Filed by Coeur Mining, Inc. Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933 and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Subject Company: Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. Commission File No.: 001-33630 |
COEUR MINING, INC.
Moderator: Mitchell Krebs
12-17-14/10:000 a.m. ET
Confirmation # 50644810
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COEUR MINING, INC.
Moderator: Mitchell Krebs
December 17, 2014
10:00 a.m. ET
Operator: | Good morning. My name is (Suzanne) and I will be your conference operator today. | |
At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Coeur to acquire Paramount conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. | ||
After the speakers remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press the pound key. Thank you. | ||
Mitchell Krebs, you may begin your conference. | ||
Mitchell Krebs: | OK, thanks. Good morning, everybody, and thanks for joining us on such short notice to talk about our acquisition of Paramount Gold and Silver and to answer any questions you might have. | |
Weve put up a slide deck on our website, and please review the cautionary statements on slides two and three in there and the risk factors in our public filings for risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from any forward-looking statements we make on this call. | ||
Probably everyone on this call has been aware of Paramounts San Miguel assets located immediately next door to our Palmarejo operation. This has been a transaction or it is a transaction that makes a ton of sense for both |
COEUR MINING, INC.
Moderator: Mitchell Krebs
12-17-14/10:000 a.m. ET
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companies and has been a long time coming. You look around our industry and its hard to find a more logical, strategic acquisition with a bigger impact on the purchaser than this one. | ||
Weve talked a lot this year about the transition under way at Palmarejo and there are a lot of moving parts. Theres the new gold stream agreement with Franco-Nevada that will significantly reduce that burden going forward. Weve accelerated development at Guadalupe and that underground mine, and were already in the process of winding up open-pit operations and expect to be done with the open pit in the first half of 2015. And then we also expect to complete underground mining at the original Palmarejo underground by early 2016. | ||
So all of this will end up leaving our 6,000-ton-a-day processing facility with excess capacity which we can now use to process material from Paramounts high-grade Don Ese deposit. | ||
Don Ese has current M&I mineralized material of about 4 million tons with average grades close to 6.2 ounce per ton silver and about .082 ounce per ton gold. It extends over the shared property boundary onto our ground where it goes by the name of Independencia. | ||
And as our exploration efforts a Palmarejo have transitioned to higher-grade, underground targets, Independencia has been a real focus of ours. And we plan to put out an initial estimate of mineralized material from a small amount of drilling that we have done at Independencia in the next few weeks. | ||
So the combined Don Ese and Independencia deposit is located only about 800 meters north of Guadalupe. We plan to tunnel over to Don Ese and Independencia over the next 12 months at a cost of about $15 million and turn Don Ese and, eventually, Independencia into a second source of mill feed along with Guadalupe back to the Palmarejo processing facility. | ||
We expect to achieve production rates of about 2,500 tons a day from Don Ese and close to 2,000 tons a day from Guadalupe, which combined should result in average annual production of approximately 6 million ounces of silver and 110,000 ounces of gold annually over the next eight years. |
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12-17-14/10:000 a.m. ET
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This should be a very high-quality production profile that we expect will yield very strong free cash flow. It consists of much higher-grade material, it will benefit from the ongoing cost reductions were seeing at Palmarejo. The lower gold stream burden on Guadalupe that kicks in September of 2016 and then no gold stream burden on any Don Ese material will have a big impact on the free cash flow and the higher recovery rates that were seeing not only from Guadalupe and the Palmarejo side of things, but weve done a whole suite of met tests on the Don Ese ore to make sure we understand how that material will perform through our plant. And we expect to see some slightly higher recovery rates from the Don Ese material. | ||
This transaction has a lot of advantages for Coeur and our stockholders. Its low risk given its the same material and right there in the same area as our current development and mining activities, so we know the area, were familiar with it, weve been there since 2009. | ||
Its low capital. For $15 million well be into production there from Don Ese, and then that provides us with some near-term production growth and cash flow. | ||
It takes advantage, obviously, of the excess capacity and other infrastructure that will be available, especially as we transition away from the open pit and from the Palmarejo underground, so things like the workforce and equipment can be transitioned over from Palmarejo not only to Guadalupe, but now also to Don Ese and, ultimately, to Independencia as well. | ||
We see it as being very accretive to our net asset value per share and cash flow per share. And it really dramatically improves our projected cash flow, even in the current silver and gold price environment which is obviously a big point of focus for us all. | ||
Were confident theres a lot more high-grade material to be added through continued exploration along our shared boundary on known structures. | ||
And then it also, this transition adds a significant amount of additional silver and gold resources at seven other deposits there at San Miguel that provide us a lot of optionality on any future increases in silver and gold prices, although those other deposits dont factor into our near-term plans. |
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Just to cover a few transaction specifics, well be issuing 32.7 million new shares to Paramount stockholders, which equates to .2016 Coeur shares for each Paramount share. And that means on a pro forma basis, existing Paramount stockholders will own about 24 percent. Based on yesterdays closing prices on a 20-day VWAP basis, the premium is about 19.8 percent. And we expect closing to occur in the second quarter of 2015 after receiving regulatory and stockholder approvals. | ||
Paramounts Nevada assets will be spun off into a separate public company and Coeur will contribute $10 million in cash into that spinco and receive a 4.9 percent interest in that entity. And we have lockups on just over 18 percent of the existing outstanding Paramount shares. | ||
So just to wrap up, we see Don Ese being a significant near-term contributor of production and cash flow over a long mine life. And were really pleased to be adding the entire San Miguel package to Palmarejo. Combined, Palmarejo will be positioned to remain one of the largest silver and gold mines in Mexico with a very compelling future ahead of it. | ||
The timing makes a lot of sense for us as we continue the transition at Palmarejo. From Paramounts perspective, theyve progressed Don Ese a lot over the last few years. We now can see the impact on Palmarejo and on the company and how substantial that will be. And the synergies between the two are very obvious, theyre very unique and theyre very significant. | ||
So with that, wed be happy to take any questions you might have. | ||
Operator: | At this time, Id like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question simply press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Well pause for just a moment to compile a Q&A roster. | |
Your first question comes from the line Jorge Beristain. Your line is open. | ||
Jorge Beristain: | Hey, Mitch. This is Jorge with Deutsche Bank. |
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Mitchell Krebs: | Hey, how are you? | |
Jorge Beristain: | Good morning. I just wanted to just run through the financials just so I understand them from an enterprise-value point of view. But again, could you just walk us through? Youre issuing 20 percent more stock, so thats about $145 million, is it, of equity? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes, 143, I think, is the - 145 - | |
Jorge Beristain: | OK. And then youre additionally kicking in another $10 million to the spinco. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes. | |
Jorge Beristain: | So thats not going to be netted out from the equity, thats in addition. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes. | |
Jorge Beristain: | Right, so thats 153. And then you still would have to spend $15 million on development cap ex for the decline. Is there any other development cap ex we should be aware of so that you can get to those incremental 3 million ounces by 2016? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Thats it. There will be obviously the ongoing development cap ex of around $10 million a year in 2016 and beyond. But to get us up to the end of 2015 thats everything. | |
Jorge Beristain: | OK. So what Im having difficulty understanding with the transactions then is if youre spending about, from an enterprise-value point of view, close to $170 million, it seems like quite a lot when you compare it on a per-ounce basis. So Im just trying to understand how you would view this transaction to be cash flow of earnings accretive if just given what youre paying on a per- ounce basis for those incremental 3 million ounces youre paying about $170 million. | |
So if you could just kind of walk us through the math as to how you see it being accretive. Is it just a massive structural difference in the unit costs that youre expecting on the Don Ese side? You know, how do you come up with this accretion given the amount of share issuance youre having? |
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Mitchell Krebs: | Yes, a fair question. On an annual basis, this will add about 7 million ounces of silver equivalent if you just take the mine plan that we put out in July for the base case and of Guadalupe going forward. | |
The costs that we also put in that July presentation for underground mining of, I think, $53 a ton, processing of about $27 and then G&A of, I think, $17. | ||
As we look at what weve applied then to Don Ese, were using the same mining costs. Were using slightly lower processing costs given the need to only run that ore through the vat-leaching component of the Palmarejo plant. And then on the G&A, theres really a pickup there in terms of only applying the variable component of G&A which is about $5 a ton to the incremental production that will come out of Don Ese. And then applying the recovery rates of around 85 percent for silver and about 91 percent - 95 on gold from our test work. | ||
That results in a cash flow stream that is more than double what we expect to see out of just the base case plan. So you know, (net-net) on a per-share basis in the pickup is pretty significant for us. And not only is it, you know, in terms of cash flow starting in 2016, but its pushing us out then beyond what the mine life shows in the July mine plan that we put out. | ||
And so you know, 2017 or so, its about a 50/50 split between, in terms of ore back to the mill, between Guadalupe and Don Ese, but then the Don Ese component grows from there on a relative basis to become the primary ore source that extends the overall profile of the cash flow as cash. | ||
Jorge Beristain: | And could you quantify roughly what youre saving on mining the Don Ese ore and not having to pay the royalty is versus what youre currently? Would you be saving yourself, like, $3 per ounce on sort of a net silver-equivalent basis? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Thats pretty close. You know, once we go on to the new gold stream agreement, that just roughly will be call it 15 to $20 million a year. And so on |
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12-17-14/10:000 a.m. ET
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the incremental pickup of silver-equivalent ounces not subject to that, yes, thats about $3 an ounce. But that $20 million number is a pretty good proxy for what we expect to pay to Franco under the new terms from Guadalupe. And obviously, that wont apply to the Don Ese material. | ||
Jorge Beristain: | OK, thanks. Ill pass the Q&A along. Thank you. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | OK. Thanks, Jorge. | |
Operator: | A next question comes from Matthew OKeefe from Dundee Capital Markets. Your line is open. | |
Matthew OKeefe: | Thanks, Operator. | |
Good morning. The first caller really hit some of the - | ||
Mitchell Krebs: | Hi, Matt. | |
Matthew OKeefe: | - morning - hit some of the key points. But I was just wondering on the status of the resource and, you know, your understanding of the ore body. How detailed is that? What kind of due diligence did you do on this? And whats the permitting status of this project? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes, Ill hit the last question, Matt, and then Ill turn it over to Joe Phillips whos sitting next to me here and he can talk a little bit about the diligence. | |
But permitting-wise, thats another kind of synergistic area where we can take advantage of what we already have in place there at Palmarejo to develop over to the property boundary. | ||
As far as any new permits, none would be needed given that we would be developing from underground and not anticipating any new surface disturbances on any new ground that wed be acquiring. So no permitting considerations that factor into this. | ||
Joe, do you want to talk a little bit about the resource and the diligence that weve done? |
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Joe Phillips: | Right. Through extensive review of the resource work done by MDA for Paramount, the level of drilling in the Don Ese deposit is good. A large percentage of the resource is measured and indicated. And our ability to use existing mining costs, processing costs and actual costs for a mine next door has enabled us to advance and validate those numbers. So were very comfortable with it. | |
Matthew OKeefe: | And what about the key risks as far as development goes? Where do you see that? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | You know, Matt, Id say its ground conditions. You know, can we develop at the rates and at the costs per meter that were assuming? You know, there thats mitigated, to a large degree, by the fact that its - were developing now as we speak at Guadalupe and we expect something very similar. Weve done a lot of geotech work on this rock. But thats always a risk when youre doing any underground development. | |
The ejido that covers that ground is the same ejido that we work with on our side of the fence, so to speak. Mining (inaudible) the ability to mine using the methods that we anticipate. | ||
But you know, boy, you look at this compared to a standalone M&A opportunity and the risks are very - its a shorter list and, you know, were much more capable of mitigating them just because were already, you know, right there and weve been there. | ||
Matthew OKeefe: | Right. OK, well, that makes sense. Sounds like youve got a pretty full plate now. If I could ask this one more question, is that it then for M&A in the, you know, in the next sort of year or are you still looking around? Or I mean, with this full plate and capital requirements are you kind of done or are you still looking and what would you still be looking at? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Well, yes, we have an internal first focus given where were going with Kensington and the higher grades there, with the expansion that, I think, has validated itself at Rochester this year, theres more ahead there to keep us busy. And then, obviously, Palmarejo has a big year ahead of it. |
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And I say that, but yet, you know, we always have to be looking at ways we can improve the quality of the portfolio of assets that we have. And to the extent that there is something that improves our cash flow, reduces our costs, can generate a greater return, that is relative to other opportunities to allocate capital, is attractive. And we always have to have our eyes open on those kinds of things. | ||
And our first priority is executing on what I think now are very solid, credible plans underpinning each of our existing assets. | ||
Matthew OKeefe: | OK, that sounds good. And just to end off, so are we - I may have missed this - are we going to get sort of a revised mine plan then in the near term? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | So we will, in terms of a 43-101 at closing, well have an updated TR that will combine everything together, that will include an updated mine plan and the most likely convert a lot of this material thats currently in resources into reserves. So that will all be a part of what well put out when we close. | |
Matthew OKeefe: | OK. Great, thanks a lot. Well watch for a big year for executions. So thanks very much. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | OK, thanks. | |
Operator: | A next question comes from the line of Adam Graf from Cowen and Company. Go ahead, your line is open. | |
Adam Graf: | Good morning, guys. A couple of quick questions. I notice that the tunnel that you guys are putting in over to Independencia/Don Ese, youre going to cut across a number of structures that you guys have defined both on your ground and what appears to be extensions of structures that Paramount has defined and drilled on their ground. | |
Is there - is that going to be - are you guys going to be fast-tracking on the exploration side to hopefully define those structures and develop potential resources? | ||
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes. Thanks, Adam. |
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Hans, Ill have you talk about that. | ||
Just real quick, Adam, a key factor in doing this transaction, the fact that we will be cutting through, like you said, a few structures that have an underground development, some drill stations. We think we can drill out some new material a lot more cost-effectively, a lot quicker and get it into the mine plan. | ||
And so, you know, Hans has a lot to do next year on the underground-target side at Palmarejo really in a pretty tight area there in this, what hopefully will be become or is becoming a mining complex with quite a few structures sitting between Guadalupe and Don Ese. | ||
Hans, you want to add to that? | ||
Hans Rasmussen: | Yes. Adam, as you saw in our presentation in New York, we had been working on the Independencia structure, so we have been drilling that. So the best understood, in terms of resources, are Don Ese and then next is Independencia. We do have drill results in the Banco structure that indicate good mineralization. | |
And then as you probably saw from news releases from Paramount, they have drilled the Dana, but (early days) on that structure. | ||
So theres a lot to do. Our main focus in exploration will be near the tunnel because anything we can add in terms of resources and reserves in the future near the tunnel will fall right into the mill. So as you can see, weve got these structures identified on the map and those are mapped on surface. We do have mineralization on surface, very little drilling in most of those except for Independencia and Don Ese. So thats a full-court press for us for next year going after those ahead of the tunneling. | ||
Adam Graf: | It certainly looks like, you know, Paramount has a number of structures north of Don Ese that you guys dont show mapped. Are you guys going to start to chase those over the next, say, two years? |
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Hans Rasmussen: | Yes. Those would fall into the longer-term exploration programs, near term being closer to the tunnel and then those other three or four structures; two north of Don Ese and a couple south would fall into our longer-term exploration program. | |
Adam Graf: | And then maybe a question for both you and Mitch. You know, at San Miguel there are significant heap leach opportunities at San Francisco and San Antonio that Paramount has done some work on. And those, obviously because theyre heap leach opportunities, could probably be started pretty rapidly. Have you guys taken a look at those at current metal prices? And what would be the timing and infrastructure needs to potentially bring that heap leach opportunity online? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Hey, Adam, Ill have Joe - go ahead, Hans, and then Ill have Joe follow up after you. | |
Hans Rasmussen: | Ill defer to Joe. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | OK, Joe, go ahead. | |
Joe Phillips: | OK, and this is Joe. You know, weve taken a look at the heap leach opportunity. Frankly, theres a couple of the other identified deposits, La Union and San Miguel, which have much higher-grade ore and have a bit higher or near to midterm interest for us. So well continue to look at the heap leach, but dont see it right now as being a real high-priority, near-term target. | |
Adam Graf: | OK. And then just a follow up for that, Joe, if I can. You know, the high- grade underground opportunities at San Miguel and Union, would those be - youd portal into those and then take the high-grade ore on existing roads all the way around to the Palmarejo mill? Is that sort of the thought? Or would you put in a new road that was more direct? | |
Joe Phillips: | If I had to guess now, Id say itll end up being a new road. But having said that, we have not designed anything. But my gut tells me that thatll be substantially more economical. |
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Adam Graf: | You know, the terrain there is fairly mountainous so Id be curious on the capital cost there. | |
Joe Phillips: | I wouldnt know what to tell you yet on that. The good news is that a single road up into that area will probably serve three or four separate deposits. So you know, the capital cost of that will ultimately be spread out over quite a few tons. | |
Adam Graf: | And as you guys are seeing this now, you know, just with what you see, you know, nearby at Don Ese, south of Don Ese, north of Don Ese, you know, maintaining the, you know, similar grades, you know, whats your first take at how you see mine life extending just with that material? Do you think you can keep the mill close to full for, you know, closer to 10 years, 15 years, 20 years? Any thoughts there? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Oh, boy, the lawyers are looking at me with scowls. | |
Adam Graf: | That wouldnt be a good question if they werent. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes. You just wanted to make sure they were listening, right? But the 4 million tons of M&I at Don Ese with the grades that carries and with the costs that we have and the recovery, that really, in our view, makes the deal work and it justifies the deal. So we dont have to look for places to hang some additional value to justify this. So we can look just at that M&I and feel good about the kind of eight-year mine life that we talked about in our release and in the slides. | |
To your point, though, Adam, theres a lot more material beyond that 4 million tons. And even if prices dont go anywhere, even if prices go down, theres still more for us to do there to add more tons and ultimately extend the mine life. That work remains ahead. Im just really tickled that we have a very solid eight-year runway now ahead of us to buy us that kind of time to do that kind of work. And you know, as we go along well hopefully be talking about resource additions and mine-life extensions. | ||
Adam Graf: | Very good. Thanks, guys. I dont want to monopolize any more of your time. |
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Mitchell Krebs: | OK, thanks, Adam. | |
Operator: | A next question comes from the line of Chris Thompson from Raymond James. Go ahead, your line is open. | |
Chris Thompson: | Hey, Mitch, thanks for taking my call. Congratulations, by the way, guys. Just a couple of quick questions here. The NSR you mentioned in your press release, the San Miguel, .7 percent NSR for $5.25 million. Who owns that or who did own that? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Nobody. So thats a newly created NSR that we are taking back in exchange for providing $5 million, $5.25 million. More than anything, Chris, that was a way to get some cash into Paramount so that we and they could continue doing some very targeted drilling and other work between now and closing. | |
So if for some reason this deal doesnt happen, that royalty will remain and they continue with the - you know, wed retain a .7 percent NSR on San Miguel and theyd keep the $5.25 million. | ||
Assuming the deal closes, like we all do, then we can either cancel that or we can keep it inside Coeur capital and ultimately pay ourselves a royalty off of production from San Miguel. | ||
But it was more just a mechanism or structure to get some cash into Paramount so that we could keep going and keep progressing between now and closing. | ||
Chris Thompson: | OK, good. Just moving on, I guess, to your cap ex estimate, $15 million. Could you break that down? Is there - what Im looking for here is money thats going to be spent on refining the resource, upgrading it to reserves, obviously development expenditure, you know, a level of sort of underground stope expenditure. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes, Ill let Joe answer that, Chris. | |
Joe Phillips: | Yes, Chris. Good morning, this is Joe again. Roughly half to 60 percent of that is actually for the development of the underground deep finds and |
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ventilation facilities. There is some capital equipment, capital leases in that and the rest of it is just miscellaneous other development expenditures, minor infrastructure. | ||
Chris Thompson: | So you - are you happy as far as the M&A resource? Does that give you the confidence to make a production decision here? Or do you sort of see, you know, or foresee additional work being applied to drilling, for instance, by way of upgrading that to reserve status? | |
Joe Phillips: | Going back to the discussion from the previous caller, that $5 million, theres going to be some of that money thats going to be spent on some targeted drilling and in a couple of areas where we have some curiosity, including both resource, metallurgical and some geotech work that were going to get out of those holes. | |
Chris Thompson: | OK. And just remind me again, for Guadalupe, whats the underground mining method going to be deployed there? And is that the same as what you see for Don Ese? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Frank, do you want to talk a little bit about Guadalupe? | |
Frank Hanagarne: | Yes. Chris, this is Frank. Were developing there. As we come close to the end of the year here were looking forward to 2015 and well ramp up to around a 1,700-ton-per-day mine rate in 2015. And plans are in development to incrementally increase that in 16 and 17. | |
Chris Thompson: | Mining method? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes. Go ahead. | |
Joe Phillips. Yes, the mining methods that well be using here are very similar to what we currently use in our Palmarejo underground mine, a combination of transverse and (inaudible) stoping. | ||
Chris Thompson: | OK. And the - as far as the widths, for instance, at Don Ese, do you see the same sort of mining method being applied there? |
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Mitchell Krebs: | We do, Chris. The widths there are anywhere from 5 to 15 meters. This to us has a lot of similarities to the 76 clavo back at Palmarejo and the 108 that has really been the source of underground ore for us since 2009. Combined with Independencia, itll be a, you know, a new, significant, chunky ore body to complement or to supplement rather Guadalupe. | |
Chris Thompson: | Great. OK, guys, thats it for me. Congratulations again. Thanks. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | OK. Thanks, Chris. | |
Operator: | Your next question comes for the line of John Burgess from JPMorgan. Go ahead, your line is on. | |
John Burgess: | Hi, Mitch, everybody. Congratulations on the deal. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Hi, John. Thanks. | |
John Burgess: | Hi. In the Paramount paperwork, its just that theres an expiration agreement with the ejido. You say youre working with the same one. When are you going to start negotiating a deal for the extension on the property? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes, the exploration and then, ultimately, exploitation is something that agreement with that ejido is something that will need to be done. The development, though, from our side and underground doesnt really require any surface disturbance. So in terms of any - you know, we obviously will want to continue exploring at the very least, and we may want the flexibility of including exploitation rights as well, going forward, but thats not needed to get into Don Ese via underground and commence mining.
But look, they want to see the jobs and the, you know, the activity there. Theyre a constructive group and well, you know, well deal with them in the same way that weve deal with them historically. But its not an impediment to getting into production there. | |
John Burgess: | Yes, just as a follow on then and a practical question, how are you going to have a second access into this deposit for safety purposes? |
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Joe Phillips: | We can actually, from where we intersect the vein in this decline that were looking at, putting a ventilation (inaudible) back up onto our property if need be. | |
John Burgess: | OK. OK. Well, youll need a second access surely.
Joe Phillips. Thats correct. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes. | |
John Burgess: | Good. And theres a lot of commentary in the Paramount notes about the rock quality index. Youre saying its similar to what youve been working with. Is it more extreme or is it in the same ballpark?
Joe Phillips. Yes, its very similar. The good news that we havent really mentioned yet is the average dips over on the 76 and 108 clavos is about 45 to 50 degrees. The dip over here on the Don Ese is much steeper on the order of 65 to 70 degrees. So we feel like even with the same rock strength they will have better, much easier control of the (containment wall) and so on. | |
John Burgess: | Thank goodness for gravity. OK, thanks a lot. Well done, guys. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Thanks, John. | |
Operator: | Again, that is star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Your next question comes from Jorge Beristain from Deutsche Bank. Your line is open. | |
Jorge Beristain: | Hi, Mitch. Sorry, I just wanted to follow up on two things again on Palmarejo. If you could - it looks to us like youre exiting 2014 at roughly a $15 or a one-five cash cost at that mine. And if you could just kind of order of magnitude, give us a sense, because Ese is coming with a 7 percent better silver grade and 30 percent better gold grade, what you would see apples-to- apples being the unit cost there just for comparison if we were to kind of do it on a 2014 (inaudible). | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes. Ill start - just in my mind I go right to that July mine plan on a standalone basis. With the pickup in grades just a Guadalupe, I think we show then by 2017, 2018 some of that higher grade, really higher-grade material coming in and we see that on an apples-to-apples basis that unit cost going down well into the single digits. I shouldnt say well into, below 10. |
COEUR MINING, INC.
Moderator: Mitchell Krebs
12-17-14/10:000 a.m. ET
Confirmation # 50644810
Page 17
This has - you factor this in and the cost-per-ounce reductions are in the 10 to 15 percent range, so below that. | ||
Jorge Beristain: | So sorry, 10 to 15 percent below the expected outlook at Guadalupe. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Thats right. | |
Jorge Beristain: | OK. And then my other question is just, given the recent weakness in the Mexican peso, could you just talk a little bit about both the tailwinds that youre seeing on unit costs, both from oil and, well, obviously, underground is less sensitive, but just from mainly FX and if any oil tailwinds into 2015? And I do understand Mexico has a controlled oil price, so maybe its a non-issue there, but just maybe talk to the rest of the core as it relates to oil as well. Thanks. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | Yes. Ill start and then, Frank, fill in any gaps that I missed. But just to start at Palmarejo, the big impact obviously I think about it in two areas. One is just pure diesel costs. I think were budgeting in 2015 something like 15 percent lower diesel costs versus 14. And that was actually done a few weeks ago, kind of like catching a falling knife on that front.
So were clearly seeing some benefit there. That will translate also into lower cyanide costs just given the energy required to make cyanide. So we expect to see some benefits there as well.
At Kensington running on six diesel generators is a big beneficiary of these lower diesel prices. That will make a big difference there. And then, I mean, everywhere, with Rochester, with, you know, with all the mobile equipment there. Were set up there at Rochester to see a double-digit percentage decline in our unit cost and our cost-per-ounce there in 15 versus 14. And that plays a big part, not only on the fuel, but on the cyanide there as well.
Frank, did I leave anything out? |
COEUR MINING, INC.
Moderator: Mitchell Krebs
12-17-14/10:000 a.m. ET
Confirmation # 50644810
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Frank Hanagarne: | No, I you hit the nail right on the head. | |
Jorge Beristain: | And then just in terms of FX, can you give us a sense of how much the benefit could be into 2015 of the recent weakness in the peso? | |
Mitchell Krebs: | I think of our operating costs at Palmarejo, right about 50 to 60 percent of those are peso-based. So as we see that weakening continue, thats going to be a very nice tailwind to go along with those other benefits. | |
Jorge Beristain: | Perfect, thanks. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | OK, sure. | |
Operator: | This concludes todays question-and-answer session. I turn the call back over to Mitchell Krebs for closing remarks. | |
Mitchell Krebs: | OK. Hey, thanks a lot for your time. Again, I know its short notice. And thanks for all the questions. Feel free to reach out to any of us should you have any additional questions or need for information. And thanks for taking the time to dial in today.
And happy holidays to everybody and hopefully speak to you soon. Thanks. | |
Operator: | This concludes todays conference call. You may now disconnect. |
END
Additional Information and Where to Find It
The proposed transaction will be submitted to Coeurs stockholders for their consideration. In connection with the proposed transaction, Coeur will file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 that will include a joint proxy statement of Coeur and Paramount that will also constitute a prospectus of Coeur. In addition, SpinCo, a subsidiary of Paramount, intends to file a registration statement on Form S-1 that will constitute a prospectus of SpinCo. Investors and security holders are urged to read the joint proxy statement and registration statements/prospectuses and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC when they become available, because they will contain important information. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents (when available) that Coeur and Paramount file with the SEC at the SECs website at www.sec.gov. In addition, these documents may be obtained from Coeur free of charge by directing a request to investors@coeur.com, or from Paramount free of charge by directing a request to ctheo@paramountgold.com.
COEUR MINING, INC.
Moderator: Mitchell Krebs
12-17-14/10:000 a.m. ET
Confirmation # 50644810
Page 19
Participants in Solicitation
Coeur, Paramount, and certain of their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the proposed transaction under the rules of the SEC. Investors and security holders may obtain information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of Coeurs directors and executive officers in Coeurs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, which was filed with the SEC on February 26, 2014, and its proxy statement for its 2014 Annual Meeting, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2014. Information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of Paramounts directors and executive officers may be found in Paramounts Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2014, which was filed with the SEC on September 9, 2014, and its definitive proxy statement for its 2014 Annual Meeting, which was filed with the SEC on October 24, 2014. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources listed above. Additional information regarding the interests of these individuals will also be included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available.
Non-Solicitation
A registration statement relating to the securities to be issued by Coeur in the proposed transaction will be filed with the SEC, and Coeur will not issue, sell or accept offers to buy such securities prior to the time such registration statement becomes effective. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of such securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to appropriate registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
For Additional Information:
Bridget Freas, Director, Investor Relations
(312) 489-5910
Donna Mirandola, Director, Corporate Communications
(312) 489-5842
Mark Harnett, MacKenzie Partners
(212) 929-5877
Tim Lynch / Meaghan Repko, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(212) 355-4449
www.coeur.com