Anglogold Ashanti PLC (AU) 2021 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to AngloGold Ashanti's Q1 market update. Before we commence with the presentation, I would ask you just to look at our safe harbor statement at the front of the presentation. As ever, it contains important information regarding forward-looking statements, and I urge you to read it.

I'm going to hand over to Christine who will provide some opening remarks before we go into the financials and the operations. Christine?

Thanks, Stewart, and good day, everyone. As always, we'll start with a look at our safety performance. Regrettably, one fatality occurred in February 2021 when a blaster at the Serra Grande mine in Brazil was fatally injured in a fall-of-ground related incident during blasting preparation activities. Following a thorough review of the incident, corrective measures have been put in place.

Our efforts are aimed at squarely eliminating all injuries and especially fatal accidents from our operations. We've been implementing a revitalized safety strategy across our business with particular focus on the critical controls needed to eliminate what we call high-consequence, low-frequency events. We continue to invest considerable resources in understanding the root causes of all accidents and also high-potential incidents or near misses in order to prevent recurrences. It's also a strong indicator of the strength of our safety culture and the effectiveness of our systems and provides a good foundation from which to continue working to realize our ultimate goal of zero harm.

A quick look at COVID-19, and our emphasis remains on safely ensuring business continuity as we navigate through the pandemic. We continue to work hand in glove with authorities and local communities in each of our operating jurisdictions, providing not only health care support we needed but also assistance in other areas that are feeling considerable strain from the pandemic. This year will likely require support in the vaccination drive across our sites, and we're looking at several ways in which we can aid government's efforts to safely and effectively roll out vaccines to our employees, their families and our host communities. Access to vaccines is currently limited to national health authorities and the countries where AngloGold Ashanti operates. And if it started with the phase of rollout programs, our operations in Ghana and Guinea have been included in the first phase rollout plans.

At the end of March, in Ghana, Obuasi and Iduapriem have already administered first doses, covering 33% and 67% of their respective workforces. Siguiri has also administered first doses covering 1/3 of the workforce of the -- all of the identified high-risk individuals. We continue to monitor developments in this regard, both locally and across the jurisdictions we operate in, and to implement and strengthen controls on-site and at communities. So we saw an impact on the business and from a production and cost perspective and with respect to moving people around 2 sites.

During the first quarter, we continued to make progress on our strategic priorities, in particular, advancing our reinvestment program to increase reserves, extend mine lives and improve mining flexibility. In line with historical trends, the first quarter of the year is generally soft. However, this was compounded by the reinvestments we are undertaking at some of our big assets. As we previously flagged, this reinvestment program will have a commensurate impact on production and costs. We expect costs to trend downward in the second half of this year on the back of improved production and with Obuasi continuing its ramp-up over the balance of this year. We will remain disciplined with our capital allocation guardrails firmly guiding us.

In saying this, production was 588,000 ounces with notably solid performances from AGA Mineração, Serra Grande, Obuasi and Siguiri. Reinvestment in some of our bigger assets, Geita, Tropicana and Iduapriem have tracked well and will remain on schedule. Our operations in Brazil are converting to dry-stacked tailings this year to comply with new legislation. The higher oil price was a key driver of inflation across the group, along with COVID productivity and wage-related increases. In certain jurisdictions, notably Australia and Brazil, increasingly robust competition for key mining and related skills are driving salaries higher and, in some cases, causing personnel shortages in key areas. COVID-19 impacted production by 4,000 ounces with a $29 per ounce impact on all-in sustaining costs. All-in sustaining costs of $1,287 an ounce was as a result of higher cash costs and the planned step-up in sustaining capital.

Free cash flow was impacted, on the one hand, by lower gold sold and higher all-in sustaining costs and, on the other, by higher tax payments and slow cash repatriation from Kibali. Net debt was down 43% year-on-year to $908 million. And gearing at 0.37 is well below our 1x target through the cycle.

At Gramalote, based on our review of the feasibility work to date, we believe that there is potential for a more robust project by releasing some technical constraints and further optimizing the project design. In addition, the updated mineral resource estimate has indicated that further value is available through additional drilling of the inferred portions of the mineral resource area, both within and adjacent to the design pit. While we work on these elements with our partner, the final feasibility study has been pushed out by about a year.

At Quebradona, the finishing touches are being put on the feasibility study. Permitting is on schedule, and the public consultation is expected to commence soon. Once that's done and assuming favorable outcomes in each case, the Board is expected to make an investment decision later this year.

AngloGold Ashanti presents an attractive value proposition. We are approaching our strategic plans from a position of financial strength, underpinned by a strong balance sheet. As we look to the future, the business is at an exciting inflection point in its growth path. We're investing to grow production by up to 20%, mainly through brownfields options, including Obuasi, followed by our greenfield projects in Colombia. We'll see steadily declining costs over the period as our investments bear fruit, and we'll stay laser-focused on converting more of our vast mineral resource endowment into ore reserves.

We have a well-defined capital allocation framework focused on making careful investments that provide returns above our cost of capital. Our brownfield and greenfield project pipeline, which is fully self-generated and self-funded, can support our production plans for the long term. And our ESG track record gives us the social license to operate in the communities we share around the world. We're also building on a strong climate track record with another big step-down in emissions this year and are committed to charting a pathway to net zero.

With that, I'll now hand over to Ian to cover the financials.

Thank you, Christine, and good day, everyone. I will talk to the operational and financial results for the continued business, following the conclusion at the end of last year of the sales of our South African and Mali assets. This will enable a like-for-like comparison of our performance.

In terms of the continued business, production for the quarter was 42,000 ounces or 7% lower quarter-on-quarter. As mentioned by Christine, we saw solid production performances in Brazil and also at Siguiri and Obuasi. These were offset by planned reductions at Tropicana, Sunrise Dam, Geita and CVSA. Obuasi continued to ramp up and produced 46,000 ounces during the quarter despite COVID challenges. This compares with 19,000 preproduction ounces in the same quarter in the prior year. A better comparison of the good progress being made despite the COVID challenges during Q1 is the 50% increase from the 30,000 ounces produced in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 3% quarter-on-quarter to $449 million on the back of a 13% increase in the gold price received. Total capital expenditure for the quarter at $210 million was 13% higher quarter-on-quarter. Of this, $142 million in sustaining capital was 30% higher than the first quarter of 2020, reflecting additional ore reserve development, exploration and deferred stripping, in line with our strategy to create improved mining flexibility and ore body confidence. Growth capital of $68 million was 24% lower year-on-year, with Obuasi past its peak growth expenditure. An element of growth capital rollover was seen in the first quarter of 2021, the result of specialist skill shortages and ongoing travel restrictions due to the ongoing pandemic.

Free cash outflow for the quarter of $92 million was impacted by lower gold sold, higher cash costs, higher taxes paid and capital expenditure. While we received $36 million from Kibali during the quarter, free cash flow continues to be impacted by slow repatriation of cash from the DRC. Our attributable share of cash awaiting repatriation at the end of March was $461 million. Barrick continues to engage with the newly appointed DRC cabinet and authorities to advance the cash repatriation.

During the quarter, we also made a dividend distribution of $197 million. This reflects an appropriate balance in our capital allocation discipline, demonstrating our ability to balance the competing capital needs of the business while delivering improved value to shareholders. Our cash cost increased 29% to $999 per ounce, reflecting lower grades, stockpile and gold in process drawdowns, inflationary pressure and higher gold-related royalties -- gold price-related royalties, excuse me. This was partly mitigated by the benefit of weaker local currencies and other efficiencies. Underground recovered grades were marginally higher than the first quarter of 2020 due to a greater contribution from the higher-grade Obuasi production. Open pit recovered grades are 16% lower quarter-on-quarter, with all operations reflecting lower grades, except Siguiri.

All-in sustaining costs for the quarter were 26% or $266 per ounce higher compared to the first quarter of 2020 at $1,287 per ounce on the back of higher cash costs and the planned higher CapEx to improve mining flexibility and ore body confidence as well as tailing compliance costs in Brazil. COVID-19 impacts resulted in all-in sustaining costs being approximately $29 per ounce higher, comprising $6 per ounce in production impacts and $23 per ounce in cost impacts. This is up from a $14 per ounce impact in the first quarter of last year when the pandemic only took hold towards the back end of March.

Our balance sheet strategy continues to support our capital allocation discipline with adjusted net debt at $908 million, 43% lower than the same quarter last year. The increased adjusted net debt position compared to December 2020 reflects the free cash outflow for the quarter and $197 million dividend paid in March this year. We remain committed to maintaining a flexible balance sheet with an adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDA target ratio of 1x through the cycle. Our current ratio of 0.37 is well below that target and the 0.93x for the corresponding quarter last year.

Liquidity remains strong and continues to provide good flexibility in a volatile climate. We had more than $1 billion in cash at the end of March, excluding the Kibali cash lockup. Our liquidity is supported by our $1.4 billion multicurrency revolver. We remain strongly levered both to the gold price and currencies and expect cash flow benefits -- cash flow to benefit from prevailing current market conditions as well as from production and other improvements in our business, particularly through the second half of this year.

Following our strategic objectives set out at the Capital Markets Day in February, we outlined our 2-year guidance as well as 5-year indicative outlook. We remain mindful that the further waves of the COVID pandemic, its impact on communities and economies and the actions that authorities may take in response are largely unpredictable. More specifically, the pandemic is impacting us with higher-than-normal employee turnover rates and inflationary pressures stemming from competition for scarce skills in certain jurisdictions. As a result, inflationary pressure is becoming more evident. We continue to work proactively to mitigate these impacts through our operational excellence initiatives. However, I would like to reaffirm that our guidance excludes impacts on the business as a result of the pandemic.

Our Brazil operations are working to convert to dry stacking operations in advance of the decommissioning of their existing tailings storage facilities. This is in line with legislation introduced last year. As we draw closer to deadlines, some changes to the initial scope of these projects are resulting us in seeing pressure on the capital costs for the overall compliance program. Despite these challenges flagged, annual guidance remains unchanged on production, costs and capital for this year. In line with past trends, production is expected to be weighted to the second half of the year. As a result, we do expect unit costs to remain elevated in the second quarter of 2021 before starting to trend towards guidance levels on the back of our production profile weighting in the second half of the year.

Thank you, and I will now hand over to Sicelo to cover the African operations.

Thanks, Ian, and greetings, everyone. Let's take a closer look at the Africa operations.

The region produced 352,000 ounces, which was 11,000 ounces more than the first quarter of 2020 at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,140 an ounce. As discussed before, operations across the Africa portfolio are seeing temporary reduction in mining flexibility following depletion last year of the Nyankanga open pit at Geita, the depletion of Cut 1 at Iduapriem, making 2021 a transitional year for the region. In the short term, we have some temporary constraints while we work on establishing the new Nyamulilima open pit at Geita, the new Geita Hill underground operation, the new Cut 2 at Iduapriem and the new Block 2 open pit at Siguiri.

Now going into a bit more detail. We continue to see encouraging results from Siguiri with substantial improvements in recovery and a production increase of 20% compared to Q1 of 2020 as the recovery improvements and stabilization efforts takes effect. In Tanzania, Geita delivered to plan at 113,000 ounces, which was lower than Q1 of last year. Demand grew from high-grade stockpiles as planned whilst being supported by Star & Comet and Nyankanga underground mining operations. Progress is being made to accelerate access to open pit ore at Nyamulilima, and I will go into a bit more detail on this on the next slide.

Kibali delivered another solid quarter with attributable production at 86,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $895 an ounce. Despite the focus on stripping reinvestment in 2021, Iduapriem delivered 48,000 ounces during the quarter. Obuasi continues to ramp up with production of 46,000 ounces, and Graham will provide more details on this shortly.

Looking into more detail at Geita. We are pleased to announce that the mining approval for Nyamulilima open pit was granted last month. This follows the approval of mining permits from Geita Hill underground late last year. These 2 mining permit approvals have given all the critical mining permits required to support our strategy of Geita, continuing to be a Tier 1 asset. Site preparation and waste stripping is already in progress and ahead of schedule. Plant feed is scheduled to start in the second half of 2021 as some of the ore at Nyamulilima is outcropping.

As I mentioned in February, we declared a significant increase in reserves at Geita with a final declaration of 1.45 million ounces, of which 1 million ounces are attributable to Nyamulilima. This confirms the strength of this new ore body as well as the strength of the team on the ground, which has taken Nyamulilima into reserves in under a year and, at the same time, increased post-depletion reserves at Geita by 55% to 2 million, 3 million ounces. Drilling assays received have confirmed the continuity, and the ore body remains open at depth with potential for underground extraction.

The intersections here show recent results of our accelerated drilling program. Nyamulilima is showing strong potential and will ensure we continue filling the mill at 5 million tonnes per annum with high-quality ore for a minimum of 6 years to come with potential for more extensions. We plan to significantly increase our open pit inventory as we progress our drilling campaign within the surrounding Nyamulilima district. I look forward to updating you with further positive news from this exciting new open pit project.

Looking at the underground operations at Geita Hill. Geita Hill underground access and infrastructure was established by the end of last year, and underground development has commenced in earnest during the first quarter of this year. Current focus is in setting up underground ventilation infrastructure as well as setting up drill platforms to support ore reserve conversion and positioning of primary development.

With the approval of Nyamulilima open pit and Geita Hill underground projects, we will now be sourcing ore from Geita Hill underground, Nyankanga underground, Star & Comet underground and Nyamulilima open pit. When fully ramped up, this gives us 3 underground mines producing between 120,000 and 140,000 ounces per annum and 1 open pit producing at between 140,000 and 160,000 ounces per annum. These 4 mining fronts provide access to exciting ore bodies and give us greater flexibility in the mine plan going forward. At the current pace, operational ore access in Geita Hill underground is planned for 2022. However, we will be taking advantage of any earlier opportunities as they presented themselves. We plan to declare the maiden reserve at the end of 2021. Overall, Geita continues to prove itself as a world-class asset.

Now looking at Siguiri in more detail. As the operation continues to stabilize, we have seen a 20% increase in production over the same period in 2020. The various activities' focus on further improving recovery and throughput performance of the new combination plant continue, with the most significant achievement during the first quarter being the commissioning of the new [fines] screening plant. This will reduce maintenance costs and improve the capability of handling higher volumes of wet material feed during the rainy season. Focus is shifting to securing access to ore, specifically the Block 2 project, and within -- which is within the Siguiri lease area.

The Block 2 project implementation reached various milestones this quarter, including the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with all affected communities to secure our social license. Mining operations are forecast to start at the end of Q3 2021 with ore hauling soon thereafter in the fourth quarter of 2021. The project will deliver high-grade oxides to the main Siguiri plant in 2021. I will keep you updated on progress as we move ahead in the upcoming months.

Concluding on the Africa region. Our primary attention, as always, remains with operating safely as we build on our operational performance across the region. Our focus, as we approach the midpoint of the year, is to maintain the strong performance at our key assets of Geita and Kibali whilst ramping up at Obuasi continues. At Siguiri, the team continues to improve plant reliability and progress the Block 2 project while progressing stripping at Iduapriem. At Geita, we are focusing on securing Tier 1 metrics going forward.

Thank you, and I'll now hand over to my colleague, Ludwig, who will take you through the International portfolio.

Thank you, Sicelo. The International operations had its share of challenges during the quarter. COVID-19 had a marked impact on operations in South America. In Brazil, which was the epicenter of the global outbreak for most of the first quarter, we've seen absenteeism anywhere between 200 and 400 a day across the workforce driven by positive cases, contact tracing and precautionary measures that show flu-like symptoms. We have strong testing capability and highly evolved and conservative track and trace systems, which is aimed at keeping our people safe, even with the ambient case rate of the country at the levels we've seen.

The extended COVID-19 lockdown in Argentina also continued to restrict movement of staff from other provinces, which constrained our ability to mine. In Western Australia, we've seen a series of lockdowns while COVID-19-related travel restrictions between the states has resulted in shortage of skilled operators. During this time, our focus has remained to safeguard the safety and health of our staff, to work closely with the government agencies, to provide support to our local communities and to mitigate the impact on our operations.

Following improvements in our safety performance over the past 3 years, we recorded a tragic fatality at our Serra Grande mine in Brazil during the quarter. This was a stark reminder of the need to always keep safety at front of mind and adhere to major hazard control and standards. The incident highlighted the importance of vigilance and visible leadership in the field and need to ensure that everyone at our operations adheres to the major hazard control standards.

Given the headwinds we experienced, along some planned restrictions and reductions in our production at Tropicana, the International operations gold production for the quarter was 236,000 ounces compared to 270,000 ounces achieved in quarter 1 2020. Production is forecast to ramp up during the course of the year as the impact of COVID reduces and higher grade feed to the plants is expected.

A stronger Australian currency resulted in an all-in sustaining cost being markedly higher than last year at $1,462 per ounce, with CapEx increasing from construction of the new full paste-fill plant in Brazil as we transition to dry-stacked tailings.

We continue to execute our reinvestment strategy we presented in February with increased spend on development and exploration to improve mine flexibility and grow reserves. Our Americas operations produced 132,000 ounces of gold in Q1, marginally lower than year-on-year. This is largely due to the 10,000 drop in Argentina with a national lockdown and requirements to quarantine has restricted staff, travel and limited mining between 50% to 60% of capacity. All-in sustaining costs was consequently higher at $1,211 per ounce, largely due to incremental capital expenditure, which added $119 per ounce.

The Brazilian assets delivered a marginally improved operating performance at 98,000 ounces compared to 95,000 ounces in the same quarter last year. This is a commendable performance considering the COVID situation of associated lockdowns, curfews and absenteeism. All-in sustaining cost reflects our TSF CapEx but also the increased competition with iron ore producers in Brazil for skilled staff. We're implementing new strategies to retain staff and are seeing some early successes in this regard. AGA Mineração reported production of 78,000 ounces, which is consistent with the 77,000 ounces achieved in the same quarter last year at an all-in sustaining cost per ounce of $1,226 per ounce relative to the $1,170 per ounce reported in the previous reporting period. Although higher, it's noteworthy that the current period includes a $127 per ounce capital investment in a new tailings infrastructure.

Staying in Brazil, Serra Grande performance of 20,000 ounces was higher than 18,000 ounces reported in the same quarter last year. This could have been higher as production was negatively impacted by absenteeism and a high staff turnover compounded by safety stoppages. All-in sustaining unit cost at $1,490 per ounce were marginally higher than $1,447 reported in quarter 1 last year. However, this includes a $6 million tailings CapEx, which added $290 per ounce.

Moving to Argentina. Cerro Vanguardia Q1 2021 reflects the full year of operating within the constraints of the COVID-19 regulations. This limited both underground and open pit capacity. Mining plans were rescheduled to prioritize mining over waste [in the plant], resulting in gold production of 35,000 ounces at all-in sustaining cost of $975 per ounce. This deferral of stripping and development might impact future productions. Waves of COVID-19 continue to escalate in Argentina, making further restrictions likely.

In Australia, we have produced 104,000 ounces, which was 27,000 ounces below the same quarter last year, reflecting the planned decrease in Tropicana during the Havana cutback but also unfavorable grade reconciliations at Sunrise Dam. 58,000 ounces from Tropicana reflects a planned decrease in open pit volumes and stockpile grade. This was partially offset by a ramp-up of high-grade underground production from Boston Shaker, which commenced production in Q3 last year. All-in sustaining costs at $1,576 per ounce was impacted by lower production and strengthening of the Australian dollar. We'll see this reduce as underground production increases in subsequent quarters.

At Sunrise Dam, gold production was 58,000 ounces against 73,000 ounces reported in the prior year. Despite achieving all the key operating metrics, negative grade reconciliations in the [Jupiter strip] impacted gold production. Sunrise Dam has a relatively high fixed cost base. So we'll see unit costs normalize as production increases, especially with the problematic Jupiter strip largely mined out. On the positive note, investment in the exploration drilling has resulted in the discovery of Frankie ore body within the Western Ramps and extensions to the Vogue and Carey Shear ore bodies, which has added 1.3 million ounces of resource since 2020. We've seen 800,000 ounces added in Q1 alone.

Pre-stripping of the new high-grade gold in Delicious open pit -- satellite pit continues with delivery of commercial quantities of ore on target Q3 2021. In the second half of the year, all the plant feed will come from run-of-mine instead of partially feed from low-grade stockpiles. This is the first time in 5 years this line won't be in line with low-grade stockpiles.

This slide demonstrates exploration successes over the years with expansion of existing ore bodies as well as new discoveries. I'm particularly excited by the discovery of the Frankie ore body. We've made it close to the infrastructure and to surface, which will significantly reduce costs. In Carey Shear, we have more than double the resource since the accelerated drilling program commenced. And on the left, and most exciting of all, is the discovery of the Frankie ore body, which so far has delivered an inferred resource of about 340,000 ounces at 3.1 grams per tonne, plus a further 500,000 ounces in inventory.

The significance of the discovery is its location. Frankie is close to the Western Exploration Decline, which could easily provide an alternative to the surface. It is a long way from the congestion of the Vogue. And if the grades continue to improve as we have been seeing, it will definitely contribute to lowering the all-in sustaining costs. Drilling results continue to be very encouraging as we're expecting a further resource addition of around 300,000 ounces in Q3 update of the resource model. We are currently drilling Frankie with 4 diamond drill rigs to convert inferred and inventory to indicated so that we can generate reserve. In parallel, we're also fast-tracking developing in ore body and setting up for stoping in Frankie by the end of the year.

So looking ahead, the International operation teams remains committed to safeguarding the physical and mental health, well-being and safety of our employees. We continue to manage the challenges within our control and are encouraged by the rollout of vaccines across our operating jurisdictions. The focus for 2021 remains unchanged, and we will maximize the value of the portfolio by driving operational excellence and continuously improve cost, capital and efficiencies; continuing the investment in development to improve the mineral resource confidence; grow near-term ore reserves and create flexibility in our operations; develop a pipeline of low-cost projects for the future, focusing on developing and retaining our people.

In addition, the International operation is looking to leverage operational technology at our operations and strengthen our focus on ESG as a dominant priority across the portfolio. This includes accurately understanding the current and future energy consumption needs whilst proactively developing projects to reduce our carbon footprint and exposure to climate-related risk.

With that, I'll hand over to Graham to cover Obuasi.

Thank you, Ludwig. Construction of the second phase of the Obuasi redevelopment project was 97% complete at the end of the quarter, having overcome the COVID-related challenges of the past year. The operation is now focused on ramping up Phase 2 to double the production rate to 4,000 tonnes per day.

Quarter 1 was the second quarter of commercial gold production. Gold production increased by 50% to 46,000 ounces, and the all-in sustaining cost reduced 6% to $1,234 per ounce. Phase 2 construction, as I mentioned, was getting close to completion. Commissioning of the Phase 2 process plant was completed and was successfully operated for extended periods at a planned capacity. The new tailings and water management systems were commissioned. Commissioning and automation of the KRS shaft was completed and that was commissioned.

As of today, the underground ore passes, sizing stations and underground materials handling systems have been commissioned at the planned capacity. The new 612-meter deep GCVS vent shaft was completed and commissioning of the vent fans is currently in progress. Some infrastructure remains to be completed and commissioned this quarter, including the new high-voltage substation and power factor correction equipment and the paste-fill plant. The overall project remains on budget and no overruns are foreseen. We will close out the initial part of the project this year, and we are now setting up the third phase, which is focused on establishing the underground infrastructure around the existing KMS shaft to service the mine as the production center moves deeper.

Regarding the ramp-up. Geology, processing, engineering and the service functions are all ramp-up ready and tested. We are now focused on ramping up the underground mining operation. Steady progress was made during the quarter, though this was impacted by periods of high absenteeism due to COVID isolations, quarantine and travel restrictions, particularly early in the quarter. Completion of the remainder of the infrastructure will also facilitate the ramp-up. We are continuing to make steady progress and anticipate full ramp-up during quarter 3 of 2021.

As we indicated in February at our Capital Markets Day, the steady-state gold production ranges from 350,000 to 450,000 ounces per annum at the lower end for the first 10 years and then at the higher end for the latter 10 years when the high-grade areas of Block 10 and 11 are mined.

Now a few photographs to illustrate our progress. The mine and the mill control rooms illustrate the new approach of Obuasi and the modernization of Obuasi. The rebuilt mill has modernized the process operation and provides a high level of automation and control. There were some happy faces on site when the 612-meter deep vent shaft finally broke through in mid-April. And the paste-fill plant is ready to go and is just awaiting the completion of the long paste delivery hauls.

Thank you, and I'll hand back to Christine.

Thanks, Graham. As we showcased at the Capital Markets Day in February on our 5-year outlook, we're expecting an average 5% compound annual growth in our gold production. The primary driver of production growth over the next 2 years is related to Obuasi operating at steady state, Tropicana reverting to normalized production levels following the current reinvestment in its life extension and planned production gains from AGA Mineração, Siguiri and Sunrise Dam. In fact, most of the growth over the period is driven by improvements in our current suite of operating assets supplemented in the outer years by the Quebradona and Gramalote projects.

Despite the Gramalote project final feasibility study being delayed, the company's 5-year indicative outlook remains intact. We are planning elevated levels of capital over the next 2 years, which will facilitate our reinvestment in the existing assets and compliance to tailings legislation. Following completion of these projects, all-in sustaining costs is expected to decline to between $900 to $1,050 an ounce in 2025, and that's in nominal terms. Over this period, we will continue to build momentum and progress towards our long-term strategic goals.

We have our work cut out for us, keeping our people safe and well and supporting our communities through this incredibly difficult time is a priority. That includes supporting our host governments in their vaccination efforts, to protect the vulnerable and rebuild these host economies. That's good for everyone and good for our business. We are working to bring our excellent Quebradona project to our Board for approval. Obuasi is within weeks of completion, but we need to manage our way to the full ramp-up carefully. This is a high-margin, multi-decade asset and we won't compromise that future. And we must drive our exploration program forward to build on the strong momentum we've created in reserve conversion this past year. Keeping our eye on the costs, especially as our capital edges higher in the next 2 years, will sustain the long-term health of our business. And working patiently to secure the release of our cash from the DRC and to restart VAT offsets in Tanzania will ensure those assets are fairly valued by the market. Our aim remains to build a solid, predictable business that delivers value through the cycle.

Thank you very much, and with that, I'll take questions.

The first question comes from Shilan Modi of UBS.

A couple of questions on my side. Maybe can you give us some more detail on the drivers of cost inflation across the group, maybe if you can go region by region? And then I know part of it is lower grades and part of the operations, but maybe talk to more of the inflation drivers.

Then the other part was, can you talk to the cash lockups that you're experiencing across the group? The DRC cash flow lockup has grown, it's just under $500 million. But then you also have a bunch of VAT lockups in different regions, including in the DRC. So on my math, it's about $700 million in cash locked up in various locations. Maybe just talk to the time lines of releasing each of those.

And then last question, your balance sheet, your debt has gone up -- your net debt has gone up quite substantially quarter-on-quarter. Maybe just talk to the drivers of that. How much of that delta was driven by the dividend payments that you've made? And like I'm just trying to reconcile back to cash flow.

Thanks very much, Shilan. I will talk to the cost inflation drivers and the cash lockups. Ian, if you can handle the balance sheet and net debt increase, please. I think in particular, we are seeing inflationary pressures. I think certainly, largely commodity price related. And I think we've seen some COVID impacts that have impacted inflation as well. When one looks at the commodity price impacts, largely oil price related, it comprises about 7% of our all-in sustaining cost in the group. And clearly, as you know, the budgeted oil price was $50, and we're anticipating about a $64 outlook for the remainder of the year. So clearly, you can expect to see some impact coming through there. We also are experiencing skill shortages in Australia and Brazil. It is a risk. Just to recap, the average inflation that we've experienced in Q1 has been about 5%. So this is overall mining inflation that's been experienced in Q1. As you know, wage related, the iron ore industry is competing for critical skills, and hence, that's a risk for wage-related increases.

Also, the pandemic has resulted in high levels of absenteeism, in particular, in Brazil. And you heard Ludwig speaking about that a little bit later. What that has done is it's impacted our productivity and hence, has had an impact on costs. So in particular, when it comes to our longer-term contracts, procurement contracts, we are protected against a large impact of the commodity price-related increases. I think when it comes to wage-related increases, in particular, in the Australia region but also across our other regions, bear in mind that labor comprises about a 25% to 30% component of the costs. And so it will really be -- we are experiencing some of the pressures. It's not on the entire labor base but on the critical skill side of it.

You can expect, for example, in Australia, I think it's about 7% to 8%. It will impact that proportion of the 30%. And so it's not significant increased inflation that we're actually expecting in particular, and how we're mitigating the cost inflation is really through operational efficiency programs. You heard Ludwig speak about that a bit in his presentation. But Sicelo has likewise got the same program in Africa to mitigate increases in costs. And we're also mitigating this through training and graduate development programs, which is going to help offset these increases in inflation. I think also bear in mind, the exchange rates are also playing an impact in Australia. We do are experiencing stronger currencies there, and it is being offset by the weakening in currencies against the dollar in Brazil. So largely, the exchange rate impact does mitigate the strengthening of currencies in Australia.

When it comes to the cash lockups in the DRC and the VAT, I will talk separately to the issues because they are different. I think, in particular, in the DRC, we have seen some positive momentum in terms of the Cabinet that was appointed there in -- during the course of April. A commission has been established by the President or the Prime Minister in the DRC to deal with the cash repatriation and the exemption from the mining code. So clearly, this is a positive momentum. Barrick has also reported that they have held a few high-level meetings with authorities in the DRC and it's really just the final outstanding matters that are being resolved before the cash can be repatriated from there. And we certainly remain very close to Barrick and engage on a very regular basis with them and getting updates in that regard, and we'll update the market once we have further positive developments there.

On the VAT, I think, yes, like you say, there is VAT outstanding both in the DRC and in Tanzania. In terms of what is included in our receivables on the balance sheet is the VAT related to Tanzania. And one has to split it between the historical VAT receivable and the VAT that has accumulated since the 1st of July last year. On the historical VAT receivable, there's been some very positive engagements in the last few weeks with the authorities there, and we're hoping to see a resolution on that soon. I think, in particular, what this will do is allow us to offset the VAT receivable over a period of time against corporate taxes. On the VAT, that's accumulated since July last year. The Finance Act does allow for that VAT to be verified and to be offset against corporate taxes. And we're pleased to report that the VAT verification has already commenced. And we can expect to see some offsets relating to that VAT certainly in Q2.

In Argentina, there is some cash that's sitting in bank accounts there. I think, in particular, we are eligible to declare about $50 million in dividends out of Argentina. What we are doing there is the cash that is sitting there, we are investing it in deposits accounts that does mitigate the currency depreciation there. And we're looking at all ways of getting that money repatriated. But I think what's quite important here is the cash is available for use of the operations. And we are utilizing that cash to advance the exploration program in Argentina, and we've been able to double the reserve life there last year from 4 to 8 years.

So with that, I'll hand over to Ian.

Shilan, thank you. Just on your question on the net debt, the increase we saw in the net debt from December to March is just over $300 million. And you are 100% correct, the big bulk thereof is the dividend payout in March of $197 million. And then the other part of the answer there is the free cash outflow of $92 million. There's a balancing figure of about $20-odd million, and that is mainly movements in restricted cash as well as currency translations, and that gives you that increase. It is still sitting at a ratio of 0.37x, as we've mentioned, well below the onetime through-the-cycle objective we have. So we're very comfortable with that position. Thank you.

One more question, if I may. Since 2016, your current portfolio has had quite a lot of cyclicality during the year in terms of production. So Q1 is generally quite weak and Q4 is generally quite strong. Should we continue to expect that kind of a pattern going forward? So i.e., should we expect sequential quarter-on-quarter production to rise for the remainder of the year?

Yes. Thanks for that question, Shilan. I think, yes, for now, I certainly expect to see this seasonality. Expect to see consistently improving production, I think, in the quarters. I think what does compound the H2 production improvement this year is also the fact that Obuasi is ramping up, and we expect the full ramp-up in quarter 3 and clearly steady state in quarter 4. So that does compound it, but that's what you can certainly expect for this year.

The next question comes from Adrian Hammond of SBG Securities.

Yes, firstly, just to go back to the issue on the DRC and your discussions with governments on the mechanism, you currently repatriated some 40%. So what are you hoping for post your discussion? How should we be modeling first? And then just on Quebradona, are you looking yet for a partner? Or are you still considering doing it alone? And are you considering hedging the production? And then third question, just we haven't had any updates on your search for the CEO. It's been almost a year since the search began. So are you able to give us any more insight, please?

Thanks for those questions, Adrian. I think specifically on the DRC, Barrick is leading the engagements there. And what they have reported on publicly is that they are looking at getting $900 million repatriated, of which half would be for the account of AngloGold Ashanti. So I think that's what you can include in the modeling. And of course, we'll keep you updated as soon as there is line of sight on that cash coming through.

I think, in particular, relating to Quebradona and what we're planning in that regard, I think, as I've said, we're actually seeing very good momentum in that project, the feasibility study right at the end now. And I think, certainly, from a partnership perspective, we are quite comfortable to do this project on our own. We're not looking at bringing in an equity partner. I think, certainly, what we have been looking at is more risk mitigation mechanisms in terms of project financing and long-term offtake agreements, and we'll continue to do so. I think that's certainly very much part of the finalization of the feasibility study. And that's also -- a long-term offtake agreement is also a way of hedging. And so we'll be able to give you that update once we've completed the feasibility study and decide on how we'd like to progress with that.

On the CEO process, I think, certainly, it is a Board matter. The Chairman, at the AGM, had indicated that it is a high priority for the Board and that there is good momentum in that regard and that they will update the market when they are ready.

The next question comes from Leroy of HSBC.

It seems to me, based on the presentation, that we should be expecting a significant increase in reserves at Sunrise Dam and Geita sometime during the course of the year. So my first question is, is that a reasonable assumption? And then my second question is, are there any other operations where you're seeing encouraging results that could also indicate a significant increase in reserves? And then maybe the third question, if you could please give us a bit of color on the competition for labor in Australia and in South America. Is it largely driven by competition with other commodities like iron ore? Or is it more related to absenteeism as a result of COVID-19? And then also maybe just the cost of some of your retention schemes that you've had to put in place, is that material enough to have an impact on longer-term cost inflation?

Thanks for those questions, Leroy. I'm going to ask Tim Thompson, who heads up our greenfields exploration, to talk about the increase in reserves, whether we're still on track and what operations we can expect that to come from. And Ludwig, if I can ask you to please give more color on the labor inflation and the impacts that we're actually seeing in Australia and Brazil, please.

Thank you for the question about the exploration results that we've seen so far. Yes, the results that we've shown from Geita and Sunrise Dam highlight the expected opportunities that we have there to increase our reserves. We will also be expecting good results across the portfolio that is a follow-on from our continued investment in exploration and ORD. We'll be seeing -- or we expect to see gains in the Africa portfolio, other gains in Australia with Boston Shaker and some of the other opportunities coming forward out of Tropicana as well as gains that are expected to continue to come through from Cerro Vanguardia and in Brazil as those programs continue.

Okay. And Leroy, just on your question on the inflation. So it's actually a dual impact. The one is obviously competition with the iron ore. We've seen iron ore now being above $200 per ounce, and that's a competition for especially our contractors in Australia. What we're doing there is to over-complement on trainees. So we employ more in trainees, train people up. But we also see a productivity loss due to absenteeism and a lot of that's got to do with COVID as well: precautionary measures, people with cold-like symptoms being away from work. So it's actually -- it's a bit of a double whammy. In Brazil -- and then just on a skilled, we've got areas that is mostly mining survey and geology. That's where we see a bit of a turnover. And as Christine mentioned, we've got graduate programs. We've got retention programs for specific skill sets, and that also applies to Brazil.

In Brazil, same for with the iron ore, what we see over there is that we're in competition with the iron ore mines as they're moving to underground mines. And in Minas Gerais, we got quite a skilled workforce for underground mining. So that's where the inflation comes. Obviously there, we've also got retention programs. And we obviously got a bit of a structure change where we're looking at a functional model where we actually concentrate expertise or centralize it more. And actually, and obviously, with that comes a cost reduction but also a more effective service to the mines. So it's both absenteeism as well as the competition at this moment for specific expertise.

At this stage, I would like to hand over for questions from the webcast.

Thanks very much, Judith. I think the first one for the team is from [Nick Hopps at Corra]. And he says, how do you reconcile the gap between all-in costs at around $1,446 an ounce and the gold price at around $1,788? And how do you reconcile that with a free cash outflow of $92 million? And how can shareholders be certain that going forward, we'll translate the gold price -- the positive gold price environment into free cash flow?

So if I can ask Ian to please handle that question. Thank you.

Yes. So I can answer that question. Simplistically, if you look at that and you look at the differential between the gold price received and the all-in cost dollar per ounce, it implies a free cash flow of just over $200 million. So what you need to then take into account is that your all-in cost metric does not include your taxes paid and your interest cost bill. And that's, to give you a sense, taxes paid for the quarter, $121 million. You then have your interest cost bill of $24 million that you deduct and then your working capital movements that is unfavorable of $79 million that you take off.

The next thing you need to take into consideration is that Kibali, as an equity investment, you don't pick up the whole performance because you only reflect in free cash flow the dividends that we've received. That gives you roughly another $40 million that you lose in the free cash flow number. The remainder of that balance to move you down to negative $92 million is just a function of the impact that our minorities have at Siguiri and at CVSA that you then take out and other than noncash items. So that is a very simplistic view of how you reconcile the differential.

With regards to the ability to create margins, obviously, the all-in cost dollar per ounce margin is derived from your gold ounces sold as the denominator. And as you go through the year with the production weighting towards the back end, you do get that denominator picking up. You do get your all-in cost to drop, your margin to increase, and that creates the opportunity to generate the free cash flow that we'd still forecast to receive towards the back end of the year. I hope that answers the question.

Ian, you just want to maybe discuss the tax payments in Brazil in Q1 as well.

Yes. So on the tax side, just the main difference between the taxes paid in Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 mainly relates to the tax payments pickup in Brazil. There is a $50 million pickup in taxes paid in Brazil quarter-on-quarter. And it's a result of the way taxes gets paid in Brazil where the taxes gets paid retrospectively after the performance of the year, unlike what we see in South Africa where you make your provisional payments upfront. For all of the other operations, the tax bill roughly remained the same Q-on-Q, and it was affected by higher taxes paid as a result of a higher gold price offset by lower volumes, produced, planned and otherwise, that basically brings your tax payout in those jurisdictions to similar levels than what we've seen before. But the biggest mover on the taxes paid was Brazil.

All right. Thanks, Ian. Next question from Lonwabo Maqubela from Perpetua who says, when do you expect to see the grade improvement at Geita and Sunrise? What are the key challenges and risks in the respective project ramp-ups?

Okay. So if we can ask Sicelo to handle Geita and if Ludwig can talk to Sunrise Dam. I think Ludwig did cover it in his presentation, but perhaps you can just talk to that as well, Ludwig.

Thank you, Lonwabo. I'll handle the Geita question. As mentioned in my presentation that we are busy ramping up the Geita Hill underground project, which will be the third source of high-grade ore. We plan to begin producing ore beginning of 2022, ramping up towards the end of 2022 to approximately 3,000 tonnes of ore per day. So with the 3 underground fresh ore sources at 3,000 tonnes per day, that will give you 9,000, with the plant requiring 16,000 to keep it at 5 million. So the balance will be coming in from Nyamulilima, which is in current ramp-up as we speak now, and that should be fully ramped up by, say, the first quarter of this year. So that is where really the transformation is going to come from in terms of grade as we bring in this additional source of underground high-grade ore and also we bring in the open pit to keep the plant full for the foreseeable future at 5 million tonnes per annum and not relying on stockpiles to fill the plant. Thank you.

And to reference -- to your question on Sunrise Dam, if you use the Q1 as a reference point, Q1 was a particularly tough quarter for Sunrise Dam. We had a negative mine core factor of 16% where we've got a long-term factor of plus 8% on this mine. That came -- and as I've mentioned, this is not uncommon for Sunrise Dam. We do see these negative mine core factors from time to time, but normally, it's for a very short time. In this particular case, in quarter 1, it was a big underground stope of more than 500,000 tons that we had to mine through. We've mined through that. We've already seen the grades pick up. So that's from the underground.

What's also changing in the second half is that we'll be mining the Golden Delicious open pit. So for the first time in 5 years, as I've mentioned, we will feed a plant with full run-of-mine ore instead of making use of the low-grade stockpile. So that will increase the grade significantly in the second half, especially compared to the first half or the first quarter of this year. I hope that answers your question.

Thanks, Ludwig.

Going back to the lines, the next question comes from Jared Hoover of RMB Morgan Stanley.

I've got a few questions, please. I think I'll just ask my first one and then I'll follow up with a few after that. On the earlier call that we had -- or sorry, for the sell side, you mentioned that for the first quarter, you missed your own internal budget by a single-digit percentage. And I mean, if I look at the -- on production, in particular, COVID was about a 4,000 ounce impact, and that's about less than 1%. But now that the recap is underway across the portfolio, are there any efforts that you're, say, disappointed with in the first quarter? And can you talk to the reasons why you are disappointed in those particular mines?

Yes. I think what I said was that, yes, we were lower than our own internal budgets and very low single-digit. So I think the biggest impact that we saw was COVID related. I think Serra Grande with the fall-of-ground fatality also had some lower production coming through. I think, in particular, it was a bit of a swings and roundabouts where we saw some lower production volumes, but then we saw certain of our operations that exceeded as well. I think one of those that was slightly lower than our expectations was definitely Siguiri that came through, and then Sunrise Dam and for the reasons that Ludwig has actually spoken to.

I think, certainly, in the outlook for the rest of the year, we are expecting to see good uptick in production coming through. Like I said, more second half weighted, but you will expect to see improvements coming through, in particular, at Obuasi with the progression in the ramp-up. Siguiri, we're expecting improvements in Q2 and really in the quarters throughout the year as well; and same for Sunrise Dam, Tropicana and our Brazilian mines as well, AGA Mineração and Serra Grande. So you can expect those improvements to come through, both in the quarter as well as in the remainder of the year.

Okay. So just to take it one step further, and I know you've given me a good roundup and you guys did speak to Sunrise Dam earlier. But on Siguiri, it seems like the ramp-up was going to come from an improvement in recoveries. So my question is just around those recoveries. Are you enabling that by just throwing in additional reagents? Or is there something structural in the plant that's allowing you to improve the recoveries? And I did see the all-in sustaining costs came down, but that might have also just been a function of the additional ounces. So if you could just talk to that in a bit more detail, please.

Yes. So I'd like Sicelo, who has the accountability for Siguiri, to actually talk to the recovery improvement and what is actually driving that. Thank you.

Thanks, Stewart. And Jared, I'll repeat the answer. We were about 3,000 ounces behind our internal plan. However, we were 20% above where we were compared to Q1 last year. The challenges at Siguiri in the plant at the moment are not structural. They are operational, and we are getting on top of those issues. We are also bringing in Block 2, which brings in higher-grade oxides, which are going to offset the low-grade marginal ore. And that's what's going to sustain these higher levels of output on the mine going forward. Thank you.

Okay. I've got 2 more, please, if you don't mind. And the one was just around your longer-term guidance. I mean you guys have already flagged the risks to your production and cost guidance from the South American operations. You've seen Gramalote, which is currently below your hurdle rates. And there's also a degree of geopolitical risk in South America, with a number of countries talking about increasing royalties. So I wanted to just find out if there's merit to potentially a more aggressive pivot of your portfolio to North America and Australia, maybe with the Silicon project and Corvus Gold and maybe the Butcher Well. And is there any likelihood of us potentially seeing some of those projects come into the back end of your 5-year guidance if Gramalote falls out?

Well, thanks for the question, Jared. I think, in particular, we're comfortable with our longer-term indicative outlook. Gramalote really features in the back end of our 5-year horizon. And we're quite positive on working with B2Gold to look at increasing the economics there. So there is more work to be done, but we'll certainly keep you posted on that. I think specifically as regarding Colombia and royalties, I think we believe that there's still quite a solid fiscal framework upon which we will be making investment decisions. I think, clearly, Quebradona is in the nearer-term horizon. But I guess your real question is do we look at pivoting our portfolio to bring in North America. What we can say is we are looking at these opportunities. There is more work to be done, and then we'll keep you posted on the way forward on that.

Okay. Great. And then my very last one was just around Kibali. I think I might have asked you guys before, but with just regards to the loan that AngloGold has extended to the Kibali JV -- and I think you mentioned before that at spot prices, you could pay that loan off in about 2 to 3 years' time, but my read of the 2018 DRC mining charter is that once that loan is fully repaid, you have to bring in not just 60% of cash flows and keep that within the DRC, it's actually 100% of cash flows. I was wondering if you had an update on that for me or whether my read is actually not as accurate.

Thanks, Jared. So what I have said previously is that the cash repatriation is being done on the back of the loans, and these are shareholder loans, both by AngloGold and Barrick, to build the mine there. And once that loan is fully utilized and we estimated that around -- it would take about 3 years to utilize the balance of the loan. There is also an exemption that we are applying for under the mining code. The mining code -- the 2018 mining code did provide for companies operating -- mining companies operating in the remote region of the DRC to be eligible for that exemption. And that's what's been applied for by the Kibali JV. It qualifies for that. And that should exempt the JV from having to leave or being subject to leaving the free cash flow in the DRC. So these are all matters that are being dealt with by the commission, so the 60% cash repatriation as well as seeking exemption from the mining code.

Okay. Good luck with that. I hope you do get that exemption before the loan is paid off.

Next question comes from Grant Sporre of Bloomberg Intelligence.

I've just got 2 questions. The first one is just regarding the tailings facilities in Brazil and if you could give us any guidance as to when you see the capital expenditure associated with that starting to roll off. And the second one is just you're reporting now sort of financials on a full basis, on a quarterly basis. Just what was the reasoning for that change? And should we read anything into it? Is that in preparation for listing in other jurisdictions?

Okay. Thanks for those questions, Grant. I think in particular, for the tailings facilities in Brazil, and I don't know how much in detail you want to go into, but I think, in particular, we are looking at complying with those requirements by 2021. And so that's when the capital has been factored in, too. I think there may be some slight overflow into 2022 for the capital, but that's the kind of period that we're looking at. We did say that there are some cost pressures clearly for us. We are working towards compliance but so is every other mining company in Brazil, and hence, it is quite a heated market there. But that's the sort of compliance time frame. I don't know if you wanted more details on that.

And then I think specifically regarding -- we do, do half yearly reporting. So at -- our 2 periods are June and December. And so we are really wanting to keep flexibility. Hence, we're doing a full filing for this quarter. We won't normally do a full filing. It's purely a market update for quarter 1, and it's really about keeping flexibility as regards potentially upon refinancing or liability management that we may wish to do. But it will depend on market conditions, and there's no firm decision that's been made.

The next question comes from Francis Daniels, Anibok Investment Research Chambers.

Thank you for the opportunity to ask a question about Obuasi. I just wanted to get a sense of how much of the so-called Obuasi Deep resources lie in Block 10 and 11, and whether there is a significant potential of those deeps to be developed without incurring substantial additional CapEx.

Okay. Thanks for that question. I'm going to hand over to Graham who can answer those questions relating to Block 10 and 11. Graham?

Yes. Thanks, Christine. Off the top of my head, Francis, I think it's in the order of 30%, 40% in those 2 blocks. To answer your question as to whether there'd be a lot of additional CapEx involved with those, answer is no. The project, already configured and being developed, allows for the development of the mine and the infrastructure down to 50 level, which will see us bring in Block 10 and Block 11. Some of Block 11 is below the 50 level, but that would be accessed just through normal decline development. So there's no sort of major step in capital increase in order to access those 2 blocks.

There is -- and I might remind you that our reserves have increased to close to 9 million ounces, so we're really seeing a pretty solid reserve outlook within what we know and where we'll have -- where we've got developed access. There's still future in the mine if we follow the down dip extensions of the main shears and structures towards the north, and that would take us down to sort of the 55, 60, 65 level. And that would involve something in terms of development, but that is probably a good 15 years in front of us at this point.

I will now hand over for the final question from the webcast.

Thanks very much, Judith. Judith, I'm going to just -- for the team here, just read out one from Mike Lawrenson of Laurium Capital. Mike says, and I think this is probably one for Graham, talks about challenges experienced with rotation of expat workers between Australia and Ghana. He's wondering if things have improved relative to Q1 and what the likely impact may be on Phase 2 ramp-up.

Yes. Thanks for relaying the question, Stewart. Expatriate skill still is a risk for us that we are continuing to manage. The situation in Australia remains difficult. Bringing Australian expatriates into Africa or any other global country requires pretty onerous requirements before exiting country and leaving country. So the roster cycles have increased. So we're not relying on that. We are expediting the training within country. This is not taking individuals that have not been trained so far but expediting their training and increasing their skills quickly. We're also getting help from the OEMs, in particular, Sandvik because they're the main supplier of all of the underground equipment and also the consumable suppliers, particularly around explosives with AEL. They're helping in training but also helping with supplementary skills.

We're moving our focus of expatriate recruitment to Africa. There are good skills in Africa within Zambia and Mali and Tanzania in terms of underground mining, so we're focused there. So it's several areas that we're looking at to deal with that. We're mindful of the risk of COVID. We have experienced the jump in COVID cases earlier this quarter. That's back under control again. But there's always a risk that, that might come up again. So we're focused on even overmanning to the extent that we can wear an increased level of absenteeism.

Thanks very much, Graham. I think that concludes it for today. We've run quite some way over, but I think there were lots of good questions. We haven't managed to get to all of them, so my apologies. We will get ahold of you all separately and follow up. I'm going to hand over to Christine just for a couple of closing remarks, and thanks again for your time.

Thank you, Stewart. And I'd like to thank all of you for joining us today for our Q1 results. We certainly look forward to reporting our H1 results in August and hopefully under improved conditions. But until then, I urge you all to stay safe and well. Thank you.