engagement and improve safety performance across the operations. This has been met with enthusiasm from our teams and it's already showing positive results. Additional key initiatives this year include continued development of an action plan on our journey towards decarbonization, including evaluating options to incorporate renewable energy and technologies into our operating platforms. We are enhancing our water management plans for each of our assets and fine-tuning our efforts on integrated mine closure plans to ensure we leave a positive and lasting legacy for our local communities. Finally, over the coming months, expect to become a signatory to the International Cyanide Management Code. While Marigold is already a signatory, bringing our entire portfolio to this level is another positive step forward on our ESG journey. As we have done previously, we continue to work hard to advance our ESG initiatives and look forward to sharing additional updates on that journey going forward. On to slide five, where I'll turn over the presentation to Alison.