First Quantum Minerals Ltd.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the first Quantum Minerals Limited second quarter 2024 results 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 then zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Bonita Cho, Director, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and thank you everyone for joining us today to discuss our second quarter results. During the call, we will be making forward-looking statements. As such, I encourage you to read the cautionary notes that accompany this presentation, our MD&A, and the related news release. As a reminder, the presentation is available on our website and that all dollar references are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. On today's call, we have Tristan Pascal, our Chief Executive Officer, Ryan McWilliam, our Chief Financial Officer, and Rudy Battenhorst, our Chief Operating Officer. And with that, I will turn the call over to Tristan for opening remarks.

Thank you, Benita. And thank you, everybody, for joining us today for our second quarter update. Operationally, we had another solid quarter in Zambia, which Rudy will cover in his remarks. And both Consanche and Sentinel are set up well for the second half of the year. We remain on track to deliver on the copper production guidance which we provided earlier in the year. We were pleased to announce the commercial production and enterprise on June 1st. However, in April, we made the difficult decision to place Raventhorpe on care and maintenance due to the high cost structure of the operation. Despite this, with enterprise performing better than expected, we have maintained our nickel production guidance, albeit at the bottom of the range. Whilst we are not natural hedgers, the copper price in May reached levels that provided assurance on maintaining balance sheet strength during this time of elevated debt and while we look for a resolution in Panama. As such, in our continued efforts to prudently manage the balance sheet, we initiated a copper hedging program to which Ryan will provide more details in his financial overview. It was pleasing to reach a shareholder rights agreement with Shangxi Copper during the quarter. which formalises our relationship and removes uncertainty for all of First Quantum stakeholders by establishing guardrails with respect to three key areas. Firstly, with a few exceptions, Jiangxi Copper will not vote against board recommended matters. Secondly, Jiangxi Copper remains under a standstill for the term of the agreement. And thirdly, any material block of shares that Jiangxi Copper wishes to sell will have the oversight of First Quantum. As part of the agreement, Jiangxi Copper will have the right to nominate, rather than appoint, one director to First Quantum Sport, with the nominee being subject to the recommendation of the Nominating and Governance Committee of First Quantum Sport. The nominee must fit the skills matrix as required by the board, as well as discharging all of the duties regularly expected of directors sitting on the board of a Canadian company. Over the years, since its initial investment in 2019, The relationship between Junxy Copper and First Quantum has strengthened. Junxy is supportive of the strategic direction of the company, and both parties expressed a willingness to formalize the boundaries of this relationship. This agreement has been many years in the works, and we are pleased to have reached this outcome. In Panama, President Molino was inaugurated on July 1. He has authorized discussions between the company and its various ministers and officials. Initial meetings have taken place and there should be further dialogue in the coming weeks, once his government is ready. In the meantime, there continues to be 121,000 dry metric tonnes of concentrate on site. Shipment of this concentrate is part of the Preservation and Safe Management Program and therefore sale of this concentrate will not take place until the program is approved. We continue to work with the new officials for the approval of the Preservation and Safe Management Program which involves getting the new administration up to speed on the current situation at the mine. In his inauguration speech, President Molino announced that a strict environmental audit would be conducted on Cobra Panama. Our understanding is that the government is currently assembling a list of independent international experts who could conduct this audit. We understand and welcome this move as a necessary step for the new administration and the Panamanian public to learn more about Cobra Panama's exceptional environmental practices and standards, and we are prepared to cooperate fully. The company has always operated its operations with transparency and in full compliance with international environmental standards. We are confident the results of this environmental audit, in line with all previous audits at the mine, will demonstrate the world-class nature of our operations. Moving on to arbitration, the company has taken steps towards two arbitration proceedings, one under the International Chamber of Commerce and the other under the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement. The ICC is the most advanced of these two proceedings, with the arbitration initiated in November of last year, with a final hearing scheduled for September 2025. Under the FTA arbitration, an updated notice of intent was filed on February 7, The company has three years from Panama's breaches of the FDA within which to file its arbitration claim. I would once again reiterate that arbitration is not our preferred outcome and we remain committed to dialogue with the new government and to being part of the solution for the country and the people of Panama. Over to Zambia. The severe drought continues to impact the country. I'm proud that First Quantum is supporting Zambia's food security efforts by contributing to transportation costs to import grain into Zambia from Tanzania. The severe drought conditions also continue to impact power availability. In June, Zesco imposed a further 20% in power restrictions across the mining sector, for a total 40% reduction overall. As such, the company made the decision to source power beyond the formal restrictions imposed by the Zesco contract and will be sourcing 193 megawatts of power, or 52% of its needs, from imports. There will be an impact on costs, which Ryan will review. However, the company anticipates it will be able to sufficiently substitute power with imports and avoid operational interruptions. In addition, the company is proactively securing sufficient power for the commissioning and ramp-up of the S3 expansion at Kansanshi with three independent power producers. The situation in Zambia is serious and we will continue to work constructively with government and civil society to achieve the best possible outcomes that ensure employment and income to the country remain stable and Zambia's debt restructuring efforts remain intact. With that said, we are pleased and supportive of the commitments made by the country for additional and reliable power generation capacity, including wind, solar and hydro projects, as well as infrastructure investments, including interconnections with other countries across the Southern African Power Pool to address the country's power needs for the future. With that, I will conclude the opening remarks and pass the call to Rudy to review our operational results.