SSR Mining Inc.
Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Published:

  • Operator:
    Hello everyone and welcome to SSR Mining's First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. Please be advised, that this call is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] At this time, I would like to -- for opening remarks, I would like to turn the conference call over to Alex Hunchak from SSR Mining. Please go ahead.
  • Alex Hunchak:
    Thank you, operator and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining today's conference call. During which will provide an update on the Copler incident as well as a brief review of our first quarter financial results. Our consolidated financial statements have been presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These financial statements have been filed on EDGAR, SEDAR, the ASX and are also available on our website. To accompany our call, there is an online webcast and you will find the information to access the webcast in our news release relating to this call. Please note that all figures discussed during the call are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Today's discussion will include forward-looking statements, so please read the disclosures in the relevant documents. Additionally, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures during our discussion and in the accompanying slides. Please see our press release for information about the comparable GAAP measures. Rod Antal, Executive Chairman, will lead today's call and members of our executive team, including Michael Sparks, Chief Financial Officer; Eddie Farid, Chief Strategy Officer; and Bill MacNevin, EVP, Operations, Sustainability, are also present on the call. I will now turn the line over to Rod.
  • Rodney Antal:
    Great. Thanks, Alex. I'm going to speak first about Copler and provide all our stakeholders with an update on both our immediate priorities and on our path forward in Turkey. I will then provide an update on our ongoing operations in the Americas. The current priorities for Copler can be distilled into 4 clear categories
  • Operator:
    [Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Ovais Habib with Scotiabank.
  • Ovais Habib:
    Rod and SSR team. Just a couple of questions from me. Just regarding the remediation costs at Copler of $250 million to $300 million, does this amount include any sort of care and maintenance cost throughout the 2 to 3 years that's going to take you to complete the remediation?
  • Rodney Antal:
    No, it doesn't Ovais. It takes into account the construction of the storage facility. The remediation efforts on the heap leach pad, et cetera. If you look at the financials, the care and maintenance costs in the first quarter are around, I think, $17 million from memory. And so I think if you allow for those per quarter going forward. And I think it would also depend on, obviously, how long that goes for while we're shut down.
  • Ovais Habib:
    Okay. And just in regards to the environmental permits. So will you look to apply for the environmental permits while the remediation is ongoing? Or once the remediation is complete, essentially, I mean, is there a possibility that the sulfide plant could start before the remediations are complete?
  • Rodney Antal:
    Yes. Look, I think Ovais, as I sort of mentioned and we'll keep saying our efforts and focus has really been on finding our missing colleagues and the work to define what the remediation efforts will be in getting that -- those in consultation with the government authorities approved. We've only really just started to turn our mind to the start-up and all the other factors that go with which will require us to get that EIA permit reinstated and some other things as well. So it's a little bit early to say exactly what pathway we need and how long it's going to take and all those other questions I know you all have but that will come over time.
  • Operator:
    The next question comes from Mike Parkin with National Bank.
  • Mike Parkin:
    First on Seabee. Historically, you've always had a big working capital outflow in the first quarter with the inventory build at Seabee on the ice road. I couldn't find any mention of that in the 10-Q. Is that something that has happened? Did you get everything to the site that you're hoping for?
  • Rodney Antal:
    Firstly, Mike, welcome back. Hope you're doing well. We actually had a very successful winter program this year on the ice road, probably our best one for many years. So we didn't have the normal sort of buildup that we've had before where we've had some delays on the ice roads to get the logistics up and down the road itself. So it was a slightly different outcome this year. We're a much more efficient, better outcome in terms of that buildup and efficiency in our working capital.
  • Mike Parkin:
    Okay. That's good. And then on Copler, are you like -- can you give us -- I know you can't speak on everything. But in terms of who you're dialoguing with where you are in the process, is there still like an investigation being carried out by -- I don't even know what ministry if it's like Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Environment. Are those concluded and you're awaiting their ruling on that? Or like where are you in the process on that front?
  • Rodney Antal:
    Yes. Look, again, Mike, I think you'd appreciate, I can't comment specifically on the ongoing investigations and the legal proceedings. But, yes on the ground, we have -- I think we mentioned it last quarter when the incident happened. We have many government stakeholders actually at Copler from the various different ministries that we would normally interacting on mining -- normal mining activities as well as other ministries that have been a great assistance on the ground for us. And so those conversations have been going on since day 1 and discussing everything, as I mentioned, as ISS questions around the remediation efforts around how we're going to look at the long-term storage solutions for the displaced heap leach material, how we remedy the heap leach pad and close that as well, et cetera, et cetera. So all that dialogue has been ongoing at the various ministry levels with at all levels within those ministries and that will continue.
  • Mike Parkin:
    Okay. And then just one follow-up on the remediation work that you're estimating will cost $250 million to $300 million, is that -- are those plans like concrete and approved by the government? Or is that a work in progress?
  • Rodney Antal:
    It's based on the discussions in engineering design that we have done to date. So those estimates are based on a lot of work and a lot of detailed work at this stage. So yes, it's well advanced in terms of the engineering.
  • Mike Parkin:
    Okay. And then just over back over the ocean to Marigold. Barrick's regularly commenting of an extremely tight labor market in Nevada. But then others that we talked to note that it's not -- doesn't seem to be as bad. What's your experience with Marigold? Are you finding turnover rates are elevated or more in line with historical norms? Or are you benefiting from possibly gaining workers from other sites?
  • Rodney Antal:
    Mike, I'm going to pass that one over to Bill to answer.
  • Bill MacNevin:
    Mike. We do a lot of work with our workforce, both obviously focusing on where we're going as a business but also in the development of the people and their part in that. In terms of the turnover in general, we're really just at our historic levels. And if anything, we're doing a lot of work to improve off that. So no real impact to the business and we're looking to leverage on reducing it even further.
  • Operator:
    The next question comes from Carey MacRury with Canaccord Genuity.
  • Carey MacRury:
    Just wondering if you are able to restart the plant with stockpiles only, do you have a sense of what the cash costs of that would be?
  • Rodney Antal:
    Look, Carey, that data will come down the track. Once we have clarity about the pathways, date, et cetera, et cetera, we'll reset those planning efforts around that but it's just too early to talk about those things just yet.
  • Carey MacRury:
    Okay. Fair enough. And just on the convertible debt on the investors have the right to redeem potentially in 2026 or have the company repurchase. Is there anything related to the incident Turkey that could trigger that in 2026? Or is that related to something else?
  • Rodney Antal:
    I'm going to pass that one to Eddie.
  • Eddie Farid:
    Not at this stage.
  • Carey MacRury:
    Any detail around that or not really?
  • Eddie Farid:
    Look, if you go through the contracts of the convertible notes. At this stage, there's nothing around the incident that gives us concern regarding the convertible notes.
  • Operator:
    This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Antal.
  • Rodney Antal:
    Great. Thanks, operator. And again, I appreciate everyone joining us today and look forward to continuing with the updates as we move along, particularly at Copler. Good evening to you all.
  • Operator:
    This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.

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