Capstone Copper Corp.

Good morning. My name is Joanna and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Capstone Copper Q3 2022 results conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star followed by two. Thank you, Mr. Gerald Ennett. You may begin your conference.

Good morning. I'd like to welcome everyone to Capstone Copper's Q3 2022 conference call. Please note that the news release and regulatory filings announcing Capstone Copper's 2022 third quarter financial and operational results are available on our website and on CDAR. If you are logged into the webcast, we will advance the slides of today's presentation, which is also available in the Investors section of our website. I'm joined today by our CEO, John McKenzie, our President and COO, Kashal Maher, our Chief Financial Officer, Raman Randhawa, and our Senior Vice President, Risk, ESG, and General Counsel, Wendy King. Following our brief remarks, there will be an opportunity for questions. Please note that comments made on the call today will contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information by its nature is subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the views expressed today. For further information on the risks and uncertainties pertaining to our business, please see Capstone's most recent filings, which are available on our website and on CDAR. And finally, I'll just note that all amounts we will discuss today are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise specified. Now I'll turn the call over to John McKenzie.

Thank you, Gerald, and good morning, everyone. This was our second full quarter as Capstone Copper, and I'm very pleased with the progress of our integration efforts following the closing of the Capstone Mantis transaction earlier this year. Last week, Management and our board visited both Monteverde and Montes Blancos and were extremely pleased to see the advancement of the Monteverde development project and the progress and potential for additional upside at Montes Blancos. In the third quarter, we produced a total of 45.7 thousand tons of copper at consolidated C1 cash costs of $2.76 per pound across our four operations. Despite lower than planned throughput at Montes Blancos, the mine delivered substantially lower sulfide costs of $2.17 per pound, and this should further improve once the mill achieves its target run rates in the fourth quarter. As for the cathode business, all-time highs for sulfuric acid prices contracted during the second quarter and delivered during the third quarter were the main driver that impacted costs. Specifically, both Montes Blancos and Monteverde operations paid over $260 per ton for acid over the quarter. However, we're currently securing significantly lower prices to be delivered during the first half of next year, with contract pricing in the $120 to $140 per ton range. Overall, despite the inflationary pressures, I'm pleased that we managed to keep our operating costs in line quarter over quarter, with similar production to Q2, and our C1 cash costs came in lower this quarter. On the right-hand side of the slide, we show the first of four Komatsu electric rope shovels that was commissioned at our Monteverde mine in September. Concisioning to electric equipment at Monteverde will not only help reduce our environmental footprints, but will also increase the mine's productivity driven by the larger loads that these new shovels can handle. A second shovel will be commissioned imminently, and the final third and fourth to follow. Turning to slide six, we show our nine-month production and cost guidance between April the 1st and December 31st, which remains unchanged, reiterating our consolidated range for copper production of 136,000 to 150,000 tons, with C1 cash costs trending towards the upper end of our guided range of $2.55 to $2.70 per pound. We expect improved concentrated throughput levels in Q4 at Montes Blancos, as well as at Pinto Valley. The ramp-up at Montes Blancos is progressing well. The mill operated above the designed 20,000 ton per day throughput level over 20 out of 27 planned operating days in October, with copper recoveries in line with expectations. Now I'll pass over to Raman for our financial results.