Eldorado Gold Corporation

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Eldorado Gold Corporation first quarter 2020 conference call. 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 1 on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Peter Lekic, Manager, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Mr. Lekic.

Thank you, operator, and thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for taking the time to dial into our conference call today. With me in Vancouver this morning are George Burns, President and CEO, Phil Yee, Executive Vice President and CFO, Joe Dick, Executive Vice President and COO, Paul Skaman, Special Advisor to the COO, and Jason Cho, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. Our release yesterday details our 2020 first quarter financial and operating results. This should be read in conjunction with our first quarter financial statements and management discussion and analysis, both of which are available on our website. They have also been filed on CDAR and EDGAR. All dollar figures discussed today are U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. We will be speaking to the slides that accompany this webcast. You can download a copy of these slides from our website. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that any projections included in our discussion today are likely to involve risks, which are detailed in our 2019 AIF and in the cautionary note on slide one. I will now turn the call over to George.

Thanks, Peter, and good morning, everyone. Here's the outline for today's call. I'll give an overview of Q1 along with some comments. Then I'll pass it along to Phil for financials. Joe will follow by reviewing operational performance. Then we'll open it up for questions. Before getting into things, I want to take a moment to recognize the ongoing and considerable efforts all of our global teams have had in managing our business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our overarching priority each and every day is keeping our people safe. I've witnessed a huge amount of collaboration across El Dorado as we've put in place new protocols that mitigate the risk to our people and prevent the spread of the virus. I'll talk some more about these later, but for now, I'd like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to our teams for looking out for one another and maintaining business continuity during these unprecedented times. In light of COVID-19, Operational performance in the first quarter was exceptional, with production of approximately 116,000 ounces. This was consistent with Q4 production rates, but slightly below 2020 plan due to rainfall at Quesada and curtailed operations at Lamarck as a result of government-mandated restrictions. We expect quarterly production to increase going forward as the solution is processed at Quesada and operations have already resumed at Lamarck. Costs were marginally higher than expected due to fewer ounces produced during the quarter and lower silver and base metal prices. We're expecting our costs to be lower over the remainder of the year. We delivered two key catalysts this quarter, including extension of mine life at Kisada and receipt of expansion permit for underground production at Triangle. Also of note was improved production rates at Olympias, which resulted in the mine's highest production in over a year. At this time, we are maintaining guidance for 2020 of 520 to 550,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of 850 to 950 per ounce sold. We will continue to evaluate capital allocation. operational performance, and monitor the impacts of COVID-19 on our business. As I mentioned earlier, we effectively maintain business continuity in light of the global pandemic. Our operations in Greece and Turkey continued throughout the quarter, and LAMOC is now back online. As the spread of the virus increased, we activated a global COVID crisis management team, which identified risks to the business In addition to implementing safety protocols across our sites, the company was proactive in drawing $150 million from its credit facility. We do not see an immediate need for these funds, but are looking to ensure the company has sufficient cash on hand. With approximately $400 million in total liquidity at quarter end, Eldorado is well capitalized and positioned to maintain its strategic goals as we begin paying down our term loan in June of this year. Here on slide five are some of the global operating controls we have put in place across our sites. Our main focus has been on training and compliance, including physical distancing and personal hygiene in order to keep our people safe. We have worked closely with governments to ensure we have all necessary protocols in place. We have also collaborated with industry associations and peers to share best practices. We continue to consider ways in which we will be able to further protect our people and limit the spread of the virus. Our sites are currently operating at 75% normal staffing levels, as employees considered to be at high risk have been asked to stay at home. We do not expect this to affect production in the near term, but are reviewing the potential longer-term impact of certain discretionary activities such as waste stripping and underground development and drilling are temporarily reduced. We will continue to track the situation closely and are actively working with sites to transition back to normal staffing levels. Here on slide six, we highlight how we've been working with and supporting local communities during COVID. To date, we have donated approximately a half a million U.S. dollars towards local emergency response efforts. In Greece, we have helped procure critical medical equipment for hospitals in Thessaloniki and Halkidiki regions. In Turkey, we've helped in providing health services, supplies, and information to local communities. And in Quebec, we've donated to the Val d'Or Hospital Foundation and helped the local food bank and other vulnerable groups. In each jurisdiction, we have worked with local communities to ensure this funding has the greatest impact and supports their long-term resilience and recovery. That's it for me. Over to you, Phil.