Aya Gold & Silver Inc (Quebec) (AYA) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. I will now turn the call over to Elisabeth Hamaoui, Aya Gold & Silver's Director of Corporate and Financial Communications. Please go ahead.

各位早安。我現在把電話交給 Aya Gold & Silver 企業與財務傳播總監 Elisabeth Hamaoui。請開始。

Thank you, operator, and welcome to everyone who has joined Aya's first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Here with me today, I have Benoit La Salle, President and CEO; Ugo Landry-Tolszczuk, Chief Financial Officer; Elias Elias, Chief Legal and Sustainability Officer; Raphael Beaudoin, Vice President of Operations; and David Lalonde, Vice President of Exploration. We will be referring to a presentation on this conference call, which is available via the webcast and is also posted on our website.

謝謝接線員，也歡迎各位參加 Aya 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有：總裁暨執行長 Benoit La Salle；財務長 Ugo Landry-Tolszczuk；法務與永續長 Elias Elias；營運副總裁 Raphael Beaudoin；以及勘探副總裁 David Lalonde。本次電話會議將參考一份簡報，可透過網路直播取得，亦已張貼於我們的網站。

As we will be making forward-looking statements during the call, please refer to the cautionary notes included in the presentation, news release and MD&A as well as the risk factors included in our annual information form. Technical information in this presentation has been reviewed and approved by Raphael Beaudoin, Aya's Vice President of Operations; and David Lalonde, Aya's Vice President of Exploration, both of whom are Aya's qualified persons as defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects. I would also like to remind everyone that our presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

由於我們在會議中將作出前瞻性陳述，請參閱簡報、新聞稿與管理階層討論與分析（MD&A）中的警示說明，以及我們年度資訊表中的風險因素。本簡報中的技術資訊已由 Aya 營運副總裁 Raphael Beaudoin 與 Aya 勘探副總裁 David Lalonde 審閱並核准；兩位皆為依《國家文書 43-101——礦產專案揭露標準》所定義之 Aya 合格人士。也提醒各位，本簡報之後將進行問答環節。

With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Benoit La Salle.

接下來，我想把電話交給 Benoit La Salle。

Thank you, Elisabeth. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for assisting this Q1 2026 conference call. Let me summarize the quarter before we get through the presentation. I think it's -- we need to summarize this as Q1 is an exceptional quarter for Aya. It's an exceptional quarter knowing that Q1 is always the most difficult quarter for the company as we are at 2,200 meters above sea level in the mountains with lots of snow and rain and wind.

謝謝你，Elisabeth。各位早安。感謝各位參加本次 2026 年第一季電話會議。在進入簡報之前，我先總結本季表現。我認為——我們需要把它總結為：第一季對 Aya 而言是非凡的一季。之所以非凡，是因為第一季一向是公司最艱難的季度：我們位於海拔 2,200 公尺的山區，雪多、雨多、風也大。

So this year, due to the fact that we lost 5 days of operation due to weather-related situation, we still delivered an outstanding quarter. Aya delivered record revenue, record cash flow, expanding margin, rising silver price and lower cash costs. So we have a very strong Q1.

因此今年即便因天候因素損失了 5 天的營運時間，我們仍交出非常出色的一季。Aya 創下營收新高、現金流新高，利潤率擴大，銀價上升且現金成本下降。所以我們第一季表現非常強勁。

And when you compare it to Q4 of last year with Q1 of this year, on a per day basis, the production per day is very similar, approaching 15,000 ounces. The reason the production is a little bit lower in Q1 is due to the fact that we lost an equivalent of about five days of production. But when you look at the highlights, it's record revenue of $117 million. It's record cash flow of $70 million.

若將去年第四季與今年第一季相比，以每日計算的產量非常接近，接近 15,000 盎司。第一季產量略低的原因，是我們約損失了相當於 5 天的產量。但從重點來看，營收創新高達 1.17 億美元。營運現金流也創新高達 7,000 萬美元。

It's a record net income after tax of $49 million. It's a cash balance at the end of the quarter of unrestricted cash of $172 million. It's a production of almost 1.5 million ounces for the quarter with record mining rates, really strong quarter. And as we have a record mining rate, we've also increased our stockpile.

稅後淨利創新高達 4,900 萬美元。季度末的現金餘額（不受限制現金）為 1.72 億美元。本季產量接近 150 萬盎司，採礦速率創新高，整體是一個非常強勁的季度。而在採礦速率創新高的同時，我們也增加了礦石堆存量。

So taking you to our presentation that we use, showing you some graphics, if we go to page 4 after the forward-looking statement, you see exactly what I've just said. The record revenue in Q1 2026 at $117 million, compare that to last year at $34 million. The net income of $49 million compared to last year of $7 million with an EPS of $33 fully diluted -- $0.33, sorry, fully diluted and $0.34 on a non-diluted basis. And when you look at Q1 of operating cash flow this year at $70 million compared to last year, $8 million. So a very strong quarter.

接著帶各位看我們使用的簡報、一些圖表：若翻到前瞻性陳述之後的第 4 頁，你會看到我剛才所說的內容。2026 年第一季營收創新高達 1.17 億美元，相較去年為 3,400 萬美元。淨利為 4,900 萬美元，相較去年為 700 萬美元；每股盈餘（EPS）為 $33（完全稀釋）——抱歉，是 $0.33（完全稀釋），未稀釋為 $0.34。再看今年第一季營運現金流為 7,000 萬美元，相較去年為 800 萬美元。所以這是一個非常強勁的季度。

You see it on the right-hand side, we'll show you the production profile has increased from Q1 2025, where we produced 1 million ounces of silver to Q1 of 2026, where we're at 1,490,000 ounces. Of course, a little bit lower than Q4 of last year because Q4 of last year had no weather-related events, whereas Q1 of this year had approximately five days of weather-related events.

右側可看到產量曲線：從 2025 年第一季的 100 萬盎司白銀，提升到 2026 年第一季的 1,490,000 盎司。當然，較去年第四季略低，因為去年第四季沒有天候事件，而今年第一季約有 5 天受到天候影響。

Moving on to page 5 of the presentation, very interesting on the left-hand side, the quarterly mining tonnage. We've always been saying that the mining has to follow the plant. The plant -- the plant's production profile has been 30% to 40% above nameplate capacity, but the mine also needs to follow the plant. And the mine is actually now exceeding the plant.

接著看簡報第 5 頁，左側的季度採礦噸數非常值得注意。我們一直強調採礦必須跟上選礦廠。選礦廠——其產能曲線一直比設計產能高出 30% 到 40%，但礦山也需要跟上選礦廠。而現在礦山的產出實際上已經超過選礦廠。

So you see on the left-hand side, last year, we were running at 2,200 tonnes a day. In Q4, we were at 4,200 tonnes a day. And now by Q1 this quarter, we were running at 4,600 tonnes a day. So absolutely stellar performance from the mine, from the open pit and from the underground mine. The grade is also steady and improving. So we're pleased with the outcome of the mining and the grade and the throughput.

你可以在左側看到，去年我們每日約 2,200 噸。第四季達到每日 4,200 噸。而到了本季第一季，我們每日約 4,600 噸。因此無論露天礦或地下礦，礦山表現都非常卓越。品位也維持穩定並持續改善。所以我們對採礦、品位與處理量的成果感到滿意。

And then on the right-hand side, you look at the plant. Well, in Q4, the plant was running at 3,800 tonnes a day. In Q1, the plant is running as well and if not sometimes higher, but as indicated, because of the lost days. And if some of you have followed the weather in Morocco, it was extremely rare like they had 2x the historical average rainfall and snowfall in all of Morocco. I was there two weeks ago. And the week before that, there was snow in Marrakesh, which is absolutely rare.

再看右側的選礦廠。第四季選礦廠每日處理量為 3,800 噸。第一季選礦廠同樣運轉良好，甚至有時更高，但如所示，因為有停工天數的影響。如果各位有關注摩洛哥的天氣，這次極為罕見：摩洛哥全境的降雨與降雪量達到歷史平均的 2 倍。我兩週前才在當地。而在那之前一週，馬拉喀什還下了雪，這是非常罕見的。

So this is, in one way, it was a little bit difficult on the actual production, but we now have more than 15 months of inventory of water at site and the rivers are still running. So being a little difficult on the production was a great situation for water management and for us and for all the country. Now all the water reservoirs have been filled. Some of the reservoirs that have not seen water in many, many, many years are now full. So the water situation globally for the country was extremely good.

因此，從某個角度來看，這確實讓實際產量受到一些影響；但我們目前在現場擁有超過 15 個月的用水庫存，而且河川仍在流動。所以，雖然對產量而言有些困難，但對水資源管理、對我們以及對整個國家而言，卻是很好的情況。現在所有水庫都已蓄滿。一些多年、多年、多年未曾見水的水庫，如今也都滿了。因此就全國而言，整體水資源情勢非常良好。

Moving on to slide number 6, a quick word on Boumadine. At Boumadine, we are reclaiming the pyrite. The operation is going extremely well. We produced 127,000 ounces of silver and 1,757 ounces of gold, a little bit lower than what we wanted it to be, again, weather related because, of course, the bad weather of Zgounder was also weather-related in -- at Boumadine. And the other situation with Boumadine is because we are exporting the pyrite tonnage, the ports in Morocco were shut down for one month because of weather, because of floods.

接著到第 6 張投影片，簡要談一下 Boumadine。在 Boumadine，我們正在回收黃鐵礦。營運進展非常順利。我們生產了 127,000 盎司白銀與 1,757 盎司黃金，略低於我們的預期，同樣是天候因素所致，因為 Zgounder 的惡劣天氣也同樣影響到——Boumadine。Boumadine 的另一個情況是，由於我們要出口黃鐵礦噸數，摩洛哥的港口因天候、因洪水而關閉了一個月。

So of course, that's why the silver equivalent sold, when you look at page 6, you see the silver equivalent produced of 227,000 ounces and only 50,000 ounces sold. One reason, exporting, is we produce it, we ship it to port and then it stayed there because we could not ship it just because of very, very difficult weather. All of that is behind us. It's probably now going to rain next time in November or December. It's all behind us.

所以當然，這就是為什麼白銀當量會有銷售；當你看第6頁時，你會看到白銀當量產量為227,000盎司，但只售出50,000盎司。其中一個原因是出口：我們生產出來後運到港口，但因為天氣非常、非常惡劣而無法裝運，所以就滯留在那裡。這些都已經過去了。下一次下雨大概會是在11月或12月。一切都已經過去了。

But the reality was that even at Boumadine, we were a little bit affected, especially on the shipment of the concentrate to Asia. But the Boumadine project is really an add-on to Zgounder. It's minimal CapEx, very, very low cash cost. It's positive cash flow. The grade reconciliation is actually better. We have -- the gold grade is a little bit better. The silver grade is better than what we had in our model.

但實際情況是，即使在Boumadine，我們也受到了一點影響，特別是在向亞洲運送精礦方面。不過Boumadine專案其實是Zgounder的附加項目。資本支出（CapEx）很少，現金成本非常、非常低。它帶來正向現金流。品位對帳（grade reconciliation）實際上更好。我們——金品位稍微更好一些。銀品位也比我們模型中的假設更好。

So globally, it's a very profitable project and which is, at the same time, an ESG project because we're cleaning all of the historical waste that was left there for many, many years. So it's still going on, and it's accelerating now in Q2, Q3 and Q4, we are accelerating the reclamation of the Boumadine pyrite.

因此整體而言，這是一個非常有利可圖的專案，同時也是一個ESG專案，因為我們正在清理多年來遺留在那裡的所有歷史廢棄物。所以這項工作仍在進行中，並且在第二季、第三季和第四季正在加速，我們正在加速Boumadine黃鐵礦的復墾。

Going to page 7 of the presentation. This, again, coming back to last quarter, this is the most important slide. The one on the left is the margin. Look at the margins from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026. We were working with a $12 margin in Q1 last year and staying at $12 in Q2 of last year and then margins started going up to $20 in Q3, and then you saw to about $40 in Q4 and now margins right now are like $63 in Q1 of 2026. And obviously, you are following the silver price, and we're seeing that this is very, very -- it's a very strong silver price at the moment, and our costs are stable.

翻到簡報第7頁。同樣回到上一季，這是最重要的一張投影片。左邊的是利潤率。看看從2025年第一季到2026年第一季的利潤率。去年第一季我們的利潤率是12美元，去年第二季也維持在12美元，之後利潤率在第三季開始上升到20美元，然後你在第四季看到大約40美元，而現在2026年第一季的利潤率大約是63美元。而且很明顯，你們也在追蹤銀價；我們看到目前銀價非常、非常強勁，而我們的成本保持穩定。

We are not affected greatly by the war and the increase in fuel price. We are. Cyanide went up a little bit. We're going to see that in Q2, but it's marginal. The main reason is our electricity is from the grid and it's solar and wind. So like most companies are affected because they need to generate their own power, at Zgounder, and it will be the same at Boumadine, the power is solar and wind. So we do not expect cost to increase more than maybe $1 an ounce if they do -- if they increase by that much. And the reason is really because of the source of energy.

我們並未受到戰爭以及燃料價格上漲的重大影響。我們有。氰化物價格小幅上升。我們會在第二季看到這個影響，但幅度不大。主要原因是我們的電力來自電網，而且是太陽能與風力。因此像多數公司會受到影響，因為他們需要自發電；但在Zgounder——Boumadine也會一樣——電力來源是太陽能與風力。所以我們預期成本增加不會超過每盎司大概1美元（如果真的上升的話——如果會上升到那麼多）。原因確實在於能源來源。

On the right-hand side, you see the growth of revenue. And obviously, as I said, Q1 at USD117 million of revenue with a net income after tax of $49 million. This is a very strong performance of revenue increasing. Of course, it's due to the silver price as we understand what the production profile is, but that the silver price was extremely good in Q1.

右邊你會看到營收的成長。而且如我所說，第一季營收為1.17億美元，稅後淨利為4,900萬美元。這是營收大幅提升的非常強勁表現。當然，這是因為銀價——我們了解產量曲線是什麼——但第一季的銀價確實非常好。

Our highest selling unit or selling price in Q1 at one point, we were able to sell close to $120 an ounce. So it's showing. And now the average of $82, as we speak right now, the silver price is higher than the average of Q1 2026. And the net income, well, net income after tax of $49 million with an EPS of $33 (sic -- $0.33).

第一季我們最高的單筆售價／售價水準，在某個時間點，我們能以接近每盎司120美元出售。所以這反映得很清楚。而現在我們所說的平均價是82美元；此刻銀價高於2026年第一季的平均價。至於淨利，稅後淨利為4,900萬美元，每股盈餘（EPS）為33（原文如此——0.33）美元。

Very -- and taking us to page 8, a very strong balance sheet. We finished the quarter with USD172 million in the bank. And on top of that, we have the restricted cash that we have for the EBRD loan of USD16 million. So when you look at this, it's a very, very strong cash position, a strong balance sheet, only one debt with EBRD, which is now below $100 million and which we could pay, but it's a very good and not so expensive loan with EBRD. So there's no point in pushing the repayment of that debt.

非常——接著到第8頁，是非常強勁的資產負債表。我們在本季結束時，銀行存款為1.72億美元。此外，針對歐洲復興開發銀行（EBRD）貸款，我們還有1,600萬美元的受限制現金。因此當你看這些數字時，這是非常、非常強的現金部位與強健的資產負債表；唯一的負債是EBRD，現在已低於1億美元，我們其實可以償還，但這是一筆條件很好、成本不高的EBRD貸款。所以沒有必要急著加速償還那筆債務。

When you look at cash from operation at $70 million, our capital expenditure program is $4 million. The exploration and evaluation, exploration mainly is $14 million. We had a very good quarter on exploration, and I'll talk about the drilling. But -- so all in all, when you look at this with an $18 cash cost and all the capital expenditure behind us, it's a very, very profitable quarter.

當你看營運現金流為7,000萬美元時，我們的資本支出計畫是400萬美元。勘探與評估——主要是勘探——為1,400萬美元。我們在勘探方面有非常好的一季，我會談到鑽探結果。不過——總體而言，當你看到每盎司18美元的現金成本，以及所有資本支出都已經在我們身後，這是一個非常、非常有利可圖的季度。

Moving to page 9, which is our guidance. So our guidance is -- was presented to you at the beginning of 2026. We are maintaining our guidance. We -- though we are a little bit below where we wanted to be in our production guidance, we knew that Q1 is always a little bit weaker than the rest of the year because of seasonality, and we knew that.

翻到第9頁，也就是我們的指引（guidance）。我們的指引——是在2026年初向各位提出的。我們維持該指引不變。我們——雖然在產量指引上略低於我們希望達到的水準，但我們知道第一季因季節性因素通常會比全年其他季度弱一些，我們也早就知道這點。

So that was part of our planning, and we're very comfortable with our guidance of 6.2 million to 6.8 million ounces. The Zgounder production between 5.2 million and 5.8 million, the Boumadine at 1 million ounces of silver equivalent, we're very comfortable with that. Now when you look at the Zgounder cash cost at $21.50, I understand that we were at $18 this quarter, but it's a question of the strip ratio. And we know that over time, we're going to be a little bit higher than this.

所以這是我們規劃的一部分，而我們對6.2百萬到6.8百萬盎司的指引感到非常有信心。Zgounder產量在5.2百萬到5.8百萬盎司之間，Boumadine為100萬盎司白銀當量，我們對此非常有把握。現在當你看Zgounder的現金成本為21.50美元時，我理解本季我們是18美元，但這取決於剝採比（strip ratio）。而我們知道，隨著時間推移，我們會比這個水準略高一些。

So we're comfortable to say that on the guidance at $21.50 is where it should be. The Boumadine cash cost at $10.10, in Q4, it was $6. In Q1 of this year, it's more like $11. We're very close. We are also going to ramp up on quantity. And in ramping up on quantity, obviously, the cash cost per ounce will come down a little bit.

因此我們有信心表示，指引中的21.50美元是合理水準。Boumadine的現金成本為10.10美元；在第四季是6美元。今年第一季更接近11美元。我們非常接近目標。我們也將在產量上逐步爬坡（ramp up）。而在產量爬坡的過程中，很明顯每盎司現金成本會再下降一些。

On the sustaining and growth capital, sustaining is about half, $18 and growth capital is $18 for a total of $36. The main growth capital is really we're pushing the ramp down all the way down to the granite so that we can go and reach those lower levels where we see high-grade silver. And on the exploration expenditure, well, the budget is $60 million.

在維持性與成長性資本方面，維持性約占一半為18，成長性資本為18，合計36。主要的成長性資本其實是我們正把斜坡道（ramp）一路往下推進到花崗岩層，這樣我們就能到達那些我們看到高品位白銀的更深部位。至於勘探支出，預算是6,000萬美元。

As you know, as a company, we plan to drill close to 240,000 meters this year. This is ongoing. We have always between 14 and 18 drills starting. David has a team of almost 400 people in exploration, including all the drillers. So it's a large program, but we need that program to convert the resource at Boumadine from inferred to measured and indicated for the feasibility study of next year.

如各位所知，作為一家公司，我們今年計畫鑽探接近240,000公尺。這項工作正在進行中。我們一直同時啟動14到18台鑽機。David 的勘探團隊接近400人，包含所有鑽探人員。因此這是一個大型計畫，但我們需要透過這個計畫，將 Boumadine 的資源量從推斷（inferred）轉換為實測與指示（measured and indicated），以支援明年可行性研究。

Taking you to slide number 10. Where are we going this year? What are the priorities? Well, look, Boumadine is a top priority. We are very happy and very -- in an extremely good position that we can do Boumadine with no outside debt, no equity financing. We have the money available to push on Boumadine.

帶各位看第10頁投影片。今年我們要往哪裡走？優先事項是什麼？很明顯，Boumadine 是最高優先。我們非常高興，而且處於極佳的位置：我們可以在不使用外部負債、也不進行股權融資的情況下推進 Boumadine。我們有可用資金來加速推進 Boumadine。

So we are pushing on the feasibility study, which we want to be ready for next year 2027 and also the updated PEA, which will be ready by the end of June, beginning of July. And so we have -- we are stepping up on every aspect. I always say every chapter of the study, make it water, ESS, energy, flow sheet, logistics, every chapter is being worked on. And as soon as it's ready, it's being executed. So the feasibility study is ongoing.

因此我們正推進可行性研究，目標是在明年2027年完成，同時也推進更新版 PEA（初步經濟評估），將於6月底、7月初完成。所以我們——正在各方面全面加速。我常說，研究的每一章節——水、ESS、能源、流程圖（flow sheet）、物流——每一章都在進行中。一旦準備就緒，就立即執行。因此可行性研究正在進行。

We are -- we have identified the contractors for the open pit. We have identified the contractors for the flow sheet. We will be going into detailed engineering shortly. I mean we are working with our partners on logistics. All of that is moving towards completion of the feasibility next year and beginning of construction.

我們——已經確定露天礦的承包商。我們也確定了流程（flow sheet）的承包商。我們很快會進入詳細工程設計。同時我們也正與合作夥伴就物流合作。所有這些都在朝向明年完成可行性研究並開始建設的目標推進。

On the drilling front at Boumadine, we drilled in Q1, obviously, 42,000 meters. And this was the ramp-up, plus it was the one month of Ramadan, which we -- during Ramadan, sometimes we do not drill as much, and we do have a week off at the end of Ramadan. So for Q1, we've drilled 42,000 meters.

在 Boumadine 的鑽探方面，我們在第一季（Q1）鑽了42,000公尺。這是產能爬坡期，加上齋戒月（Ramadan）的一個月——在齋戒月期間，我們有時鑽探量會較少，而且齋戒月結束時我們會休息一週。因此第一季我們鑽了42,000公尺。

We're stepping up there because the objective is 180,000 meters for the main structure and an additional 20,000 meters on the regional play. So that is being done, and we will be delivering on that. At Zgounder, the plan is, well, just be more efficient, control your costs, make sure that we maximize our revenue, that the mining is very precise, that there's no dilution.

我們正在加速，因為目標是主構造（main structure）180,000公尺，另外在區域性勘探（regional play）再加20,000公尺。所以這正在進行，我們也會達成交付。在 Zgounder，計畫就是更有效率、控制成本、確保我們最大化營收，採礦要非常精準，避免稀釋（dilution）。

And the key thing at $80 or $90 silver is let's not leave an ounce behind and sterilize those ounces. We take it out. If it's between 50 and 80 gram per tonne, we stockpile it. We don't -- we expense it. It's in the cash cost, but we stockpile it. And if it is between 80 and the deposit grade, we put it through, we have a stockpile and then we put it through the plant.

而在銀價每盎司80或90美元的情況下，關鍵是不要留下任何一盎司，並讓那些盎司被「封存／失效」（sterilize）。我們要把它採出來。如果品位在每噸50到80克之間，我們就堆存（stockpile）。我們不——我們把它列為費用。它會反映在現金成本（cash cost）裡，但我們會堆存。如果品位在80克到礦床平均品位之間，我們就送入處理；我們先堆存，然後送進選廠（plant）。

So it's extremely important for us to maximize what we're mining, the ounces that we're mining, and that's why we're running way above 4,000 tonnes per day and controlling costs. We've also been working on the tailings facility because originally, the tailing was planned for 2,800 tonnes a day. We're now running close to 4,000 tonnes a day.

因此，對我們而言，最大化採出的礦量與盎司數非常重要，這也是為什麼我們的日處理量遠高於4,000噸，同時控制成本。我們也一直在處理尾礦設施（tailings facility），因為原本尾礦設計是每天2,800噸。我們現在的運行接近每天4,000噸。

So we've decided to do the first phase of the tailings construction to increase the tailings capacity, and that will be done this summer. We will be all done over the summer. So when you look on page 11 of where we are, we have Zgounder that will be producing life of mine, 6 million ounces a year, life of mine cash costs at $16, AISC around $19 life of mine, extremely profitable, and that is only from one structure.

因此我們決定先進行尾礦建設的第一期，以提升尾礦容量，並將在今年夏天完成。我們會在整個夏季把它全部做完。所以當你看第11頁我們的現況，Zgounder 將在礦山全壽命（life of mine）期間每年生產600萬盎司；礦山全壽命現金成本為16美元，AISC（全維持成本）約為19美元（礦山全壽命），獲利能力極強，而這僅來自一個構造。

You will see in the coming weeks, some more exploration results coming out of Zgounder because, of course, at Zgounder, we would like to increase the life of mine from 11 years, hopefully, to 15 years and if possible, even increase the throughput. Our development asset, Boumadine, well, that is -- the PEA is being reviewed. The resource update will come with the PEA. As of the end of 2024, we were looking at 450 million ounces of silver equivalent.

接下來幾週你會看到更多來自 Zgounder 的勘探結果，因為在 Zgounder，我們希望把礦山壽命從11年提高到15年；如果可能，甚至提高處理量（throughput）。我們的開發資產 Boumadine——目前 PEA 正在審查中。資源量更新將與 PEA 一併發布。截至2024年底，我們看到的是4.5億盎司銀當量（silver equivalent）。

That will be updated because we've drilled more than one year the structure. So that will be updated, and it will be included in the new PEA. But on the right-hand side, to me, that's the most important strategic view of Aya is we are currently a 6 million-ounce producer at $19 all-in life of mine at Zgounder.

這將會更新，因為我們在該構造上已鑽探超過一年。因此它會更新，並納入新的 PEA。但在右側，對我而言，Aya 最重要的策略視角是：我們目前在 Zgounder 以礦山全壽命19美元的全維持成本（AISC）成為年產600萬盎司的生產商。

We will add to that by 2029, 37 million ounces of silver production equivalent at an all-in cost of $14, making us a 43 million ounce producer, of course, silver equivalent. And that will have an average AISC when you look at 20 or 19 for Zgounder and 14 for Boumadine, you're looking at mid-teens for an AISC. Depending on what silver price you want to assume, you can do the math.

到2029年，我們將在此基礎上新增3,700萬盎司銀當量的產量，且全維持成本為14美元，使我們成為年產4,300萬盎司的生產商（當然是銀當量）。而當你把 Zgounder 的20或19美元與 Boumadine 的14美元放在一起看，平均 AISC 會落在十幾美元中段。至於你想假設的銀價是多少，你可以自行計算。

On top of that, Aya is a major exploration play. We have two districts. We have the Boumadine district, and we have the Zgounder district. So not only do you have two projects, you have two mines, you have the Zgounder mine and you have the Boumadine in development mine, you have the Boumadine regional play. And that is an extremely large play. We have 800 square kilometers.

除此之外，Aya 也是一個重要的勘探標的。我們有兩個礦區（district）。我們有 Boumadine 礦區，也有 Zgounder 礦區。所以你不只是有兩個專案，你有兩座礦山：Zgounder 礦山，以及正在開發中的 Boumadine 礦山；你還有 Boumadine 的區域性勘探（regional play）。而那是一個非常、非常大的勘探版圖。我們擁有800平方公里。

We will be drilling there 20,000 meters on the regional play. Of course, the 180,000 meters on the main zone that is infill, though we are finding new zones. You saw in the last press release, we had identified new zones, but we will be pushing the drilling on the main zone, of course, up to 180,000 meters.

我們將在該區域性勘探上鑽探20,000公尺。當然，主區（main zone）的180,000公尺屬於加密鑽探（infill），儘管我們也在發現新的區帶。你在上一份新聞稿中看到，我們已識別出新的區帶，但我們仍會推進主區鑽探，當然，目標是達到180,000公尺。

And on the exploration on the regional, as we keep telling the team, as soon as you have another structure where you want to really drill it out, just come back to the committee and -- to the management committee, and we will give you more budget.

至於區域性勘探，我們一直告訴團隊：只要你們發現另一個構造並希望真正把它鑽透（drill it out），就回到委員會——也就是管理委員會——我們會給你們更多預算。

So Boumadine as an exploration play is very unique. It's got big systems. The main zone is over 5.4 kilometer. You have also Asirem, which is an 8-kilometer long structure. I mean we have very, very, very strong zone. Tizi is a parallel zone, and it's also 5.4 kilometer long. So Boumadine is a major regional play.

因此，Boumadine 作為勘探標的非常獨特。它擁有大型系統。主區長度超過5.4公里。另外還有 Asirem，這是一條長達8公里的構造。我的意思是，我們有非常、非常、非常強的區帶。Tizi 是一條平行區帶，長度同樣為5.4公里。因此 Boumadine 是一個重要的區域性勘探版圖。

And Zgounder -- well, Zgounder is -- we've done a lot of work. We've done a lot of geological work. We've used AI. We have many targets. We have new theory and new geological concept behind Zgounder that we're going to be testing this year. So it is also a very interesting geological play.

至於 Zgounder——嗯，Zgounder——我們已經做了很多工作。我們做了大量的地質工作。我們也使用了 AI。我們有很多目標。我們在 Zgounder 背後有新的理論與新的地質概念，將在今年進行測試。因此，這也是一個非常有趣的地質勘探標的。

So in Aya, you have all the geological upside of a major, major exploration company drilling 230,000, 240,000 ounces -- 240,000 meters of exploration drilling coming in 2026. And then you have the production coming from Zgounder and you have the development at Boumadine.

所以在 Aya，你擁有一家大型、非常大型的勘探公司所帶來的所有地質上行空間，並且在 2026 年將進行 230,000、240,000 盎司——240,000 公尺的勘探鑽探。然後你還有來自 Zgounder 的生產，以及 Boumadine 的開發。

So again, to conclude and to go into the Q&A period, very strong quarter in our weakest quarter as planned. We are pleased with the production. We are confirming our guidance. And we look forward to a stronger Q2 and much stronger Q4 (sic -- Q3) and [Q5] (sic -- Q4) to close the year again. And based on the silver price, it should be an extremely profitable year.

因此再次總結並進入問答環節：如計畫所示，我們在最弱的一季仍交出非常強勁的一季表現。我們對產量感到滿意。我們確認我們的指引不變。並且我們期待第二季更強，以及第四季（原文誤植——第三季）與[第五季]（原文誤植——第四季）更為強勁，以再次完成年度收官。而且基於白銀價格，今年應該會是極度獲利的一年。

So thank you, and I will turn it back to the operator for the Q&A period.

所以謝謝，我把時間交回給主持人進行問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（主持人指示）

Larry Liu, CIBC.

CIBC 的 Larry Liu。

Hi, that one team. Thanks for taking my question. I guess I'll start off asking about the severe weather conditions. So Benoit, can you tell us what are some of the precautionary measures now that the team have taken? I know you mentioned that this is a very rare event, but are there any precautionary measures you've taken to prevent any further impact to your current operations?

嗨，各位團隊。謝謝讓我提問。我想先從惡劣天候狀況談起。所以 Benoit，你能否告訴我們團隊目前採取了哪些預防措施？我知道你提到這是非常罕見的事件，但你們是否採取了任何預防措施，以避免對目前營運造成進一步影響？

And I guess second part of that question is your stockpile did increase by 44% or 15 months' worth of production. Is there an optimal kind of size of stockpile you're looking for? Or should we start to see it gradually decline as the milling throughput comes back up again?

我想這個問題的第二部分是，你們的礦石堆存增加了 44%，或相當於 15 個月的產量。你們理想中的堆存規模大概是多少？或者當磨礦處理量回升後，我們是否會看到堆存逐步下降？

Yes. Thank you for your question. I'll pass it over to Raph, who was at site for all of that period, and will tell you what we have done to mitigate the risk of weather-related events and what it does to our production profile, which is only in Q1, by the way, because after that, it's sunshine for the rest of the year.

是的。謝謝你的提問。我把問題交給 Raph，他在那段期間一直在現場，會向你說明我們為降低天候相關事件風險所做的措施，以及這對我們產量曲線的影響——順帶一提，影響只在第一季，因為之後今年剩下的時間基本上都是晴天。

So we're in the mountain and as a good mountain climate when it rains, it pours. So that essentially results into stickiness of the ore and decreases throughput of the crushing circuit. To catch up, and it's something we've been working on for a while to increase the crushing throughput, which is the actual bottleneck in the plant.

我們在山區，而山區氣候的特點是：一下雨就會下很大。這基本上會導致礦石變得黏稠，並降低破碎迴路的處理量。為了追趕進度，我們也已經投入一段時間在提升破碎處理量，因為破碎其實是廠內真正的瓶頸。

We did in Q1 3,633 tonnes per day on average in Q1. And as soon as sunshine came back in April, we're back on track at 4,000 right there in April. So the worst is behind us for the rest of the year essentially. But to answer your question, to mitigate that, we gave a small contract to a contractor, a crushing contractor that is up in operation now a bit as a contingency for weather and also to help debottleneck the plant a bit on the crushing side.

我們在第一季的日均處理量為 3,633 噸。而四月一恢復晴天，我們在四月就回到 4,000（噸/日）的軌道上。所以就今年剩下的時間而言，最糟的情況基本上已經過去了。但為了回答你關於緩解措施的問題，我們給了一家承包商一份小合約——一個破碎承包商——目前已投入運作，作為天候的應變方案，同時也協助在破碎端為工廠稍微去瓶頸。

So this contractor will stay there as long as we need it. And we're also contemplating to increase our own crushing capacity within Zgounder plant, and that's something under study that we should be able to make a decision on that soon. But bottom line is we have a contractor that helps us out since maybe a bit less than a month now that can compensate for a bit lower crushing capacity to make sure the plant remained saturated.

只要我們需要，這家承包商就會留在那裡。我們也在考慮提升 Zgounder 選廠自身的破碎能力，這項工作正在研究中，我們應該很快就能做出決定。但重點是：我們有一個承包商自大約不到一個月前開始協助我們，能在破碎能力略低時提供補償，以確保選廠維持滿載運轉。

And the stockpile?

那礦石堆存呢？

Yes, sorry. So the stockpile, we sit about 300,000 tonnes right now. It's close to a three months' worth of production. It's a buffer that I'm personally comfortable with. We've been really pushing over the last year to bring the open pit to steady state. Now we're producing comfortably over 3,000 tonnes per day in the open pit with peaks much above that. It gives us time to do the pushback if we want to later on this year.

是的，不好意思。目前我們的堆存大約是 300,000 噸。大概接近三個月的產量。這是一個我個人覺得舒適的緩衝量。過去一年我們一直很努力把露天礦推進到穩態。現在露天礦的產量已能穩定超過每日 3,000 噸，尖峰時遠高於此。這也讓我們在今年稍晚若要做推幫（pushback）時有充裕時間。

It gives us time to shut down upper levels in the underground that will be mined in the open pit. So it's the flexibility that we always believed in that helped us out in many ways. So to answer your question, 300,000 tonnes is probably where we want to be. It gives us the flexibility we need for future pushback and the flexibility to maximize, again, the ore recovery by the open pit.

它也讓我們有時間關閉地下礦上部、未來將由露天礦開採的層位。所以這就是我們一直相信的彈性，並在很多方面幫助了我們。因此回答你的問題，300,000 噸大概就是我們希望維持的水位。它提供我們未來推幫所需的彈性，也提供彈性以透過露天礦再次最大化礦石回收。

So now that we've reached this capacity and this flexibility, we will look to continue optimizing the underground development, especially on the sublevels. So we can focus now more our efforts into the lower levels and keep the stockpile around 300,000. I wouldn't be surprised to see it go down a bit through the year, which is fine that's why it's there, sort of push back in the open pit towards the end of the year.

所以現在我們已達到這個產能與彈性，我們會持續優化地下礦的開發，特別是在分層（sublevels）方面。因此我們現在可以把更多精力放在較深部的層位，同時把堆存維持在約 300,000 噸。我不會意外看到它在今年過程中略為下降，這沒問題——這正是它存在的原因——以便在年底前後進行露天礦的推幫。

Perfect. Sounds good. I guess kind of shifting gears away from Zgounder now and walking back to Boumadine. This quarter, there was some commercialization of the pyrite concentrate. We see the cost come in at $11.86 per ounce of silver equivalent. How should we look at it?

完美。聽起來很好。我想先把焦點從 Zgounder 移開，回到 Boumadine。本季有一些黃鐵礦精礦的商業化。我們看到成本為每盎司白銀當量 11.86 美元。我們應該如何看待這個數字？

I know it excludes mining, but how does that compare to your PEA, for example? And would this be a good read-through in terms of cost we should see within the feasibility study coming up?

我知道它不包含採礦成本，但例如相較於你們的 PEA（初步經濟評估）如何？而這是否能作為一個良好的參考，用來推估即將出爐的可行性研究中的成本水準？

Well, for the current pyrite reclaim, we essentially dig a pyrite stockpile, we crush it and we send it in trucks. So our costs are really low. Our costs will remain for the rest of the operation, but it's tough to make a parallel with that with our future Boumadine project. It has nothing to do. This is a small project.

嗯，就目前的黃鐵礦回收而言，我們基本上是挖取一個黃鐵礦堆存，把它破碎後用卡車運走。所以我們的成本確實很低。在這項作業剩餘期間，我們的成本會維持在這個水準，但很難把它與未來的 Boumadine 專案做類比。兩者沒有關係。這是一個小型專案。

It's going to be reclaimed over the next two years. It gives good cash flow. It's a good exercise to start building a small operating team at Boumadine and to have more presence on our Boumadine site as we go from PEA to feasibility to construction. But one is not comparable with another.

它會在接下來兩年內回收完畢。它帶來良好的現金流。這也是一個很好的練習，讓我們開始在 Boumadine 建立一個小型營運團隊，並在我們從 PEA 走向可行性研究再到建設的過程中，提升我們在 Boumadine 現場的存在感。但兩者無法相互比較。

Sounds good. All right. I think that's all the questions I have today. Thanks, Raphael, and thanks, Ben for taking my question. Thank you.

聽起來不錯。好。我想我今天的問題就到這裡。謝謝你，Raphael，也謝謝你，Ben，回答我的問題。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Justin Chan, SCP Resource Finance.

Justin Chan，SCP Resource Finance。

Hi guys, yeah, congrats on a good quarter. My first one is just on -- I guess, on the mine plan for the rest of the year. I guess, compared to Q1, how should we think about strip for the open pit? And then I saw the underground really pushed tonnes quite hard. Do you expect that to continue? Or I think you were foreshadowing maybe you're shifting more to development and into the lower levels. So should we expect tonnes mined to come down a little bit from that high pace in Q1 from the underground?

嗨，各位，是的，恭喜這一季表現不錯。我第一個問題是——我想是關於今年剩餘時間的礦山計畫。我想，相較於第一季，露天礦的剝採比應該怎麼看？另外我看到地下礦在噸數上推得很猛。你們預期這會持續嗎？或者我想你們有稍微預告，可能會把重心轉向開發、往更低的水平推進。所以我們是否應該預期地下礦的採礦噸數，會從第一季那樣的高節奏稍微降一點？

Justin, yes, good question. Actually. It's -- we've been -- as you all know, we've been pushing tonnage both in the underground, the open pit. We had -- we really wanted to bring back the stockpile (inaudible), show everybody we could have a good throughput at Zgounder, both in the open pit in the underground, in the plant.

Justin，是的，好問題。其實。這——如各位所知，我們一直在推地下礦與露天礦的噸數。我們——我們真的想把堆料（聽不清）帶回來，向大家展示我們在Zgounder無論是露天、地下，還是選礦廠，都能有很好的處理量。

And I think those discussions are behind us now. So we have full team underground. The open pit has showed it can deliver. Now the open pit is wide open. We have room to work. So first, for your strip ratio, we expect the long-term strip ratio to be what we published in our latest 43-101.

我想那些討論現在已經告一段落了。所以我們地下礦已經是完整團隊。露天礦也證明它能交付。現在露天礦的作業面非常開闊。我們有空間可以作業。所以首先，關於你問的剝採比，我們預期長期剝採比會與我們最新的43-101報告中公布的一致。

So this strip ratio of 9, it's temporary. We will have months at 8 or 9 like we have now, and we will have months at 20 like we had in the past. Overall, it's between 13 and 16, and this is what we expect on the longer term. Can you hear me, Justin?

所以目前這個9的剝採比是暫時的。我們會像現在一樣，有些月份在8或9，也會有些月份像過去那樣到20。整體而言會在13到16之間，這是我們對較長期的預期。Justin，你聽得到我嗎？

Yes, I can hear you well. Thanks, Raph.

有的，我聽得很清楚。謝謝，Raph。

Okay. And so for the underground, absolutely, we've been at a rate of over 1,500 tonnes per day underground. And we have some of these levels that we want to shut them down because we want to increase the maximum ore recovery through the open pit. So to answer your question, yes, there will be a shift in focus in Q2 moving on for the rest of the year to accelerate the ramp down and to transfer some of this production power into stope development and sublevel development.

好。至於地下礦，沒錯，我們一直維持在每天超過1,500噸的地下產量。而我們有一些水平想要關閉，因為我們希望透過露天礦提高最大礦石回收。所以回答你的問題，是的，從第二季開始、今年剩餘時間，重心會轉移，加速降載，並把部分產能轉到採場（stope）開發與分段水平（sublevel）開發上。

We're comfortable at the underground rate at around 1,000 tonnes per day is something we're comfortable with because the open pit is well established now. So you can expect moving on to have the rate of the underground to slightly decrease 1,000 to 1,200 to 1,300 tonnes per day is probably the sweet spot we need to really focus on those sublevels for which we also know we have pretty good grade going down.

我們對地下礦大約每天1,000噸的速度感到滿意，因為露天礦現在已經很穩定了。所以你可以預期接下來地下礦的速度會稍微下降；每天1,000到1,200到1,300噸，可能是我們需要的甜蜜點，讓我們能真正專注在那些分段水平，而我們也知道往下的品位相當不錯。

Okay. Got you. That's great color. And on the plant, do you think you'll keep the mobile crushers around even when it gets dry? And what would your throughput potential be if that's the case?

好的。了解。這些說明很有幫助。那關於選礦廠，你們覺得即使進入乾季，也會把移動式破碎機留著嗎？如果是的話，你們的處理量潛力會是多少？

So again, we -- what we published in our feasibility is above 3,600 this year and 3,850 next year. Internally, we're trying to beat that. We have -- like our best days right now are around 4,300 tonnes per day. Those are punctual like best daily performance. I think, Justin, around 3,800 is probably where we'll be comfortably at in the near future. And that will -- like we're really pushing this plant, as you know, nameplate is 2,700.

所以再說一次，我們在可行性研究中公布的是今年超過3,600（噸/日），明年3,850。內部我們正努力超越這個數字。我們——像我們目前最好的日子大約在每天4,300噸。那是偶發的、單日最佳表現。我想，Justin，短期內大概3,800是我們能比較舒適維持的水準。而且——如你所知，我們真的在把這座廠推到極限，名義產能是2,700。

Now we're near 4,000. It's difficult for me to speculate above that because we need to go bottleneck after bottleneck. I think there's a bit of juice left in the plant, but we need extra crushing capacity for that. So 3,800 is probably where we would be. Some good months above that, some bad months around that. But to answer your question, 3,800, including the mobile crusher that we'll keep as long as we need.

現在我們接近4,000。要我去推測高於這個數字有點困難，因為我們需要一個瓶頸接著一個瓶頸去排除。我認為選礦廠還有一些餘裕，但為此我們需要額外的破碎能力。所以3,800大概是我們會落在的水準。有些好月份會高於這個，有些差月份會在這附近。但回答你的問題：3,800，包含我們會在需要時持續保留的移動式破碎機。

Okay. Perfect. And I'm not sure who's the best person to ask this question to. But on Boumadine, the I guess, the ounces that weren't sold this quarter, do you expect to sell them in Q2? Or should that become spread through the rest of the year? And also, just given the world being pretty short of sulfur, will there be any noticeable increase in payability, do you think for Q2 and 3? Or is it too early to say that?

好的。完美。另外我不確定這個問題該問誰最合適。但關於Boumadine，我想是本季沒有賣出的那些盎司，你們預期會在第二季賣出嗎？還是會分散到今年剩餘時間？另外，考量到全球硫磺供應相當吃緊，你們認為第二季和第三季的可支付比例（payability）會有任何明顯提升嗎？還是現在說還太早？

Justin, it's Ugo. Yes, for sales of Boumadine, it's not that the clients don't want it. I think we get called every week and they say, can we get more material. So especially with what's happening in the sulfur market today. So we are -- logistics by truck, like we're learning it. So it's going to be spread out throughout the year, and we're trying to modify things a little bit to send larger shipments.

Justin，我是Ugo。是的，關於Boumadine的銷售，並不是客戶不想要。我想我們每週都會接到電話，他們說能不能拿到更多料。尤其是考量到目前硫磺市場的情況。所以我們——卡車物流方面，我們還在摸索學習。因此會分散在全年出貨，我們也在嘗試稍微調整，以便出更大批次的貨。

And so that on that, I think, is going to be through the year, but the 1 million ounces of silver equivalent is still what we're on track to do. And in terms of payability, it's not going to change because it's old material that has been there for a long time, the sulfur quantity is a lot less than fresh rock from Boumadine.

所以在這方面，我想會貫穿全年，但白銀當量100萬盎司仍是我們按計畫要達成的。至於可支付比例，不會改變，因為這是放了很久的舊料，硫含量比Boumadine的新鮮原礦低很多。

And so the payabilities aren't going to -- and the volumes are small on the 200,000 to 240,000 tonnes total. And so that we've agreed on a price and on a contract for -- with our traders. And so that's not going to change throughout that stockpile.

因此可支付比例不會——而且總量也不大，總計約20萬到24萬噸。所以我們已經和貿易商就價格與合約達成一致。因此在這批堆料期間不會有變動。

So Justin, if I can add on payability, the payability is changing on the bigger project because that has 45% sulfur. As Ugo said, the tailings is a bit worn out. So it's got very good gold and silver content. Pyrite is a bit higher. So it's not changing on the small project. But on the bigger project, it is changing in an important way.

Justin，如果我可以補充一下可支付比例，在較大的專案上，可支付比例正在改變，因為那邊硫含量有45%。如Ugo所說，尾礦已經有點「耗損」了。所以它的金銀含量非常好。黃鐵礦含量稍微高一些。所以小專案不會改變。但在較大的專案上，確實正在以重要的方式改變。

Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Thanks very much. That's really helpful. Thank you, and thanks overall. I'll stay up the line.

是的，完全同意。好的。非常感謝。這真的很有幫助。謝謝你，也謝謝整體的說明。我會繼續在線上。

Mike Kozak, Cantor Fitzgerald.

Mike Kozak，Cantor Fitzgerald。

A few questions from me. First one, Q1, it was the fourth quarter in a row where unit costs at Zgounder on a per tonne basis have trended down. I mean a portion of that is obviously more and more open pit material. But I mean you settled in around $80 a tonne in Q1, you were north of $100 a tonne a few quarters ago. Is that $80 a tonne a good number going forward? Do you think it's going to continue trending down? Or where do you expect to settle out?

我這邊有幾個問題。第一個，Q1 已經是連續第四個季度，Zgounder 的單位成本（按每噸計）呈下降趨勢。我的意思是，其中一部分顯然是露天礦物料占比越來越高。但你們在 Q1 大概落在每噸 80 美元左右，而幾個季度前還在每噸 100 美元以上。往後看，每噸 80 美元算是一個合理的水準嗎？你覺得還會繼續下降嗎？或者你預期會穩定在什麼區間？

I can comment a bit on the ounce unit costs. Our costs have been going down, and we're happy about that. Throughput has been going up and production has been stabilizing in the open pit and the underground. Now a lot of that unit cost saving comes from the underground unit cost per tonne as well as the open pit unit cost per tonne.

我可以就每盎司單位成本稍微評論一下。我們的成本一直在下降，我們對此很高興。處理量一直在上升，露天與地下礦的產量也逐步穩定。目前很多單位成本的節省，來自地下礦每噸單位成本以及露天礦每噸單位成本的改善。

And we've also had gains in the plants as we process more throughput and stabilized cyanide consumption. So we've been winning on all fronts, including site services and surface and utilities as we're toward being a more mature operation, and we're happy to see that. Now that being said, there is a lot of cost fluctuation at Zgounder based on the open pit strip ratio, as you can imagine.

此外，隨著我們處理更多的處理量、氰化物消耗趨於穩定，選廠端也有改善。所以我們在各方面都有所斬獲，包括場站服務、地表作業與公用設施；隨著我們朝更成熟的營運邁進，很高興看到這些成果。不過話說回來，如你所想，Zgounder 的成本會因露天礦剝採比而有相當波動。

So depending on the sequencing, we have months -- this quarter strip ratio was around 9, which is quite exceptional. The overall strip ratio of the open pit gets better through the life of mine. And again, we've made that quite clear in our latest 43-101, but it will increase slightly this year towards -- especially towards the end of the year, we'll have a bit higher strip ratio in the open pit. And I expect our strip ratio for the year to sit between 13 and 16.

因此視採礦順序而定，有些月份——本季剝採比約為 9，這相當罕見。露天礦的整體剝採比在礦山壽命期間會逐步改善。同樣地，我們在最新的 43-101 已經說得很清楚，但今年剝採比會略為上升——尤其到年底，露天礦的剝採比會稍高一些。我預期今年全年的剝採比會落在 13 到 16 之間。

So we'll continue to improve our overall cost. But inherently, the open pit will be more expensive in terms of cost per tonne because we'll converge more towards the 13 to 16 strip ratio as opposed to 9. And let's not forget underground, we need to develop new stopes. Now we have lower levels around 1925 that are operating, that costs are good. But on the long term, the underground cost of the Zgounder mine will slowly creep up as we go deeper and deeper, which is also normal and captured in our projections.

因此我們會持續改善整體成本。但本質上，露天礦的每噸成本會更高，因為剝採比會從 9 收斂到 13 到 16，而不是維持在 9。另外別忘了地下礦也需要開發新的採場（stopes）。目前我們在約 1925 水平的較深部位在運作，成本表現不錯。但長期來看，隨著我們越採越深，Zgounder 礦的地下礦成本會逐步上升，這也屬正常，並已反映在我們的預測中。

Okay. That's good color. Secondly, what do you expect your average -- now that you're making so much money, what do you expect your average income tax expense rate to be this year?

好的。這些說明很有幫助。第二個問題，既然你們現在賺這麼多錢，今年你們預期平均——所得稅費用率大概會是多少？

Ugo?

Ugo？

Yes, so income tax rate. So I think five years ago, the government of Morocco when we were back at 20%, had put out a new law and said that it was going to increase to 35%, in 2026 of 35%. Then during COVID, they added a 5% COVID tax, which got converted into a 5% solidarity tax, which is supposed to be temporary, okay? It's been three years now and going on a fourth year of that tax being in existence.

好的，關於所得稅率。我想大約五年前，摩洛哥政府在我們仍適用 20% 稅率時，推出新法，表示將在 2026 年提高到 35%。之後在 COVID 期間，他們加徵 5% 的 COVID 稅，後來轉為 5% 的團結稅（solidarity tax），理論上是暫時性的，好嗎？但這項稅已經存在三年了，現在正進入第四年。

We are one of 187 companies in Morocco that pay that tax rate. Everybody else that makes less than MAD 100 million of profit pays 20%. We know there's the World Cup coming. I think the government, like all governments needs money.

我們是摩洛哥 187 家需繳納該稅率的公司之一。其他所有獲利低於 1 億摩洛哥迪拉姆（MAD 100 million）的公司都繳 20%。我們也知道世界盃要來了。我想政府跟所有政府一樣，都需要錢。

But more and more, we're starting to see companies like ourselves within the 127 that are saying, hey, 40% income tax is simply not competitive. And so our -- I would expect that '27 moving on, at least that 5% falls away, and then we'll see what happens with the additional tax rate. But yes, it's our biggest cost today.

但我們也越來越看到像我們這樣、在那 127 家之內的公司在說：嘿，40% 的所得稅率根本沒有競爭力。所以我——我預期從 2027 年起，至少那 5% 會取消，然後再看看額外稅率會怎麼走。但沒錯，這是我們目前最大的成本。

Yes. Got it. And then one more, if you don't mind. Cash obviously building at a fast pace. Do you have any options available to you to accelerate repayment of the remaining EBRD debt?

是的。了解。再一個問題，如果你不介意。現金顯然正在快速累積。你們是否有任何選項可以加速償還剩餘的 EBRD 債務？

Yes. So we -- if we want to repay like all debt, we have a -- there's prepayment penalties. We do have a slight out is that we can do cash sweeps out of the country back to head office and we have a cash sweep of 30%. And with that comes no prepayment. So we have to do that at specific timings when we pay -- when we repay capital in January and July.

有。所以我們——如果想提前償還（像所有債務一樣），會有提前還款罰金。我們確實有一個小小的例外：我們可以把資金以現金掃回（cash sweep）方式匯出國、回到總部，而我們的 cash sweep 比例是 30%。而這種方式不會有提前還款罰金。但我們必須在特定時點操作，也就是在我們於一月與七月償還本金時。

So assuming things continue like this, I think we're going to be using that option to cash sweep money out of the country and then force a cash sweep and prepay some like that. That's the expectation. But capital cost and cash has to keep going up. But assuming it does, I think that's an option we'll use.

所以假設情況持續如此，我想我們會使用這個選項，把資金以 cash sweep 方式匯出國，然後透過強制 cash sweep 來做部分提前償還。這是我們的預期。但資本成本與現金必須持續上升。不過假設確實如此，我認為這會是我們會採用的一個選項。

Okay. Very good. That's helpful. That's it for me. I'll jump back in a queue. Thanks.

好的。非常好。這很有幫助。我這邊就到這裡。我回到排隊序列裡。謝謝。

Eric Winmill, Scotiabank.

Eric Winmill，Scotiabank。

Hi, everyone. Thanks for taking my question today. Just want to ask quickly about the tailings. I know you're increasing capacity there. Can you just remind us how long that's going to get you, how much runway you'll have once that expansion is done?

各位好。謝謝今天讓我提問。我想快速問一下尾礦的部分。我知道你們正在提高那邊的容量。可以提醒我們一下，擴建完成後大概能支撐多久、會有多少緩衝期（runway）嗎？

Sure. So we -- the first phase was obviously a short one to keep capital cost throughout the initial construction. Phase 2 is our biggest phase. So we have about 2.5 years of storage in it. Obviously, it went down because throughput went up quite a bit. So we have over 2.5 years, after which we have another phase planned.

當然。所以我們——第一期顯然是比較短的一期，目的是在初期建設期間控制資本成本。第二期是我們最大的一期。因此我們大約有 2.5 年的庫容。當然，因為處理量大幅提升，所以可用年限有所下降。所以我們有超過 2.5 年，之後我們還規劃了另一個階段。

Okay. And maybe just on the Boumadine. So you're coming out with the new PEA, you said sort of May, June -- or excuse me, June, July time frame. Any views on CapEx there? Should we expect meaningful changes from the last study that you put out?

好的。另外可能問一下 Boumadine。你們將發布新的 PEA，你說大概在五月、六月——抱歉，是六月、七月的時間點。對那邊的資本支出（CapEx）有什麼看法嗎？我們是否應該預期相較你們上一份研究會有顯著變動？

Well, Raph is with us today, and he's in charge of the team that's overseeing the Boumadine study. So I guess it's the right time to ask him.

嗯，Raph 今天和我們在一起，他負責監督 Boumadine 研究的團隊。所以我想現在正是問他的好時機。

So in the PEA, we had a CapEx with a healthy contingency for that level of the study. And at that point, as we're advancing through this updated PEA and also the feasibility study, we will have some extra costs as we define and detail the project, but we'll also reduce the contingency as the project is well defined. So right now, we sit at -- we don't expect capital to go higher than the PEA or sit in the same range.

所以在 PEA 中，我們的資本支出（CapEx）在該研究等級下已包含充足的預備金。而在我們推進這份更新後的 PEA 以及可行性研究的過程中，隨著我們對專案進一步界定與細化，會有一些額外成本，但同時也會因為專案定義更清楚而降低預備金比例。所以目前我們的看法是——我們不預期資本支出會高於 PEA，或至少會維持在相同區間。

Okay. Great. That's really helpful. Appreciate it. Maybe just one more on Zgounder as well. So you're looking to increase the crushing capacity there. Any updates in terms of ordering of long lead time items or critical path items we should be looking at or maybe updates on the status, please?

好的。很好。這真的很有幫助。謝謝。另外也想再問一個關於 Zgounder 的問題。你們打算提高那邊的破碎產能。在長交期設備或關鍵路徑項目的下單方面，有沒有任何更新值得我們關注，或是能否請你更新一下目前的進度狀態？

Well, the good news is we already have the process unit, the cone crusher, we have it. So that's a relief. And once we decide to go ahead with that expansion, we're probably looking to a nine-month expansion.

嗯，好消息是我們已經有製程設備——圓錐破碎機，我們已經拿到了。所以這讓人鬆一口氣。一旦我們決定推進這項擴建，我們大概會看一個九個月的擴建期。

So yes, it's something that can be done within -- probably within a year. And it's not really important because in the meantime, we have the crushing contractor then bridge that gap.

所以是的，這件事可以在——大概在一年內完成。而且其實也不是那麼關鍵，因為在此期間我們有破碎承包商可以先把這個缺口補上。

Okay, fantastic. That's very helpful. I appreciate the added color. I'll hop back in the queue.

好的，太棒了。這非常有幫助。謝謝你補充更多細節。我回到隊列裡。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our Q&A period. I would now like to turn the call back over to Benoit La Salle for closing remarks.

各位女士先生，我們的問答環節到此結束。接下來我想把電話交回給 Benoit La Salle 作結語。

Thank you, operator. Thank you for all the questions. Look, what is coming for us now, as I mentioned it, we'll have some exploration results coming in the next few weeks. We'll have a Boumadine exploration press release. In the next week or two, we'll have the same as Zgounder. We also are looking at in-country consolidation of ground because Morocco is very interesting.

謝謝，接線員。謝謝大家的提問。接下來我們會有一些勘探結果在未來幾週內出爐，正如我提到的。我們會發布一則 Boumadine 勘探新聞稿。在接下來一到兩週，我們也會針對 Zgounder 發布同樣的內容。我們也在評估在國內整合土地（礦權）布局，因為摩洛哥非常有吸引力。

It's got fantastic geology, and we have a first-mover advantage, and we will -- we are taking advantage of this. So you can expect some -- more news from us. You can -- we will be on the road for the coming two months meeting some of our shareholders in the United States and in Europe. As you're fully aware, we started trading a week ago on -- or 10 days ago on NASDAQ.

那裡的地質條件非常出色，而我們具備先行者優勢，我們也將——正在善用這個優勢。所以你們可以期待我們帶來——更多消息。接下來兩個月我們也會外出路演，與美國及歐洲的一些股東會面。如各位所知，我們在——大約一週前，或 10 天前開始在 NASDAQ 交易。

It's going extremely well. We're getting a lot of positive feedback. So we're really pleased with the NASDAQ listing. So globally, and again, I will close on this, you have -- Aya is a company that is in Morocco, focusing in Morocco, where the geology is exceptional. You can see it on our discovery costs.

進展非常順利。我們收到很多正面的回饋。所以我們對 NASDAQ 上市感到非常滿意。整體而言，我再用這點作結：Aya 是一家位於摩洛哥、專注於摩洛哥的公司，而那裡的地質條件極為卓越。你們可以從我們的發現成本看得出來。

There were some slides that were put together by a competitor recently on discovery costs, and we have the lowest discovery cost in our industry because of the geology. The jurisdiction is probably one of the best in the world with the permitting, with the employees, with the people.

最近有一家同業整理了一些關於發現成本的投影片，而由於地質條件的關係，我們在產業中擁有最低的發現成本。在許可審批、員工與人才方面，這個司法管轄區可能是全球最好的之一。

We are in a country that does not just tolerate mining, but in a country where mining is part of their strategic plan, and they want it to be very successful. And we have a team at Aya now, which has built many, many mines and has shown geological expertise. So you have a very strong growth profile with Boumadine being developed and starting to be built in the next few quarters towards a 37 million ounces of annual production of silver equivalent coming at Boumadine, which is just from only one structure.

我們所在的國家不只是容許採礦，而是把採礦納入其戰略規劃的一部分，並希望它非常成功。而我們 Aya 現在的團隊，已經建成了非常多座礦山，也展現了地質專業能力。因此你們會看到非常強勁的成長輪廓：Boumadine 正在開發中，並將在未來幾個季度開始建設，目標是在 Boumadine 實現每年 3,700 萬盎司白銀當量的年產量——而這還只是來自單一構造。

So you have a beautiful growth profile in the company. You have core assets with two districts, the Boumadine district and the Zgounder district. And you have a company that will spend USD60 million in exploration drilling over 200,000 meters and over 230,000 meters this year. So major geological upside, strong cash flow, great core assets in one of the best jurisdictions in the world.

所以公司有非常漂亮的成長曲線。我們有核心資產，涵蓋兩個礦區：Boumadine 礦區與 Zgounder 礦區。而公司今年將投入 6,000 萬美元進行勘探鑽探，總鑽探長度超過 200,000 公尺並超過 230,000 公尺。因此具備重大的地質上行空間、強勁的現金流，以及位於全球最佳司法管轄區之一的優質核心資產。

So look, we will be coming back to follow Morocco in the World Cup of soccer or what they call football because they have an amazing team, and that will be the topic of all the news flow coming out of Morocco for the next couple of months. So again, thank you so much for participating in this conference call. We look forward to seeing you at the Q2 call.

所以你看，我們接下來也會回來關注摩洛哥在世界盃足球賽的表現——或他們稱之為 football——因為他們有一支令人驚艷的球隊，而這也將成為未來幾個月摩洛哥各種新聞動態的焦點。再次非常感謝各位參與這次電話會議。我們期待在第二季（Q2）電話會議再與各位見面。

And for many of you, we will be seeing you in all the conferences that are starting next week in Vegas and continuing to London the week after and on and on for the rest till the Rick Rule Conference in July in Boca Raton and then we should take a few weeks off for the summer. So thank you very much. We'll see you in the coming weeks. And otherwise, we'll see you at the Q2 conference call in August. Thank you.

另外，對於許多朋友，我們也會在下週於拉斯維加斯開始的一系列會議上見到各位，接著隔週到倫敦，之後一路延續到 7 月在博卡拉頓（Boca Raton）舉行的 Rick Rule 會議，然後我們應該會在夏季休息幾週。非常感謝。我們未來幾週見。否則，我們就在 8 月的第二季（Q2）電話會議上見。謝謝。

Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

感謝各位的參與。您現在可以掛線。各位，祝您有美好的一天。