Hecla Mining Co (HL) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. At this time, I'd like to welcome you to the third quarter 2024 Hecla Mining Company earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to Anvita Patil. Please go ahead.

謝謝你的支持。現在，我歡迎您參加赫克拉礦業公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）我現在想將電話轉給 Anvita Patil。請繼續。

Good morning, Adam, and thank you all for joining us for Hecla's third quarter 2024 results conference call. I'm Anvita Patil, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer. Our earnings release that was issued yesterday, along with today's presentation are available on our website.

早安，Adam，感謝大家參加 Hecla 2024 年第三季業績電話會議。我是安維塔·帕蒂爾 (Anvita Patil)，投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管。我們昨天發布的收益報告以及今天的簡報可在我們的網站上查看。

On the call is Cassie Boggs, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer; Rob Krcmarov, Incoming President and Chief Executive Officer; Russell Lawlar, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Carlos Aguiar, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer; and Kurt Allen, Vice President of Exploration.

臨時總裁兼執行長 Cassie Boggs 參加了電話會議； Rob Krcmarov，即將上任的總裁兼執行長； Russell Lawlar，資深副總裁兼財務長；卡洛斯‧阿吉亞爾，資深副總裁兼營運長；和勘探副總裁庫爾特艾倫。

At the conclusion of our prepared remarks, we will be all available to answer questions. Any forward-looking statements made today by the management team come under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and involve risks as shown on slide 2 in our earnings release and in our 10-K and 10-Q filings with the SEC. These and other risks could cause results to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

在我們準備好的演講結束時，我們都可以回答問題。管理團隊今天發表的任何前瞻性聲明均受《私人證券訴訟改革法案》管轄，並涉及我們的收益發布幻燈片 2 以及我們向 SEC 提交的 10-K 和 10-Q 文件中所示的風險。這些風險和其他風險可能導致結果與前瞻性陳述中預測的結果不同。

Any non-GAAP measures cited in this call and related slides are reconciled in the slides or the news release. I want to remind you if you would like to have a call with management, you can do so by using the link under the section Virtual Investor Event in our earnings release that was issued yesterday. I will now pass the call to Cassie.

本次電話會議和相關幻燈片中引用的任何非公認會計原則措施均在幻燈片或新聞稿中進行了調整。我想提醒您，如果您想與管理層通話，可以使用我們昨天發布的收益報告中「虛擬投資者活動」部分下的連結來進行。我現在將把電話轉給卡西。

Thanks Anvita. Good morning everyone. I want to express both my excitement and gratitude that Rob has agreed to join us as the next President and CEO of Hecla. I've known Rob for 19 years. And based both on my experience in working with him and his proven track record of success, the Board is confident he is the right person to lead Hecla, not only at this junction but well into the future.

謝謝安維塔。大家早安。Rob 同意加入我們，擔任 Hecla 的下一任總裁兼首席執行官，我對此感到興奮和感激。我認識羅布已經 19 年了。根據我與他共事的經驗以及他所取得的成功記錄，董事會相信他是領導 Hecla 的合適人選，不僅在當前，而且在未來也是如此。

Rob is a seasoned and successful geologist, having worked in the mining industry for 3 decades. He has broad experience across various geographies and operations. But more importantly, he is a leader who provides vision and fosters collaboration and teamwork by bringing diverse groups together, and that's what Hecla needs. So with these opening remarks, I'll pass the call to Rob, both to introduce himself and to give some perspective on why he decided to join Hecla.

Rob 是一位經驗豐富且成功的地質學家，在採礦業工作了 30 年。他在不同地區和營運方面擁有豐富的經驗。但更重要的是，他是一位領導者，透過將不同的群體聚集在一起來提供願景並促進協作和團隊合作，而這正是 Hecla 所需要的。因此，在這些開場白中，我將把電話轉給 Rob，介紹自己並就他決定加入 Hecla 的原因給出一些看法。

Well, thank you, Cathy. As Cathy noted, she and I have known each other for 19 years, and I really cannot think of a better leader to have led Hecla over the past 6 months. And really, that's one of the primary reasons I've chosen to join this team. As this opportunity presented itself, I evaluated Hecla and confirm my understanding of the company.

嗯，謝謝你，凱西。正如 Cathy 所說，她和我已經認識 19 年了，我真的想不出有哪個領導者能在過去 6 個月裡領導 Hecla 了。事實上，這也是我選擇加入這個團隊的主要原因之一。當這個機會出現時，我評估了 Hecla 並確認了我對公司的了解。

The independence, strong governance and complementary skills of the Board were reassuring. And as you know, Hecla has a long and rich history of being a leader in the silver mining space with silver assets that are among the best in the industry when considering all their attributes. Additionally, I'm joining a well-seasoned and talented team. And in fact, let me be the first to congratulate Carlos as Hecla's new Chief Operating Officer.

董事會的獨立性、強而有力的治理和互補的技能令人放心。如您所知，赫克拉作為白銀開採領域的領導者擁有悠久而豐富的歷史，其白銀資產在考慮到其所有屬性時屬於行業中最好的資產之一。此外，我將加入一支經驗豐富、才華洋溢的團隊。事實上，首先讓我祝賀 Carlos 成為 Hecla 的新任營運長。

Let's turn to slide 3, and I'll talk a bit more about why I chose to join Hecla. The value of a mining company rests on 2 key pillars: the quality of the team and the strength of its assets. Hecla is fortunate to have both. Our team is talented and dedicated, and our assets are world-class with reserve lives extending -- exceeding a decade in every mine and nearly 2 decades at Lucky Friday. These silver mines are among the highest grade in the industry, really setting us apart from our peers.

讓我們轉到幻燈片 3，我將更多地談論我選擇加入 Hecla 的原因。礦業公司的價值取決於兩個關鍵支柱：團隊的品質和資產的實力。赫克拉很幸運兩者兼具。我們的團隊才華橫溢、敬業奉獻，我們的資產是世界一流的，儲量壽命延長——每個礦山都超過十年，而幸運星期五則接近 20 年。這些銀礦屬於業內最高品位，確實使我們在同行中脫穎而出。

Equally important is Hecla's culture of innovation. So for example, we pioneered and implemented the underhand closed bench mining method at Lucky Friday. And in fact, I'm excited to visit there tomorrow to meet the people who pioneered this mining method and to see it in action. We also boosted throughput and recoveries at Greens Creek and integrated generative AI into our drilling programs.

同樣重要的是 Hecla 的創新文化。例如，我們在「幸運星期五」首創並實施了秘密封閉式採礦方法。事實上，我很高興明天能去那裡與開創這種採礦方法的人們見面並親眼目睹它的實際應用。我們還提高了 Greens Creek 的產量和採收率，並將生成式人工智慧整合到我們的鑽井計劃中。

And so this culture extends to our commitment to ESG practices, which is crucial for maintaining our social license to operate. A standout example is Keno Hill, where a year ago, we prioritized the safety of our employees, contractors and the environment over production.

因此，這種文化延伸到了我們對 ESG 實踐的承諾，這對於維持我們的社會運作許可至關重要。一個突出的例子是基諾山，一年前，我們將員工、承包商和環境的安全置於生產之上。

We remain committed to responsible operations and valuing input and collaboration from the Yukon government and the First Nation of Na-Cho and Nyak Dun. With strong exploration success, we're invested in the long-term future of this operation and in fact, the entire district, building on our foundation of stakeholder engagement and continuous improvement in safety and environmental practices.

我們仍然致力於負責任的運營，並重視育空地區政府以及 Na-Cho 和 Nyak Dun 原住民的投入和合作。憑藉著巨大的勘探成功，我們投資於該業務乃至整個地區的長期未來，建立在利益相關者參與和不斷改進安全和環境實踐的基礎上。

Lastly, one of our most exciting attributes is our exploration potential. Beyond our active mines, projects like Midas and Aurora in Nevada and Libby exploration in Montana, they could create lasting value for our shareholders. With that, I'll hand the call over to Russell.

最後，我們最令人興奮的屬性之一是我們的探索潛力。除了我們活躍的礦場之外，內華達州的 Midas 和 Aurora 以及蒙大拿州的 Libby 勘探等項目也可以為我們的股東創造持久的價值。這樣，我就把電話轉給拉塞爾。

Thank you, Rob. I'll start on slide 5. We previously provided our priorities for capital allocation during the year. And similar to the second quarter, we've made progress on these priorities during the third quarter. Carlos will speak more on our investment in Keno Hill during the quarter, but I want to highlight that we have invested approximately $40 million in capital at the mine during the year with more than $14 million in the third quarter, while producing almost 600,000 ounces of silver this quarter, bringing the total to over 2.1 million ounces, which puts us on track to meet our guidance this year.

謝謝你，羅布。我將從幻燈片 5 開始。我們之前提供了今年資本配置的優先順序。與第二季類似，我們在第三季在這些優先事項上取得了進展。卡洛斯將更多地談論我們在本季度對基諾山的投資，但我想強調的是，我們今年在礦山投資了約4,000 萬美元，其中第三季度超過1,400 萬美元，同時生產了近600,000盎司本季白銀產量使總量超過 210 萬盎司，這使我們有望實現今年的指導目標。

As we saw an opportunistic market environment, we issued equity under our ATM program to pay down our revolver. At quarter end, we had $13 million drawn on the revolver and $22 million in cash on hand, giving us a net positive cash balance of $9 million. With the deleveraging from our revolver and improvement in our adjusted EBITDA, we've also seen our net leverage ratio improved to 1.8x compared to 2.3x in the prior quarter.

當我們看到機會主義的市場環境時，我們根據 ATM 計劃發行了股票來償還我們的左輪手槍。截至季末，我們的左輪手槍動用了 1,300 萬美元，手頭現金為 2,200 萬美元，淨現金餘額為 900 萬美元。隨著我們左輪手槍的去槓桿化和調整後 EBITDA 的改善，我們也看到我們的淨槓桿率從上一季的 2.3 倍提高到 1.8 倍。

Moving to slide 6. As you can see, we generated strong cash flows from our operations during the quarter and consistent with our strategic priorities, we invested in our assets with a total capital investment of almost $55 million, split almost half between growth and sustaining capital.

轉到投影片 6。正如您所看到的，我們在本季度從營運中產生了強勁的現金流，並且根據我們的戰略重點，我們對資產進行了總資本投資近5500 萬美元的投資，其中幾乎一半用於增長資本和維持資本。

Slide 6 shows that we raised $57.3 million under the ATM and paid down $49 million on the revolver, further demonstrating our deleveraging. The last point on this slide is our silver-link dividend. With our realized price of silver last quarter at $29.77, cash used to pay our dividend was $8.7 million, which includes the additional $0.01 per share owing to the price of silver.

幻燈片 6 顯示，我們透過 ATM 籌集了 5,730 萬美元，並透過左輪手槍支付了 4,900 萬美元，進一步證明了我們的去槓桿化。這張投影片的最後一點是我們的銀聯股息。上季度我們的白銀實際價格為 29.77 美元，用於支付股息的現金為 870 萬美元，其中包括因白銀價格而增加的每股 0.01 美元。

As we move to slide 7, I'd like to highlight the exposure Hecla gives to investors to silver. As 44% of our revenue is derived from silver and as we see increases in the silver price, it continues to contribute a greater share of our revenues. Another interesting development in the quarter is what is likely the first time in decades, we also generated a small amount of revenue from copper.

當我們轉到幻燈片 7 時，我想強調 Hecla 為投資者提供的白銀敞口。由於我們 44% 的收入來自白銀，並且隨著我們看到白銀價格上漲，白銀將繼續在我們的收入中貢獻更大的份額。本季另一個有趣的發展是，我們也從銅中獲得了少量收入，這可能是幾十年來的第一次。

Due to continuing monitoring and responding to changing market conditions, we've been able to transition the copper contained in Greens Creek's high-grade silver concentrate to now being a payable metal. This is similar results seen in continual development of zinc payability in this product over the years and further adds to the diversity and value of this product.

由於持續監控和應對不斷變化的市場狀況，我們能夠將 Greens Creek 高品位銀精礦中所含的銅轉變為可付款金屬。這與多年來該產品鋅支付能力的不斷發展中看到的結果類似，並進一步增加了該產品的多樣性和價值。

Not only is it desirable as smelter feed for its precious metal content, but also provides benefits in terms of base metal content from zinc, lead and now copper. Current proceeds from copper are projected to be significant, but we continue to explore opportunities to increase its impact.

它不僅因其貴金屬含量而成為冶煉廠原料的理想選擇，而且在鋅、鉛和現在的銅等賤金屬含量方面也具有優勢。目前銅的收益預計將是可觀的，但我們將繼續探索增加其影響力的機會。

We continue to see strong margins at our Greens Creek and Lucky Friday mines where during the third quarter, our consolidated all-in sustaining cost per ounce compared to the realized price of silver provided a margin of 48%. This is slightly less than the previous quarter, primarily driven by a higher AISC, which was due primarily to lower production.

我們繼續看到 Greens Creek 和 Lucky Friday 礦山的強勁利潤率，在第三季度，與白銀實現價格相比，我們每盎司的綜合維持成本提供了 48% 的利潤率。這略低於上一季度，主要是由於總維持成本較高，而總維持成本較高是由於產量下降。

And as I noted previously, during the quarter, we were able to reduce our net leverage ratio to 1.8x and deleveraged significantly from the revolver. This was primarily driven by a $41 million increase in our adjusted EBITDA, ATM proceeds and receiving the remaining insurance funds from the Lucky Friday claim. With that, I'll pass the call to Carlos.

正如我之前指出的，在本季度，我們能夠將淨槓桿率降低至 1.8 倍，並大幅去槓桿化。這主要是由於我們調整後的 EBITDA、ATM 收益增加了 4,100 萬美元，以及從「幸運星期五」索賠中收到了剩餘的保險資金。這樣，我會將電話轉給卡洛斯。

Thank you, Russell. I will start on slide 9, Greens Creek flagship mine. Greens Creek produced 1.9 million ounces of silver. Throughput of 2,314 tonnes per day was lower due to 5 days of unplanned SAG mill maintenance, where we had a failure of the variable frequency drive. The team's quick response helped address the issue, and we brought forward a portion of the scheduled maintenance for the fourth quarter during the downtime.

謝謝你，拉塞爾。我將從第 9 張幻燈片開始，Greens Creek 旗艦礦場。Greens Creek 生產了 190 萬盎司白銀。由於 5 天的非計劃性半自磨機維護（其中變頻驅動器故障），產量降低了 2,314 噸/天。團隊的快速反應幫助解決了這個問題，我們在停機期間提前了第四季度的部分計劃維護工作。

In all, we had 7 days of unplanned downtime, 5 of which were in the third quarter. Silver grades were lower in the quarter, but are expected to increase in the fourth quarter. Despite lower production in the quarter, revenues were higher compared to the second quarter at $170 million as we drill down on the prior quarter silver and zinc concentrate inventory build.

我們總共有 7 天的非計劃停機，其中 5 天發生在第三季。本季白銀品位較低，但預計第四季會有所增加。儘管本季產量較低，但隨著我們深入了解上一季的銀和鋅精礦庫存建設情況，收入仍高於第二季度，達到 1.7 億美元。

While production costs at Greens Creek remains stable, cash cost and all-in sustaining cost per silver ounce increased to $0.93 and $7.04, respectively, due to lower silver and by-product production.

雖然 Greens Creek 的生產成本保持穩定，但由於白銀和副產品產量下降，每盎司銀的現金成本和整體維持成本分別增加至 0.93 美元和 7.04 美元。

This quarter, as Russell previously mentioned, we added copper as a payable metal in our silver concentrates. A small win, which should add better economics in the long reserve mine life of this operation. Strong metal prices and higher sales, coupled with stable costs resulted in a strong free cash flow generation of $47 million. And year-to-date, the mine has already generated more than $100 million in free cash flows.

正如拉塞爾之前提到的，本季我們在銀精礦中添加了銅作為應付金屬。這是一個小小的勝利，這應該會為該作業的長期儲備礦山壽命增加更好的經濟效益。強勁的金屬價格和更高的銷量，加上穩定的成本，帶來了 4700 萬美元的強勁自由現金流。今年迄今為止，該礦已經產生了超過 1 億美元的自由現金流。

Primarily because of the unplanned mill shutdown of 7 days, we are lowering our production guidance slightly to 8.6 million to 9 million ounces. Guidance for cash cost and all-in sustaining cost per silver ounce is also revised lower as high prices for zinc and gold are expected to more than offset lower metal production. While the unplanned SAG mill maintenance has impacted our production slightly this year, I am very proud of our team for handling their repair expeditiously.

主要由於工廠計劃外停工 7 天，我們將產量指導小幅下調至 860 萬至 900 萬盎司。由於鋅和金的高價預計將足以抵消金屬產量的下降，因此每盎司銀的現金成本和整體維持成本指引也被下調。雖然計劃外的半自磨機維護對我們今年的生產造成了輕微影響，但我為我們的團隊迅速處理維修感到非常自豪。

Greens Creek is a premier silver mine, our flagship operation and positioned it for a strong finish to the year. Lucky Friday, innovation-driven growth. Lucky Friday produced 1.2 million ounces of silver with 3.6 million ounces produced over the 9 months of the year.

Greens Creek 是首屈一指的銀礦，也是我們的旗艦業務，並為今年取得了強勁的業績。幸運星期五，創新驅動成長。Lucky Friday 生產了 120 萬盎司白銀，今年 9 個月生產了 360 萬盎司。

Our production over the first 9 months was the highest over the past 23 years. Production was lower quarter-over-quarter due to lower mill throughput and lower grades. While the mill throughput was 3% lower over the last quarter, it was the second highest throughput in the mine history after a record last quarter.

我們前 9 個月的產量是過去 23 年來最高的。由於工廠產量下降和品位下降，產量環比下降。雖然工廠吞吐量比上季下降了 3%，但繼上季創紀錄之後，這是礦場史上第二高的吞吐量。

Lower mill throughput primarily stem from the installation of new cyclones, which will help us consistently achieve a higher throughput. Cash cost and all-in sustaining cost per silver ounce were $9.98 and $19.40 respectively, and trended higher due to higher maintenance costs for parts and mobile equipment and higher use of contractors in the quarter.

工廠產量降低主要是由於安裝了新旋風分離器，這將有助於我們持續實現更高的產量。每盎司銀的現金成本和整體維持成本分別為 9.98 美元和 19.40 美元，由於本季零件和行動裝置維護成本增加以及承包商使用量增加，現金成本和整體維持成本呈上升趨勢。

We expect contractor costs to trend lower in the fourth quarter as we expect to achieve the forecast headcount. Costs year-to-date have also impacted due to repairs and infrastructure upgrades this year after the fire last year in the secondary escapeway. Capital investments in the quarter totaled $11.2 million and included significant development and preproduction drilling, a key [recall right now] for the UCB mining method.

我們預計第四季度承包商成本將下降，因為我們預計將達到預測的人數。去年二次逃生通道發生火災後，今年的維修和基礎設施升級也對今年迄今的成本產生了影響。本季的資本投資總計 1,120 萬美元，其中包括重大開發和預生產鑽探，這是 UCB 採礦方法的關鍵[現在召回]。

The mine generated free cash flow of $23.2 million in the third quarter with $69 million generated year-to-date. We completed the $50 million Lucky Friday insurance claim, collecting the remaining $14.8 million during the quarter. We are revising our production and cost guidance for Lucky Friday to reflect the strong but lower-than-expected production and higher cost in the third quarter.

該礦第三季產生的自由現金流為 2,320 萬美元，今年迄今產生的自由現金流為 6,900 萬美元。我們完成了 5000 萬美元的「幸運星期五」保險索賠，並在本季度收回了剩餘的 1480 萬美元。我們正在修改「幸運星期五」的生產和成本指導，以反映第三季強勁但低於預期的生產和較高的成本。

Our revised production guidance is 4.7 million to 5 million ounces with all-in sustaining costs now expected to be in $14.5 to $15 per ounce of silver range. Our capital guidance for the mine is affirmed at $45 million to $50 million with $37 million invested year-to-date. Lucky Friday is our second cornerstone asset. And while the quarter was impacted by lower throughput and grades, we expect improved grades and mill throughput in the fourth quarter.

我們修訂後的產量指引為 470 萬至 500 萬盎司，目前白銀的整體維持成本預計在 14.5 美元至 15 美元之間。我們對該礦的資本指引確定為 4,500 萬至 5,000 萬美元，今年迄今已投資 3,700 萬美元。幸運星期五是我們的第二個基石資產。儘管本季受到吞吐量和品位下降的影響，但我們預計第四季度的品位和工廠吞吐量將有所改善。

Our investments in the mine over the past 3 years, including the UCB mining method, the service hoist to increase our hoisting capacity and the coarse ore bunker to decouple the mill from the mine have established the foundation for this mine to be a 5 million ounce producer over the next decade.

過去 3 年我們對該礦的投資，包括 UCB 採礦方法、提高提升能力的服務提昇機以及將磨機與礦井分離的粗礦倉，為該礦成為 500 萬盎司的礦區奠定了基礎未來十年的製片。

Casa Berardi. Executing on surface transition plan. On slide 11, Casa Berardi produced 21,000 ounces in the third quarter at cash cost of $1,754 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs of $2,059, both higher than the guidance range, primarily due to the lower production than planned, reflecting lower mill grades.

卡薩貝拉爾迪。執行表面過渡計劃。在投影片11 中，Casa Berardi 第三季產量為21,000 盎司，現金成本為每盎司1,754 美元，總維持成本為2,059 美元，均高於指導範圍，主要是由於產量低於計劃，反映出工廠品位較低。

Production costs at Casa Berardi have remained stable as the team remains focused on cost containment. The team has continued the detailed stop-by-stop analysis to review further extension of the waste mine underground stopes. Given the current strain in gold prices, we expect the underground operations to cease in mid-2025. We are reiterating the production, cost and capital guidance of the mine, but our work at Casa Berardi is not done.

Casa Berardi 的生產成本保持穩定，因為團隊仍然專注於成本控制。團隊繼續進行詳細的逐站分析，以審查廢棄礦場下採場的進一步擴建。鑑於目前金價緊張，我們預計地下作業將於 2025 年中期停止。我們重申了礦山的生產、成本和資本指導，但我們在 Casa Berardi 的工作尚未完成。

We have made significant progress in transitioning the mine to a surface-only operation where we moved 62% more surface ore and waste tonnes during the first 9 months of this year compared to last year. Currently, approximately 70% of the mill feed comes from the 160 pit. In the second half of 2025, we expect the 160 pit to fill the mill. The pit should continue production until 2027 with production levels of the mine expected to decline once the underground operation sees production next year.

我們在將礦場轉變為僅地面作業方面取得了重大進展，與去年相比，今年前 9 個月我們運送的地表礦石和廢料噸數增加了 62%。目前，大約 70% 的工廠飼料來自 160 個礦坑。2025年下半年，我們預計160個礦坑將填滿工廠。該礦坑預計將持續生產至 2027 年，一旦明年地下作業投產，礦場的生產水準預計將下降。

We expect long-term value creation of the mine with a higher grade principal and west mine Crown Pillar Pit. Given the time lines around permitting, stripping and dewatering of the pits, we expect the production hiatus at the mine to be above 5 years. We expect the pits to generate significant free cash flow once in production.

我們預計主礦品位較高的礦山和西礦冠柱礦坑將創造長期價值。考慮到礦坑許可、剝離和脫水的時間安排，我們預計該礦的生產中斷時間將超過 5 年。我們預計這些礦坑一旦投入生產將產生大量的自由現金流。

The mine has a long reserve mine life ahead of it, and we have more work to do at this mine as we evaluate the mine fit into our overall portfolio and other potential strategic alternatives.

該礦場的儲備礦山壽命很長，在評估該礦場是否適合我們的整體投資組合和其他潛在策略替代方案時，我們還有更多工作要做。

Keno Hill, largest silver producer in Canada. Keno Hill produced approximately 600,000 ounces in the third quarter with year-to-date production of 2.1 million ounces. This throughput for the first 9 months of the year was 314 tonnes per day by far to 260 tonnes per day in the quarter as the mill was not operational for about 35 days due to delays in receiving an authorization for construction and the permitting for the dry stack tailings facility as a result of the heap leach pad incident at the Eagle Gold Mine in late June.

基諾山 (Keno Hill)，加拿大最大的白銀生產商。Keno Hill 第三季產量約 60 萬盎司，年初至今產量為 210 萬盎司。今年前 9 個月的吞吐量為每天 314 噸，本季為每天 260 噸，因為工廠因延遲獲得施工授權和乾法許可而停產約 35 天。礦設施受損。

Ultimately, all authorizations were received, and we completed related design and construction work at the facility and the mill restarted operations on October 26.

最終，所有授權均已收到，我們完成了該設施的相關設計和施工工作，工廠於 10 月 26 日重新啟動營運。

While the mill was not in operation, we continue mining activities. And as of October 26, we have mined 2.5 million ounces of silver, including an ore stockpile of nearly 0.5 million ounces. During this downtime, we also made upgrades in the secondary ball mill and the filter presses.

當工廠沒有運作時，我們繼續採礦活動。截至10月26日，我們已開採了250萬盎司白銀，其中包括近50萬盎司的礦石庫存。在此停機期間，我們也對二級球磨機和壓濾機進行了升級。

For the quarter, expenditures on production costs, including ramp-up costs were $25 million within our guidance range of $25 million to $27 million. Capital investment of $14.4 million were related to construction of dry stack tails, development and equipment purchases.

本季的生產成本支出（包括提升成本）為 2,500 萬美元，在我們 2,500 萬至 2,700 萬美元的指導範圍內。1,440 萬美元的資本投資涉及乾堆尾部建造、開發和設備採購。

Due to permitting delays, construction of the cemented tails batch plant, which is instrumental in changing the mining method from overhand to underhand has been delayed and is now expected to be completed in mid-2025.

由於允許延誤，水泥尾礦批次廠的建設已被推遲，該廠有助於將採礦方法從正面開採改為反面開採，目前預計將於 2025 年中期竣工。

Transition to underhand mining, which will improve safety and productivity at the mine is now expected in 2026. I want to congratulate the Keno Hill team for making significant improvements in safety, environmental and mining practices. Keno Hill 12 months rolling all injury frequency rate was 2.82, a 27% decline over 2023. Keno Hill currently has a reserve life of 11 years.

預計 2026 年將過渡到地下採礦，這將提高該礦的安全性和生產率。我要祝賀基諾山團隊在安全、環境和採礦實踐方面取得的重大改進。基諾希爾 12 個月滾動所有傷害頻率為 2.82，比 2023 年下降 27%。基諾山目前的儲備壽命為11年。

Our ability to successfully operate in Yukon for the next decade depends on, among other factors, a strong relationship with the Yukon government and the First Nation of Na-Cho and Nyak Dun. These relationships and continued investments are critical to operate and deliver long-term value at Keno Hill. With that, we pass the call to Kurt to speak about Keno Hill's exploration results.

我們未來十年在育空地區成功運作的能力取決於與育空地區政府以及 Na-Cho 和 Nyak Dun 原住民的牢固關係等因素。這些關係和持續投資對於基諾山的營運和創造長期價值至關重要。就這樣，我們給庫爾特打電話，談論基諾山的勘探結果。

Thank you, Carlos. slide 13 contains plan maps of our underground and surface diamond drilling target areas at Keno Hill. Underground drilling is focused on extending mineralization and resource conversion in both the Birmingham Bear and the Flame & Moth vein systems. This drilling continues to intersect high-grade silver mineralization over substantial widths and highlights the significant potential for high-grade silver mineralization in the district.

謝謝你，卡洛斯。投影片 13 包含基諾山地下和地面鑽石鑽探目標區域的平面圖。地下鑽探的重點是擴大伯明罕熊礦脈系統和火焰與飛蛾礦脈系統的礦化和資源轉換。這次鑽探繼續在相當大的寬度上與高品位銀礦化相交，凸顯了該地區高品位銀礦化的巨大潛力。

Slide 14 contains longitudinal sections contoured by silver grade times thickness values through the Birmingham Footwall vein to the left and through the Flame & Moth vein number 1 to the right. At the Birmingham Football vein, you can see the high-grade intercepts received during the quarter show significant silver values and widths in areas that were previously interpreted as containing lower grades. These intercepts include 63.8 ounce per tonne silver over 10.2 feet.

投影片 14 包含由銀級乘以厚度值繪製輪廓的縱向剖面，左側穿過伯明罕下盤脈，右側穿過火焰與飛蛾脈 1 號。在伯明罕足球脈絡中，您可以看到本季收到的高等級攔截在先前被解釋為包含較低等級的區域中顯示出顯著的銀值和寬度。這些攔截量包括超過 10.2 英尺的每噸 63.8 盎司白銀。

At the Flame and Loft drilling in Vein 1 has intersected wide and high-grade silver mineralization in areas that were previously interpreted to be barren and includes intercepts up to 71.6 ounce per tonne silver over 14.8 feet. Drilling in both veins will positively impact resource models and is providing more geologic information and confidence in our resource base.

在 Vein 1 的 Flame and Loft 鑽探中，在先前被認為是貧瘠的地區橫穿了寬闊的高品位銀礦化區，並在 14.8 英尺範圍內截獲了高達 71.6 盎司/噸的銀礦。這兩個脈絡的鑽探將對資源模型產生正面影響，並提供更多的地質資訊和對我們資源基礎的信心。

Three surface drills were also active on the property and are continuing to test multiple targets, including the Birmingham Deep, the Birmingham Townsite, Elsa 17-Dixie, Silver Spoon and Inca target areas. These target areas have the potential for the discovery of large high-grade silver deposits.

三個地面鑽探也在該礦區進行，並繼續測試多個目標，包括伯明罕深海、伯明罕城鎮遺址、Elsa 17-Dixie、Silver Spoon 和 Inca 目標區域。這些目標區域有可能發現大型高品位銀礦床。

With each new exploration intercept, we continue to add to our understanding of the structural geology of our target areas and continue to demonstrate that the mineral potential of this highly prospective district remains significant. With that, I will pass the call back to Cassie.

透過每次新的勘探攔截，我們不斷加深對目標區域構造地質的了解，並繼續證明這個高前景地區的礦產潛力仍然巨大。這樣，我會將電話轉回給 Cassie。

Thanks, Kurt. So before I speak about guidance, I'd just like to spend a few minutes discussing our strategy, investment and why we are in the Yukon. The geologic environment at Keno Hill specifically and in Yukon more generally is world-class.

謝謝，庫爾特。因此，在談論指導之前，我想花幾分鐘討論我們的策略、投資以及我們為何在育空地區。基諾山和育空地區的地質環境都是世界一流的。

And while each generation has its challenges, the Yukon government, the First Nations of the Na-Cho and Nyak Dun and all other external stakeholders have historically been supportive of mining. But now given the tragic events in June at the Eagle Gold Mine, which like Keno Hill is within the First Nation's traditional territory, some of the local community are questioning the emphasis on increasing production.

雖然每一代都會面臨挑戰，但育空地區政府、Na-Cho 和 Nyak Dun 的原住民以及所有其他外部利益相關者歷來都支持採礦業。但現在，考慮到 6 月在 Eagle 金礦發生的悲劇（該礦與基諾山一樣都屬於原住民的傳統領地），一些當地社區對強調增加產量提出了質疑。

We value the perspectives of the First Nations and the Yukon government and our ability to successfully operate in Yukon is premised on environmental stewardship, responsible mining practices and sustainable mining for the benefit of all stakeholders.

我們重視原住民和育空地區政府的觀點，我們在育空地區成功運作的能力的前提是環境管理、負責任的採礦實踐和永續採礦，以造福所有利益相關者。

As such, we are prioritizing stakeholder outreach in the near term, and we expect our 2025 production at Keno Hill will remain at 2024 levels. We plan to use this opportunity to strengthen community ties, advance permitting and improvements to infrastructure, including the new water treatment plant at Birmingham and the new cemented tailings batch plant.

因此，我們在短期內優先考慮利害關係人的外展活動，預計基諾山 2025 年的產量將維持在 2024 年的水準。我們計劃利用這個機會加強社區聯繫，推進許可和改善基礎設施，包括伯明罕的新水處理廠和新的水泥尾礦批次廠。

With this base, we are on a long-term mission of building value at Keno Hill and in the Yukon. The strong geologic potential of the operation in the district is a critical driver of why we see Keno Hill to potentially join Greens Creek and Lucky Friday as cornerstone assets in our portfolio. And with the exploration success we're seeing, we remain confident that Keno Hill's reserve mine life will continue to grow.

以此為基礎，我們的長期使命是在基諾山和育空地區創造價值。該地區業務的強大地質潛力是我們認為基諾山有可能加入 Greens Creek 和 Lucky Friday 成為我們投資組合中的基石資產的關鍵驅動因素。隨著我們所看到的勘探成功，我們仍然相信基諾山的儲備礦壽命將繼續增長。

So moving on to slide 15 and talking about guidance. As Carlos described before, we're lowering our silver production guidance for Greens Creek and Lucky Friday and affirming Keno Hill's silver production. We are also increasing Lucky Friday's cash cost and all-in sustaining cost guidance while reducing Greens Creek cost guidance. Overall, our consolidated silver and gold cost guidance remain unchanged.

現在轉到幻燈片 15 並討論指導。正如卡洛斯之前所描述的，我們正在降低 Greens Creek 和 Lucky Friday 的白銀產量指導，並確認 Keno Hill 的白銀產量。我們還提高了「幸運星期五」的現金成本和整體維持成本指導，同時降低了 Greens Creek 成本指導。總體而言，我們的綜合白銀和黃金成本指引保持不變。

Capital and exploration guidance is affirmed as well. And before I open the call to questions, I just want to express our gratitude to all our dedicated employees. Your unwavering commitment to safety and environmental stewardship has been instrumental in establishing Hecla's strong reputation and operational success. We're confident that your continued dedication will play a vital role in shaping a successful future under Rob's leadership. And with that, operator, I'd like to open the call to questions.

資本和勘探指導也得到肯定。在開始提問之前，我只想向所有敬業的員工表示感謝。您對安全和環境管理的堅定承諾對於建立 Hecla 的良好聲譽和營運成功發揮了重要作用。我們相信，您的持續奉獻將在 Rob 的領導下塑造成功的未來發揮至關重要的作用。接線員，我想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Lucas Pipes, B. Riley.

派普斯 (Lucas Pipes)，B. 萊利 (B. Riley)。

Rob, congratulations. Great to see. My first question is on the strategic side and maybe a touch early, but I wondered where Hecla is positioning itself. I think of 3 dimensions, gold versus silver, base versus precious, North America versus Americas as a whole. That's kind of been a traditional way of how I've thought about it. And so I'd be curious where you think Hecla would be sitting within that matrix?

羅布，恭喜你。很高興看到。我的第一個問題是在策略方面，也許有點早，但我想知道 Hecla 的定位。我想到了三個維度，黃金與白銀，基礎與貴重，北美與整個美洲。這是我思考問題的傳統方式。所以我很好奇你認為赫克拉會坐在那個矩陣中的位置？

Well, thanks very much, Lucas. In terms of the strategy, let me just start out by saying we've got 2 flagship mines and 2 mines that haven't really met our expectations. And so really, our focus is going to be on organic growth and really focusing on maximizing the value of what's really quite an extensive portfolio and in particular, making sure that Keno Hill follows a measured path to optimum production and profitability.

嗯，非常感謝，盧卡斯。在戰略方面，我首先要說的是，我們有兩個旗艦礦場和兩個沒有真正達到我們預期的礦場。因此，實際上，我們的重點將放在有機成長上，並真正專注於最大限度地提高真正廣泛的產品組合的價值，特別是確保基諾山遵循衡量最佳生產和盈利能力的路徑。

So reaching that point is going to take a bit longer than we initially anticipated. And as in our release, an important precondition is really some of the remediation of past work and completing several capital projects, improving the safety of our people, environmental compliance and most importantly, coordinating with our most important stakeholders, the First Nations of Na-Cho and Nyak Dun and the Yukon government and really looking to obtain their support and input.

因此，達到這一點將比我們最初預期的時間要長一些。正如我們發布的那樣，一個重要的先決條件實際上是對過去的工作進行一些補救並完成幾個資本項目，提高我們人民的安全，環境合規性，最重要的是，與我們最重要的利益相關者，納原住民進行協調。

Moreover, there's going to be an increasing renewed focus on cash flow generation at all of our assets and not just production maximization. Regarding geographic spread, right now, we want to stay focused on Canada and the US. While these large mines and deposits in Mexico, granting of permits in that country, even on operating mines has come to a standstill. And so when you look at the additional security risk, that's become unacceptable for Hecla.

此外，我們將越來越多地重新關注我們所有資產的現金流生成，而不僅僅是生產最大化。關於地理分佈，目前我們希望繼續關注加拿大和美國。雖然這些大型礦床和礦床位於墨西哥，但在該國發放許可證，甚至經營礦場的許可證也陷入停滯。因此，當您考慮額外的安全風險時，這對 Hecla 來說是不可接受的。

And right now, we're not really prepared to speculate that the conditions are going to improve. We prefer to focus on safe jurisdictions where our investors can be reassured that there's a clear path to obtaining the required permits and the production and the cash flow continues uninterrupted as long as we meet our commitments, obviously, and have social license. So we'll continue to evaluate the situation in Mexico. But right now, we're going to continue to focus on our own assets, internal growth in the US and Canada.

目前，我們還沒有真正準備好推測情況會有所改善。我們更願意把重點放在安全的司法管轄區，在那裡我們的投資者可以放心，只要我們履行我們的承諾並擁有社會許可，就有明確的途徑獲得所需的許可證，生產和現金流就會持續不間斷。因此我們將繼續評估墨西哥的局勢。但現在，我們將繼續關注我們自己的資產以及美國和加拿大的內部成長。

Rob, this is very helpful. I appreciate that color. And on the point of cash flow, how should investors think about allocation? Is it back into the business, be it operational improvements, CapEx, exploration? Or is there also a priority towards debt reduction?

羅布，這非常有幫助。我很欣賞那種顏色。那麼從現金流的角度來看，投資人該如何思考配置呢？是否回到了業務中，無論是營運改善、資本支出還是探索？還是是否也優先考慮減少債務？

Well, we're obviously not comfortable with our debt, and we will address that in due course. But our intention is to allocate capital to make sure that Keno Hill and Casa Berardi are performing to the optimum levels.

嗯，我們顯然對我們的債務感到不滿意，我們將在適當的時候解決這個問題。但我們的目的是分配資金，以確保基諾山和卡薩貝拉迪的表現達到最佳水準。

And maybe if I just add a little bit, the continuation of investment at Greens Creek and Lucky Friday clearly will also continue as those mines are the mines that we're using the cash flow from to invest in those mines of Casa and Keno Hill as well. But clearly, investing in our business needs to be one of our first priorities, including exploration as well.

也許如果我補充一點，Greens Creek 和 Lucky Friday 的持續投資顯然也會繼續下去，因為我們正在利用這些礦山的現金流來投資 Casa 和 Keno Hill 的礦山，因為出色地。但顯然，投資我們的業務需要成為我們的首要任務之一，包括探索。

So in the context of higher metal prices currently, any excess to maybe where the budget was, would not necessarily go towards the balance sheet. It would probably go first and foremost towards operations. Is that reasonable? Or what should you drive to?

因此，在目前金屬價格上漲的背景下，任何超出預算的部分都不一定會進入資產負債表。它可能首先涉及到運營。這樣合理嗎？或者你應該開車去哪裡？

I would look at it right now, we will continue to invest in our operations, both capital exploration. You saw during the quarter, we paid our revolver such that we're net -- almost net 0 at the end of the quarter. We really wanted to get off the revolver just because revolvers are great, but they're best undrawn, right? And so we were able to do that, the market was conducive to do that.

我現在會考慮，我們將繼續投資我們的業務，包括資本探索。你看到，在本季度，我們支付了左輪手槍的費用，這樣我們在本季度末就實現了淨值——幾乎為 0。我們真的很想擺脫左輪手槍，因為左輪手槍很棒，但最好不拔槍，對吧？所以我們能夠做到這一點，市場有利於做到這一點。

And as we move forward, we'll look to -- as we generate more cash, we'll look to build the cash balance. So there will be a bit of a balance between building a cash balance such that, that net leverage ratio continues to come down. But our future is going to be organic growth, like Rob had mentioned at these assets. So we'll need to continue to invest in them as well.

隨著我們前進，我們將尋求 - 當我們產生更多現金時，我們將尋求建立現金餘額。因此，建立現金餘額之間將會有一定的平衡，這樣淨槓桿率就會繼續下降。但我們的未來將是有機成長，就像羅佈在這些資產中提到的那樣。因此，我們也需要繼續對它們進行投資。

Rob, congrats again to the entire team, all the best of luck.

Rob，再次恭喜整個團隊，祝你好運。

Heiko Ihle, H.C. Wainwright.

海科‧伊勒 (Heiko Ihle)，H.C.溫賴特。

Rob, congratulations on your appointment. As you probably already know, I just want to say you have a very talented team around you. I've covered Hecla for going on a decade at this point. Looking forward to meeting you in person and obviously, also congratulations to Carlos on this promotion.

羅布，恭喜你的任命。您可能已經知道，我只想說您周圍有一支非常有才華的團隊。我已經報道了 Hecla 的十年歷程。期待與您見面，當然，也祝賀卡洛斯獲得晉升。

I know it's your first day. So maybe even a little bit more of a general question, but what have you been seeing with labor costs in the fourth quarter thus far? And I'm not sure if you can maybe give some granularity by asset, but if you can, that would be great. And otherwise, maybe just a little bit of a more general answer of what you're seeing.

我知道這是你的第一天。因此，這可能是一個更普遍的問題，但到目前為止，您對第四季度的勞動成本有何看法？我不確定您是否可以按資產提供一些粒度，但如果可以，那就太好了。否則，也許只是您所看到的內容的一些更普遍的答案。

Thanks, Heiko. I'm going to hand that one over to Russell and perhaps Carlos to comment.

謝謝，海子。我將把這個問題交給拉塞爾，或許還有卡洛斯來發表評論。

Well, our labor cost in 2 of the 4 mines are close to 55%, and that includes the usage of contractors. So as you know, in the third quarter and according to our jurisdictions, most of the capital projects are executed. So during that period of time, of course, we have an extra people executing on the projects. And that's why we are expecting for -- so once the construction drops a little bit in the last quarter, we are expecting a decrease in the use of contractors in the near future.

嗯，我們 4 個礦場中有 2 個的勞動成本接近 55%，其中包括承包商的使用。如您所知，在第三季度，根據我們的管轄範圍，大部分資本項目都已執行。當然，在那段時間裡，我們有額外的人員來執行這些專案。這就是我們預期的原因，一旦上個季度的施工量略有下降，我們預計在不久的將來承包商的使用量將會減少。

And, I don't have a whole lot to add to that. But Carlos did mention one of our larger drivers of cost is labor, 45-or-so percent is internal labor and then you add some contractors on top of that. But what we did mention in the release was that we expect to see the contractor labor come off in the fourth quarter as we both fill our roles and as Carlos had mentioned, complete some of the work that was done in the third quarter.

而且，我沒有太多要補充的。但卡洛斯確實提到我們成本的較大驅動因素之一是勞動力，大約 45% 是內部勞動力，然後在此基礎上添加一些承包商。但我們在新聞稿中確實提到的是，我們預計在第四季度看到承包商勞動力的減少，因為我們都填補了自己的角色，正如卡洛斯所提到的，完成了第三季度完成的一些工作。

Fair enough. And then maybe just building on the last question here. Rob, with your background, I did a little bit of Googling earlier today, and obviously, Hecla disclosed some of your past. Let's talk about your longer-term plans for the firm.

很公平。然後也許只是以最後一個問題為基礎。羅布，根據你的背景，我今天早些時候用谷歌搜尋了一下，顯然，赫克拉透露了你的一些過去。讓我們談談您對公司的長期計劃。

I mean, I assume there's been some talks made with the Board even before your appointment. But are there any meaningful changes in regards to -- we talked about capital allocation earlier, but besides that, M&A for the future, that kind of stuff that we should expect to see?

我的意思是，我想在你被任命之前就已經與董事會進行了一些會談。但是，我們之前討論過資本配置，但除此之外，還有未來的併購，我們應該期待看到的那些東西，是否有任何有意義的變化？

With regards to M&A, I'll continue to engage with the Board. And most importantly, I think it's really important that we actually are very clear on what our M&A criteria are going to be. And so we'll have that discussion, establish some parameters and guidelines and really have a disciplined approach to that.

關於併購，我將繼續與董事會接觸。最重要的是，我認為我們非常清楚我們的併購標準是什麼，這一點非常重要。因此，我們將進行討論，建立一些參數和指導方針，並真正採取嚴格的方法。

In my past life, I've been involved in a fair bit of M&A, and it's really important that we have a thorough due diligence. So if we choose to proceed, we're only going to do that subject to a full and thorough due diligence and a fully informed Board.

在我過去的生活中，我參與過相當多的併購活動，因此進行徹底的盡職調查非常重要。因此，如果我們選擇繼續進行，我們只會在充分徹底的盡職調查和董事會充分知情的情況下進行。

And M&A is best done from a position of strength. We're not there yet. And I believe that we can add value to our existing assets by focusing on the internal growth that I spoke about and really maximizing the value of our existing portfolio. So really, it's going to be more introspective, make sure that all of our assets are performing. And then at some point in the future, with the blessing of the Board and a very clear direction, we'll consider M&A.

併購最好是在實力雄厚的情況下進行。我們還沒到那兒。我相信，透過專注於我談到的內部成長並真正最大化我們現有投資組合的價值，我們可以為現有資產增值。所以實際上，我們會更加自省，確保我們所有的資產都在運作。然後在未來的某個時候，在董事會的支持和非常明確的方向下，我們將考慮併購。

I assume you don't have a favorite asset yet, do you? Too early.

我猜你還沒有最喜歡的資產，對嗎？太早了。

I mean it's hard not to love Greens Creek because it's just a fabulous asset. I have to say, even though we've -- Keno Hill has been a slower ramp-up than we expected, I love the exploration potential there. I really do. I think that's got district scale exploration potential. And in fact, I like the Yukon as well.

我的意思是，很難不愛 Greens Creek，因為它是一筆絕佳的資產。我不得不說，儘管基諾山的發展速度比我們預期的要慢，但我喜歡那裡的勘探潛力。我真的這麼做。我認為這具有地區規模的勘探潛力。事實上，我也喜歡育空地區。

Mike Parkin, National Bank.

麥克·帕金，國家銀行。

Can you just clarify how long the mill at Keno was offline in the third quarter?

您能具體說明一下基諾工廠第三季停工了多久嗎？

We were down 35 days during the third quarter.

第三季我們下跌了 35 天。

Okay. And then with the tailings, you kind of had previous notes in like your Q2 that the tailings capacity would be met by the end of this year. With the work you're doing, what kind of capacity have you been able to add? And are you able to still like do further construction into year-end? Or is it kind of weather dependent and you're having to wait until the spring to resume work?

好的。然後，對於尾礦，您之前在第二季度中已經注意到，尾礦產能將在今年年底達到。透過你正在做的工作，你能夠增加什麼樣的能力？您還願意在年底進行進一步的建設嗎？或者這取決於天氣，你必須等到春天才能恢復工作？

So we are going to continue expanding the current dry stack tailings capacity at the end of this year and the following year. And we are going to end with over 2 years of capacity to continue the operation.

因此，我們將在今年底和明年繼續擴大現有的乾堆尾礦產能。我們最終將擁有兩年多的能力來繼續運作。

Okay. So you're not weather dependent restrained?

好的。所以你不受天氣影響？

No.

不。

Okay. Great. And then one other one, Rob, like you've obviously given us quite a bit of color in terms of what you're thinking of. But as you get more comfortable with the assets, do you foresee giving like a broader market update on the path forward for Hecla in terms of once you've had the time to visit the sites, really get into the numbers, is there that thought to come out with here's where I plan to take the company?

好的。偉大的。然後是另一位，羅布，你顯然已經給我們提供了很多關於你的想法的資訊。但是，當您對這些資產越來越滿意時，您是否會預見到，一旦您有時間訪問這些網站，真正了解數字，您是否會在Hecla 的前進道路上提供更廣泛的市場更新，是否有這種想法說出我打算帶公司去哪裡？

Or is it going to be just a bit more piecemeal and we'll get updates on like quarterly earnings, that kind of thing?

還是會變得更加零碎，我們會得到季度收益等更新資訊？

It's a good question, David. As you can imagine, I'm going through an intense onboarding. I've already been to Casa, and I'll be visiting the other 3 operations in the next 3 weeks actually. In fact, tomorrow, I'm going to Lucky Friday. Once I get a clearer picture, the thinking is going to evolve. And I'd like to think that at some time, when it makes sense, we'll have an Investor Day and more fully articulate our vision.

這是個好問題，大衛。正如你可以想像的，我正在經歷一個緊張的入職過程。我已經去過 Casa，實際上我將在接下來的 3 週內參觀其他 3 個工廠。事實上，明天我要去幸運星期五。一旦我有了更清晰的認識，想法就會發展。我想，在某個時候，當有意義的時候，我們將舉辦投資者日並更全面地闡明我們的願景。

Okay. You guys have quite a massive project pipeline that hasn't been talked about much in the market. Are you planning to do any site tours of those assets? And is there a thought towards possibly rationalizing that portfolio down to core projects and potentially letting loose some of the noncore post review?

好的。你們有相當龐大的專案管道，但在市場上還沒有被太多談論。您是否計劃對這些資產進行實地考察？是否有可能將投資組合合理化為核心項目，並可能釋放一些非核心的後期審查？

Yes, absolutely. I mean while the cupboard is full and we're blessed with many projects, we can't really service all of them and do them justice. And so one of the things I've been talking to Kurt about is the need to really focus on the ones that can deliver near-term and medium-term value and those that perhaps might be best managed in the hands of other operators who will give probably the attention that it deserves. So yes, we will rationalize the portfolio and focus on the very best assets.

是的，絕對是。我的意思是，雖然櫥櫃已滿，而且我們有幸擁有許多項目，但我們無法真正為所有項目提供服務並公正地對待它們。因此，我一直在與庫爾特討論的一件事是，需要真正關注那些能夠提供短期和中期價值的項目，以及那些可能最好由其他運營商管理的項目，這些運營商將給予其應有的關注。所以，是的，我們將合理化投資組合併專注於最好的資產。

Great. Looking forward to the updates and welcome aboard.

偉大的。期待更新並歡迎加入。

Sean Wondrack, Deutsche Bank.

肖恩·旺德拉克，德意志銀行。

It was just a couple of months ago at our high-yield conference, I had asked how serious Hecla was about repaying the revolver. So really nice to see the opportunistic paydown there. There was a comment made earlier on the call, not comfortable with debt. Is that fair to assume that was referencing the coupon? Or is that referring more to the size of the facility?

就在幾個月前，在我們的高收益會議上，我曾問過赫克拉對於償還左輪手槍的態度有多認真。很高興看到那裡的機會主義回報。早些時候在電話會議上發表了評論，對債務感到不滿。假設引用優惠券是否公平？或者這更指的是設施的規模？

One of the things that we've tried to message to the market is that over time, what we do want to do is look to de-lever. This isn't something that we would necessarily do kind of larger overnight necessarily. But over time, we do believe that the leverage ratio is too high.

我們試圖向市場傳達的訊息之一是，隨著時間的推移，我們真正想做的是去槓桿化。這並不是我們必須在一夜之間做的更大的事情。但隨著時間的推移，我們確實認為槓桿率過高。

And so the 2.3, we saw it come down to 2.1, and we'll look to build that cash balance, like I said earlier and look to bring that down. But we will look to also balance out with the investment in our assets, like I had mentioned previously, the exploration, but then also the capital development and the projects that needed to take place at the assets.

因此，2.3，我們看到它下降到 2.1，我們將尋求建立現金餘額，就像我之前所說的那樣，並尋求將其降低。但我們也會尋求平衡資產投資，就像我之前提到的那樣，勘探，還有資本開發和資產上需要進行的項目。

And is there any kind of a more formal net leverage target or a band at which you'll seek to operate within?

是否有更正式的淨槓桿目標或您尋求在其中進行操作的範圍？

Historically, we've said 2x, less than 2x, which we're at that level now. Historically, though, if you go back, we would run 1x or less making much of the time. I'd like to see us be able to build that position back up again. And yes, those things take time. Certainly, we're in an environment where the prices should be helpful with that thought.

從歷史上看，我們說過 2 倍，低於 2 倍，我們現在處於這個水平。但從歷史上看，如果你回顧過去，我們會在大部分時間裡運行 1 倍或更少。我希望看到我們能夠再次鞏固這一地位。是的，這些事情需要時間。當然，我們所處的環境中價格應該有助於實現這一想法。

Great. And then as we think about moving into next year, is there any reason to believe that CapEx will be materially different relative to '24? I know it's a little early. I'm not sure if you can comment on that yet.

偉大的。然後，當我們考慮進入明年時，是否有任何理由相信資本支出相對於 24 世紀會有重大差異？我知道現在有點早了。我不確定你是否可以對此發表評論。

Yes. I would suggest we'll come out with our full detailed guidance next year. We've kind of directionally said where we expect Keno Hill to be, et cetera. But as it goes for those details, we'll come out with guidance next year, early next year.

是的。我建議我們明年會推出完整詳細的指導。我們已經定向說明了我們對基諾山的期望，等等。但就這些細節而言，我們將在明年年初發布指導。

Joseph Reagor, ROTH Capital.

約瑟夫·雷戈爾，羅斯資本。

Rob, welcome to the team. So I guess a lot of my questions have already been touched on, but just on Keno Hill, as you guys switch the mining method, how much cost savings maybe on a per ounce basis are you expecting from that?

羅布，歡迎加入我們的團隊。所以我想我的許多問題已經被觸及，但就在基諾山，當你們改變採礦方法時，你們預計每盎司可以節省多少成本？

We still don't know. We need to evaluate, but the main propose is the safety. That's the main propose of the change of the mining method, which is going to occur until 2026. But as today, we don't have any estimate about the reduction in cost because the main top priority is safety.

我們仍然不知道。我們需要評估，但主要建議是安全性。這是採礦方法改變的主要提議，該改變將持續到 2026 年。但就像今天一樣，我們對成本的降低沒有任何估計，因為首要任務是安全。

Okay. And maybe a bigger picture question then. In the event that you guys aren't, for one reason or another, able to ramp up production there, whether it be due to First Nations issues or anything else and the costs don't come down significantly. Is there any risk in anyone's eyes that, that asset would need to be curtailed in the current price environment? Or is there a certain price environment where you would consider that?

好的。也許還有一個更大的問題。如果你們出於某種原因無法提高那裡的產量，無論是由於原住民問題還是其他原因，並且成本不會顯著下降。在任何人看來，在當前的價格環境下，該資產是否存在需要削減的風險？或者是否存在您會考慮的特定價格環境？

Yes. I think, Joe, I think maybe even a quarter ago, we talked a little bit about this as it relates to our commitment to the Yukon. And I think that clearly, with Cassie's remarks on, I think, the last slide that we had presented, we're committed and as well as Rob mentioning is as he was asked about what his favorite asset was and his view on the Yukon.

是的。我想，喬，我想也許在一個季度前，我們就這個問題進行了一些討論，因為這與我們對育空地區的承諾有關。我認為很明顯，卡西對我們展示的最後一張幻燈片的評論是我們的承諾，羅佈在被問到他最喜歡的資產是什麼以及他對育空地區的看法時也提到了這一點。

We look at the Yukon as a district that we're invested in, and we expect to be there for the long term. We do believe that we need to make investment in that operation both in a number of ways, right? That's both the community, it's infrastructure, it's environmental practices and infrastructure, safety, et cetera. And we're going to do those things and expect to see those results.

我們將育空地區視為我們投資的一個地區，並希望長期在那裡發展。我們確實認為我們需要以多種方式對該業務進行投資，對嗎？這既是社區，也是基礎設施，也是環境實踐和基礎設施、安全等等。我們將做這些事情並期望看到這些結果。

Okay. Fair enough. And then kind of just adding on to these big picture questions about the whole company. Obviously, debt reduction is a focus. Any thoughts about changes in dividend policy or a time line on when we might see you guys kind of empty a little bit of the cupboard of these longer-term assets?

好的。很公平。然後添加一些關於整個公司的大局問題。顯然，減債是重點。對於股利政策的變化或我​​們何時可能看到你們清空這些長期資產的時間線有什麼想法嗎？

Well, yes, I'll speak to your first point on that. The dividend policy, we believe, gives our shareholders exposure to silver. And I think that many of our shareholders like that exposure. It's clearly -- the dividends are approved by the Board.

嗯，是的，我會談談你的第一點。我們認為，股利政策使我們的股東能夠接觸到白銀。我認為我們的許多股東都喜歡這種曝光。很明顯，股利是由董事會批准的。

And so as a result, there -- it's a Board discretion as to how that goes. But we do believe that it does give that exposure to silver. As it relates to emptying the cupboard, maybe defer to Rob, but I think that's probably -- I don't know, I'll defer to you and let you maybe answer that. As it relates to the -- I think you're talking about the rationalization of the portfolio.

因此，董事會有權決定如何進行。但我們確實相信它確實提供了白銀的敞口。因為這涉及到清空櫥櫃，也許聽從羅布的意見，但我認為這可能是——我不知道，我會聽從你的意見，也許讓你回答這個問題。因為它涉及——我認為你正在談論投資組合的合理化。

Yes. What's the time frame is?

是的。時間範圍是多少？

Yes, it will be when opportunities arise, I guess, is what I would suggest, right?

是的，當機會出現的時候，我想，這就是我的建議，對吧？

Yes. I mean I would like to visit some of those assets and personally understand what the opportunity is and whether we should be focusing on it. Really, the priority right now is the operations. So perhaps sometime during the, I guess, Q2, I'll have a clearer picture.

是的。我的意思是，我想參觀其中一些資產，並親自了解機會是什麼以及我們是否應該關注它。事實上，現在的首要任務是營運。因此，我想，也許在第二季的某個時候，我會有一個更清晰的畫面。

I will now turn the call back over to Rob for closing remarks.

我現在將把電話轉回給羅布，讓他發表結束語。

Well, thank you, everyone, for your questions. This concludes the call, and we look forward to engaging with you again soon. Have a good day.

好的，謝謝大家提出的問題。通話到此結束，我們期待很快再次與您聯繫。祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。