Q3 2019 Earnings Call
You asked a question during this time simply press Star then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question press the pound. He thank you Mr. Shawn Boyd you may begin your conference.
Thank you operator, and good morning, everyone and welcome to our third quarter 2019 conference call.
This presentation does include forward looking statements.
And does use non-GAAP measures and does give production guidance. So theres cautionary language in our slide deck that you can read at your leisure.
Talking about a quarter, we're where we were expected to be we expected to produce a record quarterly gold production. We did that produced almost 477000 ounces.
We expect it to generate free cash flow based on the fact that production was increased.
And actually increased the mining rates going forward, we continue to get.
Good results mining in the South zone, that's a smallish a higher grade area. There is still exploration potential there and on the deep to sell so we're really focused on that but again.
Congratulations to gold next 37000 ounces at total cash cost 549.
And they continue to just optimize and take advantage of the opportunities that exist there.
Meadowbank.
Port hedge pit.
Essentially done now.
So that operation extended almost a year from what we had expected a few years back.
So we're basically at the point now we're fully transitioning.
So the amaruq deposit from Meadowbank.
At Amaruq, we achieved commercial production, we said at September Thirtyth.
Our mining sequence has been delayed due to water and essentially just limiting the mindful surface area.
We've made a lot of improvement in the last few weeks. So you do the water to pits.
Mining rates have increased we're we're about 75000 tons now.
A day, so tracking to our targets.
We did.
Do a maintenance over the last several weeks, where we had a build is temporarily shut down from mid September and October the focus now going forward is essentially a ramp up the mining and development rates, but also what we're doing that building up stockpiles to close the year when the stock strong stockpile as we enter two.
Housing and 20.
At Meliadine Q3 was our first quarter first full quarter of commercial production.
We saw some nice gains in our mining rate.
Q4 mining rate, we're forecasting between 30 630 700 tonnes per day.
Through mid October we were almost at 3300 tonnes per day. So good performance from a mining perspective getting good performance in the mill recoveries of average, 95.5%, which is where we expected them to be.
We've seen the ability to mind more than the design capacity and as a result of that and as we've explained.
In prior meetings and discussions we're studying the potential of accelerating the phase two development at Meliadine given that extra capacity that we know exist in the plant as we also mentioned start we continue to drill the deposit and we're extending the mineralization at tier Danny Act, which reading Devin.
Straight this as an asset that will be around for us for a long time at kits allow we had a very very strong quarter record throughput from the mail.
A record recoveries our record gold production.
We continue to expand the zones that debt.
Through drilling in fact, as we move further to the North we've recently picked up another.
Drill hole, not our deepest hole, but it demonstrates that there is potential as we move to the north to.
Develop additional mineralization our expansion project is is progressing well.
Headframe is under construction in going well.
And we look forward to being able to continue to increase and expand production coming out of that deposit.
At Pinos Altos.
We're looking for improvements in Q4.
On our production we continue to focus on two satellite zones to extend the life improve the.
Performance of that operation and ran at the plot and that can Bureau.
At press in the Skoda.
We've extended that we now expect it to continue to April 2020. So another one of these operations that we continue to optimize as it mirrors the end of its productive life and deadly India. The focus remains.
On L. really told drilling and potential to increase the mineral resources at that site and extend mine life aptly Mds.
So.
Just to summarize before we take questions as we said at the start.
We're here.
Sort of completing Q3 2019, entering Q4 sort of tracking where we expected to be in terms of production.
In terms of our cash generating ability in terms of our focus on.
Increasing payouts to shareholders through the increase in dividends. So the focus in Q4 is to continue to ramp up the newly commissioned lines in denim, but and position the company for further growth in production and cash flow generation in 2024.
Several years beyond 2020.
So operator, if you could open up the lines, we'd be happy to take questions.
If you would like to ask a question. During this time it simply press Star then the number one on your telephone keypad, if he would like to withdraw your question press the pound key.
Well pause for just a moment to compiled acuity roster.
Our first question comes from the line of the had terrific from credit Suisse. Your line is open.
Hi, good morning, Thanks for taking my question.
You revised 2020 production guidance down just a little from 1.95 or to 1.95 million ounces at the midpoint.
I believe it was 2 million ounces previously but.
Rationale for that was a slower amaruq ramp up but I'm wondering if the maintenance that was scheduled for 2020 was moved ahead to this quarter would that not more than offset the slower ramp up and.
And it sounds like you're also getting a bit of extra production extra quarter production from crest and this code.
Which has been extended to April 2020.
I'm just trying to gauge the like you know as is the 2020 guide is conservative and what like what's the thinking around the downward revision. Thanks.
Well going back to the shut down the.
Transport was basically replacing the Bob and show them journey charted very question.
So how do we have done that in Q3 2020 as it was already plan.