2/18/2022

speaker
Operator
Conference Call Operator

Thank you all for joining us this morning. Before I turn the call over, I need to advise that certain statements made during this call today may contain forward-looking information and actual results could differ from the conclusions or projections in that forward-looking information, which include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, cost of production, capital expenditures, future metal prices, and the cost and timing of the development of new projects. For a complete discussion of the risks, uncertainties, and factors which may lead to actual financial results and performance being different from the estimates contained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to Yamana's press release issued yesterday announcing fourth quarter 2021 results, as well as the management's discussion and analysis for the same period and other regulatory filings in Canada and the United States. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded and will be available for replay today at 12 p.m. Eastern Time. Replay information and the presentation slides accompanying this conference call and webcast are available on Yamana's website at Yamana.com. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Daniel Racine, President and CEO.

speaker
Daniel Racine
President and CEO

Thank you, operator. Thank you all for joining us today. presenting with me today is Jason LeBlanc, our Senior VP Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Other members of our team will also be available to answer the question during the Q&A portion of the call. I will start as always with health, safety, and sustainable development. The health and safety of our employees always come first, and despite our excellent track records, this is something we are always trying to improve. Our total recordable injury rate was 0.73 for 2021. And I would like to thank all our employees for remaining focused and committed to our safety values during the past year. As noted before, since the beginning of the pandemic, we have taken quick action to limit the impact of COVID-19 on our operation and the communities in which we operate. And we are continuing to effectively manage COVID-19. we have put in place a number of measures across the company to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Notably, we are happy to report that more than 99% of the company's employees and contractors have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 94% have received two doses. 2021 also marks the completion of the second year of three years implementation of the Mining Association of Canada's Towards Sustainable Mining Program and the World Gold Council's Responsible Gold Mining Principles. We achieved some notable milestones and recognitions in 2021, as you can see on the slide. I'm particularly proud of the fundamental work surrounding our updated Climate Action Strategy, which underpins our commitment to a low-carbon future and set us on the path towards greenhouse gas abatement target consistent with a 1.5 degree Celsius temperature scenario. We are on track to produce approximately 85% of our gold equivalent ounces with renewable energy by the end of 2022. Yamana has a long history of prioritizing the health and safety of its people, sustainable development, and environmental protection wherever it operates. Turning now to the 2021 highlight, we delivered strong operational results across the board and exceeded our 2021 production guidance for both gold and gold equivalent ounces. As guided, the fourth quarter was particularly strong with production from the company's five operating mines achieving an all-time record with Canadian Malartic, Jacobina, Cerro Morro, and El Pinyon posting standout quarters. We were able to deliver this increased production at lower costs with total cost of sale, cash costs, and all in sustaining costs all lower year over year. This strong operational performance is expected to continue into the future, as you can see from our guidance shown on this slide, which I will come back to in more detail in just one moment. Not only are we delivering results today, but we are also setting the stage for meaningful growth in the coming years. During the year, we announced a positive development decision at the Wasamak project, continue to advance the Odyssey both on time and on budget, and recently received a necessary permit at Jacobina to ramp up production as we advance. The phase two expansion that would allow this mine to reach 230,000 ounces per year. We are also continuing to advance the plan expansion study and heap-leach metallurgical lab testing at Cerro Morro, and progressing the MARA feasibility study and permitting process. These actions position us to be able to deliver on a number of upcoming catalysts, which we believe will deliver significant value to our shareholders. And finally, we replaced depletion of mineral reserves, highlighting the sustainability and longevity of our portfolio. which I will explore in more depth over the next couple of slides. Focusing on our mineral reserve, we continued our track record of mineral reserve replacement. We replaced gold mineral reserve at each of our own operation and by 130% of depletion on a consolidated basis. This continues our strong track record of mineral reserve growth, which we expect to continue into the future. At Canadian Mall Arctic, underground mineral resources at Odyssey continue to grow as a result of ongoing exploration drilling. Ongoing infill drilling program continues to increase the inventory of indicated mineral resources to support the planned conversion of mineral resources to mineral reserves. Expansion of the mineral resource envelope on all directions added new inferred mineral resources to the inventory. with a high potential for future conversion and inclusion in the mine plan. Jacobina had another year of mineral reserve and mineral growth, resource growth. Gold mineral reserve had grown by 55% or more than a million ounces net of depletion over the past four years. Notably, Cerro Morro successfully replaced depletion of mineral reserve on a GEO basis largely as a result of the extension of high-grade veins at the main ore bodies of Zoe, Martina, and Natty, which remain open at that. This extends the mine life of Cerro Morro, and we expect this to be an ongoing trend of mineral reserve and mineral resource growth, similar to mineral reserve replacement cycle established at the company, more major operation. At El Pinyon, we achieve a fourth quarter year a fourth consecutive year of adding mineral reserves in excess of depletion. Mineral reserves added in 2021 were higher grade and increased the average gold and silver mineral reserve grade by 3%. This extends the mine life at El Pinyon yet again, and the new resources provide an inventory for future mineral reserve development. At Minera Florida, drilling in key production sector most notably Don Leopoldo and Fantasma, continue to expand mineralization along Strait and Don Dip, and targets remain open in both directions, underscoring upside potential. Finally, at Wazamak, we added 143,000 gold ounces to mineral reserves. Through the optimization of the mining method and mine design following an in-depth geotechnical analysis, The growing mineral reserve and mineral resources base support our vision to have a production platform of 200,000 ounces per year with an all-in sustaining cost below $850 per ounces over a mine life of at least 15 years. Turning now to our broader resource base, Yamana has attempted to differentiate itself over the last several years by replacing depletion of mineral reserves and growing its resource base for future conversion. The result of which is that when we look at over several years, there has been a very significant increase in reserves and resources. Over the past five years, total gold equivalent mineral reserve and mineral resources at the five operating mines have increased by 32%, net of the 4.6 million gold equivalent ounces produced by the operation over that period. This brownfield exploration success extend the life of the existing operation and present opportunities for growth within the portfolio. As a result, the company is able to add future to the drill bit at a low cost per ounces with low risk and with minimal disturbance to the environment. With the addition of Wazamak, the mineral reserve and mineral resources, growth rate increased to 45% over five years. Wasamac is already showing great exploration potential, and we believe once in production, it will be able to replicate the mineral reserve and mineral resources replacement cycle demonstrated at the company's operating mines. Looking at just our own operation and Wasamac, we increased geo mineral reserve by over 4% this year. Our track record of mineral reserve replacement is made more impressive by the inclusion of Canadian Malartic, which given the nature of the open pit operation, we do not expect to replace its depletion. Excluding Canadian Malartic, the company has successfully delivered a 15% net increase in geo-mineral reserve at its only own operation since 2017. With the inclusion of Wazamak, this net increase grows to 55%. With a significant and growing mineral resource base at the Odyssey project, our trend of mineral reserve growth should accelerate as we continue to deliver on our track record at Ole-Owen operation and start converting mineral resources into mineral reserve at Odyssey. Maintaining a sustainable production profile and replacing mineral reserve depletion requires a strong mineral resource growth program. Notably, we have been able to achieve growth in our mineral reserve base without depleting mineral resources. In fact, last year we grew measured and indicated mineral resources at our only owned operation in Canadian Malartic by a combined 15% without depleting inferred mineral resources, which were up marginally year over year. The significant mineral resources base at the only owned operation in Canadian Malartic provides a pipeline for continuing the increasing mineral reserve trend over the past five years. Our company-wide reserve and resource show significant scale and underpin our production guidance, which I will walk through in more detail now. We expect to maintain production of 1 million ounces gold equivalent ounces in 2022, but deliver a near growth in both 2023 and 2024. This 3% and 6% growth exceed the guidance provided last year and the previous plan on which that guidance was based. And this improvement reflects the resource and reserve growth already discussed and the continuous optimization of our operation. Due to stabilized mine development and sequencing for 2022, we expect a steadier production level quarter over quarter instead of that much stronger weighting to the second half of the year we saw in 2021 and prior years. However, the first quarter is expected to be the lowest production quarter of the year, in part because of the Jacobina Phase 2 ramp-up to higher throughput during the year. We see cash costs not exceeding $725 per GEO this year, with annulling sustaining costs not exceeding $1,080 per GEO. which is aligned with the 3% net increase at our own operation we guided in January. Our costs are expected to trend lower post-2022 as increasing production, particularly at Jacobina, is expected to drive down costs and improve overall margin and cash flow. There is a mind-by-mind guidance information showed on the next slide and in the guidance outlook section of the MD&A for your reference. While I won't spend too much time on all the numbers on this slide, I do want to comment on the positive production trend we see over the near term. Overall production growth of 6% is driven in large part by an increase of 18% at Jacobina, and this is also our lowest-cost mine. The changing production mix will also have a favorable impact on our cost profile and cash flow generation moving forward. We are also expecting production at Canadian Malartic to increase past 2022, with a corresponding improvement in cost as the strip ratio normalized as the open pit transitioned from Malartic to the Barnard pick. Last year, the company introduced its long-term 10-year production outlook to demonstrate the confidence it has in the sustainability of its production platform. the long mine life and overall values of its assets. While we expect to update this formal outlook every other year, we plan on providing an indication as to what we expect based on the interim exploration, mineral resources conversion, and asset evaluations. Based on the work done to date, we expect to increase our sustainable baseline annual production at the current operation to 1,050,000 G.O. per year beginning in 2025. This growth in the sustainable production platform is supported by our existing asset base and is not dependent on any further exploration success. We also believe that our original growth outlook to 1.2 million geo is conservative and will have a significant production upside at our operating mines and at the Wasamak project. Preliminary evaluation have identified a number of opportunities for further growth, including the potential for a Phase 4 expansion at Jacobina, the potential plant expansion and e-bleach project at Cerro Morro, the addition of the new south deep discovery into the mine plan at El Pinyon, and the possible addition of a second shaft and further production from upper ore bodies accessed by the ramp at Odyssey. At Wasamac, there remained a potential for higher production level from Wildcat, Wildcat South, and the highly prospective Francais Enfield and Lac Fortune properties. Assuming all of these identifier opportunities are advanced, the company production potential could reach up to 1.5 million geo within the 10 years outlook horizon and meaningfully extend that production profile beyond the 10-year timeframe. We also have other development projects and strategic assets with the potential to drive significant long-term production upside towards the end of the current decade and beyond such as Mara and others that can also create strategic value creation for the company. Before I pass it to Jason to go over our fourth quarter financial performance, I will briefly touch upon some operational highlights for the quarter. Overall, as guided, production was weighted towards the second half of the year, with record fourth quarters production significantly exceeding the previously provided guidance, with exceptional results across our core portfolio. Fourth quarter gold production marked the highest all-time total production from Yamano's mines. Silver production was underpinned by both El Pinyon and Cerro Morro, which recorded their highest quarterly silver production total of the year. Fourth quarter total cost of sale, cash costs, and all-in sustaining costs per G.O. were the lowest quarterly costs of the year. For the year, total cost of sale, cash costs, and all-in sustaining costs per G.O. were all lower year over year. Turning to the individual drivers of our performance, Canadian Monarch Tick delivered a strong quarter and it continued to benefit from higher grade ore and recoveries as it transitioned from the Monarch Tick pit to the Barnett pit. Production for the year exceeded annual guidance. We also continue to advance underground development and recently completed the concrete pour for the yet frame. Shaft sinking is expected to commence later this year. Jacobina had an exceptional quarter and delivered record production driven by tons mine. Production in 2021 increased for the eight consecutive years and also beat annual guidance. These positive trends should continue as we recently received the necessary permits to increase throughput for our phase expansion strategy as well as the spectacular exploration success discussed earlier. Cerro Morro continued to benefit from access to additional mining phases which supported the increase in mill feed coming from higher grade underground ore and stable throughput. Fourth quarter production was the strongest of the year. At Cerro Morro we also completed metallurgical lab testing and are continuing to explore scalable plant and heap leach repleting upside opportunities. Our pathway to growth depend on the result of the test work and we plan on advancing the selected expansion option to a profitability study level by early 2023. El Pinyon had its strongest production quarter of the year as operation enter high-grade zone at La Paloma and Pampa Compamento mining sectors. Annual production also exceeded guidance. Notably successful exploration efforts has delivered a new discovery zone known as South Deep. With exploration success, the objective of El Pinyon is to utilize the excess plant capacity and increase production. Lastly, Minera Flogida delivered an annual production that was largely in line with previously provided guidance range despite a short-lived labour action impacting approximately three weeks of production in December. the plant depot connecting studies advancing to increased throughput. In Q4, the impact and social environment assessment for the expansion was submitted. With the expected permitting timelines, the mine could begin operating at 100,000 tons per month level in 2025. I will now turn it to Jason to comment on our financial performance.

speaker
Jason LeBlanc
Senior VP Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Daniel, and good morning, everyone. Turning to our fourth quarter financial performance, the strong production results helped revenue reach $503.8 million during the quarter, a 9% increase compared to the same period last year. Gross margins, excluding DD&A, rose 10% to $323.8 million from the year earlier period. And earnings during the quarter were $109.7 million or 11 cents per share, compared with $103 million or 11 cents a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, earnings were also 11 cents and similar to last year. We continue to generate robust cash flows and cash flows from operating activities before and after working capital of 14% and 25% growth respectively compared to last quarter. We also generated great free cash flow before dividends and debt repayment during the quarter, which increased 47% from the third quarter. After an increase in cash balances excluding MARA of about $68 million during the quarter, we ended the year with cash in equivalence of approximately $308 million and also held about $217 million for use at the MARA project. The strong change in cash was after purchasing a further 3.4 million shares during Q4 under our normal course issuer bid. Taking a look at capital spending guidance for 2022, our sustaining and expiration spending remains similar to 21, but expansionary capital has increased to $197 million as planned and attributable to Odyssey at Canadian Malartic. The increased construction activity at Odyssey this year is attributable to the surface and infrastructure work on the paste plant, maintenance shop, and various other service buildings, power line, and the shaft sinking, as Daniel mentioned, starting in Q4. Underground spending primarily on lateral development is also increasing as well from last year. The overall exploration budget is up slightly, but one of the focuses of our spending this year is a significantly higher budget at Jacobina given their large and prospective land holdings and track record of growing reserves and resources. So we've doubled Jacobina's budget to $15 million to continue to increase and upgrade the reserve and resource base at the mine, but also a larger dedicated budget to unlock the district potential and identify new targets. In addition, there's a specific $3 million budget at Jacobina Norte this year, also approximately doubled, to build on the ground program from last year that identified large new areas of mineralized reefs to follow up for this year. Our exploration budget also allocates $18 million to Cerro Moro, underscoring our commitment to the exploration potential there on the operation and our ability to expand the mineral resources at this operation and extend mine life. Continuing on the trend we established this year, but also to position for the expansion opportunities we're developing there, The other program of note is $20 million at El Pinyon, with a meaningful focus on the new south-deep area that we're very excited about. And with that, I'll hand back to Daniel.

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