7/30/2026

speaker
Jordan
Conference Coordinator

Hello and welcome to the Amerigo Resources Ltd. Q2 2026 results call. My name is Jordan and I'll be your coordinator for today's event. Please note this conference is being recorded and for the duration of the call, your lines will be in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the paired remarks. I'll now turn the call over to your host today, Mr. Graham Farrell, to begin the conference.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Please go ahead, sir.

speaker
Graham Farrell
Host / Investor Relations

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon and welcome everyone to Amerigo's quarterly call-to-call to discuss the company's financial results for the second quarter of 2026. We appreciate you joining us today. This call will cover Amerigo's financial and operating results for the second quarter and to June 30th, 2026. Following our prepared remarks, we will open the call-to-call to a question and answer session. Our call today will be led by Amerigo's President and Chief Executive Officer, Aurora Davidson, along with the company's Chief Financial Officer, Carmen Amezquita. Before we begin with our formal remarks, I would like to remind everyone that some of the statements on this conference call may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not necessarily limited to, financial projections or other statements of the company's plans, objectives, expectations, or intentions. These matters involve certain risks and uncertainties. Thank you for taking the time to join Amerigo's Q2 2026 Earnings Call. Q2 demonstrated what Amerigo is designed to do. Operate safe and reliably, generate cash,

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

maintain balance sheet strength, and return excess capital to shareholders. America builds values through stability, discipline, and the return of capital to shareholders. We are not dependent on major construction programs, repeated equity issuance, or high financial leverage. That allows cash generated by NBC's copper production to move directly to shareholders. Let me start with a brief review of our quarterly operations. In Q2, NVC again performed as expected. Production was solid, plant performance remained reliable, and the operation continued to benefit from the disciplined execution that has characterized it over time. Following the planned annual maintenance shutdown in Q1, operations returned to normal levels in the second quarter, giving shareholders a clearer view of NBC's normal operating rhythm. Our production and cash flow guidance for the year remain unchanged, which tells shareholders that NBC is performing as expected and that the assumptions behind our annual production plan remain intact. In mining, stability rarely attracts headlines. However, a mature, reliable asset that produces copper consistently can generate meaningful cash over time. That incentive is proven strength and is what stability looks like in practice. In a moment, Carmen will discuss our financial performance in detail. For now, I will note that Q2 2026 is so far America's strongest financial quarter on record. The combination of solid operating performance This results reflect the design of a long-term business, not just the conditions of one good quarter. The results are the outcome of a business designed to convert operating performance into shareholder returns. Amerigo has a single operating asset and no growth capital burden. We are not funding a construction pipeline or competing internally for capital among multiple projects. Our sustaining capital requirements are limited and manageable. As a result, when ABC performs well and copper prices are supportive, cash moves through the business quickly and efficiently. Fcash first protects the balance sheet, and support the operation's long-term sustainability. Once those priorities are addressed, excess cash becomes available to shareholders. For Amerigo, financial results are not just accounting outcomes to be entered into analyst spreadsheets. They are the starting point for the return of capital to shareholders, which is another characteristic that separates us from our peers. This brings me to the capital return strategy. For several years, we've talked about Amerigo CRS as a disciplined, rules-based framework for capital allocation. Today, the CRS has a demonstrated track record of execution that has generated superior total returns for shareholders. Quarter after quarter, shareholders can see the CRS in action. A regular quarterly dividend. Performance dividends when cash generation supports them. and Sherry Purchases when appropriate. As the understanding of the power of the CRS has increased over time, so has the value of Amerigo's equity. During Q2, Amerigo continued to use the CRS to return capital in a disciplined way. The Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.04 Canadian per share and a performance dividend of $0.18 Canadian per share, which is payable next week. Together, The performance dividend and quarterly dividend represents approximately $25 million, which is half of our quarter-end cash balance. These capital distributions demonstrate the immediacy of the CRS impact for shareholders. For investors evaluating Amerigo CRS, here's an important point. The quarterly dividend is the most regular and visible component of our capital return strategy. but to evaluate America fully, it should be considered together with performance dividends and share buybacks. That broader view reflects the total capital returned to shareholders and better captures the investment yield generated by the business. The point one dividend establishes the baseline, while the performance dividend allow shareholders to participate when operating performance supports a larger return of capital. We believe that this flexibility is a significant advantage of the CRS. In the case of Amerigo, a performance dividend should be viewed with the certainty of a quarterly dividend, dependent only on copper prices. Shareholders will get it if the cash is there. In addition, The performance dividend functions more quickly and potentially offers a greater payout than a permanent increase of the quarterly dividend. These characteristics are particularly evident during times of strong copper prices and price volatility. The performance dividend is effectively a cash sweep to shareholders that does not require a long-term stable outlook for sustained higher copper prices. It also does not require building a higher cash cushion on the balance sheet, which would limit distribution to shareholders. When viewed in totality, the effective investment yield for investors generated by the CRS is much higher than the yield reflected by just the quarterly dividend. We think the market continues to recognize the superiority of the CRS and the tremendous potential for even higher returns of capital given the outlook for the copper market, which I will turn to next. The first half of 2026 has been marked by volatility within a high copper price range. All-time price highs were set in June and then backed up a bit. But during the third quarter, prices are moving higher again. The fundamental copper story remains intact, and I believe it continues to strengthen. You know the story. The world needs more copper, and the industry continues to struggle to deliver it. New projects take longer to permit, require more capital, and face significant execution challenges. Existing operations face declining rates, technical complexity, and rising cost pressures. These conditions continue to make it difficult to bring new copper supply online at the pace the market requires. This is why the copper market increasingly looks like a constrained supply story. Demand remains supported by long-term electrification, grid investment, and industrial growth, while the supply response remains muted. For America, that creates a constructive environment. At the same time, remember that our strategy is not built around calling the copper price quarter by quarter. We manage the business to perform across cycles with a capital return strategy that gives shareholders participation when conditions are strong and preserves flexibility when markets are volatile. When I look at Amerigo today, I see a copper producer increasingly distinguished by how effectively it uses the cash it generates. The market offers many ways to gain exposure to copper. A miracle of distinction is the combination of attributes. A stable operating platform, a strong balance sheet, meaningful copper leverage, and a capital return strategy with a demonstrated track record that has generated superior total returns since its inception. Q2 reflected excellent performance in all those areas. Steady operations, strong cash flow, Thanks Aurora. The second quarter was an excellent quarter for Amerigold from both an operating and financial perspective.

speaker
Carmen Amezquita
Chief Financial Officer

I will discuss Amerigo's key drivers of profitability, our cash cost metrics, the quarterly cash flow, and our outlook for 2026. In terms of profitability, the key drivers were straightforward, higher copper production, significantly stronger copper prices, and continued cost discipline at NBC. Copper production increased to 16.9 million pounds, up 9% from the second quarter of 2025. The copper price environment was substantially stronger, with MVC realizing an average copper price of $6.16 per pound compared to $4.42 per pound in Q2 2025. And when you combine higher production with a materially stronger copper price environment, you would expect a significant improvement in profitability, which is exactly what occurred. Revenue increased 52% year-over-year to $77.4 million in the second quarter, which was comprised of $66.3 million in copper revenue and $11.1 million in molybdenum revenue. As investors know, our tolling model means that the gross value of copper produced is not the same as the revenue ultimately recognized by Amerigo. As copper prices increase, the ET royalties increase proportionately. This quarter provides a good example of that dynamic and also demonstrates that while higher copper prices increase, DEP royalties, they still result in significantly stronger profitability and cash generation for Amerigo. Turning to costs, production and tolling costs increased 17% year-over-year. At first glance, investors might view that increase negatively. However, it is important to note that a significant portion of the increase was related to specific items that do not reflect deterioration in operating performance. Most notably, direct labor costs included approximately $2 million of signing bonuses that were associated with the successful three-year collective agreement reached with MDC's Supervisors Union. This union negotiation was done ahead of schedule and presents benefits to both MDC and the supervisors. The quarter also included higher maintenance spending and increased costs associated with molybdenum production and historic tailings extraction. When viewed in the context of production increasing by 9% and copper revenue increasing by more than 50%, the cost performance of the operation remains very strong. We will see this reflected in our cash cost metrics, which I will discuss shortly. As a result of the strong revenue performance and the controlled cost profile, gross profit increased to $32.2 million compared to $12.1 million in the second quarter of 2025, and is ultimately what drove the substantial improvement in earnings and cash flow during the quarter. Below the gross profit line, there are only a few items worth highlighting. General and administrative expenses were $1.5 million, including salaries, management and professional fees of $0.5 million, office and general expenses of $0.3 million, and share-based payments of $0.8 million. Other losses totaled $1.8 million, primarily due to foreign exchange, with approximately $1.3 million of that amount Coming from unrealized foreign exchange movements on an intercompany U.S. dollar loan that have no impact on the economics of the business, cash flow generation, or operational performance. Finance income was $0.1 million compared to a finance expense of $0.4 million in Q2 2025, which is the result of a structural cost change arising from Amerigo being debt-free. Income tax expense increased from $2.6 million to $10.6 million. The increase in tax expense was driven by the company's higher pre-tax income, as well as an increase in withholding tax payments from the increased repatriated funds during the period. This should not be viewed as a negative development. Rather, simply put, stronger profitability results in a higher tax expense. Looking at the bottom line, net income increased to $18.3 million in the second quarter of 2026 from $7.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Before discussing cash flow, I want to spend a few minutes on our cost metrics. Cash cost during the quarter was $1.74 per pound compared to $1.82 per pound in the second quarter of 2025. The $0.08 per pound decrease in cash costs was primarily due to a $0.21 per pound increase in Molybdenum by-product credits as the result of the 43% increase in the Molybdenum price, offset by an increase in direct labor, mostly due to the bonuses of $2 million as previously referenced. Normalized cash costs, which is cash costs excluding the effect of the signing bonus, was $1.60 per pound. That is a strong result and demonstrates the continued efficiency of NVC's operations. When investors evaluate Amerigo's cost profile, I believe a normalized cash cost figure provides the clearest indication of underlying operating performance. In Q2 2026, total costs increased to $4.55 per pound compared to $3.55 per pound in Q2 2025. mostly due to the increase of $1.09 per pound in BET notional royalties in response to the stronger copper prices. And all-in sustaining costs increased to $4.81 per pound from $3.69 per pound in the second quarter of 2025 due to increases of $1 per pound in total costs, $0.10 per pound in sustaining capex, and $0.02 per pound in corporate G&A expenses. Turning to cash flow, I would characterize Q2 as a strong demonstration of Amerigo's ability to convert operating performance into shareholder returns. Operating cash flow before changes in working capital reached $26.7 million and after changes in working capital, operating cash flow remained very strong at $23 million. The quality of that cash flow is important. We're not generating cash today while simultaneously committing large amounts of capital to construction projects or future development obligations. MBC remains a mature operation with relatively modest sustaining capital requirements. As a result, a large portion of operating cash flow remains available for shareholder returns. Capital expenditures during the quarter totaled $4.7 million which allowed the business to maintain and improve the operation while still generating significant cash flow. That free cash flow generation ultimately supported the continuation of Amerigo's cash flow return strategy. During Q2, Amerigo returned $25.2 million to shareholders with $18.7 million in performance dividends, $4.8 million in quarterly dividends, and 1.7 million through share buybacks. This resulted in the company having 50.3 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter. From a capital allocation perspective, this is exactly how the capital return strategy is intended to function. Strong operating performance generates cash. Cash first supports the operation and protects the balance sheet. And excess cash is then returned to shareholders. This quarter provides a clear example of that framework working exactly as designed. It is also the reason that on July 6, 2026, Amerigo's Board of Directors declared a performance dividend in the amount of 18 cents Canadian per share payable on August 6, 2026 to the shareholders of record as of July 13, 2026. Looking ahead, our outlook from Maine's larger have changed. MBC remains on track to achieve annual production guidance of 63.8 million pounds of copper and 1.5 million pounds of molybdenum. From a cost perspective, first half results provide additional confidence in our annual cash cost guidance of $1.98 per pound. With the year-to-date 2026 cash cost of $1.78 per pound, or $1.70 per pound normalized. Cash costs remain below our full-year guidance range. The only notable update relates to capital expenditures, where we now expect spending of approximately $19.1 million versus our original estimate of $17.5 million, primarily due to the earlier-than-anticipated construction of a new Calcutta sump in 2027. In the first six months of 2026, NBC incurred $10.3 million in capex. Finally, I would remind investors that Amerigo continues to maintain meaningful leverage to copper prices. At June 30, provisional pricing was based on copper at $6.17 per pound. A 10% movement in copper prices from that level would either positively or negatively impact future revenue, by approximately $10.4 million. That sensitivity highlights both the opportunity and the leverage embedded in the business as copper market fundamentals remain constructive. We will report Amerigo's Q3 2026 financial results in October 2026 and want to thank you for your continued interest in the company. We will now take questions from call participants.

speaker
Jordan
Conference Coordinator

As a reminder, if you'd like to ask a question during today's call, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

We'll take a brief moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Ben Tyree from Atrium Research. Your line is live.

speaker
Ben Tyree
Analyst, Atrium Research

Hi everyone, and congrats on the record quarter adventure in each room here. Just wanted to get some clarification on this, maybe a question for Carmen. Both cash costs being 174 per pound and normalized cash costs being $1.60.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Could you just tell us which number you think investors should focus on?

speaker
Carmen Amezquita
Chief Financial Officer

Hi Ben, that's a good question, and I think both numbers are useful. The reported Q2 cash cost was $1.74 per pound and then the normalized cash cost was $1.60 per pound which excludes the signing bonus related to the three-year MVC Supervisors Collective Agreement but essentially both numbers are useful. The reported figure reflects the actual quarterly cash cost that was recognized by the company during the quarter and then the Normalized Cash Cost. That helps investors understand the underlining quarterly operating cash cost as it's excluding that one-time payment that you won't see quarter-on-quarter. The reason why we separate the impact of the signing bonus is that it's a one-time item and not something that investors will see quarter-after-quarter. And then once it's separated, the Normalized Cash Cost Figure just provides the clearest indication of the underlining performance of the company.

speaker
Ben Tyree
Analyst, Atrium Research

Understood. Okay, thank you. Just another question that I had that was somewhat answered in the opening remarks, but just in this elevated copper price environment Aurora may use for you, could you tell us why the company is prioritizing large performance dividends versus increasing the underlying quarterly dividends?

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure, that's a great question and I particularly appreciate it given the strong performance dividends that we have declared so far in this year. The answer is very simple, Ben. We continue using and we like performance dividends instead of just increasing the regular dividends because copper prices don't move in a straight line. One of the reasons we've been able to return so much capital over the last several months is because we've, and actually since we started with the CRS in 2021, is that we have avoided making commitments that might not make sense in a different proper price environment. The performance dividend allows us to be bold and fast in rewarding our shareholders when conditions are strong, without creating expectations or without over-committing us and making things difficult for us to sustain if conditions change in the future or if there is cyclicality within the corporate price environment. and I think I mentioned this in another conversation that I've had recently. Performance students are a very honest approach and personally that's one of the reasons why I like them. It lets our shareholders participate directly when the copper price is strong and when the business performs well. but it also preserves flexibility for Amerigo and continues protecting the balance sheet. Carmen and I have spoken about the theme of protecting the balance sheet because one of the reasons why we've been able to roll out the CRS in the way we've been able to do it is because we've taken a fundamental commitment to first protect the business and the balance sheet. and we have to remind ourselves and remind shareholders of how that is important and how well that has worked out for the company.

speaker
Ben Tyree
Analyst, Atrium Research

Right. Okay. Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. And then just quickly the last one I wanted to touch on and I think I have the gist of it but I just wanted to highlight maybe talking about speaking about the quality of Amerigo's cash flow and how You guys aren't reinvesting that into potentially low IRR initiatives to grow the line three, four years down the line. Can you just talk about what you mean by the quality of America's cash flow and cash flow maybe being a bit higher quality than another standard for the proper producer?

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

Yeah, I think that comment on the high quality of the cash flow is tied up to a lower embedded risk within the organization. We run a different business. We produce copper, but we don't produce it alongside many of the traditional mining risks. We are essentially an industrial business, a copper processing business tied up to a world-class asset, and that creates a different operational set of risks for us that isolate a significant amount of risk between that industry Thank you. That's all I had today. Thanks, Ben.

speaker
Jordan
Conference Coordinator

Your next question comes from the line of John Pocari from U-Tool of America. Your line is now live.

speaker
John Pocari
Analyst, U-Tool of America

Thank you. Before I get into my two questions, I wanted to simply say to Aurora and the team, not only job well done for the quarter, but the years leading up to the quarter that we're coming through experiencing,

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

with these elevated copper prices. We're all gratified with what has been a multi-year process. Two questions. One is more of a bigger picture question.

speaker
John Pocari
Analyst, U-Tool of America

Is there any thought given to or possibility of any further expansion of processing any additional tailings from any other mines

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

The second question relates to the wealthy factors. I know that there's been a

speaker
John Pocari
Analyst, U-Tool of America

Copper price on the first tailings of, I believe, $4.80 a pound is a cap, and $5.50 in calculating royalties on the historical tailings.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

And there's been some discussion, obviously, in light of copper prices of ongoing negotiations to extend the royalty factors. If you could just update us on that, it would be appreciated. Thank you.

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you for the questions, John, and also thank you for your comments. We appreciate hearing that feedback. With respect to your first question, And I think we've spoken about this before. With respect to the NDC operation, you know that we process all of the fresh tailings from then already. So the NDC project has been grown to the point where it needed to be grown and we're reaping the benefits of that. With respect to working with other copper tailings projects, we are open to the right opportunities with the right partners under the right economic and commercial conditions. So we are not closing ourselves and saying we're going to be NBC focused for the rest of our lives. We want, obviously, to continue to prioritize the NBC contract beyond its current contract term. but we're also very interested in finding other opportunities where our expertise which is a unique expertise that no other operator has worldwide to monetize copper calings can be deployed for the benefit both of the owners of calings and for the benefit of the Amerigo entity and obviously With respect to your second question, we are involved and we have been involved for the last month in discussions with El Teniente, Anco Delco, regarding what the royalty factor is over $4.80 per pound for the fresh tailings and $5.50 per pound for the token of tailings will be. Obviously, it's very important that we reach a good agreement for both parties. We're discussing something that affects value allocation over a very long period of time, so these are serious discussions that are worth taking the time so that we get the right results. We're not running against the clock here. We are obviously looking for the right solutions. So we're working with them. It's an ongoing dialogue. It's advancing in the right direction. And that's basically all I can say about that.

speaker
John Pocari
Analyst, U-Tool of America

Thank you. Just a quick follow-up. In light of the fact that copper prices are in excess of what had historically been the working caps, how is the How is the excess above the current cap being allocated? Is it just a, for instance, on the fresh tailings, anything above, any price above $4.80 a pound, is that wealthy that exists now staying in effect, or how is that being addressed?

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

From a contractual perspective and settlement perspective, meaning transfer or settlement on a cash basis, we're working with the capped royalty factors on an interim basis. For financial reporting purposes, we are a conservative crew and the company's financial statements continue to extrapolate the royalty factors in accordance with the original agreement.

speaker
John Pocari
Analyst, U-Tool of America

Okay, so regardless of where For the time being, regardless of where prices go, if they should continue to trend higher, the wealthy factor for both fresh and historical tailings continues to stay in place over and above whatever the prior cap was. Is that an accurate statement?

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

There are two separate points to consider. Regarding financial reporting, there are no surprises in the financial statements. We're basically taking the most conservative approach of just continuing to extrapolate the agreement. From a cash settlement perspective, the royalties are being paid at the cap factor.

speaker
John Pocari
Analyst, U-Tool of America

Great. Thanks. Lastly, is there any Being conservative, and we certainly are supportive of that, is there an ESCO fund being addressed in order to consider an adjustment or a possible adjustment to the local parts of going forward?

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

There is no restricted tax in the balance sheet. Okay, great.

speaker
John Pocari
Analyst, U-Tool of America

That's it. Thank you. And once again, over not only a quarter, but a multi-year period of excellent leadership. Thank you again.

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, John. And thank you for being with us all this time.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Next question comes from the line of Gail Miller. Your line is live.

speaker
Gail Miller
Analyst

Aurora, you are doing an outstanding job of managing the company, for which I applaud you. I do have a couple of questions, though. One, along with shareholder value, stock value, I noticed that the, and this is sort of a follow-up on Ben mentioning the dividend being fairly low, the standard dividend of the 4 cents quarterly. That reflects in many of the analysts, it seems, like of what they're regarding as the dividend, which is relatively speaking low versus what is being generated in the terms of cash. The second follow-up is also along the stock. While many reasons exist for selling stock, the insiders, officers, seem to be Only selling stock as opposed to buying stock, which tends to be a, the buying stock tends to support the future, whereas selling is the reverse.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Can you comment on that, please?

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, I will address your question about the dividends first. You're absolutely right, and this is a valuation point that we're aware of and that we're going to be working with. Many investors screen for the regular dividend yield. That is basically the yield on the quarterly dividend only. That's understandable. That's what the screens tell you. But in doing so, and you only look at the stated dividend yields, You're actually understating America's actual shareholder return profile. You're missing a significant part of what the CRS has delivered through the performance dividends and also the buybacks. The buybacks have an effect on that because they support the share price. And that's why we will be talking a lot more to the market about total yield. I think total yield is a better way to to think about America because it captures our whole return model, which is, as you know, the quarterly, the performance, and the buybacks. So one of the ways of looking at it, the regular dividend is our foundation, but it's not the whole house, and there is a shareholder communication, and if I can be as bold as saying a shareholder education process that we have to follow to ensure that our CRS is fully understood. because I do think and I am very certain that keeping that flexibility and ensuring that we can navigate both with good proper winds and with bad weather conditions is very important for us because this is a long term business and we are not going to be taking Thank you very much. I think we have to work on communicating that and making that fully understandable. It's almost a similar exercise to what occurred some years ago when Before we deployed the performance dividend, when we had a constant discussion and dialogue with our shareholders with respect to what was better, the share buybacks or the dividends, and we kept saying having the two is important and having the three actually, the performance dividend as well, is quite important as you have seen. And I think I mentioned some of the specific reasons about or supporting our view on the I would say superiority of a performance dividend in the earnings call. We don't need to make a long-term commitment. We don't need to trap Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Well, we're not wasting any funds. We're not doing private placement, so investors cannot test it that way. I think the ultimate test of what happens with insiders is what happens when we receive shares through the exercise of options when they are in the money. That's one of the ways in which insiders are a rewarder and are aligned as well with shareholders. And we have a very high record. of Insiders keeping most of the shares that they realize. I'll give you an example. Our Chair, Dr. Zeitler, hasn't sold shares in years, perhaps decades. He's one of the most significant shareholders, and every time he exercises options, he keeps those options. Another example. is me. I've been with the company for 20 years and I've accumulated a significant share position through the exercise of my options, which I haven't sold for decades. I now have an ASDP, an Automatic Share Use Position Plan, because I'm fairly exposed and most of my net worth is tied up to the AmeriCorps stock. I'm not a spring chicken. I may look like a spring chicken, but I'm not. I need to start diversifying and taking care of some of my own Family Financial Planning. So I think it's very easy to just look at the CDI reports and reach a conclusion that everybody's selling. Not everybody's selling. A lot of us are holding on to our stock, and we have a significant amount of shares owned by insiders of the company. I hope that answers your question.

speaker
Gail Miller
Analyst

Thank you. It does, and you are better than any spring chicken. Thank you again.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

The next question comes from the line of Hazen Dickerson.

speaker
Jordan
Conference Coordinator

Your line is now locked.

speaker
Hazen Dickerson
Analyst

Hi. I would just like to ask a question about capital allocation and then a follow-up on your business planning. You know, there's been a lot of questions on the call about performance dividends. I would actually like to just take that in a little different direction and get some insight on how you determine whether to do a larger performance dividend or more share buybacks, particularly in light of the attractive valuation on your shares with a high free cash flow yield. I know you'd like to maintain flexibility for periods when copper prices may not be as strong, but how do you decide really what's the right call there between a performance dividend versus buying back shares at attractive prices? And then my other question relates to John's about Potentially expanding your operations to other mines where your tailings processing expertise could really add value. How are you approaching that? Are you actively looking for any opportunities to do that as it relates to your contract with Codelco? How do you manage the risk of when that contract expires? Are you expecting it to be renewed and be able to get a new contract with them, or are you actually looking at other opportunities where you could continue to use your expertise if that contract was not able to be renewed?

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Thank you.

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks for your question. So going to the first one, we have a threshold of maintaining $30 million on the balance sheet. That's a threshold that allows us to have the appropriate working capital for the business, for the industry operating business, and also to cover our copper exposure for three months. We sell our copper on an M plus 3 basis, which means that we have provisional prices hanging on three years ahead of us. So if copper prices were to correct on a downward basis, we have to settle that difference with El Ciniente. So $30 million keeps us safe and without having to tap into our working line of credits. When we have more than that cash balance, we are automatically on the additional distribution terrain, which is a combination of either performance dividend buybacks or both. And we are always open. We haven't reached yet to the point where we say we are not buying back shares. It's hard for us to buy back shares or to use all of our surplus cash above $30 million in buybacks because we have a lineage as to what we can buy on a daily basis, which is 60,000 shares per day. And we don't have anyone coming up with a block of shares saying, I want to sell on the open market, which we did in the past. And that's one of the reasons why our buyback program, for example, four years ago, was closed in July of 2022 because we had used all of our buyback capacity. So the rest basically becomes available for performance dividends and that's what we have been doing. With respect to the business development, You alluded to two different avenues. One, of course, is the extension of the contract with NDC. Sorry, the extension of the NDC contract with El Teniente. We have done that before. We have extended that contract. That contract had a termination date of 2021. And many years before 2021, we extended it to the current termination date of 2037. We expect to continue to retain. We will not get to 2035, 2036 or 2037 without having reached one extension or working towards getting that extension. And with respect to the other avenue, we are interested and we reach out to the right candidates and we don't have a formalized 10 people business development network going out knocking on doors because that's not the way you sell copper tailings for processing business. You basically have discussions at the highest level of the organizations and establish where there is a specific interest from the right partners who have that resource available in the forms of tailings to monetize their tailings and have further discussions with us.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

Thank you. And that concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the call back over to President and CEO Aurora Davidson for closing remarks.

speaker
Carmen Amezquita
Chief Financial Officer

Sure. Thank you very much for attending the call.

speaker
Aurora Davidson
President and Chief Executive Officer

We appreciate you being here, and we appreciate getting your questions. Thank you very much. In the meantime, as I said before, reach out to me, to Carmen, to Graham. We are very responsive in responding to shareholders and providing you with any information that you may need about Amerigo and about our operation at NBC. Thank you so much.

speaker
Jordan
Conference Coordinator

That concludes today's meeting.

speaker
Operator
Conference Operator

You may now disconnect.

Disclaimer

This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.

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