METALS EXPLORATION PLC - Final Results

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:07]Good morning and welcome to the Metals Exploration PLC investor presentation.

[00:00:11]Throughout today's recorded presentation, attendees will be in listenonly mode. Questions are encouraged and can be submitted via the Q&A tab situated on the right hand side of your screen. Before we begin, I'd just like to submit the following poll, which I kindly ask you submit your responses to. I'd now like to hand over to CEO Darren Bowen. Darren, good afternoon. Good morning.

[00:00:30]Good morning, Matt. Um, afternoon my time, but yeah, good morning to everybody. Um, and online with me is Max Denning, our VP investor relations and business development. He'll be helping me out through the presentation. The presentation is uh online, but uh and we're going to cover certain portions of it today, not all of it. We'll focus on some of the areas uh that we think you'll be more interested in. Uh but again uh any questions, anything you want to cover or anything that you want to do uh please submit the questions so we can talk about it afterwards. We're thinking the presentation will take about 30 minutes. Um and on the back of that hopefully we've got a lively Q&A session for us to go through. So without further ado, I'm actually move to slide three please. Yeah. So just looking at the highlights for the the last 12 months, we had a um a pretty good year.

[00:01:22]the uh as runo is running down our gold gold grades are dropping off. So um our total production is dropping off but thank you thanks to the um incremental gold price and the fact that our hedging finished in 2024 um we had a record free cash year and a record revenue on the back of about 65,000 ounces production or just over. So 115 million in free cash and uh on a 208 million revenue. Um the guidance for 2026 again as we're ramping down we're ramping down to the end of this year. December this year is the last production month in Runo. Um so 40 to 48,000 ounces for the year of 2026.

[00:02:07]Next slide. Thanks. Yeah. So just looking at those metrics as I said just uh you know over 20 65,000 ounces for 2025 on the back of a record production in 2024 of nearly 84,000 ounces. Um the uh the price uh plus our management of costs have been able to keep our free cash moving in the right direction which is as you all know funding our Nicaraguan uh operations. So things are moving forward very well across the board for us and we'll get into that. Um January we did the purchase of the Nicaraguan operations were finalized uh through the purchase of Condor Gold. Um March we purchased secondhand plant which has provided a lot of the base equipment for the plant in Nicaragua.

[00:02:52]May we broke ground and um by December we had spent just under 76 million um dollars on the construction of the lander project and we had about just over 40 million in the bank at the end of December as well which is assisting in the funding through this year of that uh of that project.

[00:03:15]Um you know we did talk about the construction le India project is uh a 45 where we ramp from about 100,000 ounces 2027 through to 1451 150 by 2029. Um we work from uh starting with the open cut moving to open cut underground operations. So it'll be a dual operating um business in Lindy open cut lender south underground with a number of other uh subsidiary um satellite deposits which will come into that uh the runo operations as I mentioned run down by the end of this year. However, our um exciting exploration projects uh ABRA in uh the Philippines, which we've talked about in a number of different presentations, so we won't go into too much detail, um is shown here as well, but Lressia, a new tenement area we've picked up, which is an old mine, actually one of the mo one of the original Nicaraguan gold mines, um has now come on to our portfolio as well.

[00:04:12]It's actually an extension to our existing tenementss in Nicaragua and it used to have uh used to be owned by both Newest and Newmont. Um and all of the sampling that was done previously the average grades um of the rock chip samples were around 19 g. Um the silver grade is what's interesting here. It's probably 50 times silver. So the silver grades we're seeing um you know 600 to a,000 gram silver in that uh in those veins coming out of that deposit. We're going to start drilling in Lresia sometime in June. The drill is already moving in that direction as we speak. So you know very exciting project. There's four to five veins there um and serious high grade. So it's a very nice little project to pick up to add to our portfolio in Nicaragua.

[00:05:03]Um I won't go into the management team um or the board um but you can go through the slides at your leisure to see that um you know the we're currently tracking around about you know between 13 to 15p share price. However the consensus of that share price is 33p two analysts um have come up with a consensus based on our production and the um uh the current metrics coming out of Nicaragua. So everybody's sitting waiting for us to deliver on Nicaragua and then we should see that uplift in our share price moving to you know beyond 30p uh hopefully next year if not the year after. So moving on an upward tra trajectory as you can see we've been for the last six years um it's been a great six years. Anyone who started with this in 2019 has um done very well for themselves. you know, we had some rocky patches, but uh generally been a very upward trajectory um with all positive uh you know, growth strategies and we still got some uh you know, some growth strategies we will talk about at the back end of this presentation. Um beyond Lressia, beyond um Abra um of course there's always focus for us to keep growing the business and uh we'll talk about that a little later.

[00:06:20]So if we go into the Lindia project um 2.3 million ounces um very nice grades on surface the open cuts are 2 and a half uh grams the undergrounds uh four uh to five grams. Looking at an average grade once we're in full production of about 3 and a half grams. Um producing as we said fluctuating depending on whether it's a a high production underground year or high production open cut year which is more consistent targeting about a 1.4 4 million ton a year project um producing around about 140 to 150,000 ounces and I said as I said 2027 100,000 ounces so we move the business moves from 48,000 ounces tound uh 100,000 ounces all the way through to 150,000 ounces 2028 29 um if we have a quick look at the the epiothermal vein system that we are looking at in le India it is extensive um it's large on any scale and we are we have basically control of the district.

[00:07:25]So there's a lot more expiration and a lot more upside which you know over the last 12 14 years um funding limited expiration has gone on. um we won't be fund limited. We're doing a lot of drilling as we speak and we have been adding to those those resource ounces as we've been going. Uh really right now uh La India Americas and Matis are probably the only ones which could be put into a jaw category. We've brought cacao now up to um a j standard in the in a small area. Um so the 100,000 ounces plus is going to be on our books sometime at a better standard uh very soon because that's where we'd had focused some of our drilling. Our other drilling has been in Lindia North extending the open cut and right now the rigs have moved to Lindia South doing extension drilling in Lindia South and that looks very promising as well. So overall uh you know 2.3 we are targeting this as a five five plus million ounce district and as you can see from the small area that we currently got in our mine plan to the larger scope of what actually exists in terms of the veins that have been already mapped on surface this is a very nice uh district and the epiothermal vein system here epiothermal gold system here is is extensive.

[00:08:42]So if we look at the um the economic studies um not just done by us but done by others the construction of this plant is one of the lowest capital intensity plants uh due to the purchase of the secondhand plant um the way the scope the the quality of the team we've got in country building this plant. They've done an amazing job um organizing this.

[00:09:03]The BFS targeting 70,000 ounces a year.

[00:09:07]we're targeting 145 um and you know it is a a very nice project. The one thing I want you to note here which is interesting um is the two analysts that have done the work uh the all- in sustaining cost they've come up with is significantly higher than our own internal studies. Um I like the conservatism because the the share price uh you're seeing that they're predicting at 33p is at a higher all-in sustaining cost than we have got in our models. So if you you want to take a conservative approach their all in sustaining cost at the higher rate is still generating a 33p share price. Um if you look at our studies and the work we've done we're coming up with a lower all in sustaining. So you can see that that um if we deliver on where we want to be um or even you know lower their cost by 10 to 15% then we're going to be significantly better off in terms of delivery of that share price and uh we can see that here uh this is our all in sustaining um just under 1,200 um the capital intensity as I talked about it's one of the lowest in the industry and um the grade for the uh the combined underground open cut is one of the best in the industry. This is a very nice project um with you know you know high quality Q1 cost metrics that will deliver um sustainable cash flow into the future for uh metals exploration.

[00:10:40]Um don't need to go into this too much.

[00:10:42]We've talked about this a number of times but uh we're very much on track uh with the delivery the um Q1 this year.

[00:10:50]The laboratory is basically in place. We will start uh the contract has gone to Initech which is an international um certified uh laboratory company. They'll be doing all our analytics on site. Um therefore we can produce um um international standards and um basically uh all the anal analytics will be done on site rather than having to go to Canada. That'll improve our turnaround time frames and increase our uh response time to understand how the resource develops. Um the main substation's been purchased. Everything's um moving forward. Most of the foundations have done. Um the tanks for the CI circuit are actually on site and started construction. The conveyor systems have been installed and the main crusher is in place at this stage and the crusher wall is finished. Um we are still targeting to have this project up and running by December this year. uh the two risks that we are seeing right now um the I I've mentioned in a number of discussions previously that the uh electrical which is being provided by third party uh which is the government um is one of the risks but the government is moving forward and um so that's start that's you know looking in a pretty good position right now in terms of the design for that substation even though the the main components have been purchased and will be delivered that looks like it's coming forward well and the other thing that has caused that is starting to look that may or may not impact but it's something we are very aware of is the uh the current onwater logistics with the geopolitical situation in the world right now the Panama Canal is starting to get very choked up so there's a a lot of ships waiting to travel through the Panama Canal given that the other options have become limited uh for the transport logistics on water oceangoing freight uh which is slowing and uh slowing down some of our deliveries. So, at this stage, we're still on track, but we're watching that space very carefully.

[00:12:52]Next slide, Max. This is just the slides of the mine and the tailings facility.

[00:12:57]Um, everything here is developing very well. We've currently got 150,000 tons of ore on stockpile. About half of that is uh lowgrade for commissioning. Um, and the rest is at mine grade. So, um, we're ready to start commissioning and we will be ready for first three months of production. will be on stock pole by the time we start up this plan.

[00:13:19]Um don't need to go into the flowheet.

[00:13:21]Very simple sag ball mill combination CL leech tanks to a um uh to a gold room.

[00:13:27]So very very simple. Um I did did mention that we've done a fair bit of drilling at cacao and what we're finding is that it's and there's a number of deposits like this in the world where it's shoots of um epiothermal. So the epiothermal is coming up in high-grade shoots and we've found at least three of those shoots which we can we're developing further as we go. Most of those holes you can see on this plan have been drilled. Uh we just don't have results to see the extension of those holes. So we have extended this all body down dip and we are following those shoots and that that's coming the geometry of that is starting to make some sort of sense. When we first started, we were, you know, a little bit in the dark. But with the extra drilling that's now being done, we're starting to see how cacao will develop into a nice little underground. The benefit is while it's not super high grade, it is very nice width. So, you know, 15 to 20 meter widths, very efficient underground mining widths for uh for cacao. So that will develop very well as an underground with some very high grade um core in in the uh in the drilling results that we've got today.

[00:14:34]So um I don't want to go into but I'll do a little bit of work around Abra. I think everybody who's following our shares and has been on presentations and seen some of our slides before um I very much am a big fan of the ABRA project.

[00:14:50]Um we are still working with governments and communities to start the drilling there. The one thing about the Philippines that part of the business is not easy. The bureaucracy is slow moving. U but we're working very closely with communities and the different levels of government to uh to get going with the the drilling in Abra. Um I I've always said the targets to be there drilling um in Q2 um H2. I'm I'm still focused on having that uh that up and running by that stage.

[00:15:24]So let's talk about the investment case.

[00:15:26]Um it is an interesting thing. We're a cash generating business. We're going to maintain cash generation. Um our cash generation's only increasing through 2027 2028. Um and Abra is not a a proposition that is in the next 5 years.

[00:15:44]It's 5 to 10 years. Um again we've always we've mentioned that previously in previous presentations. So there is a question that um has come up in some of the presubmitted questions which is a good one. Where do we go? Well, one of the things that I've always talked to the market about and I I'll I'll keep saying because business is extremely focused on it. I myself travel a lot trying to make this uh put this into place is having a second operation by 2028. that is still our one of our core values, our core ideals and our core focuses and um we while we have not solidified that second operation at this stage we're very close um we're working for us um rather than M&A we we very much like working um with governments we like finding governments that are looking for partners who are good at incountry relationships community building um and we and companies that are able to make decisions quickly and move fast and we are that company. So we're working um with a number of different entities across u multiple jurisdictions. We've always said we'll stick to our lane. So we're working in Asia and Central America and um hopefully in the next three uh to six months we will be able to announce something that gives us that second operation um in the pipeline and that's what our focus is. So to the question, are we focusing on growing our business?

[00:17:15]Um, yes, we absolutely are. And we are looking to use our cash flow to do so.

[00:17:19]Yes, we absolutely are. Um, so this business will uh is and will always focus on having a second operation by 2028, which is again I've said in previous presentations that by 2028 we would like to move to the main board. Um and at that stage we will hopefully be looking to start uh uh a dividend payment into the business as well. So we want to be uh dividend paying and on the main board into 2028 early 2029. So that is still a focus. We will have the cash flow to to fund that. Um so we're very much looking forward to being able to make that announcement within the next 3 to six months at the latest. So, I'm hoping in the next 3 months, but I'm not going to hold hold myself to it because uh when you're dealing with different governments and different entities across different jurisdictions, things are always slower than you would like.

[00:18:10]Uh I would love to say yesterday that I had it, but uh or had something in the bag, but uh we we are working on it and we're working very hard to achieve that.

[00:18:18]So, watch this space, guys. Um it's a very valid question and it's something that uh this business and this the the board of directors and myself are very focused on achieving. um with Max's help who's now come in as uh business development, he's uh also one of his parts of his portfolio is to focus on generating that uh that next business for us beyond what we already have in our portfolio.

[00:18:43]So that's our investment case. Um the expiration as I said Nicaragua is moving forward and um hopefully Abra in the next six months. Sorry there was >> great thanks Darren. Yeah. Should we um should we now move to the to the Q&A?

[00:18:58]We're obviously getting a bunch of questions through as we're live. Um one of the first questions I think you know kind of just been asked and and and really just been answered around um an update with regards to an additional acquisition which which clearly you've just covered in your closing comments.

[00:19:15]Um the next question we've just received is regards to whether metals exploration would uh build a second processing plant Atlia specifically. If you wouldn't mind touching on that.

[00:19:28]>> So um for me Lindia no I think uh the resource in Lindia as it grows I think the plant itself is big enough to cater for that resource. Um but with that said lressia is it's a different beast. It is um uh high gold um very high silver. So the existing plant in Lind India wouldn't cater for it specifically. Um so does Le India um have the opportunity to have a second plant? Maybe not. Does Nicaragua have the opportunity to grow into a second operation? Absolutely it does. We hold enough tenement area. Um we now have a specific target that's drill ready which we're going to start drilling. It has an old underground which we're actually rehabilitating as we speak. Um, and the only reason the underground closed down by the way is because there was too much silver. Um, so it couldn't produce a gold door because of the silver levels. So it actually stands um, it stands in goodstead that there's something there.

[00:20:26]We've currently done some underground sampling along the veins that we've been able to uh to get to. Uh, as I said, there's four to five veins there that we can actually see in the underground and we should have those samples. Once those samples are out, um, again, they're going offshore, so it takes, you know, quite a way, you know, three to four weeks to turn those round, but once we've turned those round, we'll be able to start having a good look at what's there. The drill will be up there within four weeks, and we're going to start drilling on the back of that.

[00:20:52]>> Yeah. Uh, next question on the list is um, if profits are large enough in 2027, would the company issue a maiden dividend or a share buyback to attract obviously increased share price and and more buyers in the stock?

[00:21:08]>> Yeah. Um, look, that'll be up to the board. Uh, for mine if you want my opinion on that. Um, I don't see us issuing uh, dividends until 2028. I there is an absolute focus from my point of view um and recommendation will be there to push for dividend by 2028. By 2028, Lindia is producing you know 130 uh moving moving to that 145,000 ounces and by that stage if we aren't fully investing in a second operation there should be sufficient cash flow to look at a dividend uh pre uh moving to the main board. But I don't believe unless the board sees otherwise once we get there that 2027 will be a dividend year.

[00:21:52]>> Indeed. Uh next question is regards to um La India dork resource statements and when we expect to give the market an update with regards to uh yeah updating our D resource estimates.

[00:22:04]>> Yeah, I think we're closer to the end of the year than now. Um the drilling in Lindia South will be looking at extensions and definition. Right now Lindia South is mainly inferred. So, we're drilling to bring that up into measured and indicated so it can uh be better planned as an underground mine.

[00:22:21]Um, cacao right now has enough definition drilling to bring it into a draw compliant um resource. So, I'm not sure what categories it'll all fall into, but we'll have to wait and see.

[00:22:33]However, with the turnaround of the assays uh and with the work that needs to be done, I'm thinking probably Q4 at best Q1 next year is more likely for the delivery of that. Once we have the on-site laboratory, those turnarounds of those samples is going to be significantly quicker and will help us.

[00:22:50]And it helps more in the fact that you don't waste drill holes. If you're waiting four weeks for a laboratory result to come back, you might be drawing in the long wrong location. If you're waiting a week for the laboratory results to come back, then you know that your next drill hole is going to be a good one or you're looking to pivot to somewhere else.

[00:23:08]>> Indeed. Uh, next question is with regards to uh critical path item being obviously power infrastructure being uh supplied at site and as a plan B uh has the company considered uh utilizing uh diesel gen sets?

[00:23:24]Uh yeah, look the the size and scope of what we need uh diesel may or may not be a relevant option. Um because the mobilization of you know 30 megawatts of diesel power in a short time frame um is probably not going to be something especially when you're only looking to run it for a couple of weeks if you are delayed. Um probably doesn't make sense to a vendor or to us. Um, so what we would probably look at doing, and we've got enough power on site right now to do the commissioning, but we wouldn't have enough power to run operations. So we can actually start all the commissioning even if power's delayed by the time we get to first gold. Now power is currently looking, we're look, we're targeting um, end September, mid A, mid October, we're looking at first gold mid to late December. We've got a fourw week float there. If that four week gets eaten up and we lose a little bit of time on the back end, we will have done all commissioning. The plant will be ready to operate. Um I don't think power is going to be our biggest issue. I actually think the current geopolitical issues we see across the world, especially in Iran right now, um is what's causing or will cause the major delay if there is any delay to the plant. Um delivery of the outstanding items that we're still waiting on is the illusion circuit is the main one. um that now has to uh while it should get on the boat at the right time that may be delayed in terms of its delivery time frame. So they're the issues we're dealing with on a day-to-day basis. We have looked at options around power, but for the for what you're looking at for the type of diesel generation you would need that you'd have to import to do that for 3 to four weeks just makes no sense. Um, so you'd have to be signing a contract for three to four years. And again, for us, that makes no sense either. So you're um you are caught between a rock and a hard place. And uh delays like that at that type of scale, you're better off taking the delay than trying to look at contracts which don't make sense.

[00:25:25]>> Yeah, exactly. And this is sort of another question with regards to you more I think philosophically around projects and how how one measures the progress of a project. when we state the fact that we are 50% complete with regards to to project construction. Um what is that metric? What is the metric behind that that 50% uh completion? Is it man hours? Is it budget? Is it combination? Is it work work breakdown schedule? What is it exactly?

[00:25:51]>> Yeah, it's a work back breakdown schedule to the the greater extent. So every part of the work is broken down from uh manh hours to uh delivery whether it's structural steel delivered to site or started erection whether it's concrete um delivered site or poured um whether it's civil works you know constructed or not constructed and each part of those metrics is actually um measured and can be measured um objectively not subjectively. So we can determine from a survey or a install point of view at what stage each of those are at. And once you put all that together, you can come up with an S-curve um which you come up with from a delivery and a cost point of view and you can match that against what you're um you're seeing in the field. And right now we're right on track. Um we are when I say right on track, we might be a couple of points in front um but we're definitely not behind. So really right now from a construction point of view, things look good. It's really the only thing that I see is the uh the the delivery of some of those procurement items which might slow us down. Um but yeah, it's yeah there's a it's not an easy question but it is around the metrics as built into the schedule and they can be delivered against objectively and you put all that together to match that against your original delivery schedule to confirm whether you're on or not on schedule.

[00:27:13]>> Exactly. So now we're going to move across the Philippines. Um a few questions here. I mean one of the first ones is with regards to when uh Ron Runo will actually come to the end of its life of mine. Um clearly processing will end uh in December. Uh so that's the end of its life so to speak. Um and now we've got a bunch of kind of combined questions with regards to um I guess what's the cost of restoration of of uh runo uh which you've stated in the annual report is about $8.25 $25 million to restore and what's included within that restoration cost and and some of these questions coming through are with regards to uh clearly you know our ambition by 2028 is to have an additional mine in operations and therefore one of our key assets in our portfolio is actually that you know 2 millionish ton peranom processing plant at rune and what is the cost of dismantling the plant um and transporting it to the next asset that we are eyeing up.

[00:28:14]>> Yep. Uh good questions. Runa itself um you know we win awards in country every year for environment um safety community. Um we've won the presence award which is the top award in the country four years in a row. We've won that because we are um 95% complete right now with our rehabilitation of the project. Um every waste dump the the rehabilitation of the dump itself is at the advancing phase. Um again there's not much waste left and most of the dumps are finished. Um the tailings dam will be in final form by August this year. Um so we're again about 80% complete on building the final uh spillway into that tailings dam which is actually a water dam. Um once it's finally fully constructed it will be finished as well. That's already built into this year's budget not the rehabilitation um or closure plan because we're already spending the money now. So, we are looking, as Maxi mentioned, there's a there's only a small ticket on the back end of this just to finalize those final um final items that are outstanding. There is a 10-year um evaluation or of emissions coming the water quality um and such coming off the mine. Um we're actually looking at a community group that's going to take over some of the remaining assets um and we'll be paying them a retainer to take those samples which will get tested as we go. So all of that's built into the money um that's being allowed. Um it is a a very cheap closure and it's probably the you know one of the most advanced I've I've ever seen in terms of we're already there um and we're most of the way done with regards to the Runo plant. The second part of the question um not just the plant but most of the major facilities um we're currently finalizing a plant for the breakdown for transport and delivery of those to a next site. um the breakdown of the plant including some of the mobile equipment that's not that's uh newer rather than older. Um the mobile maintenance workshops uh the warehousing um all the critical spares.

[00:30:19]Um we've got a cost for that right now of about 5 million to break that down to port. Um we're looking at a you know while we can't book shipping at the moment because we don't know final destination um the storage and delivery of that to port is already in the plant.

[00:30:37]The leftover infrastructure which is the camp facilities uh the office buildings down in the camp location. Um we're working very closely with the community as a handover for them to set up uh training facilities. Um they're looking they want to do some eco tourism.

[00:30:53]there's a whole range of opportunities that they're looking to take with that existing infrastructure. Um, and we're working closely with them as a handover plan and how that's going to be handed over for them to generate some economic value into the future with that infrastructure. So the all the plans from not just the closure but the ongoing sustainability of the the remaining infrastructure and the reuse of the pertinent operating infrastructure are being completed as we speak. um and the design, the quotes, um and the pricing for that is in place.

[00:31:26]We're looking at about a a fivemon um uh breakdown and delivery to port for that uh that process plant and we're going to take every scrap of steel. Um so we're even looking at NDT testing. If the steel doesn't make it to spec, then we'll be buying new steel to fit that uh those those members. Um the good thing is the bikes is the tanks are are huge.

[00:31:48]they fit into most scenarios and they're stainless steel so they're in great condition. So, you know, the the mill itself is not old for a mill. Um most of the plants are actually in pretty good nick because it only ran for 12 years.

[00:32:00]So, um you know, very much looking forward to where it goes. Um and hopefully we can announce that sometime soon. But yes, it's in the plan. We've already doing the design work. We're already doing the plans. Um and we're engaging quotes at the moment for contractors to do that breakdown.

[00:32:16]>> Great. This is the last question on the Philippines and I think we'll then move back to Nicaragua as the as the questions come through. Um last question on the Philippines is is with regards to uh supply of diesel. You given the fact that that obviously the Filipino government um when when the Iranian crisis broke out said that there was um you know state of emergency on on diesel supply and whether the company has has suffered from from diesel supply in country.

[00:32:43]>> Yeah. No not not whatsoever. We're all suffering from increased costs. Um, and you know, we're looking at ourselves alone, we're looking at 250,000 US increased costs a month just for diesel. Um, however, we've never suff suffered a supply issue and most of the Philippines hasn't. You know, Australian government also um come out with the um the the same type of statements and again, Australia hasn't suffered, but we're all suffering on price. So, at this stage, we haven't seen any ill effects. supply in the the region has been uh has been okay and we're not seeing any you know lag or delays in our our shipments.

[00:33:20]>> Yeah. Okay. So now we're going to move a bit to sort of expiration drilling I guess. Um few questions coming in with regards to how many rigs have we got in the Caragua and what are they up to? So so rigs on doing infield drilling for for resource definition as well as then obviously expiration drilling. Yeah.

[00:33:38]>> And then obviously they're moving on to, you know, when can we expect to see drilling take place in at Lressia and when we can when can we expect those results. I think we already mentioned that drilling will start, you know, essentially within the next month or two, but but I guess with regards to how many rigs in total we've got in country and how those are progressing and where their focus is.

[00:33:59]>> Yeah. Uh no no issues. So currently we got two rigs in country and uh we're currently sourcing two more. So, we're looking to have four rigs um that we're out looking right now uh to get two more rigs to come in. The one of the rigs is a typical standard diamond rig. Um it does around, you know, if you're lucky 30 mters a day, um which is what is normally output by a diamond ring. The other rig is a combination rig. So, it does um RC, which is reverse cycle and diamond. So with regards to RC drilling, you can do 150 m a day um with that rig um and then you can move to diamond on the back end of it. So for example, we know where the veins are, but we know we've got to drill, you know, 200 m of, you know, barren dirt before we get to the first vein set or the first area where we think there's a vein set. So we can drill that in a day or a day and a bit then change over to diamond and drill at 30 to 40 meters with this rig because it's a bigger rig um a day through the um taking core through the um uh through the veins themselves. So when you look at a rig and you say okay well a normal diamond rig would have taken a week to drill what we drill in a day. That is the difference. When we say we've only got one rig, it's actually performing like two um at least like two rigs if not more. Um and that's a big benefit for us. So we've drilled in terms of meters drilled in the last 6 months compared to what most people would have achieved. They would have had to have three to four rigs on site to do the same type of work. Um you know these rigs do exist around the world. Not a lot of people uh utilize the the benefits of them but some deposits don't lend themselves to them as well. Uh these deposits we're looking at very much do because they're defined veins in defined areas which are with a lot of waste in between. And that's that's why the the combined rig made a lot of sense to bring in country and start with that.

[00:35:53]So we are looking for more combined rigs because they make more sense for us in the the type of terrain we are drilling.

[00:35:59]So we're the the two extra rigs we're looking at to bring in will be of the same ilk as the the big one we've got at the moment.

[00:36:07]>> Uh very good. Uh and now a question I guess on on finance. Um, we obviously announced in one of our last updates that that we have secured, but have not drawn down as of yet, a $30 million prepayment gold facility.

[00:36:22]>> Yep.

[00:36:23]>> Uh, and and the question really is is is what are the terms of that prepayment facility?

[00:36:28]>> Look, I'm not as uh over that as the CFO um and he's not on the call, but uh basic terms are we've got this year to pay it out. So, it's based on the um the runo deposit. So if we draw down now it's paid back within the next 6 to 8 months. Um the terms are uh the the ticket on it's 4 and a.5% or something uh close to that. And we are looking just to test the water um because we want to look at this facility longer term as a larger facility um once we get Nicaragua up and running you know extended over three years at the same type of terms because it's actually very well financed. um we're looking to start uh drawing just a small amount against that uh that prepay in the next month or so. So um that's basically what it is.

[00:37:16]You know it's a facility that runs to the end of the year. It's a draw down now pay later. Um and the ticket price is about 4 and a half%.

[00:37:25]>> Very good. Uh question now about commissioning of of La India. Um how long will it take uh from first gold pour to steady state production? So, so how long does it take to commission the plant and bring it up to commission?

[00:37:39]>> Yeah, it's a it's a good question and the answer is how long's a piece of string. But, um, look, I it's it's a very simple plant. Um, and the biggest issue is going to be the the milling circuit. That's really the only thing that's going to take a lot to commission. The rest is just tanks and leeching. Um, so the rest is very simple and you know, pumps and pump replacements. All those pumps can be tested individually or in circuit very quickly in the first couple of months before we get there. But uh it's the milling circuit that I can I you know I hand of my heart I can't say exactly how long it will take to get that up and running. Is it a difficult circuit? No, it's a straight through sag to a ball with cyclone. It's not a difficult circuit. We bought brand new motors, gearboxes, and everything for the ball mill. The sag mills brand new. So, as long as we commission them correctly, I think we'll be able to get that up and running in the four weeks that we're currently planning on the back of the first gold pool. Um, so I don't see a long ramp up. It is part of the reason why though we've targeted to have only um 100,000 ounces in 2027. The plant has capacity to run at 1.8 million tons a year. So, even if we start slow, hitting our yearly target should not be an issue.

[00:38:54]>> Excellent. So we got a couple of questions now on um how's the company uh fared with interfacing with uh the Nicaraguan government um especially with regards to what we see um in other countries in South and Central America um with with the current US um government in place and then additional question on you have we received final mine permits which I think essentially talks back to that first question.

[00:39:21]>> Yeah. Um so the answer is the Nicaragan government had actually been uh very easy to work with. Um how do I why do I say that? Um because there's no layered bureaucracy when you're working in Nicaragua. If you need something, you can call the president. When I say the president, I'm talking about people who interface directly with the president, who speak for the president. Um right now the the co-presidents um thees don't do public appearances um and they have people who interface directly and um you know so your decision making is the fastest I've ever seen in any country. So from that point of view it's an absolute breath of fresh air. Um what does that mean? It means if they remain stable as a government as it exists right now then we remain stable as a business running in Nicaragua. In all of these countries, if you do get a change in uh a change in government, then you do see sometimes power vacuums. You see a complete shift in ideology. There's a but for me I see at least the next 5 to 10 years that this government or this uh this pe the people running this government will be in power and so therefore the sta stability we see right now and the stability um that we're achieving and the decision-m we're getting out of the government I see 5 to 10 years of um you know smooth stable operations that's what I see in Nicaragua on the flip side the Philippines has layer upon layer upon layer of bureaucracy If you do get a contract, they perform against it. So there's more stability longer term in the Philippines in terms of contracts that are issued. To get the contract takes a lot lot longer. So you know, you you've got balance up. If you're a quick moving company that looks to move businesses forward rapidly, you want a government that can make decisions quickly. Um whether it's yes or no, you know, fail fast, it doesn't matter. as long as you know where you're going and what's happening, that's what you're looking for. So, I actually enjoy working in Nicaragua from that point of view because that, you know, the the way it operates gives us access to people who make decisions and that makes a big difference for a company of our size and a company that wants to move quickly like us.

[00:41:38]>> Very good. We've just had a couple more questions on Nicaragua come through. Uh again this is with regards to to when we made the announcement on um obtaining the Lrescia exploration or mining permits. Um and within those permits we had a couple of additional uh targets.

[00:41:57]One of them called Tacio.

[00:41:59]>> Uh is there any additional views that you've personally got on Tacio versus the wider portfolio India?

[00:42:06]>> Look there's one benefit to Pacio. It's been drilled before. Um so there is a resource there. Um, has it come into our portfolio? No. Will it in the future?

[00:42:16]Maybe. Um, I do think it would be a nice addition to our portfolio. Do I think it's the uh, you know, has the potential of Laggressia? No. I think Lressia has more potential. Um, and I think the wider area around Laggressia has more potential. Lressia sits on the culmination of at least two subduction zones. So where they meet that laggressia mine is right on top of it.

[00:42:42]Um so I do think it has the the largest potential and I'm I'm glad it was the one that uh you know the government has moved over into our portfolio. The issue we've got um in Nicaragua is history. We have a history of holding a lot of tenementss and not doing a lot of work and not committing to what we said.

[00:43:02]We're changing that history. We're proving commitments. We're moving the company forward, but we've still got to get over that hurdle completely before we'll get full trust on both sides of that fence from the government. Um, we are moving that way and the government is seeing more and more and the government is coming, you know, six, eight months ago, we may not have even got lress up, but now they've seen the plants getting built. They're seeing we're committing the funds. We said, you know, we're the first company to commit this type of foreign direct investment into the country for a long time. We're getting some airtime which we may not have got previously. So, I look, I'm I'm comfortable with what's happening in Nicaragua. Um, and I do think building that trust and that relationship with the government will lead to long-term results beyond what we've already got.

[00:43:48]However, we've got enough in our portfolio to grow our business there without a doubt.

[00:43:54]>> Excellent. Yes, we've had some questions come through about how important the project is within the context of the whole Nicaraguan economy, which I believe you've just touched on. Y >> um so let's just quickly now move on to a few corporate questions coming through. Um one of the first ones of those is is why did Candy reduce um their holding so significantly and I guess that's in response to the fact that we paid Condor gold in in shares of of metals expiration. So he naturally reduced his his holding by virtue of us issuing shares to Condor gold but he's actually bought some additional shares since then.

[00:44:29]>> Yeah. There is also um there was a discussion um with uh Nick and um his representative Steven on the board um when we were looking to you know um on the buyback of Graham Edwards we were looking to M&A in business looking how we can get more retail and more share growth there was a key discussion around Nick getting his portfolio below 29.9% because that then it looked like and and it gave us the um position of a company that had more retail was more you know open uh to to called institutional investors at you know at the holding that Nick held prior to that people wouldn't look at us now they are um and then on the back of getting him down under 29% the CO purchase pushed his shares down to 22 Nick's a buyer um the Drax group who bought his shares originally they're buyers um there's you I don't think there's anyone in this business who doesn't see the potential that it's it's generating. Um, and we're all very interested in buying more shares. I've been in closed period for what I feel like three years. Um, however, I'm happy with my holding as well.

[00:45:43]>> Very good. Um, and and I guess also just following on on questions with regards to the Condor Gold acquisition. Um a few questions coming in um with regards to the the CVRs, the contingent value rights and and when those when those might be paid out because obviously there was two two stages to it. The first one being commissioning of of India and and the initial payout being 9 months thereafter uh and then the second payment being on um additional resources being discovered as part of our drilling program. So if you wouldn't mind touching on that, that'd be excellent.

[00:46:17]Yeah, look um on the two payments the first one's guaranteed um and uh as you say so if you look at 9 months look at commissioning if we achieve what we believe then that payout will be third quarter 2027. The second one's very contingent on a growth profile within the um within the basin and there's still a long way to go five years before we'll know whether we're going to achieve the ounces additional to the resource uh or not to ensure that payment gets made. So, uh, first payment, uh, I I don't see any issues that it will be Q3 2023, sorry, 2027. Uh, the second payment, uh, again, you've got five years, and we'll just have to wait and see how that growth profile comes comes together as we, uh, as we grow the resource. So, resource will be in two stages just to give people an idea how that works. Um, you know, we started with a certain number. Uh, we're drilling extending that um, but we will be mining. So the depletion will also go will remain as part of that um that resource up until those five years even though we're depleting it that depletion stays within that resource number as we grow beyond that. So it's the total resource including depletion plus what we add and hopefully we get to the um the prerequisite so that the second CVR is going to be paid.

[00:47:40]>> Excellent. So then we got some questions on uh indication of dividend payouts in 2028 which we can't really touch on at this moment in time. It's a bit unclear.

[00:47:52]>> Yeah, look really Helen's piece of string. Let's let's just wait and see.

[00:47:56]And it's a board decision when we get there. It's it's my that's my plan. Um and but I still need board recommendation. I still need board approval. And we still need to see where the business is at. Now, everything that we want to achieve and we've got in our hands to do so, and we're very close to finalizing some other um additions to make that work, but again, until all of that comes into fruition, it's very hard to say.

[00:48:26]>> Excellent. And I think from our side, there's no other material questions that we haven't answered at this point. So, I think we've kept it within an hour, which is good effort, Darren. Brilliant.

[00:48:38]>> Thank you very much for answering all those questions. Um before we do ask investors to share their feedback, which I know is important to you, um Darren, if I could just ask you for a few closing comments to wrap up with, that would be great.

[00:48:50]>> Yeah, look, I I just want to say um to all those shareholders who have been with us for a long time, um thank you.

[00:48:58]Thank you for following us. Um I think the results and the the management and the board, u we appreciate it. Um but I think we've also shown that we can deliver for you uh for those people who are looking to come in new to the business. The the analysts are calling it a 33 share price without the next operation uh which we want to put in our books. So watch this space guys. Um we're only going to grow. Um we've got the team to do it. Uh we're located in two jurisdictions which we're very comfortable in and we're going to stick to our lane and make sure we can deliver. So we look forward to the future over the next three years and we look forward to you being part of that journey with us. Thank you.

[00:49:37]>> Perfect. Thank you Darren. Once again ladies and gentlemen ask that you don't close the session just yet as you'll now be automatically redirected to a page to give your feedback which helps the company better understand your views and expectations. On behalf of the management team, we'd like to thank you for attending today's presentation. I wish you all a good morning.