Orla Mining - Earnings Call - Q2 2025

Transcript

Speaker 5

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Orla Mining Ltd.'s conference call for the second quarter 2025 results. My name is Eric, and I will be your conference operator today. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. Please be advised that this call is being recorded. I would like to turn the meeting over to Andrew Bradbury, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Development. Please go ahead, Mr. Bradbury.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Operator, and welcome to Orla Mining Ltd.'s second quarter 2025 results conference call. We will be making forward-looking statements during today's call, and I direct you to the second and third slides of the presentation, which contain important cautionary notes regarding these forward-looking statements. All dollar amounts discussed today will refer to US dollars unless otherwise indicated. The Orla executive team is on the call this morning, and I'll now pass the call to Jason Simpson, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Speaker 6

Thanks, Andrew. Let me start by listing the Q2 highlights. The second quarter marked the first full quarter of production from Musselwhite Mine, following the closing of the acquisition at the end of February. This broader production base drove strong earnings and cash flow in our business. We also released the initial underground resource update for the next phase of Camino Rojo Underground and continue to explore the exciting Zone 22 discovery, which we hope will expand the resource and extend mine life. We also continue to advance our exploration programs in Canada, the United States, and across our broader land package in Mexico. More recently, we experienced a setback in the uncontrolled material movement event at Camino Rojo on July 23rd. The event occurred along a temporary north wall of the north section of the open pit and involved approximately 390,000 tons of material.

Most importantly, no one was injured, in part because of the early detection by the pit monitoring systems and critical decision-making by our site team based on that information. No equipment was damaged, nor was there any environmental impact from the event. However, we did need to temporarily pause in-pit mining as we completed a geotechnical assessment with our external consultants and established an action plan for safe restart. We have also adjusted the standard operating procedures within the pit to ensure ongoing safety. The material movement was bounded by two faults acting as release features from increased pore pressure due to rainfall and the steepness of the interwall angle.

The current action plan includes mining from surface downwards to push back 50 meters at the toe and 80 meters at the crest of the entire north wall to create a shallower pit wall angle and reestablish safe working conditions on the north side of the pit from the top down. The material from the north wall is predominantly oxidized, with an ore to waste strip ratio of 1 to 0.9 and an anticipated average gold grade of 0.74 grams per ton. This ore material will be crushed and stacked on the heap leach. Total ore tons to be removed is about 9 million tons, or approximately 250,000 ounces. This laidback is allowable under Mexican provisions for emergency remediation measures. To be clear, no material was lost or sterilized from this event, but rather deferred later in pit resequencing to ensure safe operations.

As a result of this deferral of production, we have revised our guidance at Camino Rojo for the year to 95,000 to 105,000 ounces of gold production at cash costs of $800 to $900 per ounce sold and all-in sustaining costs of $850 to $950 per ounce sold. This compares to initial guidance of 110,000 to 120,000 ounces of gold at cash costs of $625 to $725 and all-in sustaining costs of $700 to $800 per ounce sold. Based on the current action plan and Camino Rojo's updated pit sequencing, combined with the unchanged Musselwhite Mine guidance, our 2025 consolidated guidance is now expected to be in the range of 265,000 to 285,000 ounces of gold at cash costs of $900 to $1,100 per ounce sold and all-in sustaining costs of $1,350 to $1,550 per ounce sold.

This compares to previous guidance of 280,000 to 300,000 ounces of gold at cash costs of $850 to $1,050 per ounce sold and all-in sustaining costs of $1,300 to $1,500 per ounce sold. While this has been an unfortunate incident in what has been an otherwise seamless operation, I am very proud of the tools we had in place to prevent injury and also the way in which our team reacted to assess the situation, establish a safe restart plan, incorporating this learning into the operation going forward, which is back in production. Andrew Cormier, our Chief Operating Officer, will now discuss our operating performance.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Jason. During the quarter, Camino Rojo mined nearly 2 million tons of ore and 2.6 million tons of waste for an implied strip ratio of 1.33. A total of 1.7 million tons of ore was stacked at an average grade of 0.71 grams per ton gold, equating to an average daily stacking rate of approximately 18,500 tons. In addition, 0.9 million tons of low-grade ore were re-handled and placed on the leach pad at an average grade of 0.32 grams per ton gold. In total, 2.6 million tons of ore at an average grade of 0.57 grams per ton gold were placed on the heap leach pad during the quarter. Rehandling of low-grade stockpile was to offset the impact of mine resequencing to maintain the yearly plan. Total quarterly production for Camino Rojo was 25,145 ounces of gold.

The Camino Rojo team has started the site work to address the uncontrolled material movement on the north wall that occurred on July 23. I'd like to thank the entire team and our consultants for working extremely hard over the past three weeks. At Musselwhite, we recorded our first full quarter production. Musselwhite mined 303,000 tons of ore and milled 295,000 tons at a mill head grade of 5.52 grams per ton gold. Gold recovery rates of 96.5% resulted in gold production of nearly 53,000 ounces of gold. In all, the second quarter was a record period of production for the company. Onto our project pipeline and upcoming milestones. Orla Mining Ltd. continues to engage with local, state, and federal stakeholders to sustain momentum in the permitting process in the United States. We expect the publishing of the notice of intent for our South Railroad Project in the coming weeks.

Following the receipt of the notice of intent, we expect the record of decision in the third quarter of 2026 that allows construction to start with commissioning in Q4 2027 and gold production in early 2028. Our project team continues to work with M3 on the engineering for the project, potentially leading to procurement in the second half of 2025 to be prepared for onsite construction starting next year. Etienne Morin, our Chief Financial Officer, will now discuss financial results for the quarter.

Speaker 0

Thanks, Andrew. During the quarter, we sold a record 79,000 ounces of gold at a realized price of $3,251 per ounce, and that's including the impact of the gold prepay and resulting in approximately $264 million in revenue for the quarter. Consolidated cash costs and non-sustaining costs for the second quarter total $1,065 and $1,421 per ounce of gold sold, respectively. We recorded net income for the quarter of $48 million or $0.15 per share, and on an adjusted basis, we had adjusted net earnings of $64 million or $0.20 per share. Cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital was $103 million or $0.32 per share for the quarter. A total on capital expenditure, including capitalized exploration, was $25.5 million, of which $6.4 million was non-sustaining and related to capitalized exploration in both Mexico and Canada, and also included basic and detailed engineering in Nevada.

We had $19.1 million of sustaining capital, the majority of which related to mine development, PQ deep extension, and equipment purchases at Musselwhite Mine. During the quarter, we repaid $30 million towards our revolving credit facility, which was well ahead of schedule, and that reduces our net debt to approximately $205 million. On June 30, our cash balance was $215 million. We intend to use our strong cash positions to continue to deliver in the near term, while also preparing to finance the construction of the South Railroad Project in the medium term. Now I'll pass it over to our Senior Vice President, Exploration, Sylvain Guerard, who will now provide you with an update on the exploration activities.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Etienne. During the quarter, the company released an initial underground resource estimate for the Camino Rojo deposit, incorporating mineralization hosted in the Camino Rojo subsides and the underlying Zone 22. We are very satisfied with the results, which include 4.2 million gold equivalent ounces in the measured and indicated category and 0.42 million gold equivalent ounces in the inferred category. Zone 22 represents the vertical and down-dip continuation of the Camino Rojo subsides mineralization and remains a significant source of upside, as Zone 22 extends for another 1.2 kilometers, remains open, but currently only accounts for 7% of the current underground indicated resource and 19% of the underground inferred resource. An initial project PEA is planned for 2026. A 15,000-meter infill drill program started in early 2025, targeting the upper part of Zone 22, was completed on July 18th, with positive results released last week.

Drilling has consistently returned high-grade intersections of gold, silver, and zinc mineralization. Given the success to date, we are planning to expand the program by an additional 5,000 meters in 2025, continuing further infill and extension down plunge. The infill drill results will support an updated underground resource estimate for the Camino Rojo deposit, which is expected to feed into the planned 2026 PEA. We continue to advance our exploration programs across our portfolio with further updates to come in the second half of 2025. In Canada, underground and surface exploration programs were active throughout the second quarter. Four underground exploration drill rigs and four surface drill rigs will continue drilling throughout the rest of the year.

A portion of the assay results from the underground drill program have started to arrive and are currently being reviewed and interpreted, while results from the surface program are expected in the second half of 2025 and early 2026. In Nevada, three drill rigs were turning during the quarter, testing extensions of known deposits and new targets, with four expected to be drilling across multiple targets in the second half of the year. In Mexico, regional exploration was initiated in Q2 and will continue through the rest of the year. Silvana Costa, our Chief Sustainability Officer, will now provide an update.

Speaker 4

Thank you, Sylvain. I'm glad to share that we are about to publish our 2024 Sustainability Report in alignment with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures Standards. We are highlighting another year of meaningful progress in embedding sustainability across Orla's business. Please look for this report on our website in the days ahead. You will learn that we deepened our climate efforts with our first Scope 3 emissions assessment and continue to deliver strong environmental performance at Camino Rojo, including low emissions in water use, as well as the introduction of four new environmental standards to strengthen how we manage water, biodiversity, air, and hazardous materials. We also advanced our work with local communities, expanded hiring from surrounding areas, and supported innovative projects like a community poultry farm that promotes food self-sufficiency and technical training.

We remain focused on aligning business growth with responsible practices that benefit the people and the ecosystems around us. This year's report is another step forward in building a culture of accountability, learning, transparency, and long-term value. During the second quarter, we maintained community engagement and strategic community investment initiatives at Camino Rojo, Musselwhite Mine, and South Railroad Project, while maintaining a focus on environmental performance, fulfilling our social commitment, and advancing permitting processes in both Mexico and Nevada. This last quarter was particularly active in engaging with regulators and other key stakeholders about permitting. In Mexico, we continued transparent and constructive dialogue with relevant state and federal level agencies and had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with key members of the environmental regulators about our current permit application and are now working on responses to additional questions we received from them.

Based on this dialogue and regulatory timelines, we expect a positive resolution late this year. In Nevada, beyond active engagement with regulators, as we prepare for a public scoping period, we have continued to engage with a variety of stakeholders to consolidate support for the project, understand and address questions and concerns, and widely share information about the South Railroad Project. At Musselwhite Mine, a special ceremony took place in June, including the annual blessing of the water by representatives of our Indigenous partners. The ceremony is unique to Musselwhite Mine and acknowledges the intangible cultural heritage of our neighboring First Nations. On the people front, in the second quarter, we continue to prioritize a smooth transition for the Musselwhite Mine. As we grow, we welcomed over 100 new team members at Musselwhite Mine alone and continue to advance our bespoke leadership training program across the three jurisdictions.

With that, I'll hand the call back to Jason.

Speaker 6

Thank you, Silvana. Before we close, I want to directly note some comments included in our quarterly disclosure. While addressing labor practices at the Camino Rojo mine in Mexico, we are also reviewing potential criminal activity and looking into the regional security risks affecting the mine and neighboring communities. We have voluntarily contacted relevant authorities and are cooperating. Although we don't have further details to share at this stage, the review has not affected the operation of Camino Rojo mine. To recap, in the second quarter, Orla recorded its first full quarter of production from Musselwhite Mine, resulting in a record quarter of production. We released the initial underground resource for the Camino Rojo sulfides, as well as additional exploration results from the prospective Zone 22 discovery, and continued to make progress across our exploration programs.

While the pit wall event at Camino Rojo was a temporary setback, it has reinforced the importance of our technical planning, risk management, and operational discipline. The team acted quickly to implement a comprehensive geotechnical action plan that prioritized safety, reinforces slope stability, and allows for the continued ore recovery during the pushback. Looking forward to the remainder of 2025, we have several upcoming catalysts for Orla, including continued integration of Musselwhite Mine and initial assay results from the 2025 exploration program, permitting milestones in both Mexico and Nevada, a resource update for the South Railroad Project, and an updated feasibility study for our South Railroad Project, as well as construction planning information. We continue to execute on our proven strategy to generate value to the benefit of all of our stakeholders.

Thank you to our teams in the countries where we operate, whose commitment and delivery are driving this business forward. At this point, I'd like to open the call to questions and hand it back to the office.

Speaker 5

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, please press star, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. Your first question comes from the line of Wayne Lam with TD Securities. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thanks. Morning, guys. Maybe just at Camino Rojo, could you give us a bit more detail on what drove the larger amount of stockpile drawdown in Q2? I guess, absent the pit wall event, as you continue to operate without the permit for the layback, can you speak to some of the modifications to the mine plan that need to be made, and do you continue to anticipate an elevated level of stockpile drawdown until you receive the permit?

Speaker 6

Yeah, thanks, Wayne, for the question. To try and work through your sequence of inquiries there, we do, and I'll start from the last one. We do anticipate continuing to stack the low-grade stockpile for the remainder of the year, as you know, an additional source of gold production that's available to us and doesn't require crushing. The crusher, of course, will be fully optimized and utilized. Most of the material being fed into that crusher will come from the material movement on the north wall, and that will continue throughout this year and into next as we mine down through that material that I described in the call. As we outlined, all of that computation of the usage of the stockpile combined with the mine tons from the north wall are what have guided our updated information on guidance for Camino Rojo.

Maybe you can help me with any parts that I missed.

No, that's great. Thank you. Maybe just on the action plan that's been outlined, obviously good to see that come together pretty quickly with no injuries from the event. Just to confirm, that 9 million tons that will be removed, that's able to be placed onto the pad immediately, even though it falls outside the permit. I guess just in terms of the revision in the guidance, what would be the timeline to restart use of the basis for that? Does that also account for the commentary on the revised permitting timeline now to expecting a positive decision late this year?

Yeah, I'm going to separate the two matters. Let's talk about the material movement and the 9 million tons that you described. That action plan that we outlined in our guidance update last week is already underway. The mechanics of it, of course, are reestablishing diversion channels, establishing the ramp into the north wall, and mining from the top down in a safe manner. Obviously, at a cadence of about 19,000 tons per day, we'll crush and stack that material onto the pad. As it relates to the permitting, it's allowable under Mexican legislation because we need to prepare that area and restabilize it. That's why we're permitted to do that. Separate from that is the larger layback that we've had in the permitting process for some time. The updated timing that we're communicating about that is based upon active conversations with the labor authority. There are two separate processes.

The work that we're doing as a result of the pit wall movement is separate from the work that we're doing with the federal authorities on the larger layback permit. Speaking to the larger layback permit, including myself, our Chief Sustainability Officer, and our Chief Operating Officer have been on various conversations with both federal economy agents as well as SEMERNAP. As Sylvana talked about in the call, those good dialogues have resulted in us being on track as a normal part of the SEMERNAP process. They have asked questions for additional clarification on issues. We're answering those questions. Once we've wholesomely and fully answered all of their questions, they'll be in a position to give us a positive resolution. I'm very optimistic that we're moving forward in Mexico with the larger layback. In the meantime, we'll be mining this year and next.

Okay, great. Just to follow up on the revised 2025 production guidance, what does that, like, what was the basis in terms of the timeline used to getting there?

Yeah, so we obviously had to temporarily suspend operations, so that had to be considered. At the point that we, and the time we did that, so that we were suspended, we were stacking low-grade stockpile, not the same grade as in-pit material. That had to be considered in the updated guidance. Differently, the mine sequencing that we would have been doing has had to be changed because we have material to move to stabilize that north wall, and that needs to come first. The difference in the update to guidance is considerate of all that. Us restabilizing that north wall first, it's for material, so that will be crushed and stacked, but we'll defer the benching deeper in the mine, likely sometime next year.

That's what we used to update the guidance, is substitution of the benched material originally in the plan with the new material on the north wall that's in the updated revised plan. All of those ounces over the coming years will be extracted.

Okay, great, thanks. Maybe just last one, just at Musselwhite Mine, just wondering if you can maybe comment on the cost and the grade profile there. Should we be expecting kind of a sequential improvement on the operating costs as you continue to, as you get operating into the mine? Just on the grade profile, are the lower grades over the past two quarters just a function of sequencing and the ramp-up in tonnage outside of the PQ deeps? Just looking at the mine plan next year with the uplift in grades towards 6.9 grams a ton, is that still a reasonable expectation or should we continue to see a bit more tonnage offset by slightly lower grades?

On the cost, I think I would characterize it the same way as you just have. We'll be making improvements over time on the cost profile at Musselwhite Mine, starting with fully severing from Newmont Corporation and some of the costs that are associated with that. Then moving into more of an Orla Mining Ltd.-organized mine and the kind of costs that we can have demonstrated and can have at Musselwhite Mine. Finally, as normal in any operation, looking for cost-saving measures in 2026 that can bring our costs down at Musselwhite Mine, between $1,300 and $1,500 an ounce is where we would be striving for on a consistent basis. When combined with Camino Rojo, of course, that takes us even lower into the first quartile of global gold producers, which is where we want to be.

As it relates to grade, we have no concern over the annual nor life of mine grade in the mine plan for Musselwhite Mine, but we do have quarter over quarter fluctuations of plus or minus 5%. On an annualized basis, we're confident that we have the appropriate grade scheduled and profiled. The effects, as most people appreciate in an underground mine, are entirely contributing to whether you're mining higher grade development headings or more average grade stoping, the particular grades of the sequence of stopes in different parts of your body. Finally, making sure that you're containing and restraining any dilution that has a negative effect on grades. That's our team at Musselwhite Mine needing to manage that to deliver the grades on an annual basis on plan. We are fully acknowledging that and comfortable with fluctuations month over month, quarter over quarter.

We're very confident in the grade of Musselwhite Mine, and we look forward to providing some additional information based on the exploration work that Sylvain Guerard and the Musselwhite Mine team have done at site that he described, which will reinforce our thesis of the benefits of grade at Musselwhite Mine.

Okay, perfect. Looking forward to those exploration results. Thanks for taking my questions.

Speaker 5

Your next question comes from the line of Andrew Mikicek with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Andrew, you there?

Speaker 5

There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the call back over to Jason Simpson, President and CEO, for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Thank you for the questions, and I would like to thank everyone for their time on the call today. Never hesitate to reach out to Orla Mining Ltd. should you have any follow-up questions. We are available. Thank you.

Speaker 5

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining, and you may now disconnect.