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| Statement |
|---|
| Séguéla and Yaramoko had a successful fourth quarter from both a safety and production perspective |
| It has been a good end of the year, and we look to an exciting 2024 |
| We achieved a record 136,000 gold equivalent ounces in the period as well and realized an average gold price of $1,990 per ounce, yielding record sales of $265 million |
| Enhanced production was the result of positive grade reconciliation to the reserve model in levels 16 and 18 of the Animas vein |
| Caylloma delivered strong base metal production in 2023, totaling 40.9 million pounds of lead and 55.1 million pounds of zinc, surpassing guidance by 28% and 15% respectively |
| While this investment weighs heavily on the company's AISC for this year, it will greatly benefit Lindero by allowing the placing of reserves over the next decade |
| Base metals with its exceptional lead and zinc production was 28.15% above guidance, respectively |
| The goal recovery for the quarter was 94.9%, slightly ahead of the 94.5% design recovery, benefiting from the higher head grade |
| And the property continues to offer tremendous discovery opportunities, which we are diligently pursuing with our exploration |
| Yaramoko's strong production performance delivered 28,235 ounces of gold, leading to 117,711 ounces of gold to the year, achieving the higher end of the revised annual production guidance |
| This increase was enabled by higher gold production and the extraction of 4,600 ounces contained in fine carbon and copper precipitate |
| In the short to medium term, both the Diamba Sud project in Senegal and the Séguéla mine in Côte d´Ivoire are our strongest drivers for growth and value |
| In the fourth quarter, Séguéla produced 43,096 ounces of gold, a 37% improvement compared to the previous quarter, and delivered 78,617 ounces of gold to 2023, outperforming annual production guidance by 5% |
| In 2023, our Latin American operations successfully delivered 130,310 ounces of gold, 5.9 million ounces of silver, 40.9 million pounds of lead, and 55.1 million pounds of zinc |
| As I always say, here we had at Yessi an exciting discovery |
| So, in the second half of the year, in the first two quarters of production, we have benefited from low strip ratios and a shorter haulage distance |
| Our total liquidity at the end of the quarter was $213 million, up $51 million from the end of September 2023, reflecting the strong free cash flow generation in the quarter |
| Development operations and diamond drilling success enabled further strike extensions of the 55 Zone ore body to the east of the expected mining boundaries, as well as strike extensions and mineable displays of the QV prime ore body at the Bagassi South mine |
| The enhanced production resulted in the cash cost and AISC at Yaramoko being below the lower end of annual guidance for the year at [$817] and $1,499 per ounce of gold, respectively |
| Fortuna had a strong close to 2023 |
| Jorge Alberto Ganoza I just want to stress that our business continues to show strength, from the perspective of free cash flow generation |
| These costs were partially offset by improved copper by-product sales, totaling $7.7 million |
| Consolidated gold production achieved guidance, enabled mainly by Lindero producing 101,238 ounces |
| Starting in Argentina, Lindero's gold production for the fourth quarter was 29,591 ounces, a significant increase of 41% when compared to the previous quarter |
| At Yaramoko, we have achieved a lot of success expanding reserves on the fringes of the Zone 55 deep ore body |
| We have a favorable debt-to-EBITDA ratio of under 0.3 and a total net debt of approximately $83 million |
| Both mines recorded zero LTIs and Yaramoko reached an exceptional milestone of three years LTI3 in 2023 and obtained ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications |
| Providing enhanced flexibility to our balance sheet through debt reduction is one of our capital allocation priorities in 2024, and we expect to achieve zero net debt during this year |
| Silver production for 2023 totaled 1,227,060 ounces, surpassing the upper end of guidance by 10% |
| This will assure adequate tailing storage for another two years of production at the increased throughput rates |
| Statement |
|---|
| The consolidated silver production was 7% below guidance due to San Jose's lower tonnage extracted from the mine, as it had to deal with a 15-day stoppage at the beginning of the year, operational difficulties thereafter, and reduced grade profile as we are operating at the tail end of reserves |
| The decrease in production, as I mentioned before, is attributed primarily to the 15-day illegal union blockade in the second quarter, the associated disruption to operations thereafter, a silver and gold head grade reconciliation to reserves at the lower end of guidance range, and a mine that offers less operational flexibility as it is working on the tail end of reserves |
| And for San Jose, this was mainly due to a shortfall of production in the quarter compared to the mine plan and lower head rates and the effect of the peso appreciation as noted by [indiscernible] |
| Total production for 2023 was 4.7 million ounces of silver and 28,559 ounces of gold, 12% and 16% below annual guidance, respectively |
| To note, cash cost and AISC have been affected by adverse in-country macroeconomic conditions during 2023, compounded by an increase in sustaining capital expenditures mainly related to the heap leach expansion project |
| The write-down of low-grade stockpiles at the Lindero mine was triggered by anticipated higher costs to completion over the life of mine |
| We continue to experience significant inflationary pressures in Mexico beyond what we see in other countries where Fortuna operates |
| The decreased processing tonnes are attributed to a planned shutdown for 11 days in December '23 |
| So for Q4 2023, we have recorded a net loss attributable to Fortuna shareholders of $92.3 million, explained by an impermanent charge of $90.6 million related to the anticipated closure of the San Jose mine in late 2024 |
| Higher costs are mainly explained by a significant appreciation of the Mexican peso, which affects approximately 50% of our total cost, in addition to higher labor, contractor material and consumable costs, lower ounces produced and lower head grades, all of which are also carried into 2024 estimates |
| The materials inventory write-downs are related to a reassessment of consumption plans at San Jose in the face of the shortened life of mine for $4.4 million with a balance corresponding to Yaramoko and Lindero |
| The main one is an impairment at San Jose, as I just mentioned |
| Finally, at the end of 2023, our total net debt was $83 million, down from $134 million in September of 2023 |
| A partial mill reline was undertaken in February, and we are now successfully further testing throughput constraints |
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