Coeur Mining Inc (CDE) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Coeur Mining Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎來到 Coeur Mining 2022 年第四季度財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意正在記錄此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mitchell Krebs, President and CEO. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給總裁兼首席執行官 Mitchell Krebs。請繼續。

Good morning, and thanks for joining our fourth quarter and 2022 earnings call. Before I begin, please note our cautionary language on forward-looking statements in today's slide deck and refer to our SEC filings on our website.

早上好，感謝您參加我們的第四季度和 2022 年財報電話會議。在我開始之前，請注意我們在今天的幻燈片中關於前瞻性陳述的警示性語言，並參考我們在我們網站上提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件。

I'll start with the main highlights on Slide 3 before turning the call over to Mick, Tom and Aoife. The fourth quarter was Coeur's strongest quarter of the year, which helped to achieve our overall full year production guidance for the third consecutive year, definitely not an easy task last year with such unprecedented volatility. Rochester was the main driver to our solid finish last year. Both silver and gold production increased over 30% quarter-over-quarter with sharply lower costs. Ongoing operational enhancements and higher grades contributed to Rochester's results as we begin the transition to the newly expanded infrastructure, where construction remains on track to be completed midyear.

在將電話轉交給 Mick、Tom 和 Aoife 之前，我將從幻燈片 3 的主要亮點開始。第四季度是 Coeur 年度最強勁的季度，這有助於我們連續第三年實現全年總體生產目標，這在去年出現如此前所未有的波動時絕對不是一件容易的事。羅切斯特是我們去年取得優異成績的主要推動力。白銀和黃金產量環比增長超過 30%，成本大幅降低。隨著我們開始向新擴建的基礎設施過渡，持續的運營改進和更高的等級為羅徹斯特的業績做出了貢獻，該基礎設施的建設仍有望在年中完成。

We achieved several critical objectives last year that we believe are important value drivers for the company in the short, medium and long term. In the short term, we continued to derisk and advance the Rochester expansion. The project is nearing 80% complete this month and remains on track in terms of budget and schedule. We also further fortified the balance sheet to support our elevated levels of investment in our existing assets that are intended to increase production, decrease costs, extend mine lives and drive a return to positive free cash flow, which Tom will provide more details on in a few minutes.

我們去年實現了幾個關鍵目標，我們認為這些目標是公司短期、中期和長期的重要價值驅動因素。短期內，我們繼續降低風險並推進羅切斯特擴張。該項目本月已完成近 80%，並且在預算和進度方面仍按計劃進行。我們還進一步加強了資產負債表，以支持我們提高對現有資產的投資水平，這些資產旨在增加產量、降低成本、延長礦山壽命並推動恢復正自由現金流，湯姆將在一會兒。

In the medium term, the team at Kensington got an early jump on their multiyear development and drilling program last year by adding approximately 1.5 years to its mine life. As we laid out during our Investor Day in December, we're optimistic about further extending Kensington's mine life and generating solid returns from higher production and lower costs from this investment.

從中期來看，Kensington 的團隊去年將其礦山壽命延長了大約 1.5 年，從而提前完成了多年的開發和鑽探計劃。正如我們在 12 月的投資者日所規劃的那樣，我們對進一步延長 Kensington 的礦山壽命並從更高的產量和更低的投資成本中獲得可觀的回報持樂觀態度。

Over the longer term, I want to highlight the great results from yesterday's reserve and resource update on Slide 11, which reflects another year of successfully replacing mine reserves. Year-over-year, our gold reserves increased by roughly 12%, while silver reserves increased approximately 3%. Over the past 5 years, we have invested roughly $245 million in exploration during a time when many companies have underinvested in this critical component of the business.

從長遠來看，我想強調昨天幻燈片 11 的儲量和資源更新的巨大成果，這反映了又一年成功更換礦產儲量。與去年同期相比，我們的黃金儲備增加了約 12%，而白銀儲備增加了約 3%。在過去的 5 年裡，我們在勘探方面投資了大約 2.45 億美元，而當時許多公司都對這一業務的關鍵組成部分投資不足。

Over that time, our gold equivalent reserves have expanded by 2 million ounces or roughly 34% net of depletion. In addition, our gold equivalent resources have increased nearly 4 million ounces or approximately 80%. Aoife will provide some additional comments on our exploration successes and our year-end reserve and resource results in a few minutes.

在那段時間裡，我們的黃金當量儲備增加了 200 萬盎司，減去枯竭後淨增幅約為 34%。此外，我們的黃金當量資源增加了近 400 萬盎司或約 80%。 Aoife 將在幾分鐘內就我們的勘探成功以及我們的年終儲量和資源量結果提供一些額外的評論。

Just a few quick thoughts as we look ahead to 2023. Overall, the key for us this year is obviously execution, not only at Rochester with the completion of construction and ramp-up post expansion, but across the entire portfolio to achieve our objectives that can transition the company back to positive free cash flow.

在我們展望 2023 年時，簡單地想一下。總的來說，我們今年的關鍵顯然是執行力，不僅是在羅切斯特完成建設和擴建後的提升，而且是在整個投資組合中實現我們的目標可以使公司恢復正自由現金流。

We anticipate 2023 will be comprised of 2 very different halves. During the first half, capital intensity is expected to remain high while we experience weaker seasonal operating results from our 2 open pit operations. The first half also includes our normal first quarter outflows relating to 2022 tax, interest and compensation-driven payments. During the second half of the year, capital intensity is expected to sharply decline, and production levels are expected to increase as we begin the commissioning and ramp-up process at Rochester. Overall, 2023 production is expected to increase over last year, driven by Rochester's stronger second half and by an expected strong bounce-back year at Wharf after a lower-grade year in 2022.

我們預計 2023 年將由截然不同的兩半組成。上半年，資本密集度預計將保持高位，而我們的 2 個露天礦場的季節性經營業績較弱。上半年還包括我們正常的第一季度與 2022 年稅收、利息和補償驅動的付款相關的流出。今年下半年，資本密集度預計將大幅下降，隨著我們開始在羅切斯特進行調試和產能提升，生產水平預計將提高。總體而言，2023 年的產量預計將比去年增加，這得益於羅切斯特下半年的強勁增長以及九龍倉在 2022 年較低年級之後預計強勁反彈的一年。

To quickly wrap up, we remain confident in the key pillars of what we think is a unique strategy in our sector and exclusively North American and U.S.-centric footprint, a contrarian multiyear commitment to exploration that continues to generate meaningful results, investments in expansions that are designed to deliver sector-leading growth and have transformative impacts on the business and a metals mix that offers meaningful and growing exposure to silver. An unrelenting focus by our team on executing this strategy is bringing us closer and closer to that point of transformation that everyone has been working so hard for.

快速總結一下，我們仍然對我們認為是我們行業獨特戰略的關鍵支柱充滿信心，並且完全以北美和美國為中心的足跡，對勘探的反向多年承諾繼續產生有意義的結果，對擴張的投資旨在實現行業領先的增長，並對業務和金屬組合產生變革性影響，提供有意義且不斷增長的白銀敞口。我們的團隊對執行這一戰略的不懈關注使我們越來越接近每個人都為之努力的轉型點。

With that, I'll turn it over to Mick.

有了這個，我會把它交給米克。

Thanks, Mitch. I'll start by echoing Mitch's comments on the great job our teams have done this last year to deliver guidance amid challenging circumstances. With the right people in the right chairs executing the right strategy, we feel confident in our ability to consistently deliver significant long-term value.

謝謝，米奇。首先，我將回應 Mitch 對我們團隊去年所做的出色工作的評論，以在充滿挑戰的環境中提供指導。在合適的職位上有合適的人執行正確的戰略，我們對我們持續交付重要長期價值的能力充滿信心。

Our journey to zero harm progressed well in 2022 with the teams delivering the best environmental health and safety performance in the history of the company. What a fantastic achievement to be proud of, but that journey is not over as we continue to control exposures as we drive to get to 0 as quickly and sustainably as possible.

我們的零傷害之旅在 2022 年進展順利，團隊提供了公司歷史上最好的環境健康和安全績效。這是一個多麼值得驕傲的偉大成就，但隨著我們繼續控制曝光，我們盡可能快速和可持續地達到 0，這段旅程還沒有結束。

Turning to a brief recap of our fourth quarter production summary on Slide 6 and beginning with Palmarejo. Higher gold grades and uptick in mill throughput led to a nice finish to the year. Full year gold and silver production came in on the high end of guidance range and CAS for gold and silver finished closer to the high end of guidance as Palmarejo fought inflationary headwinds all year round. Despite these challenges, the team delivered nearly $46 million of free cash flow in 2022. Looking ahead, guidance for 2023 anticipates a similar year in terms of gold production, while silver production guidance is significantly higher. Despite continued easing in certain of Palmarejo's input costs, our 2023 cost guidance reflects caution as overall costs remain volatile.

轉向我們在幻燈片 6 上的第四季度生產總結的簡要回顧，並從 Palmarejo 開始。更高的黃金品位和軋機產量的增加使今年取得了不錯的成績。全年黃金和白銀產量處於指導範圍的高端，黃金和白銀的 CAS 接近指導範圍的高端，因為 Palmarejo 全年都在對抗通脹逆風。儘管面臨這些挑戰，該團隊還是在 2022 年實現了近 4600 萬美元的自由現金流。展望未來，2023 年的指導預計黃金產量與去年相似，而白銀產量指導則明顯更高。儘管 Palmarejo 的某些投入成本持續下降，但我們的 2023 年成本指引反映出謹慎，因為總體成本仍然不穩定。

Moving to Rochester. The 30-plus percent increases we saw in gold and silver production in the fourth quarter were driven by significantly higher grades due to the mine sequencing placed on pad 4 in September and October that began to break through in the latter half of the quarter. This surge in grades made the difference in helping Rochester exceed its gold production guidance for the year and come in at the high end of its silver production gains. Fourth quarter adjusted CAS for silver and gold on a core product basis were down versus the previous quarter due to high attributable metal sales. We have elected to defer providing 2023 cost guidance at Rochester until midyear given the transitional nature of the year ahead. There will be a lot of moving parts as we start placing crushed ore on Stage VI leach pad on February 1. We turned on the Merrill-Crowe plant during Q2 2023, and we began placing rock through the new crushing circuit later in the summer.

搬到羅切斯特。我們在第四季度看到的黃金和白銀產量增長了 30% 以上，這是由於 9 月和 10 月在第 4 號台上進行的礦山排序在本季度後半段開始突破，導致品位顯著提高。品位的飆升幫助羅切斯特超過了當年的黃金產量指導，並進入白銀產量增長的高端。由於金屬銷售額較高，第四季度調整後的白銀和黃金核心產品 CAS 低於上一季度。鑑於來年的過渡性質，我們選擇將羅切斯特 2023 年的成本指導推遲到年中。 2 月 1 日，我們開始在 Stage VI 浸出墊上放置碎礦石時，會有很多移動部件。我們在 2023 年第二季度啟動了 Merrill-Crowe 工廠，並在夏季晚些時候開始通過新的破碎迴路放置岩石。

The number of (inaudible) visible in the POA 11 photo slides demonstrate clearly that construction is at peak levels on the crushing corridor. The work is proceeding. The project remains on budget and on schedule. Steel erection and equipment installation is proceeding on both the cone crushers in the secondary crusher area as well as both the HPGR crushers in the tertiary crusher area.

POA 11 照片幻燈片中可見的（聽不清）數量清楚地表明，破碎走廊的施工處於最高水平。工作正在進行中。該項目保持在預算和時間表之內。二級破碎機區域的圓錐破碎機以及三級破碎機區域的 HPGR 破碎機的鋼結構架設和設備安裝正在進行中。

Slide 12 in the presentation highlights the progress on our key milestones for 2023 at POA 11. The Merrill-Crowe process plant remains on track for completion at the end of the first half of 2023, in line with the P85 schedule. Mechanical equipment setting, process plant building cladding, control systems programming and factory testing are all now complete. Electrical cable and piping installation are well underway. I'm also pleased to report that the construction project has now passed 1.5 million hours as of January 31 without a lost time incident.

演示文稿中的幻燈片 12 突出顯示了我們在 POA 11 上實現 2023 年關鍵里程碑的進展。Merrill-Crowe 加工廠仍有望在 2023 年上半年末完工，符合 P85 時間表。機械設備設置、加工廠建築包層、控制系統編程和工廠測試現已全部完成。電纜和管道安裝工作進展順利。我也很高興地報告，截至 1 月 31 日，該建築項目現已超過 150 萬小時，沒有發生誤工事故。

Turning to Kensington. Once again, a great job by the team to reach a new all-time record in mill throughput. New leadership there continues to make a strong mark and bodes well for the future of this key asset. Challenging recoveries through most of 2022 led Kensington to just missing the low end of the production guidance. 2023 guidance reflects similar levels of production and cost. With the previously discussed infusion of capital at Kensington, this year will be a busy period of development to set the mine up for a strong future.

轉向肯辛頓。團隊再一次出色地完成了軋機吞吐量的歷史新記錄。那裡的新領導層繼續留下深刻印象，預示著這一重要資產的未來。在 2022 年的大部分時間裡，復甦充滿挑戰，導致肯辛頓 (Kensington) 剛剛錯過了生產指導的低端。 2023 年的指導反映了類似的生產和成本水平。隨著之前討論的 Kensington 資本注入，今年將是一個繁忙的發展時期，為礦山的強大未來做好準備。

Finishing briefly with Wharf. The team overcame some significant snowfalls in the quarter to finish within expectations near the high end of its 2022 guidance range. 2023 guidance reflects a return to more typical gold production rates with CAS ranges, setting the stage for stronger anticipated cash flow in the year ahead.

與 Wharf 一起簡要結束。該團隊克服了本季度的一些大雪，在接近其 2022 年指導範圍高端的預期範圍內完成。 2023 年的指引反映了 CAS 範圍內更典型的黃金生產率的回歸，為未來一年更強勁的預期現金流奠定了基礎。

With that, I'll pass the call over to Tom.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給湯姆。

Thanks, Mick. Turning to Slide 4. I'll begin with a review of our consolidated financial results before touching on our 2023 guidance and the balance sheet. As expected, Coeur's improved fourth quarter financial results were driven by our highest gold production of the year and the $62 million gain on sale from Sterling Crown. Higher prices, along with gains from our gold hedges, led to a 96% increase in our EBITDA quarter-over-quarter.

謝謝，米克。轉到幻燈片 4。在談到我們的 2023 年指導方針和資產負債表之前，我將首先回顧一下我們的綜合財務業績。正如預期的那樣，Coeur 第四季度財務業績的改善得益於我們今年最高的黃金產量和 Sterling Crown 的 6200 萬美元銷售收益。更高的價格以及我們的黃金對沖收益導致我們的 EBITDA 環比增長 96%。

Speaking of hedging, our 2022 program provided $24 million of net gains, $13 million of which was realized in the fourth quarter. Subsequent to year-end, we took advantage of some short-term momentum in gold and silver prices to add additional downside price protection for 2023. Inflation remains a headwind on our sector's financial performance.

說到對沖，我們的 2022 年計劃提供了 2400 萬美元的淨收益，其中 1300 萬美元是在第四季度實現的。年底之後，我們利用黃金和白銀價格的一些短期勢頭為 2023 年增加了額外的下行價格保護。通貨膨脹仍然是我們行業財務業績的不利因素。

While we have seen some moderation in diesel prices, Slide 5 demonstrates the continued pressure on our key cost buckets. Accordingly, our 2023 outlook continues to assume a challenging year for operating costs. I am pleased to report that Coeur's capital cost exposure at POA 11 continued to decrease with approximately $605 million of the estimated capital now committed and $495 million incurred. As Mitch and Mick both mentioned, the project remains on track and on budget with approximately 75% of the remaining CapEx expected to be incurred during the first half of the year.

雖然我們看到柴油價格有所回落，但幻燈片 5 顯示了我們的主要成本桶麵臨持續壓力。因此，我們對 2023 年的展望繼續假設運營成本將是充滿挑戰的一年。我很高興地報告，Coeur 在 POA 11 的資本成本風險繼續減少，目前承諾的估計資本約為 6.05 億美元，已發生 4.95 億美元。正如 Mitch 和 Mick 都提到的那樣，該項目仍在按計劃進行並符合預算，預計剩餘資本支出的大約 75% 將在今年上半年發生。

Turning to 2023 guidance. Our guidance remains consistent with our December 2022 Investor Day as we approach the free cash flow inflection point post completion of POA 11. Mitch and Mick have already hit on the key messages around production, operating costs, POA 11 capital and the tale of 2 halves this year. I want to highlight a couple of additional very important items within the guidance, which we expect will deliver NAV growth and reduce overall risk for the company.

轉向 2023 年指導。我們的指導與 2022 年 12 月的投資者日保持一致，因為我們接近 POA 11 完成後的自由現金流轉折點。米奇和米克已經抓住了關於生產、運營成本、POA 11 資本和兩半的故事的關鍵信息今年。我想強調指南中另外幾個非常重要的項目，我們預計這些項目將帶來 NAV 增長並降低公司的整體風險。

We have allocated value-accretive capital for additional underground mine development and exploration at Kensington and Palmarejo, which is expected to extend mine lives and reduce risk at both mines. To accommodate these extended mine lives, both sites are investing in new tailings capacity during 2023. Obtaining that crucial POA 1 permit amendment at Kensington last year has allowed us to progress on the aggressive multiyear program at the mine, which includes this permitted tailings capacity. At Palmarejo, the new tailings capacity will be inside the old open pit, which is a significant environmental derisking milestone.

我們已分配增值資本用於 Kensington 和 Palmarejo 的額外地下礦山開發和勘探，預計這將延長兩個礦山的礦山壽命並降低風險。為了適應這些延長的礦山壽命，這兩個地點都在 2023 年期間投資於新的尾礦產能。去年在肯辛頓獲得關鍵的 POA 1 許可證修正案使我們能夠在礦山積極的多年計劃中取得進展，其中包括這種允許的尾礦產能。在 Palmarejo，新的尾礦產能將位於舊露天礦坑內，這是一個重要的環境去風險里程碑。

Turning to the balance sheet. Slide 16 provides a good snapshot of our financial position, featuring total potential liquidity of over $500 million. We do, however, remain concerned in the short term about the overall macro environment for gold and silver prices and continued operating cost inflation. This concern, coupled with our tale of 2 halves of 2023, has led us to take several actions to keep our balance sheet flexible during the final few months of capital intensity at Rochester.

轉向資產負債表。幻燈片 16 很好地展示了我們的財務狀況，潛在流動性總額超過 5 億美元。然而，我們確實在短期內仍然關注黃金和白銀價格的整體宏觀環境以及持續的運營成本通脹。這種擔憂，加上我們關於 2023 年下半年的故事，促使我們採取了幾項行動，以在羅切斯特資本密集的最後幾個月保持資產負債表的靈活性。

The key elements of our financing strategy include: we recently monetized our remaining position in Victoria Gold for $40 million; our revolving credit facility, which has $280 million of capacity; our hedging program designed to provide downside commodity price risk protection during this period of capital intensity. We head into 2023 with approximately 180,000 ounces of gold hedged at $1,961 per ounce and 3.2 million ounces of silver hedged at $24.55 per ounce. And we put a new ATM in place for gross potential proceeds of up to $100 million. These key initiatives taken to enhance our total potential liquidity leave us feeling comfortable that the balance sheet will provide the required flexibility to deliver the industry-leading high-return growth that will transform our company.

我們融資策略的關鍵要素包括： 我們最近以 4000 萬美元的價格將我們在 Victoria Gold 的剩餘頭寸貨幣化；我們的循環信貸額度，容量為 2.8 億美元；我們的對沖計劃旨在在此資本密集時期提供下行商品價格風險保護。到 2023 年，我們將以每盎司 1,961 美元的價格對沖約 180,000 盎司黃金，以每盎司 24.55 美元的價格對沖 320 萬盎司白銀。我們還安裝了一台新的自動取款機，潛在總收益高達 1 億美元。這些旨在提高我們總潛在流動性的關鍵舉措讓我們感到欣慰，因為資產負債表將提供所需的靈活性，以實現行業領先的高回報增長，從而改變我們的公司。

I'll now turn it over to Aoife.

我現在把它交給Aoife。

Thanks, Tom. As Mitch said earlier, successful exploration in 2022 led to an increase in our global reserves with growth at each site.

謝謝，湯姆。正如米奇早些時候所說，2022 年的成功勘探導致我們的全球儲量隨著每個地點的增長而增加。

Looking at a few key highlights. At Kensington, the multiyear exploration plan described in our December Investor Day is already bearing fruit with reserves increasing by an impressive 56%. The majority of this growth came from Upper Kensington Zones 30, 30A and 30B. These zones remain open, and we will continue to expand and infill drill these areas through 2023.

查看幾個關鍵亮點。在肯辛頓，我們在 12 月投資者日描述的多年勘探計劃已經取得成果，儲量增加了 56%，令人印象深刻。這一增長的大部分來自上肯辛頓區 30、30A 和 30B。這些區域仍然開放，我們將在 2023 年之前繼續擴大和加密鑽探這些區域。

In addition to Kensington, we saw a resource and reserve additions at Elmira. And this deposit, along with the Johnson deposit, show opportunities for growth in 2023 and beyond. Detailed geological modeling is increasing our understanding of all deposits in Kensington, and we are hopeful that this will help us vector to both higher grades and new zones.

除了 Kensington，我們還看到了 Elmira 的資源和儲量增加。該礦床與 Johnson 礦床一起顯示出 2023 年及以後的增長機會。詳細的地質建模增加了我們對肯辛頓所有礦床的了解，我們希望這將幫助我們找到更高品位和新區域。

At our high-grade Silvertip exploration project, we also saw notable growth with silver, lead and zinc measured and indicated resources increasing by 73%, 69% and 81%, respectively, year-over-year.

在我們的高品位 Silvertip 勘探項目中，我們也看到了顯著的增長，銀、鉛和鋅的測量和指示資源分別同比增長 73%、69% 和 81%。

2022 was an exciting year for exploration with the following notable achievements. Firstly, expansion drilling increased mineralization at the Southern Silver Zone to approximately 500 meters vertical extent and 1,800 meters along strike as shown on Slide 10. Mineralization was also intersected in multiple stratigraphic units, thereby increasing the amount of the stratigraphic column that is amenable to mineralization. This opens up significantly more opportunity for stacked mantos and multiple chimneys. Secondly, the discovery of new chimney structures beneath the Discovery manto zone, and thirdly, scout drilling in the Saddle zone generates new chimney targets for follow-up in 2023.

2022 年是激動人心的探索年，取得了以下顯著成就。首先，如幻燈片 10 所示，擴展鑽探將南銀區的礦化增加到大約 500 米的垂直範圍和 1,800 米的走向。礦化也與多個地層單元相交，從而增加了適合礦化的地層柱的數量.這為堆疊的曼托斯和多個煙囪開闢了更多的機會。其次，在 Discovery manto 區域下方發現了新的煙囪結構，第三，在 Saddle 區域進行的偵察鑽探為 2023 年的後續行動生成了新的煙囪目標。

We believe Silvertip has good potential to be a long-life mine. And right now, we have visibility on how to build a sufficient reserve base to enable a decision to proceed once the economics are sufficiently compelling. We see the continued growth at Silvertip as opportunity to expand Coeur's future global production, reduce costs and boost free cash flow.

我們相信 Silvertip 具有成為長壽命礦山的良好潛力。現在，我們已經清楚如何建立足夠的儲備基礎，以便在經濟足夠引人注目時能夠做出決定。我們將 Silvertip 的持續增長視為擴大 Coeur 未來全球生產、降低成本和增加自由現金流的機會。

I will now pass the call back to Mitch.

我現在將電話轉回給米奇。

Thanks, Aoife. Before moving to the Q&A, I want to highlight Slide 17 that summarizes our clear priorities for 2023. As I mentioned at the outset, execution remains front and center in this pivotal year. By successfully delivering on these objectives, we plan to reach the end of 2023 on the cusp of a new growth phase for the company.

謝謝，奧菲。在進入問答環節之前，我想強調幻燈片 17，它總結了我們 2023 年的明確優先事項。正如我在一開始提到的，執行仍然是這個關鍵一年的重中之重。通過成功實現這些目標，我們計劃在 2023 年底達到公司新增長階段的風口浪尖。

With that, let's go ahead and open it up for questions.

有了這個，讓我們繼續並打開它來提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Michael Dudas from Vertical Research Partners.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Vertical Research Partners 的 Michael Dudas。

I know 2023 couldn't consume enough, Mitch. Regarding Rochester, what's the hurdle? Or what's the pinch point you guys are seeing over the next few months that gives the marketplace confidence that your targets on construction, completion and the ramp will occur within what you guys are talking about today?

我知道 2023 年消費不夠，米奇。關於羅徹斯特，障礙是什麼？或者你們在接下來的幾個月裡看到的關鍵點是什麼讓市場相信你們在建設、完工和坡道方面的目標將在你們今天談論的範圍內實現？

Yes. Good question. This is the -- it's a busy year with a lot of moving parts out there, all of this coming together here now with the first half focused on the Stage VI leach pad, which is now complete. We're stacking ore on that. Merrill-Crowe comes next in the second quarter, crusher mid-summer, and then we start putting rock through it and ramping it up throughout the second half of the year.

是的。好問題。這是 - 這是忙碌的一年，那裡有很多活動部件，所有這些現在都聚集在這裡，上半年集中在 Stage VI 浸出墊上，現在已經完成。我們正在堆放礦石。 Merrill-Crowe 在第二季度緊隨其後，在仲夏的破碎機中，然後我們開始將岩石放入其中並在整個下半年增加。

Mick, do you want to give a little bit of detail on some of the other moving parts that are going on there throughout the year?

米克，你想詳細介紹全年發生的其他一些活動嗎？

Yes, yes, exactly. So we completed stacking ore on pad 4 and moved across the pad 6 on schedule. That was a great achievement, milestone on February 1. And then now we'll continue to leach pad 4, so we'll see some metal from that throughout the first half of the year, but we're stocking now and building up inventory on pad 6 right through to that middle of the year when we expect to commission the heap leach on the Merrill-Crowe, and then we'll start seeing that metal come out of inventory in the second half of the year as per the plan.

是的，是的，完全正確。就這樣，我們完成了4號台的堆礦工作，並如期跨過6號台。這是一個偉大的成就，2 月 1 日的里程碑。現在我們將繼續浸出墊 4，所以我們將在整個上半年看到一些金屬，但我們現在正在備貨並增加庫存在 6 號墊上一直到年中，屆時我們預計將在 Merrill-Crowe 上調試堆浸，然後我們將開始看到該金屬按照計劃在下半年從庫存中消失。

From a project perspective, we're still on the P85 project schedule and went through the normal challenging Nevada winter around continuing to stay on track. We're still on that track. And from a manpower and loading perspective for the project, TIC and Kiewit had done a fantastic job at reloading and covering any attrition on that project, and we are fully manned up to get the rest of the project done throughout the year.

從項目的角度來看，我們仍在 P85 項目時間表上，並經歷了內華達州通常充滿挑戰的冬季，繼續保持在正軌上。我們還在那個軌道上。從該項目的人力和裝載角度來看，TIC 和 Kiewit 在重新裝載和覆蓋該項目的任何損耗方面做得非常出色，我們已全力以赴完成該項目的其餘部分。

Just to add on to that, Mike. The conversation around here has started to transition quite noticeably less about construction activities and schedule and more about operational readiness plans around the ramp-up schedule and everything that needs to go into ensuring that this thing ramps up smoothly throughout the back half of the year to deliver on that second half production growth and set us up for what should be that inflection point in cash flow as we head into 2024. So it's -- there's been a noticeable shift in terms of what the -- where the priorities are and where the new focus areas are out there now. So that's exciting to see.

只是補充一下，邁克。這裡的談話已經開始明顯地減少了關於建設活動和時間表的轉變，更多的是關於圍繞提升計劃的運營準備計劃以及確保這件事在今年下半年順利提升到實現下半年的產量增長，並為我們進入 2024 年時的現金流轉折點做好準備。因此，在優先事項和重點方面發生了明顯變化現在有新的重點領域。所以這很令人興奮。

That's very encouraging, Mitch. My follow-up is you just discussed on Silvertip some pretty positive results. Any changes in thoughts from Investor Day to how you're thinking about the project today, timing or structure, recognizing job 1 is getting Rochester done?

這非常令人鼓舞，米奇。我的後續行動是您剛剛在 Silvertip 上討論了一些非常積極的結果。從 Investor Day 到您今天對項目的看法、時間安排或結構、認識到工作 1 正在完成 Rochester，您的想法有任何變化嗎？

Yes. You said it right there. Job 1 in 2023 is POA 11 execution. The priorities at Silvertip this year really are twofold, minimizing the holding cost as we prioritize POA 11 and continuing to expand the resource up there, which we have a lot of confidence in. We've seen it grow significantly since we acquired it. And even year-over-year, Aoife mentioned the percentage growth in the different metals just year-over-year.

是的。你就在那兒說的。 2023 年的作業 1 是 POA 11 執行。今年 Silvertip 的優先事項確實是雙重的，在我們優先考慮 POA 11 時將持有成本降至最低，並繼續擴大那裡的資源，我們對此充滿信心。自收購以來，我們已經看到它顯著增長。甚至與去年同期相比，Aoife 提到了不同金屬的同比增長百分比。

We have a lot of confidence that, that will continue. It will be a bit of a smaller program this year compared to last year, targeting a little bit more on the expansion side to step out a bit more with the thought being that as we do that, and we have a lot of confidence that we can, that's just going to help us put together a compelling business case in a few more years that will justify the capital that would go into expanding and starting that up as another operation. But -- so the priority for now is to keep growing the resource, which Aoife, I think, has some confidence in.

我們非常有信心，這將繼續下去。與去年相比，今年的計劃會更小一些，目標是在擴張方面多一點，在我們這樣做的時候考慮更多，我們很有信心我們可以，這只會幫助我們在幾年內整合出一個令人信服的商業案例，證明用於擴張和啟動它作為另一項業務的資本是合理的。但是——所以現在的首要任務是繼續增加資源，我認為 Aoife 對此有一定的信心。

And a couple of things you want to maybe say about that, Aoife?

Aoife，你想說幾件事？

Yes. I mean we had a great year in 2022 up there at Silvertip. We really -- our understanding of the deposits really developed. Southern Silver Zone itself is becoming quite an important part of this story at the moment. So we've extended mineralization there over a vertical extent of 500 meters and the along strike extent to date still open is 1,800 meters. So that in itself is opening up that Southern Silver Zone as a very -- as something that can add significantly to the tons there. And it's a vertical orebody. It's a chimney. So it's potentially an easier mining scenario for us as well.

是的。我的意思是我們在 2022 年在 Silvertip 度過了美好的一年。我們真的 - 我們對存款的理解真的發展了。 Southern Silver Zone 本身正在成為這個故事中相當重要的一部分。因此，我們已經將礦化延伸到 500 米的垂直範圍內，並且迄今為止仍然開放的沿走向范圍為 1,800 米。因此，這本身就是在開放南部銀區，因為它可以顯著增加那裡的噸數。這是一個垂直的礦體。這是一個煙囪。因此，這對我們來說也可能是一個更容易的挖礦場景。

In addition to that, we did some scout holes under the Discovery Zone, which to date has been a manto horizon, more so a sub-horizontal zone. And we found some new chimneys under that, which we'll follow up on this year. And also down to the South, all the way down to Tour Ridge, we are scheduling over the last few years intersection mineralization, and that's another few kilometers of extent that we can expand into.

除此之外，我們還在探索區下面做了一些偵察洞，迄今為止，它一直是一個地平線，更像是一個亞水平線區域。我們在那個下面發現了一些新的煙囪，我們將在今年跟進。還有向南，一直到 Tour Ridge，我們在過去幾年中安排了十字路口礦化，這是我們可以擴展到的另一個幾公里的範圍。

So Mike, just to pull the lens back then, POA 11 this year, back to positive free cash flow, lower cost, reduced debt, keep expanding that resource at Silvertip in the meantime, get to a point where we have an attractive business case at Silvertip, at which point then we can have some options to think about whether we'd go it alone, whether we'd bring in a partner or whether that's a strategic partner or a financial partner, operating JV, nonoperating JV. But we need that compelling business case to get to that point, and drilling is the way to get there. And so that's the kind of the progression and priorities as we sit here today.

所以邁克，回到過去，今年的 POA 11，回到正的自由現金流，降低成本，減少債務，同時繼續擴大 Silvertip 的資源，達到我們有一個有吸引力的商業案例的地步在 Silvertip，到那時我們可以有一些選擇來考慮我們是否會單獨行動，是否會引入合作夥伴或者是戰略合作夥伴還是財務合作夥伴，運營合資企業，非運營合資企業。但我們需要有令人信服的商業案例才能達到這一點，而鑽探正是實現這一目標的途徑。這就是我們今天坐在這裡的進展和優先事項。

(Operator Instructions) There are no more questions in the queue. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mitchell Krebs for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）隊列中沒有更多問題。我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回給米切爾·克雷布斯 (Mitchell Krebs) 作閉幕詞。

Okay. Well, hey, we appreciate everybody's time today during this busy reporting period, and we look forward to talking with you all after the first quarter in the springtime. Thanks again, and have a good day.

好的。好吧，嘿，在這個繁忙的報告期間，我們感謝大家今天的時間，我們期待在春季第一季度之後與大家交談。再次感謝，祝你有美好的一天。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。