Coeur Mining, Inc.

Good morning, and welcome to the Core Mining first quarter of 2024 financial results conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode, and should you need any assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's remarks, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your touch-tone phone. And to withdraw a question, please press star, then two. Please also note that this event is being recorded today. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mitch Krebs, President and Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

Okay. Hello, everyone, and thanks for joining our call. Before we start, I want to point out our cautionary language on forward-looking statements in today's slide deck and refer you to our SEC filings on our website. I'll kick off with some brief highlights on slide three before turning the call over to Mick, Tom, and Aoife. Overall, we had a solid first three months of the year. Both Palmareo and Wharf had strong quarters compared to plan, which puts the company in a great position for a successful 2024. Slide 4 does a nice job of showing where production stood after the first quarter compared to the quarter-by-quarter guidance profile we provided earlier this year. We often talk about the strategic importance of being a multi-asset company and having a balanced portfolio of operations, and the first quarter was a great example of that. Palmarios and Worf's outperformance helped to offset Rochester's planned transitional quarter over to the new crusher, which began to process fresh ore on March 8th. Commercial production was achieved just three weeks later, which was a great accomplishment but it's what has been happening underneath the hood there that leads to our excitement for the balance of 2024 and beyond. More on Rochester in a minute. On a company-wide basis, overall revenue increased 14% year-over-year, while adjusted EBITDA jumped 76%. Capital expenditures dropped off significantly during the quarter, with the Rochester expansion now in the rearview mirror. We're on track to flip to positive free cash flow in the second half of the year, which will be earmarked for debt repayment. That deleveraging process can be further accelerated, assuming current silver and gold prices continue, leading to a rapid and dramatic improvement in our overall financial condition and outlook. In the middle of all these positive catalysts stands Rochester, which is routinely processing and placing over 70,000 tons of ore per day and occasionally exceeding run rate throughput levels as we put the new crushing circuit through its paces. The rapid ramp-up curve is a real testament to the knowledge and operating experience the team is bringing to bear at this world-class operation. Before turning the call over to Nick for some additional Rochester details, I want to touch briefly on our progress and plans at some other key initiatives that are expected to augment the near-term growth we anticipate from Rochester. First up is Kensington, which is in its final full year of elevated investment aimed at extending its mine life and enhancing its operational flexibility. Positive exploration results and impressive underground development progress are pointing to the potential for a substantial mine life extension by the end of this year, which Ipa will talk more about in a few minutes. Over the medium term, we continue developing a comprehensive drilling and development plan at Palmareo on the recently acquired lands located to the east of the current operation. The goal is to hit the ground running once the acquisition of these concessions from Fresneo is completed, hopefully later this year. The nearest of the two acquired blocks to Palmareo's existing infrastructure sits just outside the boundaries of the Franco Nevada Gold Stream. and has the potential to materially supplement our production and cash flow profile within the next three years. Over the longer term, excitement continues to build at our high-grade silvertip polymetallic exploration project in British Columbia, which IFA will cover shortly. The convergence of all of these catalysts, higher commodity prices, a completed Rochester, a stable suite of U.S.-centric mines in North America, and a world-class Canadian exploration project sets us apart from our peers and leaves us very well positioned. Finally, we published our 2023 ESG report last week, which is summarized on slide 16. The report does a great job detailing our leadership in this area and highlights our efforts to continue raising the bar as we try to keep pursuing a higher standard. With that, I'll turn the call over to Mick.

Thanks, Mitch. Before reviewing our first quarter operating results, I'll add another recommendation to spend some time with CORE's 2023 ESG report, if you haven't already. While Rochester's construction was a significant priority over the last three years, I'm an operator at heart, and experience has taught that building a very strong foundation in sustainability, responsibility, and safety delivers operational success. In addition to the strong results Mitch highlighted, I'm particularly proud to call out two headlines from the ESG report. First, our number one position among our peer group in key safety indicators for the second year in a row. And second, our decision to adopt the global industry standard on tailings management, one of only 17% of non-ICMM member companies in the industry to do so. Setting the pace is not always the easy thing to do, that it is the right thing to do, and we'll continue to dedicate ourselves to leading in both these areas. Turning to our quarterly results, we're pleased with the solid start to the year. As slide four illustrates, 2024 production is expected to be significantly weighted toward the second half, consistent with the production guidance we provided earlier this year. Rochester's ramp-up and day-to-day operating improvement will drive most of that change in quarterly production. Same with Rochester, silver and gold production in the first quarter totalled nearly 700,000 and 5,800 ounces respectively, right in line with our expectations. Following the fourth quarter flush of ounces from all placed closest to the new Pad 6 liner, Our focus in 1Q was commissioning the crusher and starting the placement of ore into cells using only crushed ore from the new circuit, which commenced on March 8th. The crushing circuit runs when we want it to run, and we're maximising our planned downs to refine and optimise operations. What has really stood out in the early going is the tremendous flexibility of the new three-stage line, Having intermediate stockpiles and ore feed can bypass certain stages as needed, giving the team unprecedented levels of control over ultimate size fraction of the ore going to pad 6. Mining rates and refining capacity are more than keeping up with the increased throughput. Looking ahead, we remain on track to reach the conclusion of the ramp-up by the end of the second quarter. The priority in the second half of the year will be on optimising mining and processing rates and dialing in crush size to maximise recoveries. Rochester remains on track for 2024 gains. It's an exciting time and we're pleased with our progress, but we're keeping our heads down as there remains more work to be done to get this operation properly positioned for its long run in Northern Nevada. Moving on to Palmo Ajo on slide 23. The team hit the ground running in the first quarter, reaching its highest quarterly gold and silver production levels in several years. Higher unexpected growths from Guadalupe and Independencia do have strong quarterly food cash flow and positions us well for the balance of 2024. Continued high diesel prices in Mexico and other headwinds on the cost side of Palmeiro remain a challenge. The team continues to focus on mining and plant efficiency programs aimed at reining in costs and they've continued inflationary pressures in Mexico. Moving to Kensington, the focus in the first quarter was on stabilising the operation following the challenging 2023 as our multi-year investment in mine development continues. Mitch mentioned the positive results on that front, with that investment now about 71% complete for the current scope of the project. We're seeing a clear path to substantial mine life extension there, and perhaps more importantly, to the prospect of increased workplaces underground and with it more consistent performance. Lastly, at Wharf, results were ahead of plan, with the first quarter benefiting from timing advances placed on leach. Due to seasonality, the first quarter is typically Wharf's lowest of the year, so we're particularly pleased to see the mine off to a good start in 2024. With three names performing well and Rochester well positioned to complete the ramp up, we remain comfortable with our 2024 production gains. With that, I'll pass the call over to Tom.