Southern Copper Corp (SCCO) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to Southern Copper Corporation's First Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. With us this morning, we have Southern Copper Corporation's, Mr. Raul Jacob, Vice President, Finance, Treasurer and CFO, who will discuss the results of the company for the first quarter 2023, as well as answer any questions that you may have.

早上好，歡迎來到南方銅業公司 2023 年第一季度業績電話會議。今天上午，南方銅業公司的財務副總裁兼首席財務官 Raul Jacob 先生將與我們一起討論公司 2023 年第一季度的業績，並回答您可能提出的任何問題。

The information discussed on today's call may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's results and prospects, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially, and the company cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Southern Copper Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All results are expressed in full U.S. GAAP.

今天電話會議上討論的信息可能包括有關公司業績和前景的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受風險和不確定因素的影響。實際結果可能存在重大差異，公司告誡不要過分依賴這些前瞻性陳述。南方銅業公司不承擔因新信息、未來事件或其他原因而公開更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務。所有結果均以完整的美國公認會計原則表示。

Now I will pass the call on to Mr. Raul Jacob.

現在我將把電話轉給 Raul Jacob 先生。

Thank you very much, Carmen. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Southern Copper's First Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. In today's call, we will begin with an update on our view of the copper market and then review Southern Copper's key results related to production, sales, operating cost, financial results, expansion projects and environmental, social and government. After this, we will open the session for questions. At today's conference, I'm joined by Mr. Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, CEO of Southern Copper and Board Member; as well as Mr. Leonardo Contreras, Board Member -- also a Board Members.

非常感謝你，卡門。大家早上好，歡迎來到南方銅業2023年第一季度業績電話會議。在今天的電話會議中，我們將首先更新我們對銅市場的看法，然後回顧南方銅業與生產、銷售、運營成本、財務業績、擴張項目以及環境、社會和政府相關的主要業績。在此之後，我們將開始提問環節。在今天的會議上，南方銅業公司首席執行官兼董事會成員 Oscar Gonzalez Rocha 先生和我一起出席了會議；以及董事會成員 Leonardo Contreras 先生——也是董事會成員。

Let's focus now on the copper market. In the first quarter of this year, the London Metal Exchange copper price decreased by 11% from the average of $4.53 per pound that we had in the first quarter of 2022. The average price has been $4.05 this past quarter. The price reduction, which is slightly lower as we speak now, reflects concerns about a possible recession in the U.S. and Europe, and this has been partially offset by the good news on China's economy.

現在讓我們關注銅市場。今年第一季度，倫敦金屬交易所的銅價較 2022 年第一季度的平均每磅 4.53 美元下跌了 11%。上個季度的平均價格為 4.05 美元。現在降價幅度略低，反映了對美國和歐洲可能出現衰退的擔憂，而這已被中國經濟的利好消息部分抵消。

Our current copper prices are, as I say, at around $3.90 per pound. And we believe the prices are being affected by the following factors. One is the reduction in global inflation, which may slow down or even stop interest rates -- the interest rate hike cycle led by the Fed and the ECB. The bouncing back of the Chinese economy after its openness -- after the COVID -- strong COVID measures that they had, China's GDP has been growing at 4.5% and which is slightly higher than the expected 4% that was mentioned by the major companies that follow the Chinese economy.

正如我所說，我們目前的銅價約為每磅 3.90 美元。我們認為價格受到以下因素的影響。一是全球通脹下降，這可能會減緩甚至停止加息——由美聯儲和歐洲央行主導的加息週期。中國經濟在開放後的反彈——在 COVID 之後——他們採取了強有力的 COVID 措施，中國的 GDP 一直以 4.5% 的速度增長，略高於主要公司提到的預期 4%跟隨中國經濟。

We do have some uncertainty regarding future production growth in Chile and Peru. These 2 countries together represent about 40% of the global supply, and Chile recently reported a copper production decline in the fourth -- in the first quarter this year of about 4%. Considering how demand and supply are evolving, the most relevant market intelligence houses for the copper market are currently expecting a market imbalance or small deficit of about 100,000 tons for this year.

我們對智利和秘魯未來的產量增長確實存在一些不確定性。這兩個國家合計約佔全球供應量的 40%，智利最近報告稱，今年第一季度銅產量第四季度下降約 4%。考慮到需求和供應的變化，與銅市場最相關的市場情報機構目前預計今年市場將出現約 10 萬噸的失衡或小幅短缺。

This assumes a growth in demand between 2% and 2.5%, and lower-than-expected supply growth estimated now between 1.5% and 2%. And this is basically due to the first quarter stoppages that we had in South America. Inventories are still very low at about 411,000 tons as of March 31. These are one of the lowest marks since 2001.

這是假設需求增長在 2% 到 2.5% 之間，而供應增長低於預期，現在估計在 1.5% 到 2% 之間。這基本上是由於我們在南美的第一季度停工。截至 3 月 31 日，庫存仍然很低，約為 411,000 噸。這是自 2001 年以來的最低水平之一。

It is important to emphasize that copper plays a leading role in the global shift to clean energy, which correlates positively with our assertion that the underlying demand for copper will be strong in the long term. In this scenario, we believe the current cycle of low prices will be short-lived.

需要強調的是，銅在全球向清潔能源的轉變中發揮著主導作用，這與我們關於銅的潛在需求長期強勁的斷言正相關。在這種情況下，我們認為當前的低價週期將是短暫的。

Now let's look at Southern Copper's production for the past quarter. Copper represented 77% of our sales in the first quarter of 2023. SCC's copper production registered an increase of 4% in the first quarter in quarter-on-quarter terms to stand at 223,272 tons.

現在讓我們看看南方銅業上個季度的產量。銅占我們 2023 年第一季度銷售額的 77%。SCC 第一季度的銅產量環比增長 4%，達到 223,272 噸。

Our quarterly results reflects a 16% increase in production in Peru, mainly from the Cuajone operation that grew 48.5%, and this was basically the result of much more mineral production in Cuajone. As you may recall, this operation had -- was affected by an illegal stoppage in the first and second quarters of 2022. So coming back to operation and operating at full capacity now, Cuajone have much more mineral production and better ore grades and recoveries. That certainly helped this quarter's production.

我們的季度業績反映出秘魯的產量增長了 16%，主要來自增長 48.5% 的 Cuajone 業務，這基本上是 Cuajone 礦產產量增加的結果。您可能還記得，這項業務在 2022 年第一季度和第二季度受到了非法停工的影響。因此，現在恢復運營並滿負荷運營，Cuajone 的礦產產量更高，礦石品位和回收率更高。這無疑有助於本季度的生產。

In the case of the Mexican operations, we had a drop in production of 2.4%, mainly coming from La Caridad, whose production decreased by 11% due to a temporary lower ore grade. For 2023, we expect to produce 940,000 tons of copper, an increase of 5% over the 2022 final trend. This growth will unfold as we have the Peruvian production at full speed, with -- coupled with new production in our Mexican operations through our Pilares and Buenavista Zinc concentrator project.

就墨西哥業務而言，我們的產量下降了 2.4%，主要來自 La Caridad，由於礦石品位暫時較低，其產量下降了 11%。對於 2023 年，我們預計將生產 94 萬噸銅，比 2022 年的最終趨勢增長 5%。隨著我們在秘魯的全速生產，以及通過我們的 Pilares 和 Buenavista 鋅選礦項目在我們的墨西哥業務中的新生產，這種增長將展開。

For molybdenum, it represented 11% of the company's sales value in the first quarter of this year and is currently our first by-product. Molybdenum prices averaged $32 per pound in the quarter compared to the $19 that they averaged in the first quarter of 2022. This represents an increase in price of 69%.

對於鉬，它占公司今年第一季度銷售額的 11%，目前是我們的第一個副產品。本季度鉬的平均價格為每磅 32 美元，而 2022 年第一季度的平均價格為 19 美元。這意味著價格上漲了 69%。

Molybdenum production decreased by 9% in the first quarter of this year, and this was mainly driven by a drop in production at the Toquepala mine due to lower ore grades. These results were partially offset by higher production at Cuajone, which increased its molybdenum production by 67%; and La Caridad, which increased its molybdenum production by 5%. These mines had a higher ore grade. In the case of Cuajone, obviously, more volume as well. And more -- better recoveries for Cuajone.

今年第一季度鉬產量下降了 9%，這主要是由於礦石品位較低導致 Toquepala 礦產量下降所致。這些結果部分被 Cuajone 的產量增加所抵消，Cuajone 的鉬產量增加了 67%；和 La Caridad，其鉬產量增加了 5%。這些礦山的礦石品位較高。就 Cuajone 而言，顯然，音量也更大。還有更多——Cuajone 恢復得更好。

As you know, molybdenum is primarily used to produce special alloys for stainless steel that require significant levels of hardness and resistance to corrosion and heat. New uses for these metals are associated with lubricants, sulfur filtering of heavy oil and shale gas production. Silver represented 4% of our sales value in the first quarter of 2023, with an average price of $20.53 per ounce in the quarter. This reflected a decrease of 6% in silver price. Silver is currently our second by-product.

如您所知，鉬主要用於生產不銹鋼的特殊合金，這些合金需要顯著的硬度以及耐腐蝕和耐熱性。這些金屬的新用途與潤滑劑、重油的硫磺過濾和頁岩氣生產有關。 2023 年第一季度，白銀占我們銷售額的 4%，本季度平均價格為每盎司 20.53 美元。這反映出白銀價格下跌了 6%。白銀目前是我們的第二副產品。

Mined silver production increased by 3% in the first quarter of this year, after production rose at Cuajone and Toquepala. This was partially offset by a decreased introduction of the Mexican operations. Refined silver production fell by 12% quarter-over-quarter mainly driven by a drop in production at our IMMSA refinery due to a temporary slowdown in purchases of third-party subs.

在 Cuajone 和 Toquepala 的產量增加之後，今年第一季度礦產白銀產量增長了 3%。這部分被引入墨西哥業務的減少所抵消。精煉白銀產量環比下降 12%，主要原因是我們的 IMMSA 精煉廠產量下降，原因是第三方潛艇採購暫時放緩。

For zinc, it represented 3% of our sales value in the first quarter of 2023, with an average price of $1.42 per pound in the quarter. This represents a decrease with regard to the first quarter of 2022 figure. Zinc mined production increased by 2% quarter-on-quarter and totaled 15,075 tons. This was driven primarily by an increase in production at the Santa Barbara and San Martin mines. Refined zinc production increased by 11% in the first quarter of this year.

對於鋅，它占我們 2023 年第一季度銷售額的 3%，該季度平均價格為每磅 1.42 美元。這比 2022 年第一季度的數字有所下降。鋅礦產量環比增長 2%，總產量為 15,075 噸。這主要是由於 Santa Barbara 和 San Martin 礦山的產量增加所致。今年第一季度精煉鋅產量增長了11%。

For 2023, we expect to produce 116,000 tons of zinc, which represents an increase of 94% over the 2022 production level. This growth will be driven by the production start-up of the Buenavista Zinc operation that should contribute this year with 52,000 tons of more zinc production, and by the recovery of the IMMSA mines production, where better ore grade areas has been identified. For next year and on, we expect to produce over 200,000 tons of zinc per year.

到 2023 年，我們預計將生產 116,000 噸鋅，比 2022 年的產量水平增長 94%。這一增長將受到 Buenavista Zinc 業務投產的推動，該業務今年將增加 52,000 噸鋅產量，以及 IMMSA 礦山生產的恢復，其中已確定礦石品位更高的區域。明年及以後，我們預計每年生產超過 200,000 噸鋅。

Financial results. For the first quarter of 2023, sales were $2.8 billion. This is $30 million higher than sales for the first quarter of 2022. Expansion was primarily fueled by an increase in the sales volume of copper that grew by 10%. Silver grew 15% and zinc 6%. This was partially offset by a decrease in the sales volume of molybdenum that decreased by 8% in sales. Metal prices fell for most of our products, with the exemption of molybdenum that increased, as I mentioned, by 69%.

財務結果。 2023 年第一季度銷售額為 28 億美元。這比 2022 年第一季度的銷售額高出 3000 萬美元。擴張的主要原因是銅銷量增長了 10%。銀價上漲 15%，鋅價上漲 6%。這部分被鉬銷量下降 8% 的下降所抵消。我們大部分產品的金屬價格都下跌了，但正如我提到的，鉬除外，價格上漲了 69%。

Our total operating cost and expenses increased by $146 million or 11% when compared to the first quarter of 2022. Main cost increments has been in inventory consumption, repair materials, explosives, reagents, sales expenses, diesel and fuel, and operations contractors. These cost increases were partially compensated by exchange rate differences, purchased copper -- lower purchased copper and other factors.

與 2022 年第一季度相比，我們的總運營成本和費用增加了 1.46 億美元或 11%。主要的成本增加是庫存消耗、維修材料、炸藥、試劑、銷售費用、柴油和燃料以及運營承包商。這些成本增加部分被匯率差異、購買的銅——購買的銅減少和其他因素所抵消。

When looking at our cost this past quarter, please keep in mind the following events. The Cuajone mine illegal stoppage affected our first quarter production and cost. The Russian invasion to Ukraine started in February of last year had an inflationary impact on cost that was mainly reflected after the first quarter of last year in the company's results.

在查看上個季度的成本時，請記住以下事件。 Cuajone 礦非法停工影響了我們第一季度的生產和成本。去年 2 月開始的俄羅斯對烏克蘭的入侵對成本產生了通脹影響，這主要反映在去年第一季度之後的公司業績中。

The first quarter adjusted EBITDA was $1.568 billion, which represented a decrease of 7% with regard to the $1.678 billion registered in the first quarter of 2022. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 56% in the first quarter of this year versus 61% in the first quarter of 2022. Operating cash cost per pound of copper before byproduct credits was $2.09 per pound in the first quarter of this year. That is $0.051 higher then the value for the fourth quarter of 2022. This 2% increase in operating cash cost before credits is a result of higher cost per pound from production partially compensated by lower treatment and refining charges, lower administrative expenses and higher premiums on refined copper sales.

第一季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 15.68 億美元，比 2022 年第一季度的 16.78 億美元下降了 7%。今年第一季度調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 56%，而第一季度為 61% 2022 年季度。今年第一季度，扣除副產品信用額之前每磅銅的運營現金成本為每磅 2.09 美元。這比 2022 年第四季度的價值高出 0.051 美元。信貸前運營現金成本增加 2% 是由於每磅生產成本較高，部分由較低的處理和精煉費用、較低的管理費用和較高的保費所補償精煉銅銷售。

Regarding byproducts, we had a total credit of $631 million, or $1.33 per pound, in the first quarter of this year. These figures represent a 16.3% decrease when compared with the credit of $806 million or $1.59 per pound that we had in the fourth quarter of last year. Total credits have increased for zinc and silver and decreased for molybdenum significantly and for sulfuric acid.

關於副產品，今年第一季度我們的信貸總額為 6.31 億美元，即每磅 1.33 美元。與我們去年第四季度的 8.06 億美元或每磅 1.59 美元的信貸相比，這些數字減少了 16.3%。鋅和銀的總積分增加，而鉬和硫酸的積分顯著減少。

Let me point out that we have an adjustment, a negative adjustment on open sales of molybdenum this past quarter of $265 million, and that was compared to a positive adjustment open sales at the closing of the fourth quarter of $141 million. So that is main event that obviously affected our byproduct revenues in this past quarter vis-a-vis the fourth quarter of last year.

我要指出的是，我們進行了調整，對上一季度 2.65 億美元的鉬未平倉銷售額進行了負調整，而第四季度結束時的正調整公開銷售額為 1.41 億美元。因此，與去年第四季度相比，這是明顯影響我們上一季度副產品收入的主要事件。

Southern Copper operating cash cost, including the benefit of by-product credits, was $0.75 per pound in the first quarter of this year. These cash cost was $0.31 higher than the cash cost of $0.44 that we had in the fourth quarter of 2022. Of this increase, as I mentioned already, $0.05 came from higher cost per pound, mainly due to lower volume; and $0.26 came from lower byproduct credits resulting, as I mentioned, from lower prices of silver and zinc and the very significant open sales adjustment -- negative adjustment that we have on molybdenum sales in this first quarter.

今年第一季度，南方銅業的運營現金成本（包括副產品收益）為每磅 0.75 美元。這些現金成本比我們在 2022 年第四季度的現金成本 0.44 美元高出 0.31 美元。正如我已經提到的，在這一增長中，0.05 美元來自每磅成本的增加，這主要是由於銷量下降； 0.26 美元來自較低的副產品信貸，正如我提到的，由於銀和鋅的價格較低以及非常重要的公開銷售調整——我們在第一季度對鉬銷售進行的負面調整。

Our net income in the first quarter of this year was $813 million, which represented a 4% increase when compared to $784 million registered in the first quarter of 2022. The net income margin in the first quarter of this year was 29% versus 28% in the first quarter of 2022. Cash flow from operating activities in the first quarter was $1.185 billion which represented an increase of 44% over the $821 million posted in the first quarter of 2022, and an increase of 10% over the $1.082 billion posted in the fourth quarter of last year.

我們今年第一季度的淨利潤為 8.13 億美元，與 2022 年第一季度的 7.84 億美元相比增長了 4%。今年第一季度的淨利潤率為 29% 對 28% 2022 年第一季度經營活動產生的現金流量為 11.85 億美元，比 2022 年第一季度的 8.21 億美元增長 44%，比 2022 年第一季度的 10.82 億美元增長 10%去年第四季度。

For capital investments, our current capital investment program for this decade exceeds $15 billion and includes investment in Buenavista zinc, Pilares, El Pilar and El Arco projects in Mexico and in the Tia Maria, Los Chancas and Michiquillay projects in Peru. This capital forecast includes several infrastructure investments, including key investments to bolster the competitiveness of El Arco projects.

在資本投資方面，我們當前十年的資本投資計劃超過 150 億美元，包括對墨西哥的 Buenavista 鋅礦、Pilares、El Pilar 和 El Arco 項目以及秘魯的 Tia Maria、Los Chancas 和 Michiquillay 項目的投資。該資本預測包括多項基礎設施投資，包括用於增強 El Arco 項目競爭力的關鍵投資。

For the Mexican projects, let me start with the Buenavista zinc concentrator in Sonora. As I said, this is a project located in the Buenavista deposit. We're building a new concentrator for zinc, and we are expecting this production facility to produce -- or to add 100,000 tons of zinc and 20,000 tons of copper capacities per year. When operating, this facility will double the company's zinc production capacity and provide more than 2,000 operational jobs.

對於墨西哥項目，讓我從索諾拉的 Buenavista 鋅選礦廠開始。正如我所說，這是一個位於 Buenavista 礦床的項目。我們正在建造一個新的鋅選礦廠，我們預計該生產設施每年可以生產或增加 100,000 噸鋅和 20,000 噸銅的產能。投產後，該設施將使公司的鋅產能翻一番，並提供 2,000 多個運營崗位。

Currently, the capital budget for the project is $416 million, most of which has already been invested, and we are about to initiate operations this quarter, the second quarter. For Pilaris, also located in Sonora, this is a former or a brownfield mine that we acquired a few years back. It's located 6 kilometers away from La Caridad. And the project consists of an open-pit mine operation with annual production capacity of 35,000 tons of copper in concentrate.

目前，該項目的資本預算為4.16億美元，其中大部分已經投入，我們即將在本季度、第二季度啟動運營。對於同樣位於索諾拉的 Pilaris，這是我們幾年前收購的舊礦或棕地礦。它位於距 La Caridad 6 公里處。該項目包括一個年產銅精礦35,000噸的露天礦業務。

The Pilares budget is $176 million, of which $114 million has been invested. The project is currently operating and delivering copper mineral oxides to the SX-EW facilities of La Caridad operation, and we expect to produce mineral for the Caridad concentrator at full capacity through the second quarter of this year.

Pilares 的預算為 1.76 億美元，其中 1.14 億美元已投入使用。該項目目前正在運營，並向 La Caridad 運營的 SX-EW 設施輸送銅礦物氧化物，我們預計將在今年第二季度滿負荷生產用於 Caridad 選礦廠的礦物。

El Pilar, also in Sonora, this is a copper greenfield project, which is strategically located 45 kilometers away from the Buenavista mine. We anticipate that El Pilar will operate as a conventional open pit mine with annual production capacity of 36,000 tons of copper cathodes. This operation will use highly cost-efficient and environmentally friendly SX-EW technology. The budget for El Pilar is $310 million.

El Pilar，也在索諾拉，這是一個銅礦綠地項目，地理位置優越，距離 Buenavista 礦山 45 公里。我們預計 El Pilar 將作為常規露天礦運營，年生產能力為 36,000 噸陰極銅。該操作將使用極具成本效益且環保的 SX-EW 技術。 El Pilar 的預算為 3.1 億美元。

The results from the experimental pads in the leaching process for El Pilar have confirmed adequate levels of copper recovery. Basic engineering study is finished, and the company continues to develop the project and engage in on-site environmental activities. The SX-EW plant detail engineering is being developed on an ongoing basis, and we expect production to begin in 2025 and mine life is estimated at 13 years.

El Pilar 浸出過程中實驗墊的結果證實了足夠的銅回收水平。基礎工程研究已經完成，公司繼續進行項目開發和現場環境活動。 SX-EW 工廠詳細工程正在持續開發中，我們預計生產將於 2025 年開始，礦山壽命估計為 13 年。

For El Arco, located in the Baja California Peninsula, this is our class copper deposit located in the central part of the Baja California Peninsula. The project includes an open pit mine combining concentrator and SX-EW operations. Annual production is expected to total 190,000 tons of copper and 105,000 ounces of gold. As of March 31, the company has completed environmental baseline study for the mine and industrial facilities, and is reviewing basic engineering analysis to request environmental impact permits.

對於位於下加利福尼亞半島的El Arco，這是位於下加利福尼亞半島中部的我們級銅礦床。該項目包括結合選礦廠和 SX-EW 作業的露天礦。年產量預計為 190,000 噸銅和 105,000 盎司黃金。截至 3 月 31 日，該公司已完成礦山和工業設施的環境基線研究，並正在審查基礎工程分析以申請環境影響許可證。

For the Peruvian projects, we have the Tia Maria project located in the Arequipa region in Peru. And this is a project that will use a state-of-the-art SX-EW technology, with the highest international environmental standards to produce 120,000 tons of refined copper cathodes per year. The estimated capital budget for the project is $1.4 billion.

對於秘魯項目，我們有位於秘魯阿雷基帕地區的 Tia Maria 項目。而這個項目將採用最先進的SX-EW技術，符合國際最高環保標準，年產12萬噸精煉陰極銅。該項目的估計資本預算為 14 億美元。

In the case of Los Chancas, also in Peru, it's a project located in the Apurimac region in Peru. This greenfield project located, as I said, in Apurimac, it's a copper and molybdenum porphyry deposit. The Los Chancas project envisions an open-pit mine with a combined operation of concentrator and SX-EW processes to produce 130,000 tons of copper and 7,500 tons of molybdenum annually. The estimated capital investment is $2.6 billion, and the project is expected to begin operating in 2030.

就同樣位於秘魯的 Los Chancas 而言，它是一個位於秘魯 Apurimac 地區的項目。正如我所說，這個綠地項目位於 Apurimac，是一個銅鉬斑岩礦床。 Los Chancas 項目設想一個露天礦，結合選礦廠和 SX-EW 工藝，每年生產 130,000 噸銅和 7,500 噸鉬。預計資本投資為 26 億美元，該項目預計將於 2030 年開始運營。

As of March of this year, part of the project's land continue to be occupied by illegal miners, 70 of whom have regularly registered their stakes in the Integral Registers of Mining Formalization, or REINFO, as it is known in Spanish. The company has requested and the authority has ordered the exclusion of these 70 informal miners from the REINFO register, so that they are now all illegal miners. The company has also filed criminal complaints and other legal remedies to physically expel the illegal miners from the project.

截至今年 3 月，該項目的部分土地繼續被非法礦工佔用，其中 70 名礦工定期在 Integral Registers of Mining Formalization（西班牙語稱為 REINFO）中登記他們的股份。該公司已要求並且當局已下令將這 70 名非正規礦工從 REINFO 登記冊中排除，因此他們現在都是非法礦工。該公司還提起刑事訴訟和其他法律補救措施，以實際將非法礦工驅逐出該項目。

Michiquillay project. In June of 2018, Southern Copper signed a contract for the acquisition of the Michiquillay project in Cajamarca in Peru. Michiquillay is a world-class mining project with inferred mineral resources of 2.3 billion tons, with an estimated copper grade of 0.43%. When developed, we expect Michiquillay to produce 225,000 tons of copper per year along with byproducts of molybdenum, gold and silver. It will have an initial mine life of more than 25 years and a competitive cash cost. We estimate that the investment of approximately $2.5 billion that will be required, and expect to initiate production by 2032.

米奇奎萊項目。 2018年6月，南方銅業簽署收購秘魯卡哈馬卡Michiquillay項目的合同。 Michiquillay是世界級礦業項目，推斷礦產資源量23億噸，估算銅品位0.43%。開發完成後，我們預計 Michiquillay 每年可生產 225,000 噸銅以及鉬、金和銀的副產品。它將擁有超過 25 年的初始礦山壽命和具有競爭力的現金成本。我們估計需要大約 25 億美元的投資，並預計到 2032 年投產。

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the company informed the Ministry of Energy and Mines that it has begun exploration activities and initiated an assessment of the existing mineral resource at depth. In 2023, in accordance with our social agreements with the Michiquillay and La Encanada communities, the company has hired unskilled labor and is paying for the use of surface land. We're supporting social programs in both communities as we roll out exploration activities.

2022 年第四季度，該公司通知能源和礦產部，它已經開始勘探活動，並開始對現有礦產資源進行深度評估。 2023 年，根據我們與 Michiquillay 和 La Encanada 社區的社會協議，公司僱傭了非熟練工人，並支付地面土地的使用費。我們在開展勘探活動時支持兩個社區的社會項目。

Environmental, social and governance investment. SCC is committed to improving its ESG record by adopting best practices and informing the investment committee and other stakeholders about our progress in this manner. This year, Grupo Mexico will present edition #15 of the Sustainable Development Report, which contains disaggregated information from Southern Copper Corporation and reaffirms our commitment to transparency and ongoing improvement.

環境、社會和治理投資。 SCC 致力於通過採用最佳實踐並以這種方式向投資委員會和其他利益相關者通報我們的進展來改善其 ESG 記錄。今年，墨西哥集團將發布第 15 版可持續發展報告，其中包含南方銅業公司的分類信息，並重申我們對透明度和持續改進的承諾。

In 2022, we have placed particular importance on updating our strategy for climate change, which includes targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This year's report also provides information on our program and objectives with regard to promoting diversity and inclusion, both inside the company and within the communities close to our operations.

2022 年，我們特別重視更新我們的氣候變化戰略，其中包括減少溫室氣體排放的目標。今年的報告還提供了有關我們在公司內部和我們運營所在社區內促進多元化和包容性的計劃和目標的信息。

Sustainable Development Committee. In 2022, Southern Copper Corporation set up a Sustainable Development Committee, which is presided by an independent director. This committee's main objective is to support SCC's Board of Directors in its in endeavors to supervise management of risks and opportunities in the environment -- in the ambits of environmental, safety and health, community development, human rights and corporate governance.

可持續發展委員會。 2022年，南方銅業公司成立可持續發展委員會，由獨立董事擔任主席。該委員會的主要目標是支持 SCC 董事會在環境、安全和健康、社區發展、人權和公司治理的範圍內努力監督環境風險和機遇的管理。

The committee meets every quarter and has assessed diverse aspects of the company's ESG trajectory, including adhesion to international agreements and management of water and mineral waste. The Sustainable Development Committee, in its third session, addressed climate change as well as diversity and inclusion and identify opportunities on the corporate governance front.

該委員會每季度召開一次會議，評估公司 ESG 軌蹟的各個方面，包括遵守國際協議以及水和礦物廢物的管理。可持續發展委員會在其第三屆會議上討論了氣候變化以及多樣性和包容性問題，並確定了公司治理方面的機會。

Third-party certification. In recognition of our commitment to implement best environmental, social and corporate governance practices, our Buenavista del Cobre mine, located in Mexico in Sonora, has obtained certification for 3 important ISO, International Organization for Standardization, standards: ISO 9001 for quality management; ISO 14001 for environmental management; and ISO 45001 for occupational safety and health management. These certificates are a further proof of our commitment to quality, the environment and the occupational safety and health of our employees.

第三方認證。為表彰我們實施最佳環境、社會和公司治理實踐的承諾，我們位於墨西哥索諾拉州的 Buenavista del Cobre 礦獲得了 3 個重要的 ISO 國際標準化組織標準認證：質量管理 ISO 9001； ISO 14001 環境管理； ISO 45001 職業安全與健康管理。這些證書進一步證明了我們對質量、環境和員工職業安全與健康的承諾。

Occupational safety and health. At Southern Copper Corporation, our employees' safety is our priority. Our unit in Ilo, located in the Moquegua region in Peru, has earned first place in the smelter and refinery category of the 26 National Competition for Mining Safety, organized by the Peruvian Institute of Mining Safety. This the distinction recognizes SCC's performance with regard to indicators of our employees, occupational safety and health, and is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the sustainability of our operations.

職業安全與健康。在南方銅業公司，員工的安全是我們的首要任務。位於秘魯Moquegua地區的Ilo單位在秘魯礦業安全協會舉辦的第26屆全國礦業安全競賽中獲得冶煉廠類第一名。這一殊榮是對 SCC 在員工指標、職業安全與健康方面的表現的認可，反映了我們對確保運營可持續性的持續承諾。

Biodiversity. In March 2023, environmental management unit at Buenavista del Cobre obtained certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council in recognition for our contributions to efforts to prevent the extension of the Mexican gray wolf. Thanks to these actions, populations of these species, which was on the brink of extension in the wild, has multiplied in their natural habitat in Mexico. Going forward, we will continue to work side-by-side with society and authorities to serve the common good in the regions in which we operate.

生物多樣性。 2023 年 3 月，Buenavista del Cobre 的環境管理部門獲得了野生動物棲息地委員會的認證，以表彰我們為防止墨西哥灰狼蔓延所做的貢獻。由於這些行動，這些在野外處於擴張邊緣的物種的種群在墨西哥的自然棲息地中成倍增加。展望未來，我們將繼續與社會和當局並肩工作，為我們經營所在地區的共同利益服務。

Community development. At SCC, we continue to strengthen our community development model and currently operate 29 community centers that provide services to 350,000 people a year in Mexico and Peru. These efforts positively impact the quality of life of the residents in the committees where we work. Recently, we renovated 2 community centers called Casa Grande in Santa Barbara, Chihuahua and Charcas, in San Luis Potosi. These facilities will serve an additional 21,000 people.

社區發展。在 SCC，我們繼續加強我們的社區發展模式，目前運營著 29 個社區中心，每年為墨西哥和秘魯的 350,000 人提供服務。這些努力對我們工作所在委員會居民的生活質量產生了積極影響。最近，我們翻修了位於聖巴巴拉、奇瓦瓦和聖路易斯波托西的 Charcas 的 2 個社區中心，名為 Casa Grande。這些設施將為另外 21,000 人提供服務。

Diversity and inclusion. At SCC, we're convinced that valuing diversity, preventing discrimination and promoting openness to different ways of thinking are fundamental in all efforts to develop inclusive workplace environments that promote the integral development of our employees and stakeholders. We are committed to driving the agenda for diversity and inclusion transversely throughout the company and in the communities around our operations. Our results in 2022 reflect the fruit of our efforts, with a 16% increase in the number of women employed by SCC.

多元化和包容性。在 SCC，我們相信，重視多樣性、防止歧視和促進對不同思維方式的開放是所有努力發展包容性工作環境的基礎，以促進我們的員工和利益相關者的整體發展。我們致力於在整個公司和我們運營周圍的社區橫向推動多元化和包容性議程。我們 2022 年的成果反映了我們努力的成果，SCC 僱傭的女性人數增加了 16%。

Dividend announcement. Regarding dividends, as you know, it is the company policy to review our cash position, expected cash flow generation from operations, capital investment plans and other financial means at each Board meeting to determine the appropriate quarterly dividend. Accordingly, as announced to the market on April 20, the Board of Directors authorized a cash dividend of $1 per share of common stock payable on May 23 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 9, 2023.

分紅公告。關於股息，如您所知，公司的政策是在每次董事會會議上審查我們的現金狀況、預期的經營現金流產生、資本投資計劃和其他財務手段，以確定適當的季度股息。因此，正如 4 月 20 日向市場宣布的那樣，董事會授權於 5 月 23 日向 2023 年 5 月 9 日營業結束時登記在冊的股東派發每股普通股 1 美元的現金股息。

Ladies and gentlemen, with these comments, we would like to end up our presentation today. Thank you very much for joining us, and we would like now to open the phone for questions.

女士們，先生們，帶著這些評論，我們想結束今天的演講。非常感謝您加入我們，我們現在想打開電話提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Carlos De Alba with Morgan Stanley.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Carlos De Alba。

Raul, would you please comment on how you see costs trending in the coming quarters? Clearly, the industry is facing a lot of cost pressures, but Southern Copper has always been a low-cost producer. We've seen recent pressures, obviously, affecting the company, but any guidance would be very interesting to hear. And then my second question is regarding growth with specific wondering -- specifically wondering about Los Chancas. How quickly can you solve the situation there? We heard what you said that you got positive court rulings, but you how quickly can you restart exploration or the work that you were doing at Los Chancas if you had to stop them?

勞爾，您能否評論一下您如何看待未來幾個季度的成本趨勢？顯然，該行業面臨著很大的成本壓力，但南方銅業一直是一家低成本生產商。顯然，我們已經看到最近的壓力影響了公司，但任何指導意見都會非常有趣。然後我的第二個問題是關於增長的具體疑惑——特別是對 Los Chancas 的疑惑。你能多快解決那裡的情況？我們聽到你說你得到了積極的法庭裁決，但如果你不得不停止勘探或你在 Los Chancas 所做的工作，你能多快重新開始勘探？

And combined with this, given the attractive profile of organic growth that you have, but with some of the challenging regarding the timing to execute on those, would the company consider M&A opportunities? You've heard, obviously, there is a couple of recent transactions where copper assets have been in focus. So I wonder to what extent the company will have appetite for a large -- relatively large, medium acquisition in copper, given that so far, you have focused -- the company has focused on smaller opportunities?

結合這一點，鑑於您擁有的有機增長的吸引力，但在執行這些增長的時間方面存在一些挑戰，公司會考慮併購機會嗎？你顯然聽說過，最近有幾筆交易關注銅資產。所以我想知道公司對大型 - 相對大型，中型銅的收購有多大興趣，鑑於到目前為止，你已經專注 - 公司專注於較小的機會？

Okay. Thank you for your set of questions, Carlos. Okay. I'm going to touch base on each of them. If I skip one of your concerns, please let me know. Let me start by cost production. We already mentioned that we're expecting an increase in production of about 5% vis-a-vis next year for copper. And we are also expecting to have a much more production from -- for zinc this year, particularly, due to the beginning of the zinc concentrator at Buenavista. In the case of our cost we're expecting a better cash cost for the next quarters. And the reason for that is twofold.

好的。卡洛斯，謝謝你提出的一系列問題。好的。我將觸及他們每個人的基礎。如果我跳過了您的一個顧慮，請告訴我。讓我從成本生產開始。我們已經提到，我們預計明年銅的產量將比明年增加 5% 左右。而且我們還預計今年鋅的產量將大大增加，特別是由於布埃納維斯塔的鋅選礦廠開始投產。就我們的成本而言，我們預計下一季度的現金成本會更好。這樣做的原因是雙重的。

I mentioned already that we had to include in our financials, a significant open sales reduction in molybdenum. It was $265 million that we have to charge or decrease our sales by that amount. That obviously explain why the company, vis-a-vis the market, has shown this quarter lower-than-expected results regarding particularly EBITDA and some other metrics.

我已經提到我們必須在我們的財務中包括鉬的公開銷售顯著減少。我們必須收取或減少銷售額 2.65 億美元。這顯然解釋了為什麼該公司在本季度特別是 EBITDA 和其他一些指標方面的業績低於市場預期。

So we're expecting not to have this type of adjustments in the second quarter. Where already current prices for molybdenum are at about $22 per pound, and we closed the past quarter at $24 per pound. So if there is an adjustment due to negative or to open sales of molybdenum, it will be relatively small than the one -- much more smaller than the one that we have acknowledged or registered in the first quarter. So that should improve our by-product revenues in the second quarter.

因此，我們預計第二季度不會進行此類調整。目前鉬的價格已經在每磅 22 美元左右，而我們上個季度的收盤價為每磅 24 美元。因此，如果由於鉬的負面或開盤銷售而進行調整，它將比我們在第一季度確認或記錄的調整要小得多。因此，這應該會提高我們第二季度的副產品收入。

We're also seeing on the total cost of production, some trends that will reflect better cost. Particularly in energy, we're seeing much lower gas price than we had before. That is helping our energy cost of the Mexican operations. We're seeing some relatively lower fuel prices as well, and that will be much more noticeable in this second quarter. So for production, our expectation is to produce, for copper, 940,000 tons, for cost -- some cost reductions that should help to reduce our cash cost and some byproduct revenues, particularly in molybdenum this quarter, and also, through the year, in zinc. Because we will have 52,000 tons coming from the new zinc concentrator that we're about to initiate production in the Buenavista mine.

我們還看到了總生產成本，一些趨勢將反映出更好的成本。特別是在能源領域，我們看到的天然氣價格比以前低得多。這有助於我們降低墨西哥業務的能源成本。我們也看到一些相對較低的燃油價格，這在第二季度將更加明顯。因此，對於生產，我們的預期是生產 940,000 噸銅，以降低成本 - 一些成本降低應該有助於降低我們的現金成本和一些副產品收入，特別是本季度的鉬，以及全年，在鋅。因為我們將有 52,000 噸來自我們即將在 Buenavista 礦開始生產的新鋅選礦廠。

Considering the growth, in the case of Los Chancas, we believe that we're in a different environment vis-a-vis the government relation that the company has had. Currently, we're seeing a much stronger commitment from the Peruvian authorities regarding promoting private investments in Peru, which is a positive event for us. In the case of Los Chancas, in particular, we believe that through the year, we will be able to remove these illegal miners from the Chancas premises. And with that, we can come back to exploration efforts, and more important than that, the beginning of environmental impact assessment, which is after the feasibility study, the next step in our work for Los Chancas.

考慮到增長，就 Los Chancas 而言，我們認為我們所處的環境與公司所擁有的政府關係不同。目前，我們看到秘魯當局更加堅定地致力於促進秘魯的私人投資，這對我們來說是一件好事。尤其是在 Los Chancas 的情況下，我們相信在這一年中，我們將能夠將這些非法礦工從 Chancas 的場地中移除。有了這個，我們可以回到勘探工作，更重要的是，開始環境影響評估，這是在可行性研究之後，我們在 Los Chancas 工作的下一步。

Finally, in M&A. Well, at this point, we have no -- we are not considering anything specific for M&A. However, it is in the -- the responsible thing to do in this case is to review any opportunities that may arise. And obviously, after a thoughtful review, advise our Board or recommend our Board some action in this matter. But for now, we're not considering anything specific.

最後，在併購方面。那麼，在這一點上，我們沒有 - 我們沒有考慮任何具體的併購。但是，在這種情況下，負責任的做法是審查可能出現的任何機會。顯然，經過深思熟慮的審查後，建議我們的董事會或建議我們的董事會就此事採取一些行動。但就目前而言，我們沒有考慮任何具體的事情。

Our next question, it comes from the line of Isabella Vasconcelos with Bradesco BBI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Isabella Vasconcelos 與 Bradesco BBI 的合作。

Raul, I have a couple of questions. So the first one in terms of mining regulation and, particularly in Mexico, what are the kind of expected impacts on your operations deriving from the new mining law and whether it changes anything for El Arco and the development of El Arco. And my second question, specifically on the outlook for production for the coming years. We noticed that there was a slight delay on the start-up of Pilares, if I'm not mistaken. So if you could comment a little bit on the expected production outlook for the coming years for the key commodities. So those are my questions.

勞爾，我有幾個問題。因此，第一個在採礦監管方面，特別是在墨西哥，新採礦法對您的運營產生什麼樣的預期影響，以及它是否會改變 El Arco 和 El Arco 的發展。我的第二個問題，特別是關於未來幾年的生產前景。我們注意到，如果我沒記錯的話，Pilares 的啟動稍有延遲。因此，如果你能對未來幾年主要商品的預期生產前景發表一些評論。所以這些就是我的問題。

Thank you very much, Isabella. Okay. At this point, regarding the new mining law in Mexico, we don't see it as -- let me first mention that currently, the bill is not law. It has to pass a process in the Mexican Senate and the senate has to approve it. There are also -- the tax that was approved by the House of Representatives of Mexico, has not significant effect in our current business and our organic growth so far. Now once we have a definite law, we will review it carefully and see if there are any points where it may impact our operations or our growth for the long term.

非常感謝你，伊莎貝拉。好的。在這一點上，關於墨西哥的新礦業法，我們不認為它——首先讓我提一下，目前該法案還不是法律。它必須在墨西哥參議院通過一個程序，參議院必須批准它。還有——墨西哥眾議院批准的稅收，對我們目前的業務和迄今為止的有機增長沒有顯著影響。現在，一旦我們有了明確的法律，我們將仔細審查它，看看它是否有任何可能影響我們的運營或長期增長的地方。

And your second question is the outlook for production in the coming years. Already I mentioned, on copper, we're expecting to be at about 940,000 tons this year. For 2022 -- '24, we expect to produce 126,000 tons of copper that will come basically from much more production at the Peruvian operations, mainly for Toquepala, and the contribution at full capacity of Pilares and Buenavista zinc, the copper production of the Buenavista zinc concentrator. As you know, in this case, it is the same concentrator, but it does have some copper production.

你的第二個問題是未來幾年的生產前景。我已經提到，在銅方面，我們預計今年的產量約為 940,000 噸。對於 2022 - '24，我們預計將生產 126,000 噸銅，這些銅主要來自秘魯業務的更多產量，主要用於 Toquepala，以及 Pilares 和 Buenavista 鋅的滿負荷生產，Buenavista 的銅生產鋅濃縮器。如您所知，在這種情況下，它是同一個選礦廠，但它確實有一些銅生產。

In the case of zinc, let me go on -- excuse me, for copper, in 2025, we're expecting to produce 1,020,000 tons of copper; 2026, 1,100,000 tons; and for 2027, 1,071,000 tons. In the case of zinc, this year, we will be -- we're expecting to produce 116,000 tons of zinc. And after that, we will be over 205,000 tons for the next 4 years and on. It's the ore grade and the expected production of the new zinc concentrator will feed our ore production significantly for zinc in the next few years.

關於鋅，讓我繼續——對不起，對於銅，到 2025 年，我們預計將生產 1,020,000 噸銅； 2026年，110萬噸； 2027 年為 1,071,000 噸。就鋅而言，今年我們預計將生產 116,000 噸鋅。在那之後，我們將在接下來的 4 年及以後超過 205,000 噸。這是礦石品位，新鋅選礦廠的預期產量將在未來幾年顯著提高我們的鋅礦石產量。

Our next question, it comes from the line of Hernán Kisluk with MetLife.

我們的下一個問題來自 Hernán Kisluk 與 MetLife 的對話。

It's actually an extension of the question on costs made by Carlos before. So I understand that cost inflation has affected not only you guys but the industry as a whole. But at the end of the day, in mining, it's a game of who is at the lowest percentile of the cash cost curve. So I was wondering if during this period of cost turbulence for the industry as a whole, again, I'm wondering if your position in the cash flow curve has changed during this period.

這實際上是Carlos 之前關於成本的問題的延伸。所以我知道成本膨脹不僅影響了你們，也影響了整個行業。但歸根結底，在採礦業中，這是一場誰處於現金成本曲線最低百分位數的遊戲。所以我想知道在整個行業成本動蕩的這段時間裡，我再次想知道你在現金流曲線中的位置是否在這段時間內發生了變化。

To put it simply, Hernan, no, it hasn't changed. We're still -- we believe that we're still in the first quartile of cash cost. I haven't seen the latest, I mean, this quarter's information. I'm sure it is available. But so far at the end of 2022, we were certainly at a very competitive position. I mentioned already that we had some events that affected our cash cost in the first quarter, mainly the impact of this negative sales adjustment on molybdenum.

簡單來說，埃爾南，不，沒有變。我們仍然 - 我們相信我們仍處於現金成本的第一個四分位數。我還沒有看到最新的，我的意思是，本季度的信息。我確定它可用。但到目前為止，到 2022 年底，我們肯定處於非常有競爭力的位置。我已經提到我們在第一季度發生了一些影響我們現金成本的事件，主要是這種負銷售調整對鉬的影響。

And for the next quarters, we should be lower than our $0.75 per pound that we marked in this past quarter due to more production coming from our operations and more credit vis-a-vis the same prices for all by-products, due to higher zinc production and lower open sales adjustment for molybdenum. That's our expectation. Obviously, we'll see what happens at the end of the day. What we're seeing in cost, generally speaking, it's a reduction in several cost that has affected our operations in Mexico and Peru. Let me put you a practical example of what I mean.

在接下來的幾個季度中，我們的價格應該低於我們在上個季度標記的每磅 0.75 美元，因為我們的運營產生了更多的產量，並且相對於所有副產品的相同價格，信貸更多，由於更高鋅產量和較低的鉬開放銷售調整。這是我們的期望。顯然，我們會看到一天結束時會發生什麼。一般來說，我們在成本方面看到的是影響我們在墨西哥和秘魯的業務的幾項成本的降低。讓我舉一個實際的例子來說明我的意思。

When the Russian invasion to Ukraine started, well, Russia has been, for many years, a significant ammonia producer, and ammonia is one of the key elements for open pit explosives. So we had a tenfold increase in the price of the ammonia, tenfold. And that has decreased significantly now that there are some other sources that has been developed for these key elements for open pit explosives, and some Russian production that has been passing through the different markets. So that is a practical example of what I mean, some costs -- some higher costs related to this tragic event has been coming back down. And the company is doing its part by working on producing more copper as well as some more of our byproducts.

當俄羅斯開始入侵烏克蘭時，多年來，俄羅斯一直是重要的氨生產國，而氨是露天礦炸藥的關鍵元素之一。所以我們將氨的價格提高了十倍，十倍。現在已經大大減少了，因為已經為露天礦炸藥的這些關鍵元素開發了一些其他來源，並且一些俄羅斯產品已經通過不同的市場。所以這是我的意思的一個實際例子，一些成本——與這一悲慘事件相關的一些更高的成本已經回落。公司正在儘自己的一份力量，致力於生產更多的銅以及我們的一些副產品。

Our next question, it comes from the line of John Tumazos with Very Independent Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 John Tumazos 的 Very Independent Research。

The dividend of $1 was almost as large as net income. Should we infer from this that management expects net income to rebound to the $1.50, $2 a share range? Or are the big capital projects, 5 or more years out, not likely to need money next year or the year after? Or is the dividend a candidate to get adjusted because the payout is too large?

1 美元的股息幾乎與淨收入一樣多。我們是否應該由此推斷管理層預計淨收入將反彈至每股 1.50 美元至 2 美元的範圍？還是 5 年或更長時間後的大型資本項目明年或後年不太可能需要資金？還是因為派息太大而需要調整股息？

I -- well, it's up to the Board. The Board, as I mentioned, look at the cash position of the company, seeing the requirements of cash. For instance, in terms of debt payments, we have no payments up to 2025, where we will pay $500 million in debt. Last year, we had to pay $300 million. So we, at this point, have no significant debt payments. Prices were, well, better than what they are today. So for a forward looking on dividends, I would say that it will be a discussion at the Board level.

我——好吧，這取決於董事會。正如我提到的，董事會會查看公司的現金狀況，查看現金需求。例如，在債務支付方面，我們直到 2025 年都沒有付款，屆時我們將支付 5 億美元的債務。去年，我們不得不支付 3 億美元。因此，在這一點上，我們沒有支付大筆債務。嗯，價格比現在好。因此，對於股息的前瞻性，我想說這將是董事會層面的討論。

For now, the Board decided to pay a $1 dividend this past quarter -- or approved a $1 dividend that will be paid this quarter. But no, there are no -- one of the things that we stress is that our dividend policy is flexible depending on the conditions of the market, our cash flow generation and some -- and our growth plans. So this is something that we will review and the Board will make a decision in each Board meeting regarding this matter.

目前，董事會決定在上個季度支付 1 美元的股息——或批准將在本季度支付的 1 美元股息。但不，沒有——我們強調的一件事是，我們的股息政策是靈活的，具體取決於市場狀況、我們的現金流產生和一些——以及我們的增長計劃。因此，這是我們將審查的內容，董事會將在每次董事會會議上就此事做出決定。

So there's no simple mechanical formula, like 50% or 70% of earnings or cash flow?

所以沒有簡單的機械公式，比如收入或現金流的 50% 或 70%？

Yes, that's correct. There is no tie to any specific payout ratio or anything. Similarly, it depends on the way that the company sees the market, its commitments to capital as well as any duties that we have regarding debts or things like that. So there is no specific rule regarding dividends.

對，那是正確的。與任何特定的支付比率或任何東西都沒有關係。同樣，這取決於公司看待市場的方式、對資本的承諾以及我們對債務或類似事情的任何責任。因此，沒有關於股息的具體規定。

One thing that I'd like to stress is that even though we don't have any specific rule, we do have a very good track record of recognizing our shareholders through dividends. And depending on the company's possibilities, the company has always paid a dividend. In certain moments, it has been a relatively higher one, as you mentioned, John, regarding the relationship between net earnings and the dividend pay. But it is always an ongoing discussion. But one thing that I can tell is that we don't want to hold cash, and that is something that is important for -- I believe, for our shareholders.

我想強調的一件事是，儘管我們沒有任何具體規定，但我們在通過股息表彰股東方面確實有很好的記錄。並且根據公司的可能性，公司總是支付股息。在某些時候，正如你提到的，約翰，關於淨收益和股息支付之間的關係，它相對較高。但它始終是一個持續的討論。但我可以說的一件事是，我們不想持有現金，這對我相信對我們的股東來說很重要。

Our next question, it comes from the line of Marcio Farid with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自 Marcio Farid 與 Goldman Sachs 的對話。

A quick 2 follow-ups for me on my side, please.

請幫我快速跟進 2 次。

So could you move a little bit closer to the microphone, we can't listen to you well.

所以你能不能靠近麥克風一點，我們聽不太清楚。

Is it you better now?

你現在好些了嗎？

Yes.

是的。

All right. Okay. Yes. So a couple of follow-ups for me. First of all, on the molybdenum prices. Just wondering if you have any outlook that you can provide to us, as in the market that we have a hard time trying to track. So just trying to understand how sustainable the current high prices are, what has been the main drivers and how to think about it going into the end of the year. Because it has obviously provided good cost support after byproducts for Southern Copper, right?

好的。好的。是的。所以對我來說有幾個後續行動。首先，關於鉬價。只是想知道您是否可以向我們提供任何前景，因為在我們很難追踪的市場中。因此，我只是想了解當前高價的可持續性，主要驅動因素是什麼，以及如何考慮到年底。因為顯然給南方銅業提供了很好的副產後的成本支撐，對吧？

And secondly, specifically on Peru, it does feel like the worst of the social unrest has been left behind for now. So just trying to understand how you see the current operational environment in Peru, if there is anything that you would highlight going forward. And how confident you are that going to be seeing some sort of stability when it comes to mining production in Peru.

其次，特別是在秘魯，目前確實感覺最嚴重的社會動盪已經被拋在了後面。所以只是想了解你如何看待秘魯當前的運營環境，如果有什麼你想強調的。當涉及到秘魯的採礦生產時，您有多大信心看到某種穩定性。

You're welcome, Marcio, and thank you very much for your questions. On the drivers for molybdenum prices, it's very hard to know what is going to happen. And let me explain you why. This is an extremely shallow market. Just to give you an idea, in copper on a yearly basis, there are about 25 million tons of copper, refined copper being produced and consumed. For molybdenum, it's less than 300,000. So it's a fraction, almost 10%, a little bit more than that, 15% in the volume of developed markets such as the copper one.

不客氣，Marcio，非常感謝你提出問題。關於鉬價的驅動因素，很難知道會發生什麼。讓我解釋一下為什麼。這是一個極其淺薄的市場。給你一個概念，每年大約有 2500 萬噸銅被生產和消費，精煉銅。對於鉬，它不到300,000。所以這只是一小部分，幾乎是 10%，比這多一點，在銅市場等發達市場的交易量中佔 15%。

What has happened in the fourth quarter as low -- as much as we understand, and our commercial team has shared with us, is that given the uncertainties that we had in Chile and Peru, major molybdenum suppliers well as copper, some consumers decided to increase their inventories just to protect their pipelines of production in their own activity, these industrial consumers. And that somehow move up the price of molybdenum. Well, production in Peru has been much more stable through the quarter as well as some other higher operations in some other locations. So that has made the prices to adjust downward.

第四季度發生的事情很低——據我們了解，我們的商業團隊已經與我們分享，鑑於我們在智利和秘魯、主要鉬供應商以及銅的不確定性，一些消費者決定增加庫存只是為了保護他們自己活動中的生產管道，即這些工業消費者。這不知何故推高了鉬的價格。好吧，整個季度秘魯的產量以及其他一些地方的其他一些更高的業務都更加穩定。這使得價格向下調整。

At this point, prices are at about $20 per pound for molybdenum, which is a good level for us. We won't regret receiving these prices for our production. It will be always better if they are higher, but that's where we are. And as long as it is stable, we will not have this bounce up and down in open sales that we have faced in both the fourth quarter and the first quarter of this year.

目前，鉬的價格約為每磅 20 美元，這對我們來說是一個不錯的水平。我們不會後悔收到這些價格用於我們的生產。如果它們更高，它總是更好，但這就是我們的現狀。只要它穩定，我們就不會在今年第四季度和第一季度面臨公開銷售的這種上下反彈。

Regarding Peruvian social unrest, as you have mentioned, Marcio, it's left behind. The environment -- the current environment operation is absolutely normal. All the mines and different mining facilities in Peru are operating right now. There is no mining, say, operation being affected significantly by any kind of stoppages. And we believe that this is something that will certainly help to make more peaceful social environment through 2023. So I think that that's it.

關於秘魯的社會動盪，正如你提到的，Marcio，它被拋在了後面。環境——當前環境運行絕對正常。秘魯的所有礦山和不同的挖礦設施目前都在運營。沒有採礦，比如說，運營受到任何類型的停工的重大影響。我們相信這肯定會有助於在 2023 年之前營造更加和平的社會環境。所以我認為就是這樣。

And sir, I'm not showing any questions in the queue. You may proceed within final remarks.

先生，我不會在隊列中顯示任何問題。您可以在最後的評論中繼續。

Thank you, Carmen. Well, with this, we conclude our conference call for the first quarter of 2023. We certainly appreciate your participation and hope to have you back with us when we report the second quarter of 2023 results. Thank you very much, and have a very nice day today.

謝謝你，卡門。好吧，至此，我們結束了 2023 年第一季度的電話會議。我們當然感謝您的參與，並希望在我們報告 2023 年第二季度業績時您能回到我們身邊。非常感謝，今天過得愉快。

Thank you. And with that, we conclude today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.

謝謝。至此，我們結束了今天的電話會議。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。