Ero Copper Corp (ERO) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Ero Gold -- sorry, Ero Copper fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 operating and financial results conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝你的支持。這是會議操作員。歡迎參加 Ero Gold——抱歉，Ero Copper 第四季度和 2023 年全年營運和財務業績電話會議。提醒一下，所有與會者都處於僅聽模式，並且正在錄製會議。（操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Courtney Lynn, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Investor Relations, and Sustainability. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給負責企業發展、投資者關係和永續發展的高級副總裁 Courtney Lynn。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to Ero Copper's fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings call. Our operating and financial results were released yesterday afternoon and are available on our website, as are our financial statements and MD&A for the three and 12 months ended December 31, 2023. On the call with me today are David Strang, Ero's Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer; Makko DeFilippo, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Wayne Drier, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，接線生。早安，歡迎參加 Ero Copper 的第四季和 2023 年全年財報電話會議。我們的營運和財務表現已於昨天下午發布，並可在我們的網站上查看，以及截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日的三個月和 12 個月的財務報表和 MD&A。今天與我通話的是 Ero 聯合創始人兼首席執行官 David Strang； Makko DeFilippo，總裁兼營運長；和首席財務官韋恩·德里爾。

We will be making forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties from which actual results may differ materially. We would refer you to our most recent annual information form available on our website, SEDAR, and EDGAR for a discussion of the risk factors of our business and their potential impact on future performance. As a reminder, unless otherwise noted, all amounts are in US. dollars.

我們將做出涉及風險和不確定性的前瞻性陳述，實際結果可能與實際結果有重大差異。我們建議您參閱我們網站、SEDAR 和 EDGAR 上提供的最新年度資訊表，以討論我們業務的風險因素及其對未來業績的潛在影響。提醒一下，除非另有說明，所有金額均以美國為單位。美元。

I will now pass the call over to David Strang.

我現在將把電話轉給大衛·斯特朗。

Thank you, Courtney, and thank you all for joining us today. 2023 was a cornerstone year for our company, highlighted by significant accomplishments across our organic growth initiatives. In addition to making significant strides towards doubling copper production to approximately 100,000 tonnes in 2025, we achieved targeted gold production levels of nearly 60,000 ounces, following the successful completion of Xavantina's NX 60 initiative.

謝謝你，考特尼，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。 2023 年是我們公司的基石年，我們的有機成長計畫取得了重大成就。除了在 2025 年將銅產量翻一番至約 10 萬噸方面取得重大進展外，在成功完成 Xavantina 的 NX 60 計畫後，我們還實現了近 6 萬盎司的黃金產量目標水準。

I'm pleased to share an update on our Tucumã project, which Makko will elaborate on, where we've surpassed 90% physical completion while maintaining our forecast capital expenditure guidance of $310 million. I'm also happy to report that commissioning is advancing smoothly. We completed dry commissioning of the crushing circuit in February, beating our timeline by one month, and expect to put first ore through the mill in April.

我很高興與大家分享我們的 Tucumá 項目的最新情況，Makko 將詳細介紹該項目，我們已經超過了 90% 的實際完成率，同時維持了 3.1 億美元的預測資本支出指導。我還很高興地報告，調試工作進展順利。我們在 2 月完成了破碎迴路的乾調試，比我們的時間表提前了一個月，並預計在 4 月將第一批礦石送入磨機。

We also made significant progress on the Pilar 3.0 initiative at our Caraíba operations. This included completion of the mill expansion project, where we achieved design capacity prior to year end and the initiation of main shaft sinking at the new external shaft in December, following the completion of supporting surface infrastructure.

我們的 Caraíba 業務的 Pilar 3.0 計劃也取得了重大進展。這包括完成工廠擴建項目，我們在年底前達到了設計能力，並在配套地面基礎設施完成後，於 12 月開始新外軸的主軸下沉。

While these growth initiatives or growth investments drove elevated capital expenditures in 2023, they have also started to reflect positively in our cash flows from operations. More specifically, record gold production drove a meaningful expansion of operating margins at the Xavantina operations that contributed to a $20 million year-on-year increase in consolidated Ero Group cash flow from operations, which totaled $163 million.

雖然這些成長措施或成長投資推動了 2023 年資本支出的增加，但它們也開始在我們的營運現金流中產生正面影響。更具體地說，創紀錄的黃金產量推動 Xavantina 業務的營業利潤大幅成長，導致 Ero Group 合併業務現金流量較去年同期增加 2,000 萬美元，總計 1.63 億美元。

Our 2023 financial performance also reflects the opportunistic implementation of risk mitigation measures throughout the year, including an expanded foreign exchange hedge program that yielded realized gains of over $11 million and helped to soften the impact of a stronger Brazilian real against the US dollar. We took an additional proactive measure during the fourth quarter amid a challenging macroeconomic landscape that drove short-term copper price uncertainty and bolsted our balance sheet with a bought-deal equity financing. This offering generated net proceeds totaling approximately $104 million and contributed to our year-end liquidity position of $262 million.

我們2023 年的財務表現也反映了全年風險緩解措施的機會主義實施，包括擴大的外匯對沖計劃，該計劃產生了超過1,100 萬美元的實際收益，並有助於減輕巴西雷亞爾兌美元走強的影響。在宏觀經濟情勢充滿挑戰的情況下，我們在第四季度採取了額外的積極措施，這導致了短期銅價的不確定性，並透過收購交易股權融資增強了我們的資產負債表。此次發行產生的淨收益總計約 1.04 億美元，並為我們的年末流動性部位貢獻了 2.62 億美元。

Since the offering in early November, the copper market outlook has improved, with supply-demand fundamentals now signaling supply deficits in 2024 and 2025. The shift reflected in the copper price as well as copper concentrate treatment and refining charges, which have dropped to their lowest levels since 2013.

自 11 月初發行以來，銅市場前景有所改善，供需基本面目前顯示 2024 年和 2025 年將出現供應短缺。這一轉變反映在銅價以及銅精礦處理和精煉費用上，這些費用已降至 2013 年以來的最低水準。

Seizing this opportunity, we are proactively securing smelting terms for the majority of our concentrate production through the end of 2025. These developments come at a favorable time, as we approach initial production at Tucumã. With capital expenditures on this project winding down through the first half of this year, we're approaching an exciting inflection point in our consolidated copper production and cash flow profile.

抓住這一機遇，我們將積極爭取 2025 年底前大部分精礦生產的冶煉條件。這些進展來得正是時候，我們正接近圖庫姆工廠的初始生產。隨著今年上半年該專案的資本支出逐漸減少，我們的綜合銅產量和現金流狀況正接近一個令人興奮的轉折點。

We also look forward to finalizing a definitive earn-in agreement with Vale Base Metals on the Furnas Copper project. With the necessary paperwork progressing smoothly, we expect to embark on the first phase of drilling later this year.

我們也期待與 Vale Base Metals 就 Furnas Copper 項目敲定最終盈利協議。隨著必要的文書工作進展順利，我們預計將在今年稍後開始第一階段的鑽探。

Before turning the call over to Makko for a deeper dive into our project execution, I will briefly touch on our operating performance. At the Caraíba operations, we processed 3.2 million tonnes of ore during the year. While this represented an impressive increase of approximately 13% compared to 2022, fourth-quarter and full-year mill throughput volumes slightly missed out targets due to approximately one week of additional unplanned downtime related to the completion of the mill expansion project.

在將電話轉接給 Makko 以便更深入了解我們的專案執行之前，我將簡要介紹我們的營運績效。在 Caraíba 工廠，我們全年加工了 320 萬噸礦石。雖然與2022 年相比，增長了約13%，令人印象深刻，但由於與工廠擴建項目的完成相關的額外約一周的計劃外停機，第四季度和全年工廠吞吐量略有未達到目標。

However, processed copper grades and metallurgical recoveries were in line with our expectations, averaging 1.49% and 91.4%, respectively, and resulting in full-year copper production of 43,857 tonnes of copper in concentrate, including 11,760 tonnes of copper in concentrate in the fourth quarter.

However, processed copper grades and metallurgical recoveries were in line with our expectations, averaging 1.49% and 91.4%, respectively, and resulting in full-year copper production of 43,857 tonnes of copper in concentrate, including 11,760 tonnes of copper in concentrate in the fourth四分之一.

Regarding our C1 cash costs at Caraíba, we reported $1.75 for the fourth quarter and a $1.80 for the full year. These figures reflect our new C1 cash cost calculation methodology that was updated in light of changes to Caraíba's copper concentrate sales channels. While Wayne will provide more insights on this methodology change, I want to note that the impact on our C1 reported -- on our reported C1 cash costs is counterbalanced by an equivalent increase in reported realized copper prices.

關於 Caraíba 的 C1 現金成本，我們報告第四季為 1.75 美元，全年為 1.80 美元。這些數字反映了我們新的 C1 現金成本計算方法，該方法根據 Caraíba 銅精礦銷售管道的變化進行了更新。雖然韋恩將就這一方法變化提供更多見解，但我想指出的是，對我們報告的 C1 現金成本的影響被報告的已實現銅價的同等增長所抵消。

As we quickly approach the end of the first quarter, the cadence of production and cash costs is aligned with our expectations. More specifically, Caraíba's production is expected to be lowest in the first quarter, with processed copper grades projected to be the lowest for the year and processed tonnage expected to increase between 5% and 10% compared to the fourth quarter. Consequently, we expect C1 cash costs to be the highest in the first quarter of this year.

隨著第一季末的臨近，生產和現金成本的節奏與我們的預期一致。更具體地說，Caraíba 的產量預計將在第一季最低，加工銅品位預計將達到全年最低水平，加工噸位預計將比第四季增加 5% 至 10%。因此，我們預計今年第一季 C1 現金成本將最高。

Turning to our Xavantina operations, we reported another stellar quarter, capping a year of record gold production and record operating margins thanks to contributions from the new Matinha vein. Processed gold grades continued to exceed our expectations during the fourth quarter, averaging over 17 grams per tonne and resulting in production of 16,867 ounces at C1 cash costs and all-in sustaining costs of $413 and $991 per ounce, respectively.

談到我們的 Xavantina 業務，我們報告了另一個出色的季度，由於新的 Matinha 礦脈的貢獻，黃金產量和營業利潤創下了歷史新高。第四季加工黃金品位持續超出我們的預期，平均每噸超過 17 克，產量為 16,867 盎司，C1 現金成本和整體維持成本分別為每盎司 413 美元和 991 美元。

For the full year, production was up 39% compared to 2022, driven by a nearly 100% increase in processed gold grades. This resulted in full-year production of 59,222 ounces and C1 cash costs and all-in sustaining costs of $422 and $957 per ounce, respectively.

與 2022 年相比，全年產量增加了 39%，這得益於加工黃金品位成長近 100%。這導致全年產量為 59,222 盎司，C1 現金成本和整體維持成本分別為每盎司 422 美元和 957 美元。

As we progress through the first quarter, we continue to absorb -- observe positive grade reconciliations with mined gold grades at Xavantina trending above 15 grams per tonne. Consequently, our expectations around the cadence of full-year production remains consistent with our previously issued guidance, with the first quarter anticipated to deliver the highest quarterly production levels in 2024.

隨著第一季的進展，我們繼續吸收——觀察到 Xavantina 礦金品位呈正向調節，趨勢高於每噸 15 克。因此，我們對全年生產節奏的預期與我們先前發布的指引保持一致，預計第一季將在 2024 年實現最高季度生產水準。

I'll now hand the call over to Makko to provide more comprehensive detail on our project execution. After which, Wayne will touch on our financial results.

我現在將把電話轉交給 Makko，以提供有關我們專案執行的更全面的詳細資訊。之後，韋恩將談到我們的財務表現。

Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. Highlighting what was said earlier, we have continued to make outstanding progress across the entirety of our project portfolio.

謝謝大衛，大家早安。強調之前所說的，我們在整個專案組合中繼續取得顯著進展。

Starting at Tucumã, where we continue to make huge strides across all work streams throughout the project, our most notable achievement to-date is reaching 4 million hours without lost time incident. Our primary goal at Tucumã is to deliver the project safely, and our performance to-date demonstrates the commitment of our site teams and construction partners in achieving this goal. As David mentioned, we completed the construction and commissioning of our crushing circuit as well as our screening and conveyance systems in order to place first crushed ore on the reclaimed stockpile approximately on month ahead of schedule.

從圖庫姆開始，我們繼續在整個專案的所有工作流程中取得巨大進步，迄今為止我們最顯著的成就是達到 400 萬小時，沒有發生誤工事件。我們在圖庫姆的主要目標是安全地交付項目，我們迄今為止的表現證明了我們的現場團隊和施工合作夥伴對實現這一目標的承諾。正如大衛所提到的，我們完成了破碎迴路以及篩選和運輸系統的建設和調試，以便比計劃提前大約一個月將第一批破碎的礦石放入回收庫存中。

On the milling and flotation side, mechanical equipment is installed and completion testing is well underway. The last piece of milling equipment, our high intensity grinding mill, is currently en route to site from Salvador, and its delivery on-site remains fully aligned with our project execution schedule.

在磨礦和浮選方面，機械設備已安裝完畢，完井測試正在進行中。最後一台銑削設備，即我們的高強度磨粉機，目前正在從薩爾瓦多運往現場的途中，其現場交付與我們的專案執行計劃完全一致。

We are currently focused on completing piping, cabling, instrumentation, and ancillary installations around the mill and flotation areas and are preparing to run first ore through the mill in April. During the month of May, we expect to complete the commissioning of the flotation circuit as well as the high-intensity grinding mill to initiate integrated commissioning across the whole project in June.

目前，我們的重點是完成磨機和浮選區域周圍的管道、電纜、儀表和輔助安裝，並準備在 4 月將第一批礦石通過磨機。5月份，我們預計將完成浮選迴路和高強度磨磨機的調試，並在6月份啟動整個專案的整合調試。

On the Mining side, we continue to progress well ahead of schedule. The continued outperformance by our mining contractor has allowed us to close February with approximately 25,000 tonnes of ore in the run-of-mine stockpile and an additional 70,000 tonnes of stripped ore in the mine ready to be blasted. We currently expect to have over 300,000 tonnes of ore available on the run-of-mine stockpile by the end of the first quarter.

在採礦方面，我們繼續提前取得進展。我們的採礦承包商持續出色的表現使我們在 2 月結束時擁有約 25,000 噸原礦庫存礦石，以及礦井中另外 70,000 噸準備爆破的剝離礦石。我們目前預計，到第一季末，原礦庫存中將有超過 30 萬噸礦石。

If I take a step back from the details for a moment and think about the major component parts required for a successful ramp up of any project, we are extremely well positioned. On site, we have completed all power infrastructure. Our water reservoir is full. We have an ore stockpile ready to be processed.

如果我暫時從細節上退後一步，考慮一下任何專案成功升級所需的主要組成部分，我們就處於非常有利的位置。現場，我們已經完成了所有電力基礎設施。我們的水庫已經滿了。我們有礦石庫存可供加工。

Our equipment installations are on track. We are ahead of our commissioning schedule. And in addition, we have hired all of our site operational leadership and currently have more than 60% of our operational workforce contracted through our existing partnership with SENAI. In short, we feel we are in a strong and enviable position to have a successful ramp up.

我們的設備安裝已步入正軌。我們提前完成了調試計劃。此外，我們還聘請了所有現場營運領導層，目前超過 60% 的營運人員是透過與 SENAI 的現有合作夥伴關係簽訂的。簡而言之，我們認為我們處於有利且令人羨慕的地位，可以成功成長。

We anticipate reaching commercial production, which we define as 80% of nameplate capacity, by the end of the third quarter, and this ramp up curve is aligned with our guidance for the year. As we announced in our January update, our total direct project capital estimate for completion of the Tucumã project was updated to approximately $310 million from $305 million to reflect the impact of a stronger BRL in the fourth quarter, and this remains unchanged.

我們預計到第三季末將實現商業生產，即達到銘牌產能的 80%，而這一成長曲線與我們今年的指導一致。正如我們在1 月更新中宣布的那樣，我們對完成圖庫瑪項目的直接項目總資本估算從3.05 億美元更新為約3.1 億美元，以反映第四季度巴西雷亞爾走強的影響，這一數字保持不變。

At our Caraíba operations, the execution of our Pilar 3.0 initiative delivered two important milestone's during the fourth quarter, as David touched on. At the Caraíba mill, we completed the integration of the expansion circuit in December and achieved design capacity of over 12,600 tonnes per day, or approximately 4.2 million tonnes per year, just prior to year end.

正如 David 所說，在我們的 Caraíba 營運中，Pilar 3.0 計畫的執行在第四季度實現了兩個重要的里程碑。在 Caraíba 工廠，我們於 12 月完成了擴建線路的整合，並在年底前實現了每天超過 12,600 噸的設計產能，即每年約 420 萬噸。

At the shaft project of the Pilar mine, we initiated the vein sink phase of the project just prior to year end, as planned, following completion and commissioning of the head frame, personnel, and stage winders as well as supporting surface infrastructure. We are currently reaming the second and longest raised bore leg of the shaft, which we expect to complete by the end of the second quarter.

在皮拉爾礦的豎井計畫中，我們在年底前按計畫啟動了該計畫的礦脈沉降階段，完成並調試了頂架、人員、階段捲揚機以及配套的地面基礎設施。我們目前正在對軸的第二個也是最長的凸起孔腿進行鉸孔，預計在第二季末完成。

Civil works are currently underway to set up the third and deepest raised bore leg of the shaft, which we expect to complete during the second half of this year. All underground development and infrastructure installations for the ore handling system of the new shaft are progressing on schedule. At our expected average daily development rate, we anticipate reaching a depth of over 600 meters by year end, and the project remains on track for shaft handover to operations in Q4 of 2026.

目前正在進行土木工程，以建立豎井第三個也是最深的凸起鑽孔腿，我們預計將在今年下半年完成。新礦井礦石處理系統的所有地下開發和基礎設施安裝工作均按計劃進行。按照我們預期的日均開發速度，我們預計到年底深度將達到 600 公尺以上，並且該專案仍有望在 2026 年第四季移交營運。

Lastly, touching briefly on our partnership with Vale Base Metals on the Furnas project. In parallel with finalizing definitive earn-in agreements, we have already initiated baseline studies and have commenced a QA/QC program on the historic drill database. Barring any requirement for twin-hole drilling, we expect to be in a position to issue the first NI 43-101 resource estimate during the second half of this year.

最後，簡單介紹一下我們與 Vale Base Metals 在 Furnas 專案上的合作關係。在敲定最終收益協議的同時，我們已經啟動了基準研究，並在歷史鑽探資料庫上啟動了 QA/QC 計劃。除非有任何雙孔鑽探的要求，我們預計能夠在今年下半年發布第一份 NI 43-101 資源估算。

I will now turn the call to Wayne to discuss our financial results.

我現在將打電話給韋恩，討論我們的財務表現。

Thank you Makko. As Dave highlighted, our financial results for both the fourth quarter and full year positively reflected the execution of our growth strategy, particularly at the Xavantina operations. At the same time, we navigated persistent macroeconomic challenges, including copper price volatility and a BRL that was stronger than we projected at the beginning of 2023.

謝謝馬可。正如戴夫所強調的那樣，我們第四季度和全年的財務業績積極反映了我們成長策略的執行，尤其是 Xavantina 業務。同時，我們應對了持續存在的宏觀經濟挑戰，包括銅價波動和巴西雷亞爾強於我們在 2023 年初的預期。

In line with our prudent financial approach, we took decisive steps to protect our cash flows with an expansion of our foreign exchange hedge program, beginning in the third quarter. This resulted in realized gains of $4.2 million in the fourth quarter and $11.4 million for the full year, and contributed to fourth-quarter and full-year cash flow from operations of $49.4 million and $163.1 million, respectively.

根據我們審慎的財務方針，我們從第三季開始採取果斷措施，透過擴大外匯對沖計畫來保護我們的現金流。這導致第四季和全年實現收益 420 萬美元和 1,140 萬美元，並分別為第四季度和全年營運現金流貢獻 4,940 萬美元和 1.631 億美元。

Adjusted net income attributable to the owners of the company for the quarter and year were $20.7 million and $82.8 million, respectively, or $0.21 and $0.87 per share on a diluted basis. It's worth noting that during the quarter, we recorded approximately $3 million of write-downs related to obsolete inventory and fixed assets. This negatively impacted our earnings by approximately $0.03.

本季度和本年度調整後歸屬於公司所有者的淨利潤分別為 2,070 萬美元和 8,280 萬美元，攤薄後每股收益為 0.21 美元和 0.87 美元。值得注意的是，在本季度，我們記錄了與過時庫存和固定資產相關的約 300 萬美元的減記。這對我們的收入產生了約 0.03 美元的負面影響。

As we closed the year, the total notional value of our foreign exchange derivative position, including both zero-cost collars and forward contracts, exceeded $375 million. These hedges, which cover nearly all of our Brazilian real-denominated operating expenses and the majority of our major capital expenditures in 2024, have a weighted average floor and ceiling of BRL4.99 and BRL5.36, respectively. Of the total hedge program approximately $115 million are allocated for major capital project expenditures with a weighted average floor and ceiling of BRL5.13 and BRL5.22 respectively.

截至年底，我們的外匯衍生性商品部位（包括零成本項和遠期合約）的總名目價值超過 3.75 億美元。這些對沖涵蓋了 2024 年幾乎所有巴西雷亞爾計價的營運支出和大部分主要資本支出，加權平均下限和上限分別為 4.99 雷亞爾和 5.36 雷亞爾。對沖計畫總額中約 1.15 億美元分配給重大資本項目支出，加權平均下限和上限分別為 5.13 雷亞爾和 5.22 雷亞爾。

With respect to major project, the Tucumã project is a case in point where we are observing a decline in monthly capital expenditures as we near the end of construction. Although we anticipate our total capital expenditures (technical difficulty) year to be weighted towards the first half, our strong financial position, including available balance sheet liquidity of approximately $262 million at year end and cash flow from operations during the first half of this year that are projected to be consistent with the second half of 2023 ensures we are fully equipped to support these investments.

就大型專案而言，圖庫姆專案就是一個典型的例子，隨著施工接近尾聲，我們發現每月資本支出有所下降。儘管我們預計今年的總資本支出（技術難度）將在上半年進行加權，但我們強勁的財務狀況，包括年底約 2.62 億美元的可用資產負債表流動性以及今年上半年的營運現金流，預計與2023 年下半年保持一致，確保我們完全有能力支持這些投資。

I'll now pass the call back to David to share some closing thoughts.

現在我將把電話轉回給大衛，分享一些結束語。

Thank you Wayne, and thank you, everyone, who joined the call today. Before we proceed to the question-and-answer session, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our teams in Brazil and here in Canada for their continued commitment and hard work in executing on both our operating plan and our organic growth strategies.

謝謝韋恩，也謝謝今天加入電話會議的所有人。在我們進行問答環節之前，我要向我們在巴西和加拿大的團隊表示最深切的感謝，感謝他們在執行我們的營運計劃和有機增長戰略方面的持續承諾和辛勤工作。

With that, I will now hand the call back to the operator to open the line for questions.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉交給接線員以打開提問線路。

Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Ralph Profiti, Eight Capital.

謝謝。我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員指令）Ralph Profiti，八資本。

Thanks for taking my questions. Makko, you talked about this 60% number with respect to labor hiring. And just wondering for clarification (technical difficulty) as we think about labor costs -- the labor component of those operating costs?

感謝您回答我的問題。Makko，您談到了與勞動招募相關的 60% 的數字。當我們考慮勞動成本時，只是想澄清一下（技術難度）——這些營運成本中的勞動力部分？

Yeah, thanks for the question. I had missed the first part about the (technical difficulty) it's important to note that on the mining side, we are using contract mining. So our component of the workforce is really related to the plant, the administration, and the operational support areas , such as the lab, security, warehousing, et cetera. So it's a smaller component of the total workforce.

是的，謝謝你的提問。我錯過了關於（技術難度）的第一部分，值得注意的是，在採礦方面，我們正在使用合約採礦。因此，我們的勞動力組成部分確實與工廠、管理和營運支援領域相關，例如實驗室、安全、倉儲等。因此，它在勞動力總數中所佔的比例較小。

The 60% that contracted to date is in partnership with the national labor development authority, SENAI, and they're facilitating the training for the operation of the project. We'll continue to increase that number as we ramp up here. I think the main objective for us and focus at this stage was really on the operational leadership, which would be our managers, our (technical difficulty) fulfilled.

迄今為止簽訂的 60% 合約是與國家勞工發展局 SENAI 合作的，他們正在促進該計畫運營的培訓。隨著我們在這裡的發展，我們將繼續增加這個數字。我認為我們現階段的主要目標和重點實際上是營運領導力，這將是我們的經理，我們的（技術難度）得到滿足。

In terms of Inflation and labor, I think it continues to be a top goal, I think, across the whole industry. We've obviously reflected what the current labor rates are in our guidance for the second half of the year at the Tucumã project and don't anticipate any variation this year. Obviously, as we look ahead, it depends on the overall picture not only in (technical difficulty) throughout the broader mining industry.

就通貨膨脹和勞動力而言，我認為這仍然是整個行業的首要目標。我們顯然已經在圖庫姆計畫下半年的指導中反映了當前的勞動力價格，預計今年不會有任何變化。顯然，當我們展望未來時，這不僅取決於整個採礦業的（技術難度）整體情況。

I'm just going to -- this is David Strang. Just to add a little bit more to that to make sure everybody understands who we're talking about with regards to SENAI. So as Makko rightly pointed out, the most significant focus in the short term has been on hiring our leadership team, which is now all in place.

我只是——這是大衛·斯特朗。只是補充一點，以確保每個人都了解我們在談論 SENAI 的對象。因此，正如 Makko 正確指出的那樣，短期內最重要的重點是招募我們的領導團隊，目前團隊已經全部到位。

When we talk about SENAI, SENAI is this wonderful organization in Brazil, which is a parastatal organization that is involved in the training of local people to be able to do -- increase skills and provide them with the skills to be able to operate and do functions on mining operations in Brazil, farming activities, other industrial applications.

當我們談論 SENAI 時，SENAI 是巴西的一個出色的組織，它是一個半國營組織，致力於培訓當地人提高技能並為他們提供能夠操作和做事的技能其功能涉及巴西的採礦作業、農業活動和其他工業應用。

We are drawing our workforce primarily from the town of Tucumã and the local communities, where there is an excess of available labor pool. It's our focus to make sure that our labor pool is drawn from the local communities as much as possible. And [Fagundes], our mining contractor, has given us a very strong pathway on how they have done it in working with SENAI in terms of hiring the workforce that is running our trucks, our excavators, and other equipment in the mine for the last almost two years.

我們主要從圖庫瑪鎮和當地社區抽取勞動力，那裡的勞動力資源過剩。我們的重點是確保我們的勞動力資源盡可能來自當地社區。我們的採礦承包商 [Fagundes] 為我們提供了一條非常強大的途徑，告訴我們他們如何與 SENAI 合作，最後僱用在礦井中運行我們的卡車、挖掘機和其他設備的勞動力。

So we are very confident with regards to the work that SENAI is doing in terms of working with us in partnership to identify our local workforce and hire up that team to be ready for us, executing on commercial production in the third quarter.

因此，我們對 SENAI 正在與我們合作的工作非常有信心，以確定我們的當地勞動力並僱用該團隊為我們做好準備，在第三季度執行商業生產。

Thanks. That's excellent for clarity, David and Makko. I do have a follow-up, just coming back and switching gears to the Furnas exploration budget of $6 million. Just wondering, is that for the full Phase 1, 28,000 meters? And I think just for clarification (technical difficulty) ticking on that initial Phase 1, right, because we have not yet signed the (technical difficulty)

謝謝。David 和 Makko，這非常清晰。我確實有一個後續行動，只是回來後將精力轉向 600 萬美元的弗納斯勘探預算。只是想知道，這是整個第一階段的28,000公尺嗎？我認為只是為了澄清（技術難度），勾選最初的第一階段，因為我們還沒有簽署（技術難度）

The definitive earn-in agreement. Our objective for this year is to start drilling in the second half of the year. So it won't cover the full first phase of the program. What that covers is the work that we're doing now in parallel with working to sign the definitive earn-in agreement, which is progressing well. We, with our partners at Vale Base Metals, have mobilized the team to site to start several work streams, as I mentioned, including the baseline environmental studies and, in parallel, starting our QA/QC program.

最終的收益協議。我們今年的目標是下半年開始鑽探。因此它不會涵蓋該計劃的全部第一階段。這涵蓋了我們現在正在做的工作，同時也努力簽署最終的收益協議，該協議進展順利。正如我所提到的，我們與 Vale Base Metals 的合作夥伴已動員團隊到現場啟動多個工作流程，包括基準環境研究，同時啟動我們的 QA/QC 計劃。

So what you see in the budget for this year is the execution of the initial leg work, I would say, in the project to make sure that we're in a good position to start drilling in the second half and mostly, the second half drilling for the project this year.

因此，您在今年的預算中看到的是專案中初步腿部工作的執行，以確保我們處於有利位置，可以在下半年開始鑽探，並且主要是在下半年今年該專案的鑽探工作。

Thanks very much. Thanks very much for your answers.

非常感謝。非常感謝您的回答。

(technical difficulty) Paradigm Capital.

（技術難度）Paradigm Capital。

Thanks for taking my question. Can you please elaborate on the development work at Xavantina in terms of ongoing and expected production from the Matinha and Santo Antonio veins through 2024? Just trying to get a clear picture on H1 versus H2 wage and such?

感謝您提出我的問題。您能否詳細介紹 Xavantina 的開發工作，包括截至 2024 年 Matinha 和 Santo Antonio 礦脈的持續生產和預期產量？只是想清楚了解 H1 與 H2 的薪水等等？

(technical difficulty) question. I'd say that in our -- what we did for this year's guidance is we've continued to assume that the grades mined revert to our long-term block model grades, which has been reflected in our guidance. I'd say that we continue to see, here in the first quarter or the first few months, favorable grade reconciliations, most notably in the Matinha vein (technical difficulty) first half, second half. Again, we are seeing a positive reconciliation (technical difficulty) so we'll continue to, I guess, hope for that, but haven't planned for it through the balance of the year.

（技術難度）問題。我想說的是，在我們今年的指導中，我們繼續假設開採的品位恢復到我們的長期區塊模型品位，這已反映在我們的指導中。我想說的是，在第一季或前幾個月，我們繼續看到有利的成績調節，尤其是在 Matinha 靜脈（技術難度）上半段和下半段。再次，我們看到了積極的和解（技術難度），所以我想我們將繼續希望這一點，但在今年餘下的時間裡還沒有為此做好計劃。

Yeah. Let me elaborate a little bit on that in terms of the drilling activity we did when we discovered the Matinha vein and brought that into a resource that was ready to be mined. Following standard work that you do with regards to gold, we had a couple of intercepts that intersected this high-grade area. And due to the extreme high-grade nature of it, we top cut those intercepts.

是的。讓我就我們發現馬蒂尼亞礦脈並將其轉化為可供開採的資源時進行的鑽探活動來詳細說明一下這一點。按照您對黃金所做的標準工作，我們有幾個與這個高品味區域相交的攔截。由於其極高品位的性質，我們對這些攔截進行了頂部削減。

As such, and Makko's pointed out, we are not going to change our guidance nor are we going to adjust our resource estimate to reflect this high-grade zone. We continue to encounter it through the middle of the vein structure. We do not know how long it will continue to go.

因此，Makko 指出，我們不會改變我們的指導，也不會調整我們的資源估算以反映這個高品位區域。我們繼續透過靜脈結構的中間遇到它。我們不知道這種情況還要持續多久。

Obviously, everybody always hopes it's going to be longer -- greater for longer, but we are not going to be adjusting our resource for that. So guidance is, as we said, based upon our 9 to 10 gram estimate for the year. But we are, during the first quarter so far this year, continuing to see grades well in excess of (technical difficulty) tonne.

顯然，每個人總是希望它會更長——更長、更長，但我們不會為此調整我們的資源。因此，正如我們所說，指導是基於我們今年 9 至 10 克的估計。但今年第一季迄今，我們的成績持續遠遠超過（技術難度）噸。

That's great. Thank you very much. And over to Caraíba, if you can just help me clarify the math on the new numbers, the restatement of treatment charges. Going back to 2022, it looks like a doubling on how you're reporting that now. Can you just help explain about how to get there?

那太棒了。非常感謝。至於卡拉巴，如果你能幫我澄清新數字的數學計算，即治療費用的重述。回到 2022 年，您現在的報告方式似乎翻了一番。您能幫忙解釋一下如何到達那裡嗎？

Gordon, it's Wayne. I don't have the '22 numbers in front of me, but I think, really, the only difference we've had is that we -- effective Q4 '23, we're now including the sea freight that was charged by our customers as part of the treatment refining and other costs. And this was previously presented as a reduction in our realized copper price, which is in line with the GAAP reporting. So in terms of '22, what you'd have to go back and just look is the change in the realized price there as well.

戈登，是韋恩。我面前沒有 22 年的數字，但我認為，實際上，我們唯一的區別是，從 23 年第 4 季開始，我們現在包括了我們的公司收取的海運費。在此之前，這是我們實現銅價的下降，這與公認會計原則報告一致。因此，就 22 年而言，您必須返回並查看實際價格的變化。

I see. Okay. So I mean, that all ties together. And is the exclusion of the ForEx hedging also a part of this?

我懂了。好的。所以我的意思是，所有這些都是連結在一起的。排除外匯對沖也是其中的一部分嗎？

Forward hedging.

遠期對沖。

The hedging, yeah. No, we don't have -- we show both methodologies. I think we show without the hedging and then with the hedging. Obviously, the headline number is without hedging that we're reporting.

對沖，是的。不，我們沒有——我們展示了這兩種方法。我認為我們在沒有對沖的情況下展示，然後在有對沖的情況下展示。顯然，我們報告的標題數字沒有進行任何對沖。

Okay. Just want to -- I just want to make sure I understood that. Thanks very much.

好的。只是想——我只是想確保我理解這一點。非常感謝。

(Operator Instructions) Stefan Ioannou, Cormark Securities.

（操作員指示）Stefan Ioannou，Cormark 證券。

Thanks very much, guys. Gordon got my question on the Xavantina, so that's great to hear about the grade may continue for longer. That would be nice. Just while I got you, any comments on where the nickel exploration is at these days?

非常感謝，夥計們。戈登收到了我關於 Xavantina 的問題，所以很高興聽到這個成績可能會持續更長時間。那樣就好了。就在我聯繫您的時候，您對目前鎳礦勘探進度有什麼評論嗎？

Yeah, Stefan, thanks for asking about that. We continue to work with regards to accumulating land positions on the trend that we have identified. We continue to wait for the government to initiate the auction process. Our latest guidance from the (technical difficulty) head of the A&M, which is a government agency that runs it, suggests that that may be delayed by up to 30 days.

是的，斯特凡，謝謝你問這個問題。我們將繼續按照我們所確定的趨勢累積土地頭寸。我們繼續等待政府啟動拍賣程序。我們來自 A&M（管理該機構的政府機構）（技術難度）負責人的最新指導意見表明，這可能會延遲最多 30 天。

So with respect to our nickel exploration, our work continues to be very much dedicated in terms of identifying (technical difficulty) to in excess of 100 kilometers in strike length, in which we are seeing nickel mineralization expressed at surface in gossan-type structures.

因此，就我們的鎳勘探而言，我們的工作繼續致力於識別（技術難度）超過 100 公里的走向長度，其中我們看到鎳礦化表現在地表的戈山型結構中。

Drilling work, though, we are doing more work, in my mind, to get a better return on the drill bit. And what I mean by that with regards to that is I think it's fair to say that we can drill 0.5% nickel material here until the cows come home.

不過，在我看來，鑽井工作我們正在做更多的工作，以獲得更好的鑽頭回報。我的意思是，我認為可以公平地說，我們可以在這裡鑽探 0.5% 的鎳材料，直到乳牛回家。

The question about it from our mind is, are we able to better identify, pre-drilling, those areas that are more prospective for higher grade? As you know, we have encountered nickel grades up to 7% in massive sulfide structures. And we had like -- and if we continue to work and grow nickel exploration, is to figure out that sort of equation.

我們心中的問題是，我們是否能夠更好地辨識、預鑽探那些更有可能獲得更高品味的區域？如您所知，我們在塊狀硫化物結構中遇到了高達 7% 的鎳品位。如果我們繼續努力並發展鎳勘探，我們就會找到這樣的方程式。

So I think the best we can tell you now is we continue to evaluate it. It continues to grow. We think we may be on to something that may be generational in terms of size and that we will hopefully be able to -- and I know it's been a bit of a broken record because of the delays of government -- be able to talk about this in much greater detail in the second half of the year. That's the best guidance I can give you right now.

所以我認為我們現在能告訴你的最好的是我們繼續評估它。它繼續增長。我們認為我們可能正在做一些可能是幾代人規模的事情，我們希望能夠——我知道由於政府的拖延，這有點打破了記錄——能夠談論今年下半年將對此進行更詳細的闡述。這是我現在能給你的最好的指導。

All right. That's very helpful, and it's still very exciting. Thanks for that. Appreciate it.

好的。這非常有幫助，而且仍然非常令人興奮。感謝那。欣賞它。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to David Strang for any closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回大衛·斯特朗（David Strang）發表閉幕詞。

Thank you, operator, and thanks again, everybody, for coming on this call. This is now, I think, our sixth year end for Ero Copper. And it has been a fantastic year from the standpoint of investing in our future. And we really look forward to this year, as we transform our company into a multi-mine copper producer and one that continues to look to grow our business in Brazil into the future.

謝謝接線員，再次感謝大家參加這次電話會議。我想，現在已經是 Ero Copper 的第六年終了。從投資未來的角度來看，這是美好的一年。我們非常期待今年，因為我們將把我們的公司轉變為多礦銅生產商，並繼續尋求在未來發展我們在巴西的業務。

As always, we are always available for additional questions you may have that you did not necessarily want to have on the call. And please feel free to contact Courtney, myself, Wayne and Makko, and [Bruna] at your earliest convenience. And with that, we'd like to thank you again for joining. Thank you. Bye-bye.

像往常一樣，我們隨時可以解答您可能有但不一定想在電話中提出的其他問題。請在方便時儘早聯繫 Courtney、我本人、Wayne 和 Makko 以及 [Bruna]。在此，我們要再次感謝您的加入。謝謝。再見。

This brings to an end today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與並祝您有個愉快的一天。