Paul Tomory
Analyst · National Bank Financial. Please go ahead
Thank you, Lisa and good morning, everyone. In the first quarter, we generated positive free cash flow at both operations. gold and copper production in the quarter was approximately 60,000 ounces and 12 million pounds respectively. Our 2025 production guidance is unchanged and we expect a strong second half of the year, driven by increasing grades. We maintained a strong cash position of $608 million ensuring financial flexibility to advance ongoing and prospective project activities. We remain focused on returning capital to shareholders with the Board approving the repurchase of up to $75 million of Centerra's shares in 2025. We believe buybacks are an effective tool to deploy our cash in line with our capital allocation strategy, while preserving the financial flexibility to support investment in future growth. The recent implementation of U.S. tariffs had no impact on our operations in the first quarter. While we continue to monitor this situation, no significant impact is expected on our mining operations at Mount Milligan and Öksüt, and restart activities at Thompson Creek. We are assessing the potential impact of tariffs on Langeloth. However, we don't currently anticipate any material impact at the Centerra level. This morning, we published an updated resource at Kemess, which demonstrates the robust mineralization in the highly prospective Toodoggone District of Northern BC. In 2024, we completed over 11,400 meters of core drilling and those results have been included in the updated resource. Gold mineral resources are estimated to contain 2.7 million ounces of indicated and 2.2 million ounces of inferred. Copper mineral resources are estimated to contain 971 million pounds of indicated and 821 million pounds of inferred. And the grades at Kemess compared favorably to those in the reserves at Mount Milligan. We have doubled our 2025 exploration guidance at Kemess to between $10 million and $12 million with a total of 28,500 meters of drilling planned. The focus is expected to be on infill drilling for the open pit and underground targets, and also to test high-grade mineralization in the deep Kemess offset zone, which is currently not included in the state of mineral resource. We are moving forward with a preliminary economic assessment on the Kemess project using an open pit and underground operation with long haul open stoping and backfill. The study is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Kemess's significant infrastructure already in place, which is expected to lower the execution risk compared to a typical greenfield project of this scale. Complementing the existing infrastructure is anticipated that new crushing, conveying and mine infrastructure will be required for the open pit and underground operations. With Kemess, we're advancing the studies for a potential gold copper mine with a possible 15-year operation in a top-tier mining jurisdiction. We are targeting a project for the potential average annual production of approximately 250,000 gold equivalent ounces, which along with Mount Milligan would give Centerra two long-life gold-copper assets in British Columbia. Additionally, two weeks ago, we supported Thesis Gold with a strategic equity investment. Given the proximity of Kemess to the LawyersRanch project, we see substantial opportunities for synergies including the ability to leverage existing infrastructure to unlock regional potential. I'd like to provide an update on our sustainability initiatives. We remain committed to responsible mining and continue to progress in our permitting efforts. In March, we submitted an amended application for operating permits at Mount Milligan. Mount Milligan is an important producer of copper and gold in British Columbia, and has been selected as one of the provinces critical mineral projects, which is expected to result in a streamlined permitting process. We are continuing to advance our commitment to responsible mining practices and transparent reporting. Our team is actively working on the 2024 sustainability report, which will highlight our progress across key environmental, social and governance initiatives. We look forward to publishing the report in the coming months and sharing the steps we are taking to create long-term value for our stakeholders. Before I move into our operating highlights, I'd like to welcome David Hendriks as our new Chief Operating Officer, who started in April. With a proven track record of leadership and operational excellence, he brings valuable expertise that will help drive our continued success. Slide 8 shows operating highlights on Mount Milligan for the first quarter. It produced over 35,800 ounces of payable gold and 11.6 million pounds of payable copper in the quarter. This was lower than planned primarily due to lower grades encountered in areas of phases 6 and 9 that are at the periphery of the ore body. We maintain our guidance at Mount Milligan with both production and sales weighted towards the second half of the year. In the first quarter, all-in sustained costs on a byproduct basis were $1,168 per ounce, 5% higher than the last quarter due to slightly increased sustained CapEx and lower ounces sold in the quarter. Cost guidance at Mount Milligan is unchanged for the year. The site-wide optimization program on Mount Milligan continues to progress and we've seen improvements in the mine with higher truck availability and increased operating hours. Work on the Mount Milligan mine life extension PFS is on track to be completed in the third quarter of this year. We are optimistic the mine life can be extended beyond 2036, which is currently limited by the available space in the existing tailing storage facility. We are evaluating options for additional tailings capacity, as well as an increase of annual mill throughput in the range of 10%. Now, moving on to Öksüt. First quarter production was 23,500 ounces lower than planned due to lower grades resulting from mine sequencing and impacts from unfavorable weather conditions. We are maintaining our 2025 production guidance at Öksüt with production expected to be higher in the second half of the year as we access higher-grade areas of the mine. In the first quarter, all-in sustaining costs on a byproduct basis were $1,563 per ounce, which is higher compared to last quarter driven by lower sales and higher royalty expense grounds due to elevated gold prices. Full-year cost guidance at Öksüt is unchanged. In the first quarter, we continue to progress the restart activity at Thompson Creek with non-sustaining capital expenditures of $26 million. Since the restart decision in September, we have spent $55 million and by the end of the first quarter, approximately 14% of the total capital investment has been completed. 2025 guidance for non-sustaining capital at Thompson Creek is unchanged and the project remains in line with the total initial capital estimate of $397 million as outlined in the feasibility study. With that, I'll pass the call over to Ryan to walk through our financial highlights.