Lundin Mining Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
February 22, 2024

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the London Mining 4th Quarter and Year End 2023 Financial Results and Webcast. At this time, all lines are in listen only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. This call is being recorded on Thursday, February 22, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jack London, President and CEO.

Operator

Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Good morning, and welcome to Lundin Mining's full year and Q4 2023 earnings call. Last night, we reported operating and financial results. A copy of our press release and slides are available on our website, where a replay of this call will also be made available. Before we begin our presentation, I would like to remind everyone that yesterday's results and certain comments on the call include forward looking statements. I will draw your attention to the cautionary statements on Slide 2 for reference.

Speaker 1

On the call, I am joined by other senior members of our executive team. Tyler Paulson, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Juan Andres Morel, our Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Pat Marron to the team as Executive Vice President, Technical Services. Pat has extensive operational and technical experience as the previous SVP Canadian operations for Newcrest and also for Goldcorp. As well as I would like to announce another new addition to the team, Joel Adams, as the new Commercial Vice President.

Speaker 1

Joel brings with him extensive experience in the downstream segment of our business, having previously worked for Trafigura and prior to that Glencore. Prior to commencing the presentation, I intend to address a recent unfortunate at our Neves Corvo mine in Portugal, where a fatality occurred last week. We are deeply saddened by this incident, recognizing that the challenging circumstances it presents. Our heartfelt thoughts and support are extended to the family and co workers of our deceased colleague during this difficult time. We will continue our efforts to send all of our workers home safe at the end of each day and are always committed to the health and well-being of our workforce.

Speaker 1

I will now focus the audience's attention to our 2023 corporate highlights. The company underwent a transformative year in 2023 marked by a comprehensive restructuring of the corporate head office, which was subsequently relocated to Vancouver in September. We increased our operational and technical strength of our team, which is now in place to bring the company through the next phase of growth. Production statistics will be further expanded upon during this presentation. However, I'm pleased to report that we met guidance for all metals including a record for copper and zinc production for the company.

Speaker 1

During the year, we acquired the Casaronis mine, which will be a building block for the future of the Vicuna District. Included within the acquisition of this operation is a large and highly prospective underexplored land package of nearly 60,000 hectares. With great enthusiasm, we have launched the 1st segment significant exploration drill program at the mine since it began operating in 2013. At Candelaria, the environmental impact assessment approval has granted us an extension of mine life from 2,030 to the year 2,040. Current reserves surpassed this timeline and this milestone enables us to reassess the underground expansion which will include updating the mine plan and CapEx this year.

Speaker 1

In December, Javier Millet assumed the role of President in Argentina. We anticipate collaborating with the President and his administration to progress the Jose Maria project. We had the privilege of meeting with the President and the Minister of Economy along with Secretary of Mining in January to discuss matters related to Lundin Mining and Jose Maria and also The Lundin Group's long standing presence and success within the country. Lastly, we updated our mineral reserves and mineral resources and were able to grow our reserve base by 26% with the acquisition of Castorones to about 10,500,000 tons of proven and probable copper reserves. While at Candelaria, additional drilling contributed to an increase in overall resources that we hope to convert to reserves in the future.

Speaker 1

Operationally, our assets performed well, delivering on guidance in all consolidated metal categories. Not shown on this slide, however, nickel and gold a record for the company at 315,000 tons. Across our base metals portfolio, the zinc expansion project at Neves Corvo otherwise known as ZEP is coming to fruition leading to a record quarterly and yearly zinc production results. At Zinc Reuben in 2023, improved recoveries from the sequential flotation project were achieved. However, a longer than anticipated ramp up resulted in a slight miss on production guidance.

Speaker 1

We generated significant adjusted EBITDA of $1,400,000,000 operating cash flow of over $1,000,000,000 and free cash flow from operations of $345,000,000 Yesterday, our Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of CAD0.09 per share. The annualized dividend of CAD0.36 offers a 3% yield and continues to be a leading return amongst our peers. We directly returned over $206,000,000 in dividends in 2023 and more than $1,200,000,000 to shareholders since performance and disciplined capital allocation, which supports strategic growth initiatives to create long lasting and sustainable shareholder returns. I will now hand it over to Juan Andres to go through the operational results in more detail.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Jack. We previously released our production results earlier this year, so I will speak briefly to some of the details provided in our year end release. As mentioned by Jack earlier, the company met metal production guidance on all consolidated basis for all metals in 2023, while nickel and gold productions achieved the upper end of the guidance. Copper production was a record for the company at 300 15,000 tons for the year and 103,000 tons for the quarter. Both Casa Herones and Eagle exceeded original guidance.

Speaker 2

Candelaria had a strong 4th quarter, processing 7,800,000 tons of ore and producing 42,000 tons of copper, finishing off the year with the best quarter. This was the result of softer ore than planned, which drove throughput in the mill and higher grades compared to previous quarters. Full year production at Candelaria was 152,000 tons of copper, which was the midpoint in the guidance. Caselones has performed extremely well and exceeded the upper end of the original guidance of 60,000 to 65,000 tons for the second half of the year and produced 65,200 tons of copper. During the Q4, the mine produced 35,000 tons of copper and 928 tons of oil.

Speaker 2

Higher production volumes were driven by higher throughputs and recoveries. Throughput in the mill was 8,300,000 tons for the quarter or 4,200 tons per hour, which is close to the nameplate capacity for the processing plant. We expect to see similar levels of throughput in 2024. Since the acquisition, Caseronez has shown steady improvement in the throughput driven by higher mill utilizations and better haulage performance. As mentioned, production at Chapada was 2nd half weighted last year.

Speaker 2

During the quarter, higher than anticipated grades offset lower mill throughput to produce 12,900 tons of copper, which is in line with the 3rd quarter. In the first half of the year, Chapada produced 20,500 tons versus the second half at 25,100 tons of copper, and on a full year basis, 45,700 tons. Coal production for the quarter totaled 44,000 ounces for the 4th quarter and for the year and 149,000 ounces, which was in the upper end of the original guidance. As mentioned earlier, higher throughput at Candelaria and improved grades and recoveries at Chapada contributed to the overall coal production. Let's move to Slide number 7.

Speaker 2

Zinc production was higher quarter over quarter at 51,000 tons and is a new quarterly record as mentioned by Jack earlier. Production at Neves Corvo increased quarter over quarter and produced 31,000 tons of zinc. We're seeing the benefits from the zinc expansion project as it ramps up in capacity. During the year, the zinc circuit was able to process 2,000,000 tons. During the quarter, zinc proven production was impacted by zinc ore availability, which lowered throughput and grades during the quarter.

Speaker 2

19,700 tons of zinc were produced in the 4th quarter and 76,000 tons for the full year, which represented a slight missed guidance for our zinc ruben. On a consolidated basis, for the year Lundin Mining produced 185,000 tons of zinc, which was in line with 2023 guidance. Nickel production was 3,700 tons for the quarter 16,400 tons for the year, which beat the original guidance for Eagle. This was primarily driven by higher grades and recoveries over the course of the year. Operationally, all our assets performed well, and we are seeing the results from our improved planning cycle and operational philosophy.

Speaker 2

I will now turn the

Speaker 3

call over to Teitur to provide summary on our financial results. Thank you, Pan Andreas. Moving to Slide 8. As Jack already mentioned, we generated significant adjusted EBITDA, operating cash flow and free cash flow from the operations in 2023. Starting here with the revenue, we generated EUR 1,100,000,000 during the quarter, with the 4th quarter benefiting from full revenue contribution from Casa Ronde.

Speaker 3

Pricing adjustments on prior period sales of concentrate impacted revenues negatively by $24,000,000 in the 4th quarter. Revenue for the full year amounted to close to $3,400,000,000 and is the highest annual revenue recorded in the history of the company. Price realization has remained relatively stable for most metals during 2023, except for nickel, which has seen a steady decline in pricing during the year. The realized copper price was slightly above $3.80 per pound for both the Q4 and the full year, whilst the realized price for zinc was around $1.15 per pound for both the Q4 and the full year. Our sales remains predominantly leveraged to copper, with that metal generating 75% of the 4th quarter revenue with zinc and gold accounting for 7% each, and the balance of the revenue being relatively equally distributed across nickel, moly and PGM.

Speaker 3

At the end of 4th quarter, approximately 118,000 tons of copper were provisionally priced at $3.85 per pound and remained open for final pricing adjustments. As did over 34,000 tons of zinc at $1.22 per pound and 1300 tons of nickel at $7.46 per pound. Moving to Slide 9. Consolidated production costs for the 4th quarter amounted to $648,000,000 which is around 5% higher than the previous quarter, with the increase being driven by higher volume of copper sold by approximately 13%. Costs at Katarone did also increase from the third to the Q4 due to higher maintenance and contracting costs, in addition to the 3rd quarter not having a full quarterly contribution given that the transaction closed on the 13th of July.

Speaker 3

For the full year, production costs totaled $2,100,000,000 in 2023, which is a 25% increase on the previous year, with most of the year over year increase relating to Casa Ronnen being included from the completion date of 13 July 2023. The sold volumes of copper and zinc over the same period increased by 25% and 18%, respectively. At an asset level, production costs remained relatively flat year over year despite local currencies in Chile, Brazil and Europe somewhat strengthening during the year. On a like for like basis, so that is to exclude the impact from the Casrona acquisition, the production costs for 2023 have remained flat compared to the previous year at $1,700,000,000 Candelaria's full year cash costs benefited from lower transportation costs that were offset by higher maintenance costs and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. Higher mill throughput during the year also contributed to higher costs.

Speaker 3

Cash costs for the year were $2.07 per pound, which was in line with guidance. Cash cost at CasaRona came in at $1.99 per pound for the year, which was slightly better than the guidance and was driven by stronger production and a higher byproduct credits during the year. Chapada full year cash cost of $2.27 per pound was better than guidance benefiting from strong gold volumes and pricing compared to our forecast, which improved byproduct credits for both the full year and for the Q4. Nevis Corvo's full year cash cost was slightly above guidance due to lower copper payables and impacts from unfavorable foreign exchange, which was partially offset by lower operating cost. Cash cost for the year was $2.37 per pound at Neves Corvo.

Speaker 3

Turning to the next slide. Total capital expenditure tracked well to our guidance with sustaining CapEx coming in at $797,000,000 compared to guidance of 755,000,000 dollars Total CapEx for the year amounted to $1,000,000,000 including expansionary capital, which is around $100,000,000 lower than our guidance of $1,100,000,000 for the full year. On a like for like basis, so again, excluding the impact from the Casa Roni acquisition, the sustaining CapEx was essentially flat year on year at around 640,000,000 dollars for the full year. Capital spend at Casa Ronen was $26,000,000 below guidance, primarily due to deferral of material deliveries, whilst expansionary capital at Osmaria was $75,000,000 lower than guidance, primarily as a result of foreign exchange gains. Moving to the next slide.

Speaker 3

Our full year and 4 quarter key financial metrics are presented on the next couple of slides. As mentioned earlier, the full year revenue amounted to $3,400,000,000 including 4th quarter revenue of $1,000,000,000 We generated adjusted EBITDA of $1,400,000,000 for the year, including nearly $420,000,000 in the 4th quarter and adjusted operating cash flow for the year was in excess of $1,000,000,000 with $362,000,000 generated in the 4th quarter. The adjusted operating cash flow reported is net of $106,000,000 of cash taxes paid during the year. Moving to the next slide, free cash flow from operation was $345,000,000 for the year and $117,000,000 for the quarter, which includes our working capital build of $8,000,000 $56,000,000 for the full year and 4th quarter, respectively. Full year adjusted earnings was just over $336,000,000 $80,000,000 for the 4th quarter.

Speaker 3

We remain in a strong financial position and finished the year in a moderate net debt position of roughly $950,000,000 excluding capital leases. The year end net debt level corresponds to a leverage ratio of around 0.7x net debt to EBITDA. Slide 13 presents in greater detail the sources and uses of cash in 2023. Our operations generated cash flow of just over $1,000,000,000 during the year and after accounting for the sustaining accomplishment of $727,000,000 and excluding exploration and business development cost of $56,000,000 the company generated $345,000,000 of free cash flow from operations. The company spent net cash of $649,000,000 to acquire 51 percent of CasaRona and paid $25,000,000 as part of a deferred contingent payment relating to the Chapada acquisition.

Speaker 3

The company had cash outflow of close to $90,000,000 in interest and lease costs and had a net cash inflow of close to $50,000,000 relating to FX and diesel derivative hedge positions. Substantially, all of the M and A growth and expansionary capital spend during the year funded through debt, with the company drawing net debt proceeds of $1,239,000,000 during the year. Lastly, the company continues to pay an attractive dividend of CAD0.36 per share, which amounted to US206 $1,000,000 for the year. The company also distributed dividends to non controlling interests in Candelaria and Casa Rona of €55,000,000 in total. The company ended the year with just under €270,000,000 in cash.

Speaker 3

The company continues to have a strong liquidity position with available liquidity headroom in our RCF of 1,500,000,000 dollars as of year end. So with that, I'll hand the call back to Chuck. Thank you, Teitur.

Speaker 1

This slide highlights near term growth opportunities for the company. We're evaluating the Casaronis additional 19% call option, which we are able to exercise on the 1 year anniversary, which is in July of this year. At current production levels, this has the potential to add approximately 25,000 tons of copper to our annual production profile. As mentioned earlier in the presentation, Candelaria received their new EIA, which allows the mine life to be extended to 2,040, enabling us to advance the Candelaria underground expansion project, otherwise known as QJET, which has the potential to add up to roughly 15,000 tons of copper production per year on an attributable basis. We are undertaking underground mine design optimizations for QJEP, which incorporates the updated underground mining regulations from the mining authorities in Chile known as Cernajillomen, costing and scheduling will be included in this updated study.

Speaker 1

Demonstrated by these two opportunities, we have a clear pathway to augment over 40,000 tons of copper a year, which would represent an approximate 10% increase on an attributable basis of our production for the company based on the midpoint of guidance. Transitioning from operations to projects, Jose Maria is being strategically advanced. Several areas of focus include pursuing optimization studies to enhance mining and milling production plans, concentrate transportation routing, mine site and off-site infrastructure requirements and water source and water management planning. Work continues on permitting with the technical review of the tailings dam design and the permit application for the access site road and power line. Minor permits and environmental impact assessments for road maintenance were completed and submitted for approval during the Q4 of last year.

Speaker 1

The newly elected San Juan Provincial Governor was elected in July and has taken office and negotiations are set to proceed on the infrastructure agreements for provincial royalties. In January this year, we had the pleasure of meeting the governors of the Atacama region in Chile and San Juan province in Copiapo following a tour of the Candelaria mine made by the Governor of San Juan and his delegation. We highlighted ways our infrastructure could add to the development of the Vicuna District and ultimately benefit both countries. They seem very receptive and supportive of integration initiatives and to advance mining on both sides of the Chilean and Argentinian border. Regarding potential partnerships for the project, various options are being considered, discussions with several parties are ongoing and we will update the market as appropriate.

Speaker 1

Capital expenditure guidance is forecast at $225,000,000 for 2024 for the Jose Maria project. This primarily includes payments for the incoming procurement of long lead equipment and pre construction activities such as road upgrades and geotechnical work along with permitting activities as described before. Next slide. Earlier this year, we announced updated 3 year guidance for production, operating cash costs and capital expenditures for 2024. 2024 updated guidance outlook is in line with previously disclosed production ranges.

Speaker 1

Consolidated copper production in 2024 has stayed consistent with previous estimates, while consolidated zinc production ranges have been slightly adjusted. Consolidated gold production ranges have increased for 2024. In 2025, consolidated copper and gold ranges have increased while zinc guidance has stayed in line with previous disclosure. Copper production is forecast to be 366,000 to 400,000 tons on a consolidated basis in 2024. Higher consolidated copper production in 2024 is mainly due to mine sequencing and the mine plan copper grade profile at Candelaria.

Speaker 1

Additionally, Casarona's copper production guidance has been increased to 120,000 to 130,000 tons on an annual basis to reflect higher plant throughput rates in the mill. Zinc production is forecast to increase to 195,000 to 200 and 15,000 tons on a consolidated basis in 2024, increasing further over the 3 year period to reach 220,000 to 240,000 tons in 2025,000 tons in 2025, 2026 as the benefits of ZEP are realized. Consolidated gold production is forecast to be 155,000 to 170,000 ounces in 2024 and then taper through the 3 year outlook period. Higher consolidated gold production in 2024 is due mainly to the planned gold grade profile at Candelaria. Nickel production is forecast to be 10000 to 13000 tons in 2024.

Speaker 1

The production profile is driven by mine sequencing and nickel grade at Eagle East and the Eagle East Extension ore bodies. Cash costs at several of the sites have decreased including Candelaria, Chapada and Nevis Corvo and part of this is driven by increased volumes and part of it is due to cost saving initiatives. Costs at Casa Ronis have increased and reflect lower grades, higher mill throughputs as well as lower byproduct credits. In the next slide, this year we plan to spend approximately $840,000,000 in sustaining CapEx at our 6 operating mines, which is in line with last year where we spent $727,000,000 taking into account only half the year of Casperonis. Approximately 50% of the sustaining CapEx is earmarked for capitalized stripping or underground mine development.

Speaker 1

$225,000,000 as I mentioned before of expansionary CapEx is scheduled for Jose Maria. Now looking at our exploration potential. Drilling at Jose Maria is underway with 3 active rigs at Cumbre Verde to target the same structures that intersected high grade mineralization on the neighboring property and run into Jose Maria. Additional drill pads are being developed that will give us better access to the targeted areas. Drilling at Portonis target has been completed, which was targeting a new potential porphyry system to the west of Jose Maria.

Speaker 1

These initial holes were scout holes and will be very helpful in planning the next drill program. At Casaronis, exploration drilling has started with 3 rigs at the Angelica oxide sulfide target and at Casaronis Deep. Both are near mine targets that would add potential resources and mine life to the existing operations. We have finished up the borehole electromagnetic survey at Eagle and have closed off aspects of exploration immediately below Eagle East. In addition, geophysics programs will be completed to determine if a potential target remains at depth and to the south of the initial area of interest.

Speaker 1

We remain optimistic in this area. Eagle continues to deliver despite the backdrop of depressed nickel prices, which have dropped by more than 37% last year. We have extended the mine life to Eagle to up to 2029 by optimizing the mine plan and implementing more bulk mining in the Eagle East to determine high potential opportunities to extend mine life further at this great asset. Lundin Mining currently stands in a favorable position, projecting more than 15% growth in our copper production compared to the previous year. Additionally, we are strategically positioned with 2 significant near term growth opportunities, which include, as mentioned before, the Casaaronis call option and Candelaria's QJET.

Speaker 1

Combined, we have the potential to add in the near term as mentioned over 40,000 tons of copper annually. The team here continues to advance the pursuit of these opportunities and we anticipate to be providing updates later in this year. Our asset base has grown significantly in South America with the completion of Casaronis and now over 80% of our copper production comes from top tier jurisdictions. Year over year, we grew our reserve base to over £23,000,000,000 of copper on a 100% basis and initiated significant new exploration drill programs at Casa Ronis and also at Jose Maria. Operationally, Lundin Mining produced a record in annual copper and zinc production in 2023.

Speaker 1

Our assets are performing better and we will continue to focus on optimizing mine plans and improving cost structures at all of our mines. In conclusion, with the team we now have in place and the improvements we have made, I'm excited about the future for Lundin Mining and look forward to creating shared value for our stakeholders. Our company possesses a truly unique opportunity underscored by our current portfolio of mining operations and the exceptional Jose Maria development project. Anchored in the burgeoning Vicuna district, we are committed to maintaining discipline and focus as we progressively expand our operations in this region, while concurrently optimizing profitability across all our global

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. 2. If you are using a speakerphone, please leave the handset before pressing any keys. Your first question comes from Ioannis Masvoulas from Morgan Stanley.

Operator

Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Hello, Jack and team. Thank you very much for the presentation. A couple of questions from my side. The first on Jose Maria. We have continued to see inflation across the industry over the past year.

Speaker 4

How confident are you in keeping the Jose Maria CapEx in check? And within that, can you talk about the optimization studies you're undergoing? How much of that is focused on OpEx versus CapEx? Thank you.

Speaker 1

Hi, Jonas. Thanks for the question. Jose and Maria, we do have a pretty comprehensive work package this year to look at a number of things to bring down cost. I think what we're seeing in the industry and where inflation has really hit a lot of costs for our existing operations. We're trying to see where we can bring down costs in different areas for Jose Maria.

Speaker 1

I think things have stabilized a little bit and we're looking at updating our operating costs as well as our capital costs. And I think over the year, what we're doing with the trade off studies when it comes to infrastructure layout, how we can tighten up spacing, how we can minimize our footprint, also how we need to bring in our road, power line and access infrastructure as well. We mentioned that one of our big trade offs is looking at where we want to be shipping our concentrate out of. So our base case in the feasibility study had us going through Argentina out East, whereas now we're also looking at an opportunity which has significant cost savings and puts us in a much better position if we can move concentrate West out through the Pacific Coast. So I think that's a big item that we're looking at.

Speaker 1

And then also mentioned that we're doing hydrology and water studies as well. Water management is a big focus for us this year. So we're looking at all aspects of the project on where we can bring down costs and where we can basically derisk and improve the executability of the project, Ionis. And Tiger has a comment to add.

Speaker 3

Maybe just to add, like if inflation is one side of the story, but obviously the devaluing local currency, the pesos is the other side of the same story. So after Millet got elected, there was a big devaluation in mid December where the official rate went from around about $3.50 to the dollar to over $800 now to the dollar. So in terms of our dollar cost funding that obviously balances out somewhat against inflation we have. And what we also have yet to determine is actually how much of well, both CapEx and OpEx is going to be pesos denominated expenditure in the 1st place. So those details are still to be worked through in more detail.

Speaker 4

Okay, great. Thank you for that. And second question, given the significant CapEx needs again of Casa Maria, one would argue that you could defer the Caserone stake purchase and or Candelaria QGIP growth option to a later stage so as to preserve cash into the Jose Maria sanctioning. How would you respond to this argument?

Speaker 1

I mean, when it comes to capital allocation, we have to keep our opportunities open. And I think right now, near term growth, it looks like Casa Ronis and Candelaria make the most sense. But, of course, as we study and advance, our de risking of Jose Maria, we have to look at all opportunities. What is exciting is they're all kind of centered in the same area. And I think when we look at synergies for these assets, anything that we do, we want to be able to minimize cost as much as possible and bring in near term profitability.

Speaker 1

So, I think that unless tighter has anything to add, this is where we're focusing on these three areas in the near term.

Speaker 3

Yes. And I don't think they're mutually exclusive. I mean, we are talking about partnership alignment on the Jose Maria at Sea where we land with that. But that's obviously part of the equation of capital allocation and we want to assess and go after all the opportunities we have in the portfolio in a responsible manner of course.

Speaker 4

Great. Thanks very much.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Arce Vukodaw from Scotiabank. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Hi, good morning. Just following up

Speaker 3

on the last set of questions.

Speaker 5

Is there a partnership process for Josemaria ongoing right now? Or do you need to complete, I guess, the stability agreement, the updated technical report before that really gets going? And I guess what I'm wondering is could we see a partner before those items are finalized? Or is the partnership likely going to come after those milestones?

Speaker 1

Hey, Orest. Thank you for the question. I can start here, and then the team can chime in as needed. Discussions are ongoing and so the processes has kicked off. I mean, we are looking at all opportunities and I think derisking in parallel, none of these things happen overnight and so we have to continue to progress with looking at formation of a framework for fiscal stability in Argentina.

Speaker 1

As I mentioned, and it's well known, we were able to meet with the President, and we have good engagement at the local level in the San Juan province and also in the Atacama region in Chile where now Casarones and of course Candelaria are. So, we're very focused in this area and we have a big presence there and we understand how things are moving and it is a bit of a moving target, but there could be a scenario where partnerships are formed before fiscal stability. Ideally, they come together around the same time and we're working towards that.

Speaker 5

Okay. Any potential timeline at this point for the completion of the technical report?

Speaker 1

Yes. So it depends on a number of these studies that we're working on that are really kind of in the thick of it in terms of the data that we're collecting and the scenarios that we're running and obviously engineering work that goes on with it and some consultants that are supporting. So it does seem like it will be a second half of the year item. And of course, it's hard to commit when there's a lot of moving parts to that. But as soon as we feel like we're ready to put a pin in it, then we will come to the market with an update.

Speaker 5

Okay. And then just as a follow on, what's the expected timeline for the Chapada expansion study? Or is that now been deferred?

Speaker 1

The Chapada expansion study has been deferred. I mean, what we're focusing on at Chapada, of course, is right now near mine opportunities and improving the performance of the existing operation and then we're drilling out Sauba and we'll be conducting a scoping study on that opportunity. So, it's really what we have today with our existing operation and then growing Sauba, which is about 15 kilometers away. And it's tied to Sauba as well as the high grade Formiga or higher grade Formiga formation. So it's an exciting opportunity that we're going to be running a scoping study on this year.

Speaker 5

Okay. And then finally, if I could, what's any idea on the expected timeline for releasing drill results to the market for Cumbra Verde?

Speaker 1

Yes. So drilling is ongoing. We've got 3 rigs turning right now at Cumbra Verde. Some exciting prospects that we're drilling into and some of the visitors that were down in Argentina and Chile in January would have seen that the drill pads were being formed. So hopefully as soon as we have more information probably later in the quarter, early Q2, we could come out with some results.

Operator

Your next question comes from Edward Goldsmith from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Hi. Thank you for the presentation. Two questions from my side. Firstly, on the timeline for the operational asset reviews and the next wave of synergies at Candelara and Casarones. Just if you could give some more color around that and the level of improvement being targeted there?

Speaker 6

And then secondly, on the drilling underway at Casa Rones, can you give us an idea on the exploration potential there?

Speaker 1

Yes, I can touch on the exploration potential and then I'll hand it over to our Chief Operating Officer to talk about optimization work that's ongoing at our Chilean assets. But right now, as mentioned, we've got some rigs turning in the Argentinian side on Jose Maria property targeting this what's called Cumbre Verde target, which we hope to be an extension of some of the neighboring properties that we'll look to test either veining or brecciated zones. And then at Casa Ronis, we've got 2 targets that we're drilling into right now. One is called this Angelica oxide and sulfide zone. So we're drilling through the oxides into the sulfide deep area, which has never been drilled before, but we know it's an attractive and highly prospective target, couple like about a kilometer away or 2 kilometers away from the existing open pit.

Speaker 1

And then we're drilling at Castoronis deep, so near the pit and looking to target deeper sulfide zones that could be added eventually or quickly to the resource at Casarones. So about 3 rigs turning there and 3 rigs turning at Cumbre Verde. I think we'll add 1 more rig as well to get up to 7 in this drill season. And then we'll come to the market with an update once we have some meaningful results. But I'll hand it over to Juan Andres to talk about the operations.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Jack. Yes, regarding the optimization in Chapada and Candelaria, we're well advanced on the full potential initiatives that we launched last year. In both operations, we're seeing some low hanging fruit results and have been already incorporated in our 2024 budget. So part of the improvements in the C1 costs are attributed to those optimizations, but we continue to look at more opportunities as we move forward and we're very confident that we'll be able to increase our performance in both assets. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Dalton Barreto from Canaccord. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Thank you. Good morning, guys. I wanted to also ask about Jose Maria. Jack, there's some language in the MD and A that talks about maybe looking at a bigger operation, a bigger mill size. I'm just wondering kind of what you're thinking is there and how much bigger we're talking about?

Speaker 1

Yes. Hey, Dalton, good question. So that's part of the trade off studies as well that we're looking at when we go into our mine plan and mine optimization work. So we're looking at utilizing the existing size of the mills that we already have in place. I think we did right size the purchase of those mills that are currently coming into country today.

Speaker 1

But we've looked at kind of expanding from anywhere from 150,000 to 200,000 tons per day and kind of in and around those bookends to see what the optimal milling rate would be. Pretty significant in size when you compare to Candelaria or Casarones, these sites do around 75,000 to 80,000 tons per day, 85,000 tons per day. So quite sizable operation, but we're not looking at getting significantly smaller or vastly larger for Jose Maria. It's really just looking at how we can push tonnages. We're looking at kind of ore hardness during the earlier parts of the mine plan and then just seeing what optimal rates we could run with, utilizing the infrastructure that or utilizing the assets that we've already purchased.

Speaker 7

Okay. And then I think you said earlier that you're looking at maybe moving concentrate now through Chile, which is obviously great considering the space of the condollaria port. I'm just wondering, does that mean you can also potentially bring in water and power in from the Chilean side and maybe use that desal plant?

Speaker 1

Yes, Dalton. So part of the work that we're doing of course is looking at logistics and transport of our produced product. Of course, we're also looking at longer term what it means for bringing infrastructure given that we already have a port desalination facility on the Chilean side. This plays into the broader strategy for the and the long term vision for the district. Strategically, Casa Ronis is located about 20 or 25 kilometers away from Jose Maria, and it's all part of the Vicuna district.

Speaker 1

So, at one point in time, being able to bring in water and power into this area from either side means a lot to the district and can really unlock a lot of value. So these look, we have to look at in different phases. I think right now near term looking at bringing concentrate as opposed to going through Argentina, bringing it through Chile makes the most sense. We're really focused on that. And then at a later time, we would look at what does it make sense for desalinated or even perhaps power.

Speaker 1

But right now, the focus is concentrate shipments.

Speaker 7

Okay. And if I can just squeeze one more in, a slightly different question for you, Jack. We're starting to see assets change hands in the Iberian pyrite belt with the Mazda deal last year and now First Quantum putting Las Cruces on the block. Are you seeing much inbound interest on Neves Corvo at all? And what are your thoughts around that operation?

Speaker 1

Thanks. Thanks, Dalton. So I think we have been starting to get some inbounds about what our European assets mean to the company. Of course, we have focused our growth, growing a lot in copper predominantly and then the strategic hold and the stronghold that we have here in the Atacama region and now as well in San Juan province in the Vicuna district. Our focus on growth is really growing in this area.

Speaker 1

We do like the diversity play of the company. We have meaningful zinc production coming from our European assets. We also think that we could attract a lot of value from these assets. So we're playing kind of the optionality here and seeing what makes sense. But yes, to answer your question, we have received inbound interest on what it means for us with our European assets.

Speaker 1

And I think what you're seeing as well in the Iberian pyrite belt, both in Spain and in Portugal, I think there are some players coming in there that are looking to do a consolidation effort. So of course, we're monitoring that closely and seeing, how we can crystallize value in that region.

Operator

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. Please proceed.

Speaker 1

Okay. Thank you very much for those that attended the call today. We're proud of the results of 2023 and looking forward to what will be a strong 2024. And again, we look forward to answering any questions as they come our way at a later date. Thank you very much for your time, everyone.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines. Thank you.

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Earnings Conference Call
Lundin Mining Q4 2023
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