Mandalay Resources Corporation

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Mandalay Resources Corporation third quarter 2024 conference call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Thursday, 7th of November, 2024. Today's call contains forward-looking statements which reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results of the company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the current expectations are disclosed under the heading risk factors and elsewhere in the company's annual information form, dated March 28th, 2024, available on CDER and at the company's website. I would now like to turn the conference over to Fraser Boucher, President and CEO. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and welcome everyone. Joining us on the call today are Hashim Ahmed, our Chief Financial Officer, Ryan Osterberry, our Chief Operating Officer, and Chris Davis, our VP of Exploration. Yesterday, Mandalay Resources disclosed its third quarter financial results at market close. You can access our consolidated financial statements and MD&A on either the company's website or through our profile on CDAR. This quarter, we're pleased to report strong financial performance driven by revenue growth and free cash flow generation, underpinned by ongoing cost control and effective capital management, and supported by favorable metal prices. Our cash position has strengthened significantly. now standing at US$55 million as of the quarter end, more than doubling since December 2023. In addition, we repaid the remaining US$20 million of our revolving credit facility during the quarter, meaning we now have zero debt. This positions Mandalay well to continue its pursuit of various strategic growth initiatives, while balancing operational investments, including organic exploration and debt management. Operationally, we faced some challenges in Q3. Our team remained focused, however, on minimizing impacts by building increased operational capacity throughout the last 12 months to allow for flexibility to accommodate these temporary disruptions. At Costerfield, we managed a slight production decline due to what tend to be typical quarterly metal grade variations in the shepherd deposit. And at Bjorkdal, we experienced a wet weather event in July, leading to controlled but prolonged underground flooding in certain production areas, prompting adjustments to our production schedule. Strategically, we continue to prioritize operational efficiency through continuous improvement, leadership accountability, and capital optimization. We remain on track to achieve our annual production guidance of 90,000 to 100,000 gold equivalent ounces, maintaining our long-term commitment to increasing profitability, cash flow, and shareholder value. I would now like to hand the call over to different members of my executive team to recap the third quarter results from Mandalay Resources. First, Ryan Osterberry, our Chief Operating Officer.

Thanks, Fraser. Quarter 3 brought a mix of operational challenges and successes at Costa Field and Bjorkdale. At Costa Field, the mine produced 8,218 ounces of gold and 252 tonnes of antimony in Quarter 3 of 2024. Gold production remained stable year over year despite increased mine tonnage, which was partly influenced by low-grade stope overbreak. There remains a focus on mine design, including ground control improvements for Sheppard sub-vertical stopes to minimise dilution. Antimony production declined by 36% from Q3 of 2023, attributed to increased feed from the previously planned lower antimony grade shepherd deposit. Processing, however, has benefited from recent upgrades, including the replacement of the primary ball mill front end and the permanent use of our two-stage crusting circuit, improving throughput. Moving into quarter four, we anticipate increased ounce production as we leverage these investments and return to higher grade mining areas. Turning to Bjorkdal. Quarter 3 gold production was 9,626 ounces of gold, a 14% decrease from Quarter 3 of 2023, mainly due to flooding in the eastern zone from an unseasonal rainfall event which temporarily restricted access to the higher margin area. To counter this, we predominantly relied on lower grade underground production areas and low grade historic surface stockpiles to maintain milk capacity, impacting the overall blended plant feed grade. To improve underground water management, we are investing in further water infrastructure, including piping and pumping, to better manage water ingress. The completed mill conversion boosted throughput by 10% relative to the period 12 months earlier, reaching over 352,000 tonnes this quarter. This enhancement is demonstrating benefits by increasing our incremental ounces. Moving forward, our focus at Bjorkdal will be on improving mine access in the eastern zone and ensuring stable production from the higher margin zones as conditions allow. The site will continue to concentrate on process and optimising technology to de-bottleneck underground mining constraints facilitated with the assistance from a recent third-party group, subject matter experts, working with the management the past six months at site. This should improve operational productivity while positively influencing unit cost reductions. Engaging a mining contractor to undertake additional specific mining development tasks in quarter four will also aid our flexibility endeavours. I would like to now pass the call to Hashim, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, who will highlight Mendeley's financials.