Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.

Good morning and welcome to West Elm's Goldmine's conference call to discuss the company's financial and operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30th of 2024. As a reminder this call is being recorded. Your host for today is Trish Moran, West Elm's Vice President of Investor Relations. Ms. Moran please go ahead.

Thank you and good morning everyone. Before we get started I would like to point out that during today's call we may make forward statements as defined under Canadian securities law. I ask that you view our slide presentation for cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements and the risk factors pertaining to these statements. Please note that all figures discussed on this call are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. Our press release, MD&A and financial statements are available both on CDAR plus and on our corporate website westelm.com. With us on today's webcast is Anthea Bath, West Elm's President and CEO, Guy Ballou our COO, Fernando Ragone our Chief Financial Officer, Raj Gill Senior Vice President Corporate Development and Investor Relations and Neil de Brin our Director of Geology. Following management's formal remarks we will then open the call to questions and now over to Anthea.

Thank you Trish. Good morning everyone. The third quarter was a successful one with solid quarter over quarter and year over year improvements in production, ASIC and cash flow. I'd like to acknowledge how the team came together enabling us to achieve these results. Eagle River continues to be a strong contributor to the bottom and top line. The team's achievements to date are due to consistent execution to plan and rapid implementation of processes and procedures at site. There's a heightened focus on health and safety eliminating waste and capitalizing on efficiencies. We expect much the same in quarter four as we build momentum, reinforce this culture and empower our team to make changes required to improve productivity and to reduce costs. Kena delivered an impressive reduction in audience sustaining costs compared to the second quarter and last year. At $1,119 per ounce they were in the bottom quartile of the gold mining industry. At current gold prices this supports record margins for the asset and the company overall. Just as impressive as the financial performance in the quarter from a health and safety perspective. The team was recognized for its efforts during a banquet organized by the Great Mining Association. This achievement is also reflected in Kena's combined instant frequency rate which remains at zero here to date. The focus at Kena this year was to maintain safety standards, to reach the high grade 129 level horizon and to execute against ramp up plan. To date we've checked most of these boxes. After progressive ramp up in the 129 level horizon since April we're consolidating what we've learned to identify areas for improvement. The fourth quarter will emphasize closely managed operations with a focus on predictability and efficiency. Reflecting learnings to date we are now adjusting our 2024 guidance slightly for Kena. As of the end of October our internal forecasts indicate reduction at the lower end of our initial guidance range. To account for this we reduce the lower end of the range by 3,000 ounces while retaining overlap with our regional targets. This adjustment supports a more deliberate approach as we refine our processes and set up for an even stronger 2025. As an offset and reflecting our performance at EGLE today we're increasing the upper end of EGLE River's 2024 production guidance by the same amount of 3,000 ounces. On a consolidated basis we're benefiting from the portfolio effects as the midpoint of our consolidated production guidance remains essentially unchanged. We're still targeting the midpoint of approximately 170,000 ounces for the full year. Furthermore we are reaffirming our 2025 production guidance for 175 to 210,000 ounces. That said when we updated our 2024 fall costs for this shifting production from Kena to EGLE and certain tactical investment decisions we determined an adjustment to cost guidance was required. Given our focus today the Kena has been on rapid execution and not specifically on cost control the upside for the asset from a value perspective is tremendous. Next year we expect to advocate more attention towards the cost structure of the mine with potential to incorporate some of the recent improvements we've seen at EGLE River. I'll be remiss not to mention our efforts on the exploration front at both assets during this quarter. At EGLE River we're seeing promising results from various near mine zones which support a positive update to reserves next year. At Kena we're also seeing significant brown spots upside with various zones showing extensive potential. We're looking forward to providing the market with updates on both exploration programs in the coming weeks. Now over to Ivo Lu for his first quarterly operating review as our Chief Operating Officer. Welcome to our team.

Thank you Anthea and good morning everyone. Bon matin à tous. Very excited to join the WestDome team under Anthea's leadership. I had the immense privilege to serve in the industry over the last 30 years. I am passionate about driving changes and to deliver value. The third quarter set another new record for consolidated quarterly gold production with 45109 ounces produced as EGLE River continued its outperformance against land and Kena continued its ramp up since initial mining began in the 120 level horizon in April. This was achieved while also holding the line on safety performance at both sites. As previously disclosed gold production at EGLE River came in at 23,688 ounces in Q3 taking its -to-date production to 67,860 ounces an increase of 7 percent over the first nine months of 2023. The increase is mainly driven by higher grades and additional tons due to mining sequences. EGLE River processed 57,984 tons an increase of 7 percent versus the prior year quarter due to improved access to ore and additional stockpile feed with mill availability. Rate at EGLE River was 13.1 grams per ton, 10 percent higher this quarter than in Q3 of last year, primarily driven by stock sequencing and a greater share of production coming from the high grade 300 zone. All in sustaining costs were US1700 for the third quarter which marks an improvement over last year and is expected to improve as ongoing operational improvements begin to bear fruit. These improvements are twofold and will target the numerator and the denominator of daughters per ton. First, we aim to leverage EGLE River's existing fixed cost structure which offers potential efficiencies as we increase throughput. Secondly, we are continuing to drive the first significant continuous improvement project in the site's recent history. As we have indicated in the past, one of these strategies involves utilizing underground tons located closer to surface and near established underground development and infrastructure. Supported by exploration, we will prioritize opportunities that incrementally fill the 1200 tons per day mill overtime, thereby compounding the benefits of the continuous improvement initiatives to drive costs lower. Second, as part of the renewed continuous improvement project, we are focusing on areas where we are confident that we will obtain material savings and productivity improvements such as moving from contractor to an owner-operated model to help reduce development and drilling costs, so improving the reliability of our equipment maintenance program to increase productivity and reduce sustaining capital requirements over the life of mine. Looking at supply chain synergies across the company to increase our buying power on key consumables and inputs and consolidating and optimizing our surface infrastructure to improve workforce productivity. These initiatives integrated with technology will help create a more safe, efficient, and productive workforce at site. On the development side, the 300 zone has been advanced laterally and overall is well positioned to facilitate mining of high grade ore at depth next year. Eagle River is having a great year and we expect it to come in at the upper end or potentially exceed the initial 2024 production guidance. At Keynote, the team have now shown consistent performance through the ramp up of production from the Kena deep zone with excellent safety results today. Produce tons are in line with budget. Development is on track, establishing areas for 2025 production. Block models are reconciling to actual compared to the corresponding period in 2023. Q3 production tripled to 21,421 ounces and ore process rose 8% at a consistent 99% recovery. Year to date, the Kena miners produced 54,607 ounces of gold, an increase of 133% over the first nine months of 2023. Q3 throughput was 5% year over year but down 9% to Q2 2024 due to resequencing. However, on average, both quarters beat budget. Great at Keynote, this quarter was slightly lower compared to Q2 due to slightly higher than expected dilution in some sectors. That said, as mining has ramped up from the 120 level in April, we have recalibrated our near term mine plan as we now expect short term congestion of production stops in the final quarter of the year. This will allow the team to continue transition to optimal performance and set ourselves up well for 2025. Having now established multiple mining fronts in Kena deep and while successfully mining through the zone associated with shist we have identified opportunities to increase production rates, optimize design parameters and maintenance practices going forward. We see this as a learning curve as we advance the operation and support the management team as we gradually improve performance. We are also being prudent by initiating independent ground control reviews that will continue to validate and potentially refine our approach. Regarding ramp development, the Kena deep ramp is expected to reach the 134, 136 levels in Q1 2025 with still production expected by the end of 2025. At Preskill, ramp development also continues to advance, establishing exploration during platform for the highly prospective Preskill ore body in the short term. In the long term, the Preskill ramp will provide an important secondary hauling route and be used to improve underground ventilation. The proximity of the ramp to the Preskill ore body facilitates first production from the zone in late 2025 and provides a material handling route for the targeted resource and reserve addition from level 33 as the Kena mine takes first steps in our strategy to fill the mill. Recall the 33 level essentially relieves several bottlenecks underground and could eventually facilitate the 1,000 ton per day or more of production from various near surface zones to surface. Q3 also saw the completion of rehabilitation activity on the important 33 level located near surface zones including the final diamond drill bay on the level is expected to be completed mid Q4 and will allow us to begin underground exploration drilling in 2025. So overall a good quarter where our teams continue to deliver and improve and have done so with excellent safety results. While it has only been five weeks for me at Westone, I am excited by the untapped potential I see and the great team in place to unlock these opportunities. Neil will now provide an update on our exploration program. Over to you Neil.

Thank you Guy. Good morning. I am excited to update you on our exploration programs at our Kena and Eagle River mines. At Kena we drilled approximately 34,000 meters in the third quarter. As of the end of September we have drilled about 60,000 meters at Kena including 15,000 meters of infill drilling, 18,000 meters of glenation drilling and 28,000 meters on exploration. We plan to issue a press release showcasing the latest info and exploration drilling at Kena soon but let me give you a general update. To date in 2024 with our underground exploration drilling of 98 holes across 23,950 meters is focused on the zones that make up Kena deep at the new surface which is at the high grade Kena deep football zone. The focus has been on continuing delineation completing 14,000 in 48 rows in the Kena deep area. We are seeing high grade drill results that contribute to growing our resource base and provide us with crucial data to improve our understanding of continuity and geometry. Exploring the football zone remains a top priority for us with its potential for growing ounces to a vertical meter across future development levels. The second zone we continue to explore is the down plunge extension of the wish area from the 53 level drift. Follow-up drilling is yielding promising results highlighting the potential extension of wish and validating geometry of the mineralization structure which is typically a prerequisite of an economic zone at Kena. A total of 40 drill levels and 9,950 meters have been completed today. Another exciting project for Kena was the completion of a 300 meter exploration platform on the 109 level in Lake Kew 3. This platform will allow for testing the down-plug potential of the VC zone and K109. Diamond drill bay development at the end of the drift is expected to be completed in early Kew 4. Turning now to our new surface drill program at Kena where -to-date we have drilled 17,000 meters. This summer we conducted a surface drilling program from Barges targeting several new surface deposits. While we have limited time frame for barge drilling, efficient drilling allowed us to exceed our plan drill meters within time frame permitted. This enabled the team to target additional growth and conversion targets with promising results highlighting the potential for reserve and resource growth at the Dubu Song deposit. During the barge season we completed 38 drill levels and 11,967 meters of drilling at the Dubu Song zone with a focus on drilling to potentially upgrade the portion of the current Kena. This drill program provided both critical data verifying the model announcements and a base for resource growth down-plunge of the zone. We also completed drilling in the Northwest and Northeast zones and the Duchenne zone. The historic Northwest zone which was discovered in 1986 is an important target due to its optimal location north of the future Preskill Ram and its potential to be another zone to be mined new infrastructure. This summer we drilled 5,616 meters across 21 drill holes targeting the northeastern area of the zone. The drilling provides valuable information on the Northwest zone extension potential and highlights the existence of additional mineralization to the north of the zone. As part of this summer's barge drilling program we completed the 10 hole limited exploration program of about 3,500 meters towards northeast zone historical zone north of the Kena mine. Initial drilling completed to date in the Duchenne zone south of the 33 level infrastructure included a total of 1,880 meters confirming the zone's potential and providing data to improve the historic interpretation of the zone. Our exploration approach for Preskill incorporates targeting upgrading of resource at the out-plunge of current maru reserves and testing the potential of the zone at the resource growth. Year to date we have completed 20 holes for a total of 6,600 meters and results continue to demonstrate the potential of this new surface deposit with two info drill holes showcasing BG highlighting potential high-grade areas within the zone. Our focus for the fourth and final quarter of 2024 will involve continuing to target Kena deep from the 127 level platform complete the drill platform to talk to the D.C. zone and assess geological potential of underexplored regions proximal to the D.C. zone. Complete sampling assaying and data analysis of the surface drilling program will also remain a priority. Another five holes comprising 2,000 meters targeting the football zoning schedule for completion in Q4 bringing the total to 53 holes totaling 16,000 meters in the Kena deep zone. On completion of the drill platform for the D.C. zone two holes for 800 meters will be completed with another 2,000 meters planned in the Wich area. Let's take a look at Eagle River where our exploration approach incorporates continued assessment of extensions of known zones, glenation of zones to replace reserves, and regional surface exploration work identifying targets for long-term development. Year to date at Eagle we completed approximately 83,000 meters of drilling including 16,000 meters of glenation drilling, 22,000 meters of infill drilling, and about 45,000 meters of exploration drilling at the mine and about 10,000 surface drilling meters. In the third quarter we complete the total of 8,000 meters of infill drilling to enhance resource conversion effort at four areas the Falcon 7, 311 West, 5, and 711 zones. Additionally we conducted an underground exploration drilling program totaling 7,500 meters that focused on several key areas such as the 6th central zone, Falcon 311 zone, and 300 zone at depth. The 6th central zone with year to date 21,700 meters of drilling across 81 drill holes completed a high-life continuous high-grade minimization. This area holds significant potential for our future mining operations. It is located at intermediate depth near existing underground infrastructure and offers exceptional prospects for growth and conversion. Therefore targeting this zone remains a top priority. At Falcon 311 we have completed the total of 11,800 meters across 43 drill holes focusing on the up-lance potential of the zone. Our aim is to upgrade resource classification here and extend the zone in the up-lance direction. Additionally in 2025 we plan to explore the down-plunge extension of the zone as previous drilling results have indicated higher grade mineralization at depth. Our primary focus continues to be the conversion of high-grade mineral resources in the 300 zone with a cake it below the 1,300 meter elevation. This year we have completed several drill holes totaling 27 holes with 16,000 meters. The latest drilling results yield significant values further emphasizing the continuity and quality of the zone. Exploration drilling targeting the down-plunge extension of the 300 zone is assisting us to better understand the structural geometry of the zone at depth. The 6th central Falcon 311 and 300 zones are essential for exploration and info drilling program aimed at reserve and resource replacement. Drilling will continue in Q4 with the majority of the 2025 drilling focusing on these zones. Our 2024 surface exploration strategy includes limited drilling in a two-zone area alongside the detailed structural analysis that begins with a regional focus before narrowing down to a mind wide scale. We have also conducted the tube physical charge ability resistivity survey using induced polarization. This integration of tube physics and structural analysis will help us prioritize drilling targets cost-effectively while minimizing drilling risk. The processing of the outbase survey will conduct it west of the mine die right is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. Several target areas have been evaluated through the structural surface mapping program allowing the team to identify priority drilling targets for 2025. We plan to continue detailed mapping of various areas following the end of the winter season. As press release updating the status of the extensive exploration program our Eagle River project is expected in the coming weeks and now over to Fernando who will take you through the quarters financial results.

Thank you Neil and good morning everyone. In the third quarter we achieved record gold production of 45,109 ounces a 62 percent increase over Q3 2023. This was driven by accessing a greater proportion of high grade zones at both of our Eagle River and Kina mines. On a per annum basis this quarter all in sustaining costs were the lowest this year as well as over the past two years at 1,408. So we continue to ramp up mining from the high grade

Kina

deep zone and benefit from favorable foreign exchange rates. Financially we delivered strong results across the board. Revenue increased 111 percent year over year to 147 million driven by both high production and a 33 percent increase in realized gold price. During the quarter the company recorded net income of 39 million or 26 cents per share. A significant increase over the prior periods due to higher production and realized price. For the quarter cash generated from operation was 61 million or 41 cents per share. 35 percent higher than prior year and impacted by the time of cash taxes during the period of 26 million. I would like to highlight the cash taxes during the quarter including a catch-up payment from early in the year. Going forward we expect to be fully taxed at about 35 percent effective tax rate. In addition we are capturing record margins. For example compared to Q3 2023 cash margin of 2,206 per ounce was up 168 percent. A beta of 84.6 million was up 6.5 times. Operating cash flow was up 35 percent and free cash flow of 30.9 million was nearly triple the prior quarter. Our liquidity position continued to improve as we repay the balance of our revolving credit facility early this year leaving us debt free. With the further increase in free cash flow from the third quarter our balance sheet has continued to strengthen with working capital increase into 70 million at the end of September from a negative 18.8 million at the start of the year. Essentially we improve our net position by over 88.2 million in the first three quarters of 2024. All supported by increasing free cash flow. In slide 10 we summarize our revised guidance for 2024 and reiterate our outlook for 2025. The midpoint of consolidated 2024 guidance remained the same at 170,000 ounces. However we're now narrowing the range to between 166,000 ounces and 176,000 ounces. Despite production targeting well and cost declining sequentially year to date we're refining our 2024 guidance for consolidated per ounce cash costs and oil and sustaining costs. We know that a material component of the cost update also includes tactical investment decisions which were not originally contemplated such as reducing the risk to the 2025 mine plan by increasing waste development, boosting exploration spending in high potential areas and opting out of using capital leases this year. So a bit of color on the last point although our January guidance anticipated utilizing about five million in capital leases which would have offset initially oil and sustaining cost guidance for about $30 per ounce we presently opted to purchase rather than pay double digit interest rates on mobile equipment leases. In doing so we will save nearly one million dollars a year in cash interest over the life of the lease. We are well capitalized with a strong balance sheet and we will continue to look for other similar cost savings opportunities. Lastly one housekeeping item we renewed our base and shared prospector last night as a matter of process as it was set to expire shortly in the next few months. And now over to Anteer to wrap things up.

Thank you Fernando. Looking beyond this quarter West Ham's future looks bright and opened by three key initiatives. Firstly our full strategy at both sites is an overarching critical initiative aimed at bringing near surface deposit into production to leverage our relatively high fixed cost structure. The Preskill zone is tagged as the first of these opportunities. It is a shallow zone of a planned mine infrastructure with an increased utilization level of 250 to 400 tons per day. At this time we follow up on the design. While the strategy is expected to enhance our operational flexibility we are committed to ensuring that we fully capture the benefits as we increase throughput as Guy mentioned. Secondly we are excited about the exploration of our extensive and largely unexplored land packages. We have an aggressive multi-year exploration program in place as you have heard and we are drilling for discoveries to convert resources and to better understand and insight into our bodies. Our geology is so interesting. The more we explore the more we are really starting to understand the potential of Eagle River in Kina. We look forward to Jonah Lawrence joining us as our new SVP of exploration resources at the beginning of 2025 and getting his perspective. Thirdly the optimization of our production planning through the development of a global resource model represents a significant initiative for West Ham. We've begun by building digitizing the data for Eagle River over the last year. The comprehensive model looks at everything from 300 zone to Michi to MagnaCon providing us with valuable insights to guide future investment. We have more to say about this potentially game-changing initiative in 2025. We believe these three key initiatives the full strategy, aggressive exploration program and the development of this global resource model will have the potential to add tremendous value to us and to our future. I want to take some time today to share how we think about West Ham. It's simple. West Ham holds two of the highest grade gold mines which translates to a high return on capital. They low cost, high margin and generate significant cash flow in one of the best jurisdictions in the world for mining. Production will continue to grow on the backups of our significant geological endowment. With record gold prices and costs that will continue to decline our cash flow yield is very compelling. As we leverage our incredible ore bodies to effective exploration, increase our move and mine utilization and become more efficient, we expect this yield will expand even further. We are confident in West Ham's ability to continue delivering results that reward our shareholders over time. Thank you for your continued support in West Ham. With that operator we'll now hand over to you for questions.

At this time I'd like to remind everyone in order to ask a question press the star and the number one on your telephone keypad. Our first question comes from the line of Ralph ProCity with eight capital. Your line is open.

Thanks operator. Good morning everyone. Anthony, I was intrigued by your commentary at Eagle about the transition from a contractor to an owner model. Just wondering when could we think of that transitioning as starting and do you think there is material performance pickups and improvements that could be realized in the areas of things like dilution and development rates? I'm just wondering if this is sort of more of a or is this more of a cultural change towards say increased operational control?

Now I mean it's thanks Ralph and thanks for your question. I mean from just to answer the first regarding the contractor conversion or looking at how we optimize our efficiency product productively with our people and from a cost perspective as well. We will see that happening during 2025. There's a lot of work being done for us to implement that so you can expect from March to September that this program will be executed across the operations. I think if you look at the focus we have on both operations regarding an optimization of these assets, your comment on understanding how we can optimize that my parameters are well within the mandate of the team right now and there is a lot of work going on to see how much more value we can add through leveraging those parameters.

Okay yeah thanks. Thank you. I want to come back to some of the central zone where certainly the advantages on infrastructure grade and the shallow depth are evident. I'm just wondering what are the mining widths in that area and how could that impact your thinking about the six central zone coming into this near-term mine plan?

I will leave Neil on the back one for you Ralph.

Thank you Ralph. So in terms of six central zone we do see geological width or vein width in excess of one and a half, one to six meters. So we actually this year with the budget process we are seeing an increased number of reserves that we are going to plan to mine from the six central in the near term.

Okay great that's encouraging. Thanks to the team for your answers.

Thanks Ralph. Once again if you would like to ask a question please press the star and one on your telephone keypad. Our next question comes from the line of Don DiMarco with National Bank Financial. Your line is open.

Thank you operator and good morning at the end team and welcome to Guy and Jono. So first question does a modest revision to Kena guidance can you elaborate on the drivers behind this? I mean of course development and production is ramping up but is there any variations versus your expectations in ramp advance, man of stoke development or other factors?

I think thanks Don and nice to hear you as well. Continue to we continue to learn as we ramp up and we're applying these learnings to our plan Don. That's really what it is. I think the important thing here is that the block models reconcile well which is great but we'll continue to apply the production measures or those productivity measures and drivers to maximize that value. So there's nothing that's changed it's just we taking a prudent approach to making sure we deliver the best value out the all body.

Okay well I guess it's encouraging that the block models reconcile but we do see the guidance also tweak the grade down a little bit. Is that because of maybe some increased dilution or something or some other factors?

It's a re-sequencing issue Don. It's not another factor there's nothing fundamental in that.

Okay and then just shifting over to EGLE. I think Gideon mentioned there's a number of initiatives to further advance EGLE. Are these going to fall within normal sustaining capex or would you expect growth capex line item for next year?

So I mean it's a really good question. I think some of it is part of everyday operations you probably can imagine. So when you look at maintenance practices and those sort of things you can imagine that's typically productivity drivers and those levers your pools I would argue very limited capital expenditure there. But there will be initiatives which could have capital implication which will line the growth side where you'll understand the value of that correctly. So I think you can assume there'll be a combination of that coming forward. But the ones that Gideon specifically mentioned are mostly aligned with operational productivity improvements.

Right okay and he also one of the initiatives I thought I heard mentioned was to increase throughput and I think he cited about maybe doing some development in the upper portions of the mine. But are you also considering maybe bringing the Nishi pit back online in order to increase throughput a little bit?

Yeah so all of this has been evaluated at the moment and I'm hoping in quarter one next year we can give a bit more insight here as well done. So the global model work and the sizing of the data includes Nishi and Magnicon within that. So there's a lot of work currently underway understanding what we can do. We see great benefit and we'll give more insight later.

Okay great well nice to see the mine performing well and good luck with the rest Q4. Thank you that's all for me.

And your next question comes from the line of Jeremy Ho with Kanna Cord. Your line is open.

Hi Anthea and Dean thanks very much for taking my question. Mine is on Kanna. I just wanted to understand with the Prisk wheel ramp and the shaft that's two paths for ore to resurface but also sharing capacity with people and equipment as we discussed with the site visitor last year. I'm just wondering what do you think the max movement rate with the shaft and the ramp is from underground surface and how does that match up with the throughput of the plant once it's improved with that 25 million of capex you plan to spend?

So they're not, that's the nice part about all of this Jeremy. I just maybe to clarify that the Prisk wheel ramp is from surface and it's separate to the underground shaft as you know. Once you unlock the ramp you basically unlock the material handling constraints that you know previously would have had at depth. So now we become fully capable to leverage the full capacity inside the morgue of 2040 tonnes a day but probably even beyond, way beyond that. So I think what you should think about this is the Prisk wheel ramp essentially unlocks material handling as a bottleneck. Your bottlenecks will then become something different which you'll need to unpack and review.

Okay so it'll be plant constraint going forward.

Yeah that's correct once it's

unlocked. Okay thank you.

And once again if you would like to ask a question please press the star and one on your telephone keypad. We'll pause for just a moment for anyone to queue. Thank you and there are no further questions at this time. This concludes this morning's call. If you have any further questions please contact Trish Moran at invest at westdome.com. Thank you for participating today.