Contango Silver & Gold Inc (CTGO) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

All right, everyone. Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, depending on where in the world you're signing in from today. Great to see a packed house for today's event.

好的，各位。大家早安、午安或晚安，取決於你今天從世界哪個地方登入。很高興看到今天的活動座無虛席。

I've got with me today Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, CEO of Contango Silver and Gold; and Mike Clark, the company's CFO.

今天與我一同出席的有 Contango Silver and Gold 的執行長 Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse，以及公司財務長 Mike Clark。

Here's how today is going to work with the folks in the room. I've got some questions based on this morning's press release, but this is also an interactive event. So please do enter your questions in the chat section on the bottom of the screen.

我先說明一下今天在座各位的流程。我會根據今天早上的新聞稿準備一些問題，但這同時也是一場互動式活動。所以請在螢幕下方的聊天區輸入你們的問題。

We're going to try to stick to half an hour today. So if we can't get to your questions, I'll make sure the Contango team receives all the content as soon as the event is over, but we will try to get to as many as we can today. The event is also being recorded and will be available for replay this afternoon Eastern Time.

我們今天會盡量控制在半小時內。所以如果來不及回答你的問題，我會在活動結束後，確保 Contango 團隊能盡快收到所有內容，但我們也會盡量今天多回答一些。本活動也會錄影，並將於美東時間今天下午提供回放。

So let's get into the meat and potatoes here. Rick, before we get into the Q1 numbers, even telegraphing forever that this quarter was going to likely be the lightest production quarter of what is presumably the lightest production year for Manh Choh under current mine -- the current mine plan. Can you remind investors how the 2026 mine sequencing was designed and why Q1 was always going to look the way it was relative to what's coming in the back half of the year?

那我們就進入重點。Rick，在我們談到第一季數字之前，雖然我們早就一直在預告，本季很可能會是 Manh Choh 在目前礦山——現行礦山計畫下——最淡的產量季度，而 2026 年大概也會是最淡的產量年度。你能否提醒投資人，2026 年的採礦順序（mine sequencing）是如何設計的，以及為什麼第一季相對於下半年即將到來的情況，從一開始就注定會呈現現在這樣的樣貌？

Sure, Bianca. Good to see you again. And we're -- I think we're together here in Frankfurt for the Goldmesse conference. So looking forward to that. But yes, 2026 was always going to be the low production year and the higher cost year in general.

當然可以，Bianca。很高興再次見到你。而且我想我們會在法蘭克福的 Goldmesse 大會碰面。所以很期待。不過沒錯，2026 年一直都會是低產量的一年，整體而言也會是成本較高的一年。

And it really did sequence at the beginning. The first half was worse than the second half. So in terms of gold production ounces and in terms of costs. Lower ounces, higher cost. We'll make up for that as the year progresses, and this was basically the transition year from mining the North pit -- finishing up mining in the north pit and transitioning to stripping and mining on the main pit or South pit.

而且在年度前段的採礦順序確實是這樣安排的。上半年比下半年更差。不論是黃金產量（盎司）或成本都是如此。盎司數較低、成本較高。我們會在年度推進過程中把它補回來；而這基本上是從開採北坑——完成北坑的開採——轉換到主坑或南坑進行剝採與開採的過渡年。

And so it's just this mine plan playing out as it was originally described in the feasibility study. Nothing really has changed. Except the gold prices held a lot higher than it was when we did the feasibility study at $1,400 gold. So we are mining to the mine plan, we continue to recognize that we've got a large pile of low-grade, mineralized waste is how it's categorized technically, that is going on a separate stockpile.

所以這只是礦山計畫按可行性研究中原先描述的方式在推進。其實沒有什麼改變。除了金價維持在遠高於我們做可行性研究時所假設的 1,400 美元金價。因此我們依照礦山計畫採礦；我們也持續認知到有一大堆低品位、技術上被歸類為「礦化廢石」的物料，會被堆放到另一個獨立的堆場。

We've found a few more benches of ore in the North pit. So we've continued to mine that, which is -- that takes equipment away from pre-stripping on the South pit. And so all this is kind of just playing out according to the mine plan with a few slight modifications that are actually positives in the sense of finding more ore at the bottom of the North pit. It's not a bad thing. It's a good thing.

我們在北坑又找到多幾個台階（bench）的礦石。所以我們持續開採那部分——這會把設備從南坑的前期剝採（pre-stripping）工作中抽走。因此整體就是依照礦山計畫在推進，只是做了一些小幅調整；而這些調整其實是正面的，因為在北坑底部找到更多礦石。這不是壞事。這是好事。

But it does delay the production on the South bit. So bottom line, and I know you've got another question coming at me, so I won't -- I'll let you ask it, and then I'll continue that -- those details.

但它確實會延後南坑那邊的產量。所以總結來說——我知道你接下來還有一個問題要問我——我先不多說；你先問，我再把那些細節接著說。

Perfect. Well, I was going to say that containers share of Q1 production came in at just over 8,000 ounces and you're already guiding to 10,000 ounces from the second campaign alone, which kicked off yesterday. Walk us through what changes as you move into the south pit, both on the grade and on tonnage and how confident you are in landing inside that 40,000 to 45,000 ounce annual range.

很好。我想說的是，Contango 在第一季的權益產量剛超過 8,000 盎司，而你們已經指引第二次處理批次（campaign）單次就有 10,000 盎司，且昨天已啟動。請帶我們了解一下，當你們轉進南坑後，品位與噸數會有哪些變化，以及你對全年 40,000 到 45,000 盎司區間落點的信心如何。

Yes. So I'll start there and just say we're confident we're going to meet that -- the guidance. It's Kinross' guidance. They tend to be a conservative company, and they always tend to meet guidance. Now this -- the first quarter is lower than what was expected.

是的。我先從這裡開始：我們有信心達成——這個指引。這是 Kinross 的指引。他們通常是一家相對保守的公司，而且一向都能達成指引。不過第一季——確實低於原先預期。

We were shooting for 10,000. We only got 8,000. Winter conditions, the belt fire, which resulted in a bunch of operational challenges, I think, is how we described them in the press release.

我們原本目標是 10,000 盎司。但只做到 8,000 盎司。冬季條件、皮帶火災，導致一連串營運上的挑戰——我想我們在新聞稿中就是這樣描述的。

We did come up a little short of what we were originally planning, which was the 10,000. So, that's a bit of a miss, but we can make up for that as we go through the rest of the -- the rest of the 3 quarters. And so we are still planning to shoot between 40,000 and 45,000 ounces of gold production.

我們確實比原先規劃的 10,000 盎司少了一點。所以這算是小幅失準，但我們可以在接下來——其餘三個季度——把它補回來。因此我們仍計畫全年黃金產量目標落在 40,000 到 45,000 盎司之間。

And basically, as I described earlier, as we get into the South pit, the deeper you get into the South pit, the more and more higher-grade material you encounter. And you do the pre-stripping. So you're early in this year, the trucks are all stripping waste material -- true waste material, and then we get into the higher grade ore body as we go down the pit.

基本上，如我先前所說，當我們進入南坑後，你挖得越深，就會遇到越來越多的高品位物料。同時也會進行前期剝採。所以在今年前段，卡車主要都在剝採廢石——真正的廢石——然後隨著坑底往下，我們會進入品位更高的礦體。

So from -- and always remember there's two things we're doing here. We're mining and then stockpiling at Manh Choh and then we're transporting, stockpiling at Fort Knox. And then once a quarter in the middle month of every quarter, we're processing that stockpile ore. So there is this delay effect between what's mined and we're planning on mining higher and higher grades and actually larger tonnages of ore as the year goes on. And then, of course, we're transporting that.

所以從——而且請永遠記得，我們這裡同時在做兩件事。我們在 Manh Choh 開採並堆存，然後運輸、在 Fort Knox 再堆存。接著每季一次，在每一季的中間那個月份，我們會處理那批堆存礦石。因此在「開採」與「處理」之間會有一個延遲效應；而我們計畫隨著年度推進，開採品位越來越高、且實際礦石噸數也會越來越大。然後當然，我們也會把它運出去。

So it's a bit like a -- almost like a Caterpillar moved as you transition from -- or as you transport from the stockpile up to the stockpile at Fort Knox and then once a quarter for a month process that ore.

所以這有點像——幾乎像毛毛蟲一樣往前推進：你從一個堆場運到 Fort Knox 的堆場，然後每季一次、用一個月的時間去處理那批礦石。

So you just have to kind of keep those images in mind as you're walking through how this mine plan gets executed. So the bottom line is the -- we're sticking to the plan. We continue to stockpile that low-grade mineralized waste. That's going to come in at the end of the mine life. We're not -- there's no -- you never process or bump low-grade ore for high-grade ore.

所以當你在理解這個礦山計畫如何被執行時，你得把這些畫面放在腦中。總之，我們——會按計畫進行。我們會持續把那批低品位的礦化廢石堆存起來。那會在礦山壽命末期才進料處理。我們不會——沒有——你不會為了高品位礦而去處理或「擠掉」（bump）低品位礦。

If you've got high-grade ore, you're always going to get that up to the mill as quickly as you can. So bottom line, we were a little shy in Q1 from the original plan, mainly due to weather and the belt fire, but we'll make up for it in the next 3 quarters going forward.

如果你有高品位礦，你一定會盡快把它送到磨礦廠（mill）。所以總結來說，第一季相較原計畫略低，主要是天候與皮帶火災所致，但我們會在接下來三個季度把它補回來。

Makes sense. I like that cash flow metaphor. It's a good way to think about it visually.

有道理。我喜歡那個現金流的比喻。用視覺化的方式來理解是個很好的方法。

It is how the whole process move forward.

這就是整個流程如何往前推進的方式。

Yes. No, it's great. I like that a lot. On the cost side, reported cash cost of $2,692 and an ASIC of $2,778 per ounce, so above your full year guidance stands. How should investors think about the relationship between Q1 unit costs and the annual ranges, when the vast majority of your ounces are still ahead of you?

是的。不，這很棒。我非常喜歡。在成本方面，揭露的現金成本為每盎司2,692美元、ASIC為每盎司2,778美元，因此仍高於你們的全年指引。在你們絕大多數的盎司產量仍在後面的情況下，投資人應該如何看待第一季單位成本與全年區間之間的關係？

And what mechanically brings those numbers down as this year progresses?

而隨著今年進展，從機制上是什麼讓這些數字下降？

Yes. So it basically goes back to this mine plan, and it's both tonnes and grade. Again, in the early part of the mine plan for this year. We're doing all that pre-stripping and so the equipment is busy moving waste tons of waste and not tons of ore. As the year progresses, you're moving more tons of ore to the stockpiles at Manh Choh and at higher and higher grades as you go at the beginning of the year and the end of the year.

是的。所以基本上要回到這個礦山計畫，關鍵在於噸數與品位兩者。同樣地，在今年礦山計畫的前段。我們在做前期剝離，因此設備忙著搬運廢石噸數，而不是礦石噸數。隨著年度推進，你會把更多礦石運到Manh Choh的堆場，而且品位會隨著你從年初走到年末而越來越高。

So it is -- and then, of course, you're transporting that or in your quarter behind every time when you're transporting the ore.

所以就是——然後，當然，每次你在運輸礦石時，時間上都會落後一個季度。

So if you're -- and I'm just giving you examples, if you're transporting 0.15 ounces per tonne -- or sorry, you're mining 1.15 ounces per ton 1 quarter in the pit, it's not getting transported until the end of the next quarter and when you're processing it through the mill. So just -- it's just progressive and progressive. So in -- by Q4, when we're solidly in the south pit or the main pit, and in high-grade material that's probably is going to be around 0.5 ounce per tonne.

所以如果你——我只是舉例——如果你在露天礦坑某一季的開採品位是每噸0.15盎司——或抱歉，你在礦坑裡某一季開採的是每噸1.15盎司，它要到下一季末才會被運輸，並在之後送進磨礦廠處理。所以——這就是逐步、逐步地發生。因此到第四季，當我們穩定地進入南坑或主坑，並處理高品位物料時，品位大概會在每噸0.5盎司左右。

You won't actually see that show up in the mill at Fort Knox until early next year, which is why 2027 is such a great year because now you're solidly in the main part of the south pit and you've got all the equipment focused on mining ore. So that's why we're projecting 75,000 to 80,000 ounces of production. And at really low cost because all your mining equipment is mining ore and not busy mining waste. So that's how the mine sequencing was planned originally in the feasibility study. And what we're busy and why we're confident, I guess, in meeting our guidance for the year and in particular, our guidance for next year, of course, which is going to be a banner year.

你其實要到明年初才會在Fort Knox的磨礦廠看到這些反映出來，這也是為什麼2027年會是非常好的一年，因為那時你已經穩定在南坑的主要區段，所有設備都專注於採礦石。所以這就是我們預估產量為75,000到80,000盎司的原因。而且成本會非常低，因為所有採礦設備都在採礦石，而不是忙著採廢石。所以這就是可行性研究中原本規劃的採礦順序。這也是我們目前在做的事，以及我想我們為什麼有信心能達成今年的指引，尤其是明年的指引——當然，明年將會是表現非常亮眼的一年。

Good. Mike, over to you this time. The headline net loss of $14.3 million is going to draw some attention. But the bulk of it comes from a $19 million noncash hit on the derivative block. Can you take investors through how you'd encourage them to read this quarter's P&L, particularly the bridge from your adjusted net income of $4.7 million back to the GAAP figure.

很好。Mike，這次交給你。標題上的淨虧損1,430萬美元會引起一些關注。但其中大部分來自衍生性商品部位1,900萬美元的非現金損失。你能帶投資人了解你會如何建議他們解讀本季的損益表，特別是從調整後淨利470萬美元回推到GAAP數字之間的橋接嗎？

Yes, thanks for the question. So yes, so the net loss does include a big derivative loss. And that derivative loss also it includes a $51 million recognized loss. And that's all driven from early settling those 15,500 ounces of hedges. So that was a huge driver of what really -- what drove that loss.

是的，謝謝你的問題。所以是的，淨虧損確實包含一筆很大的衍生性商品損失。而那筆衍生性商品損失也包含了已認列的5,100萬美元損失。這完全是因為提前結清那15,500盎司的避險部位。所以那是造成這個虧損的主要驅動因素。

But there are other components of the loss that I think listeners need to think about as we move forward. We do expense all of our expirations.

但我認為，隨著我們往前走，聽眾還需要考量虧損的其他組成。我們把所有到期的項目都列為費用。

So during this period, we had $3.8 million, which was mainly related to the Lucky Shot exploration drill program. But looking forward for the remainder of the 3 quarters, we got programs that Lucky Shot, Johnson Track and Kitsault. So you're going to have other expenses feeding into the loss. And then just looking -- when you kind of compare what we did in this quarter versus the Q1 of 2025, Peak Gold JV had a much bigger quarter last year in the first quarter.

所以在這段期間，我們有380萬美元，主要與Lucky Shot的勘探鑽探計畫有關。但展望接下來剩餘的三個季度，我們在Lucky Shot、Johnson Track和Kitsault都有計畫。所以你會看到其他費用也會持續影響虧損。另外，如果你把本季與2025年第一季相比，Peak Gold合資企業去年第一季的表現要大得多。

And so you saw like a $22 million income inclusion from the Peak JV last year, this year was only $12 million. So as we deliver on executing on this plan this year, you're going to see the equity income go up each period and normalize and especially in Q4 when we have a much better quarter.

因此你去年看到來自Peak合資企業約2,200萬美元的收益認列，今年只有1,200萬美元。所以隨著我們今年執行這個計畫的交付，你會看到每期的權益法收益上升並回到正常水準，尤其是第四季，因為我們會有一個明顯更好的季度。

And then just back to kind of your adjusted net income, the hedge contracts are really what drives these this calculation. So we have materially reduced those during the quarter. We're down to 22,000 ounces now. So these adjustments are going to be muted or gone effectively by the end of the year as our intention is still to fully deliver into those and pay off the debt by the end of the year.

再回到你提到的調整後淨利，避險合約其實是驅動這些計算的關鍵。所以我們在本季已大幅降低這些部位。我們現在降到22,000盎司。因此，隨著我們仍打算在年底前完全交割並在年底前償還債務，這些調整到年底時將會變得很小，或基本上消失。

On a related note, the balance sheet movement might be the most underappreciated story in this release. Cash went from $64.8 million at year-end to $97.5 million at the end of Q1, even after you wrote a $46 million check in February to settle hedges. Can you unpack what the equity raise, the JV distribution and the hedge restructuring did for the balance sheet? And where do you expect to exit the year on cash?

相關地，資產負債表的變動可能是這份新聞稿中最被低估的故事。現金從年末的6,480萬美元增加到第一季末的9,750萬美元，即使你們在2月開出4,600萬美元支票來結清避險。你能拆解一下增資、合資企業分配以及避險重整對資產負債表帶來了什麼影響嗎？以及你預期年底現金會落在什麼水準？

Yes. Well, it's -- the balance sheet is in a much better position for a few reasons. We have more cash and we have less hedges. But if you really break it down, but when we started the year to where we are at March 31, the main driver of the increase in cash is from the Dolly Varden merger. That netted us $36 million at the time of merger, which was right at the end of the quarter.

是的。嗯——資產負債表之所以改善很多，有幾個原因。我們有更多現金，也有更少的避險。但如果你真的拆開來看，從年初到3月31日，現金增加的主要驅動因素來自Dolly Varden的合併。那在合併時為我們帶來了3,600萬美元的淨額，而合併時間點正好在季度末。

The equity raise, we raised $50 million, but that basically went all out the door to pay for the hedge settlement.

至於增資，我們募了5,000萬美元，但那基本上都立刻用來支付避險結清。

And then we have the distribution of $9 million that kind of went in and that's helping fund operations. It's also paying down debt and kind of just corporate costs. So the main driver was the Dolly Varden merger.

然後我們有900萬美元的分配款進來，這有助於支應營運。也用來償還債務，以及支付一些公司層級成本。所以主要驅動因素是Dolly Varden的合併。

Continued conversation on hedges here. You now cut the hedge book to 22,000 ounces and the debt to $13.6 million. Both of which you said will be fully cleaned up by year-end, with spot gold, where it is and the second campaign processing higher grade ore, what does an unhedged debt-free Contango look like from a free cash flow capacity perspective heading into 2027?

繼續談避險。你們現在把避險部位降到22,000盎司，債務降到1,360萬美元。你們表示兩者都會在年底前完全清理完畢；在現貨金價位於目前水準、且第二輪加工活動處理更高品位礦石的情況下，從自由現金流產能的角度來看，進入2027年的「無避險、零負債」Contango會是什麼樣子？

Yes. 2027 is our biggest year we're expecting. And so '26 is a lower year 40,000 to 45,000 ounces of gold production. '27 is more like 75,000, 80,000 ounce production. We've given guidance at 37,000 gold price.

是的。2027 年是我們預期最大的年度。因此，'26 會是較低的一年，黃金產量約 40,000 到 45,000 盎司。'27 則更像是 75,000、80,000 盎司的產量。我們在 3,700 美元金價下給出了指引。

And we -- if that's the gold price, then we expect about $165 million to $175 million free cash. If you use a $5,000 gold price, that number is closer to $225 million.

而且我們——如果金價是那個水準，那麼我們預期自由現金約 1.65 億到 1.75 億美元。如果你用 5,000 美元的金價，那個數字會更接近 2.25 億美元。

So as we exit this year, which we should exit the year with cash in the bank, in a healthy position and be debt-free and hedge-free, and basically, all that money is coming to us next year. And so we'll get to appreciate the whole upside in the gold price. Rick, anything to add to that?

所以當我們走出今年時——我們應該會在年底時帳上有現金、處於健康狀態，且無負債、無避險部位；基本上，所有那些錢都會在明年流向我們。因此我們將能享受到金價上漲的全部上行空間。Rick，還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes. No, I think that says it all because we'll -- and next year, as I said, it's the banner year after that, we go back to more of the average years after that. So -- but today's gold price, we're going to be in the $200-plus million neighborhood in terms of free cash flow. And again, hedges paid off our hedges delivered into and debt paid off. So we're going to have -- it's a great balance sheet.

是的。不，我想這已經把重點都說完了，因為我們——而且明年，如我所說，之後那一年才是最亮眼的一年；再往後就回到更接近平均的年度。所以——以今天的金價來看，我們的自由現金流將在 2 億美元以上的區間。而且再次強調，避險已經結清交割、債務也已償還。所以我們將會——資產負債表非常強健。

No, it sounds like it sounds like it can be a very exciting year ahead.

不，聽起來——聽起來接下來的一年可能會非常令人振奮。

Switching gears a little bit. We were talking earlier about how the war in Iran might impact inflation. How might impact fuel prices in Alaska specifically?

稍微換個話題。我們先前在談伊朗戰事可能如何影響通膨。那它可能會如何影響阿拉斯加的燃料價格，特別是？

Yes. So we get this question a lot. We've been on the road. So we've been talking a lot to investors. And I think it's good just to address it because -- so a year ago, diesel prices in Alaska were about 25%, 30% less than they are today.

是的。所以我們常被問到這個問題。我們一直在外出拜訪。所以我們和投資人談了很多。我覺得把這點說清楚很有幫助，因為——一年前，阿拉斯加的柴油價格大約比今天低 25%、30%。

Now we haven't really seen a huge impact to date in the cost of diesel fuel, but it's coming because we buy -- you should buy your fuel a year ahead of time. And so it hasn't really hit cost yet, but it will.

目前為止，我們在柴油燃料成本上還沒有看到非常巨大的影響，但它會來，因為我們採購——你應該提前一年買燃料。所以它還沒有真正反映到成本上，但會反映。

And we're certainly seeing it when we're arranging our exploration projects and arranging helicopters and for our project at Johnson Tract, we've got fuel, and we're moving a lot of equipment around it. So we're definitely seeing the impact of the higher diesel prices at the exploration stage. And I suspect we'll see it at the mining side, at Manh Choh in the second half of the year and going forward.

而且我們在安排探勘專案、安排直升機時已經明顯感受到；在 Johnson Tract 專案上，我們需要燃料，並且要搬運大量設備。所以在探勘階段，我們確實看到了柴油價格上升的影響。我猜我們也會在採礦端看到影響——在今年下半年於 Manh Choh，以及之後持續。

We'll see what happens in Iran and if it gets resolved and prices go back down, it might just be a bit of a flip. But just to frame what the impact will be if it stays, if that's what we're stuck with $6 a barrel -- or sorry, $6 a gallon diesel prices in Alaska, that's what it costs us today. And a year ago was $4.50 or less. So that's the cost of the pump. Obviously, we're buying bulk, so it's a little different, but the percent increase is going to be roughly the same.

我們會看看伊朗那邊會怎麼發展；如果問題解決、價格回落，可能只是短期波動。但為了界定如果它維持不變的影響——如果我們只能接受阿拉斯加柴油每桶 6 美元——呃抱歉，是每加侖 6 美元的柴油價格，這就是我們今天的成本。而一年前是 4.50 美元或更低。那是加油站的零售價。當然，我們是大量採購，所以會有些不同，但百分比的漲幅大致會相同。

And so just walking through that transportation is about 1/3 of our costs. And so -- and about 1/3 of that cost is fuel related.

因此，簡單拆解一下：運輸約占我們成本的 1/3。而其中大約 1/3 的成本與燃料相關。

So if your fuel prices are going up 10% -- or sorry, 30%, that results in about a 10% increase in the overall costs for that segment. So that's just -- probably it's a bit of a thumb suck, but I think it's fairly accurate for where we are. And we'll just have to see how things move forward. And if we're stuck $6 a gallon fuel in Alaska, that's what we can expect as an incremental increase going forward. So not a huge impact, but not insignificant.

所以如果燃料價格上漲 10%——呃抱歉，30%，那會導致該部分的整體成本大約增加 10%。所以這只是——可能有點粗估，但我認為以我們目前狀況來說相當貼近。接下來就得看事情如何發展。如果我們在阿拉斯加只能接受每加侖 6 美元的燃料，那就是我們未來可預期的增量成本上升。所以影響不算巨大，但也不可忽視。

But of course, when you have 4,700 gold price, that more than makes up for that small increase in cash costs.

但當然，當金價是 4,700 美元時，那足以彌補現金成本的小幅上升。

Yes. No, that definitely helps things, for sure. Switching to development pipeline. You put real capital behind Lucky Shot this quarter, including the agreement to acquire the underlying lease and extinguish the 2% NCR -- NSR, rather, royalty. What did the underground drill results have to do with the timing of that decision?

是的。不，那確實很有幫助，毫無疑問。切換到開發管線。你們本季在 Lucky Shot 投入了實質資本，包括同意收購其底層租約並消除 2% 的 NCR——更正，是 NSR 特許權金。地下鑽探結果在你們做出該決定的時點上扮演了什麼角色？

And how does owning the project outright change the economics you'll be putting into the H1 2027 feasibility study?

以及完全擁有該專案，會如何改變你們將納入 2027 年上半年可行性研究的經濟性？

Yes. So buying out the underlying owner was opportunistic. I think, look, the gold price has gone up. He's owned the project a long time. And so I think it was opportunistic for him to say, hey, you're interested to buy my property and buy the royalty?

是的。所以買下底層所有權人是機會性操作。我想，你看，金價上漲了。他持有這個專案很長時間了。所以我認為對他而言，這是個機會，說：嘿，你有興趣買我的資產並買下這個權利金嗎？

And we're like, yes, we like what we're seeing. The drill results. They weren't part of the overall dynamic, and we just didn't get great drill results and say, hey, you're going to want to go sell your property. It was more the other way around.

而我們的回答是：是的，我們喜歡我們看到的東西。鑽探結果——它們不是整體互動關係的一部分；我們並不是因為剛拿到很棒的鑽探結果就說：嘿，你會想去賣你的資產。比較像是反過來。

So definitely opportunistic. The drill results certainly support our position that we've got a mine project here, an exploration project that we believe can become a mine. We'll continue to execute the drill program underground. We're taking a little bit of a break right now as we've kind of transitioned. We finished drilling all the drilling -- doing all the drilling on the 2080 West drift.

所以確實是機會性操作。鑽探結果當然支持我們的看法：我們在這裡有一個礦山專案——一個我們相信可以發展成礦山的探勘專案。我們會持續在地下執行鑽探計畫。我們現在稍微休息一下，因為我們正在做一些轉換。我們已完成在 2080 West 巷道的所有鑽探——把該做的鑽探都做完了。

We get the miners in there.

我們會讓礦工進去。

Remember that high-grade vein, we hit the KM vein. We're going to -- first thing, miners are going to do is extend that West drift tunnel another 100 meters. So it's above our heads, and we can drill it properly because it's at right angles to the one we use by drilling, which is Lucky Shot.

記得那條高品位礦脈嗎？我們打到了 KM 礦脈。我們將——第一件事，礦工會把那條 West 巷道再往前延伸 100 公尺。所以它在我們頭頂上方，我們就能正確地鑽探它，因為它與我們用來鑽探的那條（也就是 Lucky Shot）巷道呈直角。

And then meanwhile, we get the billers back and then we'll finish up doing the underground development on the other 3 drifts underground. Then we got this summer, we'll transition to drilling the surface from filling the top of the -- from the top of the mountain with surface drills and get that work done. And then we'll get back underground in the fall time and finish out all the drilling there.

同時，我們會把鑽機隊再叫回來，然後完成另外 3 條地下巷道的地下開發工作。接著今年夏天，我們會轉到地表鑽探——從山頂用地表鑽機進行鑽探，把那部分工作完成。然後秋天我們會回到地下，完成那裡所有剩餘的鑽探。

So busy season of drilling. It's about $21 million program 18,000 to 20,000 meters of drilling. Most of it is underground, but there's about 5,000 meters that will drill from the surface there. So lots of catalysts, lots of news flow. And yes, we're -- we're really pleased to buy out the royalty in particular because that will be an $80 an ounce savings basically for every ounce of gold we mine there.

所以現在是鑽探的繁忙季節。這是一個約2,100萬美元的計畫，鑽探總量約18,000到20,000公尺。大部分是在地下進行，但也有約5,000公尺會從地表鑽探。因此有很多催化劑、很多消息流。而且是的，我們——我們特別高興能買回該權利金，因為那基本上會讓我們在那裡每開採一盎司黃金就節省80美元。

So we think that brings long-term -- adds long-term value for the shareholders.

所以我們認為這能帶來長期效益——為股東增加長期價值。

Totally makes sense. Switching gears here, Kitsault Valley has a 40,000-meter program starting in June with the new resource asset landing by end of this quarter. For investors who came in through Dolly Varden, the Dolly Varden side of the merger and are watching this asset very closely, what does a successful 2026 field season at consult look like? And how does the time line to an initial assessment fit alongside Lucky shot and Johnson Track?

完全合理。換個話題，Kitsault Valley 將於6月啟動一個40,000公尺的計畫，新的資源資產將在本季末落地。對於透過 Dolly Varden、也就是合併案中 Dolly Varden 這一方進來並且非常密切關注這項資產的投資人而言，2026年在 Kitsault 的成功野外作業季會是什麼樣子？而初步評估的時間表如何與 Lucky Shot 和 Johnson Tract 並行配合？

Yes. So obviously, we're very excited to get the drills turning back at it all. Every time we're drilling our you're announcing drill results are among the top 10 drill results in the world. So that's always fun and exciting. It's in to start with the mineral resource estimate update that will be coming out by the end of June.

是的。所以顯然，我們非常興奮能讓鑽機再次全面開動。每次我們鑽探，你們公布的鑽探結果都名列全球前10大鑽探結果之一。所以那總是既有趣又令人振奮。首先要從礦產資源量估算（MRE）的更新開始，預計會在6月底前發布。

We're working on it now. I was just talking with Dave Larimer, our VP of exploration and Rob. And that work is ongoing, but we're basically on schedule to get that MRE out as planned by the end of June. And that then will be used as a sort of template on, okay, where else are we going to be drilling?

我們現在正在進行。我剛剛才和我們的勘探副總裁 Dave Larimer 以及 Rob 談過。那項工作仍在進行中，但基本上我們按進度，會如期在6月底前發布該 MRE。接著它會作為一種範本，用來決定：好，接下來我們還要在哪些地方鑽探？

We expect a significant increase in the silver resource and probably something in the neighborhood of a 50% increase. And then the gold resource, mostly that's -- it's not really going to be a big increase in the total ounces because remember, the gold resources is up at Homestake and it's somewhat separate. Most of that drilling was infill so it's going to be more of an upgrading into the measured indicated category.

我們預期白銀資源量會顯著增加，可能大約在50%增幅的範圍。至於黃金資源量，主要——總盎司數其實不會大幅增加，因為請記得黃金資源在 Homestake，那是相對獨立的。大部分鑽探屬於加密鑽探（infill），因此更多是把資源升級到「探明/指示」（measured & indicated）類別。

But that will come with probably an increase in grade because you're focused on drilling those high-grade zones. So now the 40,000-meter drill -- drilling plan for this year will play off of that mineral resource update. So we want to basically plan towards getting preliminary economic assessment or initial assessment of the SK 1300 rules. Basically outlined a mining plan for the deposits. There's 5, 6 main deposits that we have.

但這可能會伴隨品位提升，因為你會聚焦在鑽探那些高品位帶。因此，今年的40,000公尺鑽探——鑽探計畫將以這次礦產資源更新為基礎來展開。我們基本上希望朝向完成初步經濟評估（PEA）或依 SK-1300 規則的初步評估。也就是基本上為礦床勾勒出一個採礦計畫。我們有5到6個主要礦床。

Torbrit is the one that has the largest single silver resource in it so far and the road goes right there. So that's one of the activities we'll see is upgrading the road to the Torbrit mine power line is not too far away. So we'll be making all those assessments from an engineering standpoint incorporating that into an initial assessment like we have for the Johnson Tract project. But that won't come until the second half of next year. But the drilling is going to focus on extending those high-grade zones at depth because we want to put it together a really good mine plan.

Torbrit 目前擁有最大的單一白銀資源量，而且道路就通到那裡。所以你會看到的其中一項工作，是把通往 Torbrit 礦區的道路升級；電力線也離得不遠。因此我們會從工程角度做所有這些評估，並把它納入初步評估中，就像我們對 Johnson Tract 專案所做的一樣。但那要到明年下半年才會出來。不過鑽探將聚焦於向深部延伸那些高品位帶，因為我們想把一個非常好的採礦計畫整合出來。

And so I think you're going to see a lot of good drill results come out of this year. There's a couple of targets -- new targets that we've identified that haven't been drilled at all. And so we want to always have some new exciting drill results to talk about. And so we've got some -- a portion of that 40,000-meter drill program. I'm going to guess around 10,000 meters of it is going to go to new exploration targets.

所以我認為你會看到今年會有很多很好的鑽探結果發布。我們已經辨識出幾個目標——新的目標——完全還沒鑽過。因此我們也希望一直有一些新的、令人興奮的鑽探結果可以分享。所以在這個40,000公尺鑽探計畫中，我們會拿出一部分。我猜大約有10,000公尺會用在新的勘探目標上。

So always something exciting when you're on such a large and productive land package like we've got at kits sold. So very exciting year for results there.

所以當你擁有像我們在 Kitsault 這樣規模大且產出高的土地包時，總會有令人興奮的事情。所以那裡會是成果非常令人期待的一年。

I'm talking about exciting. The Dolly Varden integration, ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, the TSX listing last month, the Lucky Shot acquisition, the FAST-41 progress that Johnson tract, it's a very -- a lot of corporate activity layered on top of really still operationally transitional quarter. From a management bandwidth standpoint, how do you and the combined teams stay disciplined across all of this without taking the eye off of Manh Choh execution?

說到令人興奮。Dolly Varden 的整合、在紐約證券交易所敲鐘、上個月在 TSX 上市、收購 Lucky Shot、Johnson Tract 的 FAST-41 進展——在仍然屬於營運轉換期的一季之上，又疊加了非常多的公司層面活動。從管理層的時間與精力配置角度，你和合併後的團隊如何在這一切之中保持紀律，同時不讓 Manh Choh 的執行失焦？

Yes, it is -- it's all about execution right now. We've got a good team. We started with 10 people at Contango and Dolly Varden had 10 people, so now we -- but they all know what they're doing. They're all very focused. And we were just talking the other day with mobilizing and getting the camp set up at Kitsault.

是的，現在——一切都在於執行。我們有一個很好的團隊。我們在 Contango 一開始有10個人，Dolly Varden 也有10個人，所以現在我們——但他們都知道自己在做什麼。他們都非常專注。而且我們前幾天才在談動員，以及在 Kitsault 把營地搭建起來。

We're mobilizing the same things that Johnson Tract, but the team has done it before, and that's just -- it's kind of a wash rents repeat sort of exercise. And look, we are going to continue to grow. And as we think about more of a development plan here. We're going to add -- continue to add more people. So we're definitely -- the integration is done.

我們正在動員的事情和 Johnson Tract 一樣，但團隊以前做過，這就是——有點像是照著流程重複執行的工作。而且你看，我們會持續成長。當我們思考更多的開發計畫時，我們會增加——持續增加更多人手。所以我們確實——整合已經完成了。

We've been on -- Mike, Sean and I have been on the road here along with Bonnie, for basically the whole month of May. And I'm looking forward to getting all the interviews wrapped up and getting back up to Alaska and getting out in the field and seeing the drill rigs turn.

我們——Mike、Sean 和我，還有 Bonnie，這一路在外奔波，基本上整個5月都是如此。我很期待把所有訪談都收尾，然後回到阿拉斯加，上到現場，看看鑽機開始轉動。

Well earned. And with that, actually, we're coming to the tail end of our talk today. We have a few audience questions and then I have one more question for you, Rick, to wrap things off.

實至名歸。那麼，今天的對談其實也接近尾聲了。我們有幾個觀眾提問，然後我還有最後一個問題要問你，Rick，作為收尾。

But let's jump to the audience questions here. One of our listeners asks, please explain a loss on derivative contracts related to the hedges in the amount of $90 million and $45 million. I do think we went through this a little bit, but maybe for folks who are tuning in late, if you wouldn't mind, Mike?

不過我們先來看觀眾提問。有位聽眾問：請解釋與避險相關的衍生性合約損失，金額分別為9,000萬美元與4,500萬美元。我想我們稍早有稍微談到，但也許對於晚點才收聽的朋友，如果你不介意的話，Mike？

Yes. Yes. So we -- valuing the hedges, you got to use this forward curve Monte Carlos simulation. But basically, at the beginning of the year, you had 43,000 ounces of hedged gold at about $4,200 spot price. So the -- the forward curve is going to be a bit higher, but you had to value that, that was about a little over $100 million.

是的。是的。所以我們——在評價避險部位時，你必須使用遠期曲線的蒙地卡羅模擬。但基本上，在年初，你有43,000盎司的黃金做了避險，約在每盎司4,200美元的現貨價格水準。所以——遠期曲線會稍微更高一些，但你必須對其進行估值，那大約是略高於1億美元。

During the period, you've effectively delivered 17,000 ounces into the hedges, 1,500 delivered into delivered into the -- naturally delivered into them and then 15,500 cash settled.

在此期間，你實際上已向避險部位交付了17,000盎司，其中1,500盎司是以實物交割方式交付——也就是自然以實物交割進去——另外15,500盎司則以現金結算。

And so, at that time, you value those hedges being early cash settled. And at that time, it was about $1,400. So when that occurred, you had a realized loss on the hedges, effectively for $51 million. And so as -- so that gets recognized during the quarter and then you get to the end of the quarter. At the end of the quarter, we're sitting with 22,000 ounces of gold remaining in the hedges.

因此，在那個時間點，你將那些避險部位視為提前以現金結算來估值。而在那個時間點，金價大約是1,400美元。所以當那件事發生時，你在避險上產生了已實現損失，實際上約為5,100萬美元。因此——所以這會在該季度期間認列，然後你到季度末。在季度末，我們在避險部位中仍剩下22,000盎司黃金。

And so using the gold price was about $4,400 announced spot. So maybe that forward price is $4,500, $4,600.

因此以當時的金價約為4,400美元的公告現貨價來看。所以也許那個遠期價格是4,500、4,600美元。

So you value that on the 22,000 ounces, which gets you closer to that $65 million, $70 million on the derivatives liability. So it's an odd one because the early cash flow, but normally, it's not as aggressive, and you don't only see that massive realized loss during the period. And so going forward, we're going to be lower on the hedges, you're going to see smaller swings.

所以你用22,000盎司去做估值，這會讓衍生性金融負債更接近6,500萬到7,000萬美元。所以這件事有點奇怪，因為有提前現金流，但通常不會這麼激進，你也不會只在期間看到那麼巨大的已實現損失。因此往後，我們的避險部位會比較低，你會看到較小的波動。

Makes sense. Another question here. What is the plan for the use or recovery of a low-grade pile, will it become a leach pile?

了解。這裡還有一個問題。對於低品位堆料的使用或回收有什麼計畫？它會變成浸出堆嗎？

Sure. No, it will not become a leach pile. This is low-grade again, tactically called mineralized waste, and that's because it's not in the mine plan. That's the way you have to sort of account for it. I will only come into the mine plan when you're done running your the normal material that you had in your feasibility study.

當然。不，它不會變成浸出堆。這是低品位的——我們策略上稱之為礦化廢石（mineralized waste）——因為它不在礦山計畫裡。你必須用那種方式來做會計處理。只有當你把可行性研究中規劃的正常物料都處理完之後，它才會被納入礦山計畫。

And you've got this big pile of low-grade rock and you'll go, what's the gold price? Gold price is $4,700.

等你有了這一大堆低品位岩石，你就會問：金價是多少？金價是4,700美元。

Well, we've been using $3,700 to do the mine planning for this low-grade stockpile. Waste -- waste pile. So if the gold price is about $3,700, you're going to figure out that that's going to go to the mill at Fort Knox. So it's got to be able to afford the transportation. It's already been mined, so you've already accounted for the mining of it.

嗯，我們一直用3,700美元來做這個低品位堆料的礦山規劃。廢石——廢石堆。所以如果金價大約是3,700美元，你就會算出它會被送到Fort Knox的選礦廠。因此它必須能負擔運輸成本。它已經被開採出來了，所以你已經把開採成本算進去了。

I think we've already -- and Mike, correct me here, but I think we're starting to have that environmental sweeping fund. We're starting to fund that.

我想我們已經——Mike，你幫我確認一下——但我想我們開始有那個環境清理基金了。我們開始為那個基金撥款。

So at least in part, some of those ounces will be -- already be accounted for to give back into the pit because that's what the mine plan was. Now we don't have to put that stuff back in the pit, if they can make money. And if it pays for the transportation right up to Fort Knox, it will get processed. But it won't happen until the very end of the mine life. And of course, we don't know what the gold price will be at the end of the mine life.

所以至少在某種程度上，其中一些盎司——已經被納入考量，用於回填到礦坑，因為礦山計畫原本就是那樣。現在如果他們能賺錢，我們就不必把那些東西回填到礦坑。而且如果它能支付一路運到Fort Knox的運輸成本，它就會被處理。但這要到礦山壽命的最後才會發生。當然，我們也不知道在礦山壽命末期金價會是多少。

So we'll wait until we know that. But it's already been paid for, so it's -- they're relatively cheap ounces.

所以我們會等到那時候知道再說。但它已經付過成本了，所以——那些盎司相對便宜。

Makes sense. Folks, this next question will be the last question of the day. Before I get into it, big thank you to everyone who attended live. If you have a question, it just occurred to you and you want to send it to the Contango team. Feel free to send it in.

了解。各位，接下來這個問題會是今天最後一個問題。在我開始之前，非常感謝所有現場參與的朋友。如果你有問題，剛剛才想到，想要寄給Contango團隊。歡迎隨時寄出。

We'll make sure they get it.

我們會確保他們收到。

Preemptively, thank you, Rick and Mike for being here as always. It's such a pleasure to have you. But I want to close things off today by asking you, Rick, the magic question. What are you most excited about for the rest of 2026?

先說聲謝謝，Rick和Mike，一如既往地感謝你們到場。能邀請到你們真的很榮幸。不過我想用一個「魔法問題」來為今天收尾，Rick。你對2026年剩下的時間最期待的是什麼？

60,000 meters drilling. I'm excited to see what this KM veins going to look like at Lucky Shot. We'll get that going here in another month or so to get the tunnel built, we can get the rig back in there and start drilling and 40,000 meters of drilling at Kitsault. I know we're going to be in that top 10 drill results worldwide in terms of both gold and silver there.

60,000公尺的鑽探。我很期待看看Lucky Shot的KM礦脈會長什麼樣。我們大概再一個月左右就會啟動，把隧道建好後，就能把鑽機再開進去開始鑽探；另外在Kitsault也有40,000公尺的鑽探。我知道我們在那裡的金銀鑽探成果，會進入全球前10名的鑽探結果。

So there's all the reason to be excited about that as well. So it's going to be a very busy year for the company, but the team is ready. We're already starting to mobilize and get ready for the drilling at Kitsault. We're already drilling at Lucky Shot. So should be a fun year.

所以這也有很多值得期待的理由。所以對公司來說會是非常忙碌的一年，但團隊已經準備好了。我們已經開始動員，為Kitsault的鑽探做準備。我們也已經在Lucky Shot鑽探了。所以應該會是很有趣的一年。

Meanwhile, Manh Choh just keeps -- every quarter is going to be a better quarter than the last quarter with this year. This -- again, this year is the low production year overall in the mine plan.

同時，Manh Choh只會持續——今年每一季都會比上一季更好。而今年——再說一次——在整體礦山計畫中是低產量的一年。

And I forgot to say that mentioned the belt fire at Kinross. That's now all been fixed, and I have to hats off to the team at Kinross. We're working hard. Winter, hard conditions during the winter to get that thing fixed and so it should be smooth sailing from here. But it's been a -- first quarter was a struggle, no question.

另外我忘了提到Kinross的皮帶火災。現在都已經修好了，我必須向Kinross的團隊致敬。我們一直很努力。冬天、嚴苛的冬季條件下把那個問題修好，所以接下來應該會一帆風順。但毫無疑問，第一季確實很艱難。

And but it will -- we'll meet the mine plan and get to 40,000, 45,000 ounces of gold. And hey, we've got $4,700 gold price. So what's not to be happy about?

不過我們會——我們會達成礦山計畫，做到40,000到45,000盎司黃金。而且，嘿，金價是4,700美元。所以還有什麼不開心的呢？

Great final words. Rick, Mike, thank you guys so much. Deeply appreciate it. With that, have a wonderful rest of your day, folks, and we'll close things off now.

很棒的結語。Rick、Mike，真的非常感謝你們。由衷感激。那麼各位，祝你們今天剩下的時間愉快，我們現在就到此結束。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Bye.

再見。