Iamgold Corporation Ordinary Shares

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the IM Gold second quarter 2023 operating and financial results conference call and webcast. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance, you may signal an operator by pressing star then zero. At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Graham Jennings, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications for IAM Gold. Please go ahead, Mr. Jennings.

Thank you, operator, and welcome everyone to the IAM Gold Second Results, Second Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. Joining me today on the call are Renaud Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer, Martin Thunusen, Chief Financial Officer, Bruno Lemelin, Senior Vice President, Operations and Projects, Council and Corporate Secretary, and Jerzy Orszahowski, Executive Project Director, Cote Gold. Before we begin, we are joining today from I Am Gold's Toronto office, which is located on Treaty 13 territory, on the traditional lands of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. At I Am Gold, we believe respecting and upholding Indigenous rights is founded upon relationships that foster trust, transparency, and mutual respect. Please note that our remarks on this call will include forward-looking statements and refer to non-IFRS measures. We encourage you to refer to the cautionary statements and disclosures on non-IFRS measures included in the presentation and the reconciliations of these measures in our most recent MD&A, each under the heading Non-GAAP Financial Measures. With respect to the technical information to be discussed, please refer to the information in the presentation under the heading Qualified Person and Technical Information. The slides referenced on this call can be viewed on our website. I'll now turn the call over to our President and CEO, Bruno Adams.

Thank you, Graham, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. safe work environment. We will walk through the quarterly operating result in more detail in a moment, but I want to congratulate our ESSA-CANDI team for their remarkable resilience to allow for the mine to resume both mining and milling at full capacity in a very complex environment. Secondly, we saw significant progress at the Cozy Gold project. In June, the site reached over 1,900 capital. Further, we are now seeing activities begin the critical transition from bulk construction to finishing activities and operational readiness. At Westwood, we continue to execute on our optimization plan with the objective to turn the mine into a positive cash flow producer in the near term. The second quarter was my first four quarters as CEO of IAMGOM, and my conviction has only grown that this is a company poised to position itself amongst our peers. We are entering a transformational period for the company, and I'm extremely pleased with the expertise, relevant experience, and leadership in the place that I am now. Our Zero Harm missions continue to be our priority number one, and we are looking at our corporate ESG strategy and execution. When we look ahead to 2024, The company will have a significantly higher production base and lower cost profile, providing a strong foundation of cash flow and growth opportunities in Canada. Yet, before we get there, the short-term goals for IAM goals are clear. Bring Coding Online with a focus on achieving Longer term, our goal is for AMGOLD to become a high-margin intermediate gold producer with a strong operating base in Canada. Financially, we will characterize returning our 70% position in Cote with our partner Semitomo, as well as use our cash flow to optimize our balance sheet and deliver the company to have a more efficient and balanced and highlights for the quarter. I'm on slide five. Starting with health and safety, the company has seen an improving trend year over year, with a days-away restricted transfer duty rate of 0.39 and a total recordable injury rate of 0.66, based on 200,000 hours On production, in Q2, the company produced 107,000 ounces of gold on a detrimental basis, putting us well on the path for an action guidance target of 410,000 to 470,000 ounces of gold this year. As we will get into in a moment, the production results were driven by the performing to plant and higher grades from recently rehabilitated underground zone at Westwood. which helped to mitigate the impact of some operating restriction due to the poor air quality in the region from the forest fires in the quarter. The second quarter saw IOM, though, previously forecasted lower grade at Issaqan, as well as an increased rehabilitation cost at Westwood. As a result, we expect costs to come in at the top end of our annual guidance ranges. On slide six, turning to Issaqan, the mine reported Q2 attributable gold production of 88,000 ounces, bringing the year-to-date total to 180,000 ounces of gold. Mining activities totaled 13.5 million tons, a significant increase quarter over quarter as the mining fleet returned operations to full capacity. Mining activity in the second quarter completed the transition to phase five, resulting in a higher ship ratio in line with our plans as the operations moved to new mining phases. And lower grades from the prior quarter when grades were positive Mill throughput in the second quarter was 3.1 million tons at an average head grade of 1.11 grams a ton, with throughput 42% higher than the first quarter. As operations were able to resume at full capacity to the improved ability to move necessary supply around the country. The mill reported an average recovery of 89%, which declined slightly from the prior quarter and the year prior. due to lower grades, including higher concentration of graphitic carbon and sulfur. On a cost basis, as a county reported cash costs of $273 an ounce, an increase from the first quarter has had rates of 20, 30% from Q1 at the highest ratio. Additionally, we saw sustained higher price of consumable as inflation pressures ease, but with fine, As well, increase of the landed cost of fuel due to the impact of the security situation in the supply chain, higher labor costs to depreciation of the local currency, and an increase in power generation costs as heavy fuel normally used for power generation was periodically substituted with more expensive light fuel in order to maintain operations during the period where supplies was limited. We are currently building additional tank at Issa County, which will increase the HFO, medical storage capacity, at sideways approximately 50%. We expect that the extra capacity will be in place in early Q4. On a hold and sustaining cost basis, costs increase to $1,587 per ounce. Due to the higher operating costs, as well as the schedule, higher volume is tripping as the mine enters the new mining phases. Looking ahead, SACAM is on track for a production dining range of 340,000 ounces, 380,000 ounces of dough. Mining activity is expected to maintain normal operating levels in the second half of the year, including increased level through the targeted phases of waste tripping. Capital expenditure guidance for a second is unchanged at approximately 155 million. The increased volume of capital capitalized waste in the second half of the year, while total tons moved are in line with the second quarter to provide access to mine areas in support of the 2024-2025 production plan. It is worth noting that the mining activity and stripping programs assume no significant disruptions in the supply chain resulting from the security situation in the country and the region. The company plans to provide an updated life of mine plan for its economy and an updated mineral reserve and mineral resources during the fourth quarter of 2023. This will include the details heat lead scenario. On slide seven, turning to Westwood, gold production was 19,000 ounces in the quarter, and 40,000 ounces in gold here today. Westwood continues to be in a unique position, as IM Gold has been essentially rebuilding the underground mine at the same time as active mining operations are being conducted. The mine has made significant strides over the years Mining activity in the second quarter totaled 212,000 tons of ore, which was lower than the prior quarter due to the impact of heavy wildfire smoke and the density of the mine operations required for multiple underground shifts to be canceled to ensure the continued safety of our workforce. However, it is worth highlighting which is the highest-grade mine from underground in over five years, as we begin to see the benefit of pre-habitation activities reopening previously closed. So, in the second part, Additionally, mining activity started at the satellite open pit Fayol with minimal productions in a quarter, yet adding $2.4 million of the Fayol development capital to operating costs. Looking ahead, Westwood is well on track and higher grade stove sequences. Mill feed will continue to be supplemented from available satellite surface deposits, including increased proportion of ore feed from the fatal property in the second half of the year. On slide eight, I just want to take a moment to dive a little deeper into our activities at Westwood. Underground development here today is near record development rate with 2,830 for and beyond production plan. We have increased the sustaining capital expenditure guidance for Westwood by $35 million. As the underground rehabilitation and development has been progressing ahead of schedule due to better than planned productivity rates, moving some of the 2024 work into 2023 and reducing the work required in 2024, more ground support, increasing costs. This work not only is allowing the return of mining into higher-grade areas that were previously closed, but also opens the door for potential mineral reserve increases should these areas be upgraded from resources as they are proven to be mineable. We will have an updated 43-101 for Westwood. to see costs step down, with the goal of positioning the asset for a positive free cash flow for a better and profitable 2024 and beyond. Slide 9. Turning to Codigo, I am pleased to have our Executive Project Director here with us today to walk us through the developments and progress in the Dwarf. Jersey?