Aris Mining Corporation

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Aries Mining's year-end 2023 operational and financial results conference call. We will begin with an overview from management, followed by a question and answer period. Please note that the company's presentation that management will refer to during the call can be found in the events and presentations section of Aries Mining's website at ariesmining.com. Also, Aries Mining's 2023 Year-end financials have been filed on CDAR Plus and EDGAR and can also be found on their website. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode. 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 during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star, then zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Neil Whittier, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Before we go through our results, I'd like to draw your attention to the cautionary statements on slide two, as we will be making several forward-looking statements today. Starting on slide three, in 2023, after the merger between GCM Mining and Aris Gold, we restructured the operations team and introduced new operating procedures across the company. The new team achieved consistent quarter-over-quarter increases in goal production, improved cost controls, and significantly enhancing our community and ASM relationships to strengthen our position in 2024 and for the future as we expand the business. With strong goal production results, significant growth in mineral reserves and resources, and two expansion projects now in construction, we are on plan to double our production to reach 500,000 ounces in 2026. At our high-grade Segovia operations, we achieved consistent operational improvements throughout the year. Segovia produced 202,000 ounces of gold at a process grade of 10.4 grams per tonne, with oiling costs per ounce of $1173. It achieved production and cost guidance. In 23, our total operations generated cash flow to support our growth. 159 million in adjusted EBITDA, 75 million in free cash flow. This cash flow funded most of our 84 million of investment in expansion projects. And we ended the year with a strong cash position of £195 million. Doubling our gold production to a target of 500,000 ounces in 2026 will be achieved from two expansion projects. The new lower mine at Bermato was permitted in July, construction started in Q3 and it continues on target. And we're expanding the processing facilities at Segovia. In November 23, we announced significant increases in the high-grade mineral resources and reserves of Segovia. Naturally leading to the conclusion that the plant should be expanded, and that expansion is now underway. On the corporate front, we listed our shares on the New York Stock Exchange American in September. In addition to improving our profile and accessibility for U.S. investors, we also welcomed the increased regulatory standards as we demonstrate ARIS's mining commitment to good corporate governance and good stewardship of our social operating licenses. Now to hear more details of our 2023 performance from Richard Thomas, our Chief Operating Officer.

Thank you, Neil. Moving on to slide four, we achieved our consolidated guidance with a total gold production of just over 226,000 ounces of gold. Segovia finished the year in strong form and produced over 61,000 ounces of gold in quarter four. which was the strongest quarter in 2023. As we built on the momentum, there are steady quarter-over-quarter increases in gold production. For 2023, total production was over 202,000 ounces. Segovia's process plant is regularly achieving its 2,000 tons per day capacity, so now we have a full mill which supports the plan to expand our capacity, as Neil mentioned earlier. 44% of Segovia's operation sales in 2023 were sourced from material mined by our partner-operated miners. This is an important part of our business, where we are able to acquire additional high-grade material for our processing facility. This production was realized at an all-interest planning cost of $1,242 per ounce during 2023. The strong relationships that we have with our partner miners help us grow our coal production while adding social purpose to our business with several benefits to us, the community, and the environment. With that summary of our operational performance in 2023, I will hand over the call to Doug Balby, our EVP at CFO, to discuss our financial results in more detail.