SSR Mining Inc Aktie

Hello, and welcome to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of SSR Mining Inc. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. If you participate in today's meeting and disclose personal information, you will be deemed to consent to the recording, transfer and use of same. If you disclose personal information of another person in today's meeting, you will be deemed to represent and warrant to Computershare and the corporation that you first obtained all required consents for the disclosure, recording, transfer and use of such personal information from all appropriate persons [Operator Instructions]. It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to the Executive Chair, Mr. Rod Antal. The floor is yours.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Rod Antal, the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of SSR Mining. I would like to welcome you to the company's 2026 Annual Meeting. The Board of Directors of the company has delegated to me the authority to lead the meeting of shareholders today. As the company's meeting is being held virtually, I would like to set out a few rules for the orderly conduct of the meeting. Questions can be submitted today by any registered shareholder or duly appointed proxy holder using the Q&A tab of the virtual meeting interface.

Any questions regarding procedural matters or directly related to the motions before the meeting will be addressed after the presentation of all business items. All other questions will be addressed during the question-and-answer period at the conclusion of the formal part of the meeting. When asking a question, please indicate your name and which entity you represent, if any. For the purpose of the meeting, voting on all matters will be conducted by electronic ballot.

Please note the polls are open for electronic voting now and will remain open until later in the meeting. Only registered shareholders as of the record date as recorded in our stock register at the close of business on March 9, 2026, and duly appointed proxy holders who have not voted in advance of the meeting may vote during the meeting. Importantly, if you are a registered shareholder or a duly appointed proxy holder and have already voted by submitting your proxy form or voting instructions form in advance of the meeting, it is not necessary for you to vote again today.

With those guidelines in mind, we will now proceed to the formal portion of today's meeting. I now ask that the company's 2026 Annual meeting come to order. For the purposes of this meeting, I appoint Eric Gunning, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the company, to act as Secretary. The company's registrar and transfer agent is Computershare Investor Services Inc. For the purposes of this meeting, I appoint Computershare through its representatives to act as scrutineer of the meeting to compute the votes of the polls taken at this meeting and to report the results to me as Chairman.

The purpose of today's meeting are set out in the company's proxy statement dated March 25, 2026. Unless there are any objections, I will forgo the reading of the notice of the meeting. The scrutineer has provided confirmation that the meeting materials were mailed to all holders of common shares on or about March 27, 2026 and that proper notice of the meeting has been given.

Please note that copies of the meeting materials, including the proxy statement, are available on the company's website and the company's profile on EDGAR and on SEDAR. I have before me and meeting a preliminary scrutineers report indicating that there is a sufficient number of shareholders and proxy holders present to constitute a quorum. I therefore declare that a quorum of shareholders as required under the company's articles, is present and that the meeting is regularly called and properly constituted for the transaction of the business. I will now deal with the business of the meeting. The company's articles provided that as Executive Chairman, I may propose a motion and that no motions need to be seconded. In the interest of expediting the business of the meeting, I will move all motions to be proposed.

As the first item of business on the agenda for today's meeting, I now present the company's audited financial statements for the financial year ending December 31, 2025, together with the auditor's report to the shareholders thereon. Copies of these documents have been mailed to shareholders who requested them and are available on the company's website and on the company's profile on EDGAR and on SEDAR plus. It is not proposed that they be read at this meeting.

Any questions relating to or discussions of the company's audited financial statements and auditor's report will be heard until the question-and-answer period at the conclusion of the formal part of today's meeting.

The next item of business is the election of directors. The directors be elected by shareholders of the company shareholder office until the close of business of the first Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the company following election or until their successors are elected or appointed. The following individuals have been nominated as directors for the ensuing year or until their successors are elected or appointed and are prepared to stand for election as directors as set out in the company's proxy statement. The individuals standing for election as directors are myself, Rod Antal, Thomas R. Bates, Jr., Brian R. Booth, Alan P. Krusi, Daniel Malchuk, Laura Mullen, Kay Priestly and Karen Swager.

I move to elect all the nominees as directors of the company. The next item of business is the shareholder's advisory nonbinding vote on executive compensation. The company endorses a pay-for-performance approach for executive compensation in order to reinforce the linkages between compensation and the company's strategic objectives and risk management processes. A detailed discussion of the company's executive compensation program is provided in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of the company's proxy statement.

The company has conducted a say-on-pay advisory vote since and 2016. The purpose of the say-on-pay advisory vote is to give shareholders a formal opportunity to provide views on the disclosed objectives of the executive compensation plans. As this is an advisory vote, the results will not be binding upon the Board. As in past years, the company will disclose the results of the shareholder advisory vote as part of its reporting on voting results for this meeting.

I move to approve on a nonbinding advisory basis, the company's approach to executive compensation as set out in the company's proxy statement.

The next item of business is the appointment of the company's independent registered public accounting firm. The company's current independent registered public accounting firm is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, also known as PwC. The Audit Committee has approved the reappointment of PwC for the ensuing year. I move to ratify the appointment of PwC as the independent registered public accounting firm for the company the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026 and until the next annual meeting.

Unless there are any questions on any of the motions before the meeting we'll now pause, finalize and submit all electronic ballots. As mentioned, the polls are open for voting by electronic ballot.

As a reminder, if you are a duly appointed proxy holder who has already voted in advance of the meeting, it is not necessary for you to vote again today. All registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders who have properly logged in with your control number or user name and wish to vote, please register your votes at this time. Once the electronic balloting closes, your votes will automatically be submitted.

The polls are now closed. I ask that the scrutineer compile the report regarding the results of voting on all business matters. Note, the results will be published by the company on EDGAR, on SEDAR Plus and by press release. Based on provisional results from the ballots and proxies deposited for the meeting, I declare that all resolutions have passed.

I direct that the results of the poll be included with the minutes of this meeting. Thank you.

This completes the matters of business to be conducted as set out in the notice of meeting. I therefore move that the meeting be terminated.

As there is no further business to come before the meeting, I declare the formal part of the meeting to be concluded.

I will now open the meeting for any questions. [Operator Instructions] We will now give attendees a moment to submit any questions.

There being no further business or questions, we will now conclude the meeting. Thank you for your attendance today.

This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to SSR Mining's First Quarter 2026 Conference Call. This call is being recorded. At this time, for opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to Alex Hunchak from SSR Mining. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining today's conference call to discuss SSR Mining's first quarter 2026 financial results. Our consolidated financial statements have been presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These financial statements have been filed on EDGAR and SEDAR, and they are also available on our website. There is an online webcast accompanying this call, and you will find the information to access the webcast in this afternoon's news release and on our corporate website. Please note that all figures discussed during the call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Today's discussion will include forward-looking statements, so please read the disclosures in the relevant documents. Additionally, we refer to non-GAAP financial measures during our discussion and in the accompanying slides. Please see our press release for information about the comparable GAAP measures.

Rod Antal, Executive Chairman, will be joined by Michael Sparks, Chief Financial Officer; and Bill MacNevin, EVP, Operations and Sustainability on today's call.

I will now turn the line over to Rod.

Great. Thank you, Alex, and good afternoon to you all. It's been a strong and productive start to the year, and I'm proud of the outstanding work delivered across the company in the recent months.

Most notably, in March, we announced in advance a definitive agreement to sell our interest in the Copler mine for $1.5 billion in cash. This transaction is progressing well, and we expect it to close before the end of the third quarter of 2026. The divestment of Copler provides a strategic repositioning for SSR Mining as a focused Americas-based gold and silver producer with a clear emphasis on free cash flow generation.

Our portfolio is now anchored by the Marigold and Cripple Creek and Victor operations, 2 high-quality, long-lived assets that together form the third largest gold production platform in the United States. Both operations offer meaningful runway for future growth and mine life extensions. Operationally, it was a solid quarter with our results tracking well against our internal plans and full-year guidance.

Financially, the business generated an impressive free cash flow of more than $210 million in the first quarter of the year. As a result, and following the settlement of our convertible notes at the end of March, we finished the quarter with more than $630 million in cash and 0 debt.

Our substantial cash position provides us with a robust balance sheet and flexibility to continue to invest in the organic growth opportunities across the portfolio and consideration for further capital returns to shareholders in the future. On that note, we completed the $300 million in share repurchases, acquiring more than 9 million shares subsequent to the quarter in April just passed.

Since 2021, we have repurchased over 29 million shares at an average price of $21 per share, underscoring our disciplined capital allocation strategy and delivering meaningful per share value accretion to our shareholders.

I'm sure you will agree that after a busy and successful first quarter, we have created a very strong position for SSR moving forward. We expect our low-risk Americas-focused platform and track record of disciplined capital allocation will position SSR Mining as an attractive vehicle for investors seeking exposure both to gold and silver in the Americas.

Before I move on to the next slide, I want to highlight some of the catalysts ahead for our business. First, we expect to provide an updated Life of Mine plan for Marigold in the coming 12 months, incorporating growth opportunities like Buffalo Valley as we push to optimize and extend mine life at Marigold.

Next, we are continuing to advance various brownfield growth opportunities across the business, including both Puna and Seabee and Bill is going to speak more on these in the coming slides. Further, we anticipate providing an update on our strategic review of Hot Maden in the coming months.

Lastly, as noted, we expect the Copler transaction to close before the end of the third quarter, which will add a further $1.5 billion in cash to our balance sheet. These catalysts in and of themselves present an opportunity to create additional value for our shareholders and will be further bolstered by the ongoing free cash flow from our Americas operations.

Let's move on to Slide 4 and talk more about our track record of value creation. The figures on this slide illustrate a powerful picture of discipline and value creation. Over the past few years, we have clearly demonstrated a track record of value creation in per share metrics, capital returns and M&A. I've spoken to our commitment to capital returns and particularly share buybacks, but separately, we also have a clear track record of value-accretive M&A. This was most recently illustrated by the remarkable returns being generated from the acquisition of Cripple Creek and Victor in 2025. This is further supported across the portfolio where we have consistently demonstrated our ability to add value through mine life extensions and optimizations.

These successes, combined with a supportive gold price environment have driven a more than 300% increase in our consolidated consensus net asset value per share since 2024 and a better than 400% increase in consensus cash flow per share over the same period, a fantastic outcome that differentiates SSR amongst its peers.

I'm going to turn over to Michael on Slide 5 to discuss the quarterly results.

Thank you, Rod, and good afternoon, everyone. In the first quarter, we produced 110,000 gold equivalent ounces at all-in sustaining costs of $2,433 per ounce, well aligned with our expectations. As highlighted in our guidance release, we continue to expect 55% to 60% of full-year production in the second half with higher sustaining capital spend in the second and third quarters. Bill will speak in more depth about each operation in the coming slides, but I wanted to call out 2 notable milestones from the Q1 results.

First, Puna delivered more than $120 million in site level free cash flow in the quarter, an excellent result that reinforces Puna's position as one of the highest margin primary silver mines globally. We are excited about the opportunities for meaningful mine life extensions in Argentina and are advancing these programs through 2026.

Second, following another strong quarter from CC&V, the operation has now generated approximately $325 million in mine site free cash flow since its acquisition in 2025. This is a phenomenal result given the $275 million acquisition cost and the long mine life ahead for the operation. Overall, a strong and solid start to the year operationally, and we look forward to building on this momentum through the rest of the year.

Now let's move to Slide 6 for a brief review of our financial results. Our solid operational results translated into strong first quarter financials, including nearly $600 million in revenue from 113,000 ounces of gold equivalent sales. With the sale of our ownership in Copler announced in March, the asset is now classified as a discontinued operation in our financial reporting. The results from discontinued operations largely reflect a onetime non-cash adjustment to fair book value on the announcement of the sale of Copler.

Looking at the rest of the business, net income from continuing operations in the first quarter of 2026 was $1.16 per diluted share, while adjusted net income per diluted share was $1.15. Free cash flow from continuing operations in the quarter was $211 million. This strong free cash flow increased our cash position to $634 million at the end of Q1, inclusive of the $87.5 million contingent payment made to Newmont during the quarter as part of the CC&V transaction.

Also during the quarter, we fully redeemed our outstanding convertible notes, leaving the balance sheet debt-free at the end of March and with total liquidity of $1.1 billion. As Rod mentioned, subsequent to quarter end, we completed $300 million of share repurchases under our buyback program, reflecting our continued commitment to shareholder returns.

Looking ahead, we expect our ongoing free cash flow, combined with proceeds from the sale of Copler before the end of the third quarter of 2026, will further strengthen the balance sheet and enhance our ability to continue to allocate capital with discipline while prioritizing high-return growth opportunities and long-term value creation.

Before turning the call over to Bill, I'll briefly touch on global cost pressures with a focus on fuel. At Marigold and CC&V, nearly 70% of our diesel exposure is currently mitigated through 0 cost collars executed in late 2025, which extends through the end of 2026. At Seabee, diesel is secured through annual winter road deliveries and at Puna, we are not currently seeing meaningful impact given domestic supply conditions.

As a guide for the remainder of 2026, for every $10 per barrel increase in oil prices, it translates to approximately $7 to $10 per ounce increase in our consolidated AISC. We will continue to monitor fuel markets closely as we continue to maintain a disciplined focus on cost control and operation efficiency across the portfolio.

Now over to Bill on Slide 7.

Thanks, Michael. I'll first start with EHSS. Getting our people home safe and healthy each and every day is foundational for our business. This is highlighted in one of SSR Mining's 3 core values being safety first always. This year, as part of our ongoing improvement focus, we're commencing implementation of I Care, We Care across SSR.

This is a safety leadership and culture program, prioritizing people and how we each own and take responsibility for ourselves, our workplace and our teams. I'm very encouraged by the energy and input coming through from this early work and look forward to this making a difference on both people safety and overall business performance.

Now on to Slide 8 to start with Marigold. Marigold had a solid start to the year with production results well aligned with expectations. We continue to expect full-year production at Marigold will be 55% to 60% weighted to the second half of the year, driven largely by higher grades stacked midyear. AISC at Marigold are expected to peak in the second quarter of 2026, driven by timing of spend on fleet replacements and upgrades.

Full-year AISC remains on track against the original guidance range, though we are seeing cost pressures stemming largely from higher royalty costs driven by gold prices. Nearly 3/4 of our diesel fuel usage at Marigold and CCV is hedged for this year, which has helped to insulate us against the current elevated fuel prices globally. Our focus remains on equipment productivities, maintenance quality and efficiency with consumables to manage current and potential future inflationary pressures.

Work continues on growth initiatives across Marigold, particularly at Buffalo Valley as we work to include the project into an updated Life of Mine plan at Marigold within the next 12 months. We've also had some great results from near-mine drilling across the property, including some high-grade intercepts to DG80 target to the southwest of the current Mackay pit.

Our teams are also continuing to evaluate longer-term open pit expansions at New Millennium. These initiatives, combined with additional near-mine drilling campaigns and project evaluation work point to significant potential for mine life extensions at Marigold in the future. We're excited by what's ahead and look forward to providing more details in the new technical report.

Now on to Slide 9 for an update on CC&V. CC&V had another great quarter with better-than-expected recoveries driving strong production and delivering more than $120 million in mine site free cash flow. Since acquisition at the end of last February, CC&V has now generated $325 million in free cash flow, an excellent result that now exceeds the total transaction consideration in just 12 months.

CC&V remains well on track against its full-year production and cost guidance targets with higher sustaining capital expected in the second and third quarters. We are continuing to evaluate opportunities to improve the longer-term production cost profile of CC&V through trade-off studies and potential for future mineral reserve conversion. CC&V has an exciting future ahead, and we look forward to continuing to deliver value at that operation going forward.

On to Slide 10 to discuss operations at Seabee. First quarter at Seabee saw our continued focus on underground development as we aim to deliver stronger grades and production in the second half of the year. Production was also impacted by extreme cold in the quarter, which caused some temporary downtime in the processing plant. ASIC reflected costs incurred with the winter road season and overall, Seabee remains on track for its full-year guidance ranges.

Exploration and resource development activities at both Santoy and Porky continued in the quarter with both programs targeting potential mineral reserve growth. At Santoy, near-mine drilling is focused on higher grades at depth, while our teams continue to evaluate Porky as a potential new mining front to support future mine life extension.

Now on to Puna on Slide 11. Puna continued its recent run of excellent operating results with a strong first quarter. Average daily processing plant throughput set another record. The fifth consecutive quarter Puna has delivered improvements in process plant efficiency. As planned, mining was focused on waste stripping in the quarter, and Puna remains well on track for full-year production and cost guidance.

Average realized silver prices in the first quarter of 2026 exceeded $90 per ounce, enabling Puna to deliver more than $120 million in mine site free cash flow in Q1. Puna has been an excellent contributor for the business over the last few years and continues to clearly demonstrate its exceptional margins and free cash flow in the current silver price environment.

We're advancing a number of opportunities to extend the current life at Puna, including additional laybacks at the existing Chinchillas pit, evaluation of the Melina target adjacent to Chinchillas for open pit potential in the medium term and continued advancement of the Cortaderas underground project. With multiple avenues for growth at Puna, we're very excited for the future of this operation and see potential to meaningfully extend the mine life well beyond our initial current reserve base.

On to growth on Slide 12. I've touched on the majority of these projects and targets worked through each asset, but it's still worth highlighting the wealth of potentially meaningful growth opportunities that currently exist across our portfolio. These projects that we have identified through successful exploration and development work completed at each asset in recent years, in my view, there is no better way to serve value for our shareholders than through the advancement of organic growth opportunities.

It's also important to note these projects are compelling at current mineral reserve prices of $1,700 per ounce of gold and $20.50 per ounce silver. We do certainly see future upside on each of these assets when spot prices are considered, but we will be diligent in ensuring we advance the highest returning growth opportunities. I'm excited about the growth potential of this portfolio and look forward to executing on the opportunity to deliver value for our shareholders.

Now I'll turn it back to Rod for closing remarks.

Great. Thanks, everyone. With such an important and transformational quarter behind us, our focus is now building on this momentum during the remainder of the year. We are in excellent position and have a number of meaningful catalysts ahead of us, as I mentioned in the introduction to this call. With the low-risk Americas-based business, continued delivery of strong operating results, organic growth initiatives and the potential for further capital returns, we are well positioned to benefit from the ongoing rerate of SSR Mining.

With that, I'm going to turn the call over to the operator for any questions. Thank you.

[Operator Instructions]. Our first question is from George Eadie with UBS.

Nice update today. On the Hod Maden strategic review, can you just remind me what are the goals and what does it look like? I guess my question is, if the sale is concluded as the outcome, do we have to wait another 2 or so quarters for that process to run and then another couple of quarters to close? I guess, could we be 12 months away from that deal closing if a sale is the decided outcome?

George, look, we haven't really given much guidance on the process that we're going through other than to obviously announce it with the sale of Copler back in March. I think the objective of the review was to consider all of the options from actually building the project all the way through to sale. Then within sale or other strategic options to remove ourselves from Hod Maden, what does that mean because there are sort of multiple ways that that can be achieved.

Other than we're still in the process of doing that and going through those different trade-offs. There's really not much else to update you on. I think some of the details that you're looking for here will come once we set a clear picture for the direction.

Then just 2 payment questions. Can you remind me what the Carlton Tunnel payment is at CC&V? Then secondly, just with the buyback, $300 million bought back 9.2 million shares. That says USD 32.6 a share average, but the shares were only really in that range for sort of 5 days at the start of April. Is that right? Or am I missing anything there? Or you just bought sort of at that little peak in early April?

Yes, George, this is Michael. I'll take the second one first and then circle back to the Carlton Tunnel. With the share buyback program that we announced towards in the middle of the quarter, we did put an NCIB in place, which allows us to give directions to the banks to exercise that outside of us having material information. That process did move very quickly, and it ranged anywhere from $21 up to $32, but with the volatility of the price during that, it did come in around that $32 a share average as we go through.

Then circling back to Carlton Tunnel. The $87.5 million that we paid for Newmont during the quarter was for the Carlton Tunnel. That leaves one more payment, $87.5 million additional payment, which would come in connection with amendment 14 and the updated closure plans at that site as we look at that deal structure.

If amendment 14 closes, say, 12 months, whenever it is, that payment is straight after you get that approval. Is that right?

Yes, it's right. Amendment 14 remains on track anywhere from 12 to 18 months is kind of what we're penciling in. Then that payment will be due once that work is completed and that permit is issued.

I'll just chime in here a little bit, George. It's all going to plan. We're leading that work now. Bill and the team have taken that over and the work that we've done to want to establish our presence with -- in the community in Colorado and also locally down at Cripple Creek has gone really well. That's all tracking to plan.

The next question is from Lawson Winder with BoA Merrill Lynch.

Could I ask about the buyback and just thinking about your situation today, the balance sheet is very strong. The outlook for free cash flow generation is quite robust. I mean you mentioned an intention to look at the buyback again. Now the buyback authorization is totally exhausted. I mean, why not go to the Board prior -- along with the results and ask for the renewal then? When is your thinking on timing around a renewal?

Yes. I think it's important to take a step back to take a step forward. Obviously, the -- and Michael can talk more around the work that's going on, but the share buyback that we just executed for us was particularly on the announcement of the Copler sale made a lot of sense to do, and it was executed very quickly given the parameters that we had put in place to the prior questions.

The step back that I'm talking about now is now to post the -- remember when we suspended our capital allocation strategy with the Copler incident a few years ago, when we said once we have clarity on the outcome of -- post that, that we would then go back and have a look at our capital allocations and reimplementing and reinstituting it. That's what we're doing at the moment, the work around more holistically, how do we manage our capital allocation and then looking at the requirements, obviously, for the business in the future with all the various growth opportunities we have in front of us the balance sheet and other things before we go and make our mind up on the actual mechanisms we use for returns to shareholders. That work is underway with Michael and the team.

Part of it is just a discussion between whether it's going to be increased dividend or increased buyback rather than just whether you're going to do it.

I wouldn't say increase because we haven't got a dividend in place at the moment because we suspended it, and that's the point. It is a question of whether we reinstitute our yields that we had in place before it became a vote more recently in the market. We actually had that way back in 2021 and as well as supplementing that through the share buyback program. That was really how we had managed it before with the 3 pillars, balance sheet strength, growth and returns. It's really just pulling all that work together with the emerging growth opportunities we have as well to ensure that we're making sound decisions.

Fully acknowledging those growth opportunities, I think it would be interesting to hear your views on M&A, particularly in light of your strong free cash flow and balance sheet position. I mean that must compete with options within the portfolio, I assume, but what is SSR's appetite right now for growth through M&A?

Look, I think that's why in the intro slides, if you go back to the start of the call, Lawson, the reason we go to the pains of setting out our track record around M&A is to actually highlight we've been really good stewards of capital for a long time. All of the deals that we have brought to market, and we look at a lot of stuff, and we've never made a secret of the fact that we're active always looking at different trade-offs and different opportunities around the market.

When we do bring deals to the table and to our shareholders, there is usually a multiple of upside, and that's what we've been able to achieve and the results speak for themselves, I think. That is part of who we are. I think we're particularly good at it. We have a number of filters that we look at for M&A through any cycle. It doesn't matter what cycle we're in, but it has to align to our business strategy. It has to compete for capital, and it has to be -- make sense for us in terms of what we want to build. We've actually got a particular focus now, obviously, with the reset of the business on the Americas. That is a bit of a nuance to what we had before, but beyond that, we are staying active in that space.

The next question is from Joshua Wolfson with RBC.

Following up Lawson's question, just on the buyback and capital allocation. I mean, I can appreciate the company's desire to be measured here, but pro forma net cash over $2 billion, $200 million generated in free cash flow this quarter. Why not continue a little bit of the buyback in the interim before closing of Copler? Or is there another way that we should be thinking about this in terms of maybe capital needs being higher for some of the development projects?

Josh, look, I think it's pretty simple. I think the first thing first is we want to close the deal, and get the cash into the bank. That's really important through any transaction. As we said, that will take place and achieve that within the third quarter. I think that's really the most important catalyst. It doesn't mean we can't do share buybacks or do more share buybacks. I think as we noodle through the various options and have the discussions with the Board, the work that Michael and the team are doing really does need to be as holistic as possible and predictable as possible, and that's really the work that we're doing. It's not because we have an a version of doing any more share buybacks. I think it's really around just let's get the deal closed, let's get the cash in the bank and then the rest will come.

Then on Hod Maden, you had signaled minimal costs. You did spend $31 million in the first quarter. How should we think about what minimal costs are going forward?

Yes, Josh. A lot of the work, as you remember, under Hod Maden right now is around early site works. A lot of that was advanced during that first part of the Q1, and that's where you're seeing that majority of that $31 million coming in. We anticipate that as we go through the strategic review in the coming months that, that will be much lower. It won't be 0, but it will be towards the lower end of that range.

Then there was some commentary earlier on the call about fuel price sensitivity, I think, of $7 to $10. Just clarifying what does that number incorporate? Does it reflect the hedging program as well that's in place? Then does that include secondary impacts and other items that may not be just direct fuel usage?

Yes, you bet. The hedge program goes through the end of this year. That $10 increase in the $10 AISC is really tied to this year with the hedge programs in place. Just to give you a guide that without the hedge programs, if we don't have anything in place going into '27, that goes up to about double that, which is $20, so we only have about 10% of our fuel costs that our operating costs, only about 10% of that is fuel. As Bill mentioned, we really are focused on operational efficiency and controlling those costs. It's a bit early to look at what the knock-on effects would be. We are monitoring it, but we're not seeing anything that's tangible at this point, but it is something that we are continuing to monitor and we'll continue to update on in this quarter as progress in the year.

The next question is from Ovais Habib with Deutsche Bank.

Congrats on the Q1 beat and great to see CC&V outperforming. I mean, the amount of free cash flow this operation is generating is really impressive. Just a couple of questions from me. Again, sticking with the CC&V, just a follow-up question from George regarding the Carlton Tunnel payment. Is there a read-through or a positive read-through on the fact that you've made this payment on the fact that you are looking for this amendment 14 permit? Is that kind of a read-through that is coming imminently?

No, I think they're mutually exclusive, think of it the other way. Amendment 14 was, as you recall, when we put out the technical report for Cripple Creek as the first update from SSR, it was constrained around the already in process Amendment 14. It's an expansion permit that Newmont had already begun when we acquired the asset.

The Carlton Tunnel discussions and considerations was another unique piece of work that was going on with the regulators around the long-term management of the water discharge. It's entirely separate from the amendment 14.

Just moving on to the new mine plan expected at Marigold, That's, I believe, including Buffalo Valley. Are you expecting any significant improvement in the production profile? Or you're looking at more like an increase in mine life? Any color on that?

Look, I think the first thing first, it was to include some of the growth options that we have to understand the requirements for those growth options. What I mean by that is the permitting requirements, where we might need more infrastructure, where we might need to develop a new area, where we might need to do more technical work to ensure that we're in good shape for that growth profile.

Some of those growth options will more feature sort of later in the life of Marigold, not so much initially because of those reasons, permitting or whatever it happens to be. Some of it was to do the trade-offs that we can look at for various parts of the property, the southern part of the property around New Millennium, Buffalo Valley and some of the extensions that we've got down there to see whether we could share an infrastructure down there rather than having long haulage. There's those optimization opportunities as we're going through the mine plans as well.

Then in the initial years, the key focus is to show and demonstrate that we actually have a production profile that now accounts for the blending requirements that we talked about last year that I think folks were getting a little bit concerned about. The importance of having to have different faces open, so we're allowing for the blending requirement of those final rules up on the heap leach pad. The next 5 years, as we sort of said at the end of last year, will probably stay about the same overall, but it's really then the growth options beyond it to bring in ounces where we can along the way and extend, obviously, the Life of Mine at Marigold with a substantial amount of resources that we have.

The next question is from Cosmos Chiu with CIBC.

My question is on the contingent payment. Sorry for going back to the Carlton Tunnel, $87.5 million. If I go back to your original agreement, it was due when there is regulatory relief relating to flow-related permitting requirements, achieving highest feasibility allocation or alternative to water flow. I guess you've achieved that point. After saying all that, could you maybe explain to me what that means and where we are today in terms of that water flow?

I was surprised, Cos, you weren't calling #1, but look, on the Carlton Tunnel discharge, this is -- remember, this is a Newmont -- remains a Newmont led piece of work. I'll say that. They did achieve some of the permitting requirements from the regulators in Colorado that necessitated us having a requirement to pay them that milestone of the $87.5 million. In layman terms, they achieved what they set out to achieve, but there will also -- there will always -- there is ongoing dialogue for -- on Newmont's behalf with the regulators to consider again the overall requirements for what is going to be ultimately the plan for the Carlton Tunnel discharge.

Whether it needs intervention through some sort of water treatment facility in the long term, etc. Remember, the way that we carved that out through the deal was that was always going to be on Newmont's account. It's important that they take the lead on that, and they continue with that dialogue. Obviously, we're a stakeholder, but not a stakeholder who is leading the discussions on this.

Maybe a question on Copler as you had mentioned in your guidance, there was about $80 million to $100 million in care and maintenance costs budgeted for the full-year. If I were to take the difference of your free cash flow in Q1, $210 million and $175 million, difference is about $35.6 million. Is that the part that's kind of related to care and maintenance for the quarter, which seems a bit high because you had guided to about $20 million to $25 million. I guess what I'm trying to get to is, is that the number related to care maintenance? What should we expect in Q2? When would it stop? Would it stop? Is it only going to stop when you, I guess, close the deal?

I'll pass that one to Michael.

Just a couple of points on that. In the Q1, you'll remember, there are a number of taxes and license renewals. Our Q1 costs, care and maintenance and otherwise are always a little bit higher than Q1. That original guidance that we had of $20 million to $25 million would be what I would use for Q2.

The answer to your second part is we will maintain that care and maintenance and ongoing support through the closing with the transaction. As you're doing your modeling, you can use that $20 million to $25 million rough estimate, and then that would continue on until we announce the close of the deal.

I guess my last question is, what else needs to be completed for closing of the deal? As you mentioned, due diligence period was -- has now been completed. What else needs to happen in terms of closing of the deal?

Yes. Look, the work going on the ground there has actually been excellent with the discussions around the transition requirements, etc., with Genus Holdings. All of the cooperation you would expect through a transaction like this has been very good. We're very pleased with that. The only thing that is required, I think we actually set it out with the announcement is the regulatory approvals, and so we'll wait on those that we -- that Genus actually require when we require through the Ministry of Mining and Energy in particular. Then once they're achieved, we can close the deal. We expect that by the end of quarter 3.

The next question is from Don DeMarco with National Bank Financial.

First on Seabee. Rod, I heard that guidance is on track, and so can you provide any incremental color on the costs on Q1 beyond what you already mentioned about the cold weather? Should we model -- if we take it face value, should we then model a step change lower cost in Q2?

No. Look, I think the feature for this, Don, let me take a step back and then I'll try to play it forward for you, so you can try to model it out. At the end of last year, and we said early into this year and through pretty much the first half, the real focus there is on development at Seabee, which is ongoing, and that will continue through this quarter as well. We'll start to see incrementally better production profile coming out of Seabee, but it's really fourth quarter heavy in terms of the production coming out of that through the development work that we began in the second half of last year and will continue in the first half of this year. That's how to think about it.

It will progressively start to get better, but the real big quarter will be fourth quarter this year. Really the cost or the all-in sustaining costs will average themselves out over the year as we get the ounces production back into that sort of guidance range. It's just because we're still incurring costs while we're doing the development, but obviously, the ounce production is much lower in Q1, Q2, moving up into Q3 and then obviously, a great quarter 4.

In other words, like Q1, Q2, you might be above the top end of the guidance range and then Q3, Q4, you could be below the lower end of the guidance range. Is that fair to say?

Yes, I think that's right, Don. Just remember, a good chunk of our costs for Seabee come across on that ice road. Q1 is always going to be a little higher for us, but as we increase the production, as Rod said, throughout the year and as we get out of that Q1, early Q2, which is the ice road spend, that will normalize.

Then on Hod Madden, I look forward to your update in the strategic review, but can you remind us what your book value is for this asset?

I actually don't have that on my head.

I'll get that for you. I don't have it. I'd like here with this. We'll get back to you, Don, on that one.

Then finally, on M&A, you had mentioned the Americas and some, but I'm just wondering, do you have a bias and preference in terms of stage or jurisdiction? I mean, given your cash balance, would you then have a favor toward development projects? With the Americas that you mentioned, does that imply North and South America and you equally weigh all the jurisdictions -- all the countries within those jurisdictions?

I think we look at the full life cycle of assets, everything from greenfields type of opportunities, which we do over time, quietly acquire, particularly around our current assets. We're fairly active in that space anyway, all the way through brownfield development and then producing assets. We don't have a strong preference either way. I think the most important thing for us is, is it fit on strategy? Does it fit and align with our long-term vision of building from the platforms we have and then obviously, the value-add that we can add to them. Each one of those will be unique in their own circumstances for various reasons. It really just depends, Don, but remember, I think we've got a reputation of being good discoverers all the way through to mine builders and operators. I think there really isn't anything that we wouldn't look at would tackle. It's more around is it on strategy.

Do I have a bias from North to South America? I certainly think right now, our focus is on North for sure to continue to build out the lower risk ounce base that we now enjoy with Marigold, Cripple Creek and Seabee, that would be a preference, not forgetting the fact that we have a platform in Argentina. More recently, over the last few years, we've seen a much better environment down there for foreign investors. That's another thing that we'll keep on looking at given it's fairly underexplored because we've already got a presence there. It's not like marching into a brand-new jurisdiction. Yes, look, I think our focus at the moment is really North America and then trying to build around the platform we've got down in Argentina.

This concludes the question-and-answer session and today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to SSR Mining's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results Conference Call. This call is being recorded.

At this time, for opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to Alex Hunchak from SSR Mining. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining today's conference call to discuss SSR Mining's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 financial results. Our consolidated financial statements have been presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These financial statements have been filed on EDGAR and SEDAR and they are also available on our website. There is an online webcast accompanying this call, and you will find the information to access the webcast in this afternoon's news release and on our corporate website.

Please note that all figures discussed during the call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. Today's discussion will include forward-looking statements. So please read the disclosures in the relevant documents. Additionally, we refer to non-GAAP financial measures during our discussion and in the accompanying slides. Please see our press release for information about the comparable GAAP measures.

Rod Antal, Executive Chairman; will be joined by Michael Sparks, Chief Financial Officer; and Bill MacNevin, EVP Operations and Sustainability on today's call.

I will now hand the line over to Rod.

Great. Thank you, Alex, and good afternoon to you all. We closed 2025 on a high note, delivering full year production above the midpoint of our guidance range and generated more than $100 million in free cash flow in the fourth quarter. As a result, we finished the year with $535 million in cash and more than $1 billion in liquidity. Based on the operating guidance provided with today's financial results, we expect this material free cash flow generation to continue in 2026.

Accordingly, and coupled with our view that our share price does not reflect the full value of our portfolio. We are pleased to announce that our Board has approved a share buyback of up to $300 million. If you remember, share buybacks have been a key component of our capital allocation framework in the past, and we are pleased to reestablish a program again.

Before moving on to the next slide, I want to take a moment to highlight a number of key catalysts and milestones that we delivered since our third quarter results and also speak to some of the opportunities ahead. First, I want to note particularly strong fourth quarter results from our Cripple Creek and Victor mine and Puna operations which saw both assets exceed their full year guidance ranges and deliver exceptional free cash flow. At Puna in particular, the mine theaters production guidance for the third consecutive year and set records for tonnes processed in both the fourth quarter and over the full year, which was a terrific result.

Second, we delivered 2 technical report summaries, both demonstrating long-term free cash flow generative assets that will bolster our portfolio. The Cripple Creek and Victor TRS, released in November, highlighted an initial 12-year life of mine plan with an $824 million NPV at consensus metal prices, with nearly 7 million ounces of resources in addition to the reserves there is significant optionality here for meaningful mine life extension into the future. In January, we released a TRS for the Hod Maden development project which highlighted a $1.7 billion NPV and a 39% internal rate of return at consensus metal prices. I will talk more on this in a moment. And thirdly, we continue to advance a compelling brownfield growth projects across the portfolio, which I'm also going to speak to in a moment.

As you can see, 2025 was a very successful year, and we're well positioned to continue building on this momentum in 2026. So let's move on to Slide 4. We have a number of highly prospective growth targets across the business. These prospects represent potentially low-cost, high-return growth opportunities that can deliver significant value to our shareholders. In 2026, we have committed a substantial amount of capital investment across the business and a large portion of that CapEx will be allocated to advancing these growth opportunities through the development pipeline. We look forward to sharing additional details on the projects, including both Marigold and Puna over the coming years.

Now let's turn to Slide 5 to focus on Hod Maden. In January, we published a technical report summary for the Hod Maden development project. The TRS clearly reaffirmed Hod Maden as one of the better undeveloped copper gold project in the sector, and we are thrilled to have a development asset of this quality in our portfolio. As a reminder, Hod Maden is an underground copper gold project in the northeastern of Türkiye. The mine will be accessed through a single surface portal at all will be extracted through a combination of long-haul stoping and cut and fill mining methods.

The process plant is designed with a nameplate capacity of approximately 2,200 tonnes per day with life of mine average head grade of 7.6 grams of gold and 1.3% of copper. The plant will produce a single high-quality concentrate with life of mine gold and copper recoveries averaging 87% and 97%, respectively.

Moving on to the next slide for a few of the TRS highlights. On Maden is a unique project with significant scale, best-in-class grades and first quartile all-in sustaining costs that position the asset to deliver compelling free cash flow in the future. On a 100% basis, production is expected to average 240,000 gold equivalent ounces over the first 3 years and 220,000 gold equivalent ounces over the first 5 years. Our consensus metal prices, Hod Maden is expected to generate average annual free cash flow of $328 million, while $4,900 gold price, that free cash flow would jump to approximately $500 million annually.

Hod Maden's execution has been meaningfully derisked as a result of the significant engineering and the work completed since our initial investment in the project as well as the benefit of early site works that are taking place. Inclusive of earn-in and milestone payments SSR's remaining investment is expected to total $470 million, which we expect to fund from our liquidity position and free cash flow outlook. We anticipate a 2.5- to 3-year construction period once the project decision is made. We are very excited about Hod Maden and look forward to providing further updates in due course.

Turn over to Slide 7, and I'll hand the call over to Michael.

Thank you, Rod, and good afternoon, everyone. In 2026, we expect to produce between 450,000 and 535,000 gold equivalent ounces from our Marigold, CC&V, Seabee and Puna operations. All-in sustaining costs are expected to range between $2,360 and $2,440 per ounce or $2,180 to $2,260 per ounce, excluding the impact of care and maintenance costs at Çöpler.

While Çöpler isn't an operation, we continue to guide to cash care and maintenance costs of $20 million to $25 million incurred per quarter. Total gross spend is expected to total $150 million in 2026 driven mainly by capital investments in leach pad expansions at both Marigold and CC&V as well as continued exploration and resource development spend globally. Capital expenditures at Hod Maden are expected to total up to $15 million per month as engineering access road development and site establishment activities continue ahead of a formal construction decision. Upon a positive construction decision by the joint venture, we will provide an update to our growth CapEx outlook at the project.

Now let's move to our Q4 results, starting on Slide 8. In the fourth quarter, we produced 120,000 gold equivalent ounces at AISC of $22.50 per ounce or $202 per ounce, excluding costs incurred at Çöpler in the quarter. Fourth quarter sales were 117,000 gold equivalent ounces at an average realized gold price of $4,142 per ounce. Net income attributable to SSR Mining shareholders in Q4 was $181 million or $0.84 per diluted share, while adjusted net income was $190 million or $0.88 per diluted share.

For the full year production of 447,000 gold equivalent ounces exceeded the midpoint of our full year guidance. As we discussed with our third quarter results, higher-than-forecasted royalty costs tied to higher gold prices and share-based compensation brought our full year AISC to the top end of our consolidated guidance range. Full year AISC, excluding costs incurred Çöpler was $1,923 per ounce comfortably within our guidance.

Now let's move to Slide 9. As highlighted in the table on this slide, free cash flow totaled $106 million in the quarter, and $252 million for the full year. Excluding the impact of changes in working capital, full year free cash flow was more than $400 million in 2025. These are excellent results considering our investment in growth projects across the portfolio. We ended the quarter in a strong financial position with $535 million in cash and total liquidity of over $1 billion. This cash and liquidity position combined with our free cash flow outlook in 2026 supports our continued investment in growth initiatives across the portfolio while also giving us the confidence to initiate a share buyback of up to $300 million.

Share buybacks have historically been a key component of our capital allocation and shareholder return approach. Between 2021 and 2024, we repurchased 20 million shares at an average price of $15.76 per share, with convertible notes issued in 2019 with a conversion price of $17.61 and these share buybacks provided significant value to our shareholders.

Our historical share buybacks, combined with the -- as announcement of a new share buyback program, reiterate our commitment to ensuring our shareholders realized growth on the key per share metrics going forward.

Now over to Bill for an update on the Q4 results and 2026 guidance for the operations, starting on Slide 10.

Thanks, Michael. I'll first start with EHS&S, 2025 as a successful year of strengthening our programs and application in all areas of EHS&S. [ Areas ] advanced were in critical controls and risk management for safety. The integration of closure work into life of mine plans to bring forward the work as well as to reduce costs and the upgrading of our community engagement and development application.

As I will outline today, we are currently working on growing our business through both greenfield projects and brownfield growth opportunities at all the operations. Safe production and quality implementation of EHS&S standards is our focus ahead to enable an increase in activity to successfully advance all of these opportunities.

Now on to Slide 11 for our year-end M&I. We closed 2025 with 11 million ounces of gold equivalent mineral reserves, a testament to the scale and longevity of our diversified operating platform. Reserves were up nearly 40% year-over-year, driven largely by the incorporation of CC&V and Hod Maden into our consolidated totals as well as other minor impacts from drilling additions and model changes.

Mineral reserve price assumptions in 2025 remain very conservative at $1,700 per ounce gold and $20.50 per ounce silver. We hold another nearly 15 million measured indicated and inferred gold equivalent ounces that can support mineral reserve growth across our portfolio in the future. More impressively, we have consistently delivered on our track record of replacing mine depletion.

Since 2020, as shown on the right side of this slide, we have more than replaced depletion before incorporating any of the benefits of our accretive M&A transactions over the period. Inclusive of M&A, our mineral reserves are up approximately 40% since 2020. And an impressive outcome that ensures our portfolio is poised to benefit from constructive gold and silver markets for years to come.

Now on to Slide 12 for a discussion on Marigold. In the fourth quarter, Marigold produced 43,000 ounces of gold and all-in sustaining cost of $2,089 per ounce. As expected, this is Marigold's strongest period of production in 2025. Technical work around ore body knowledge and processing planning at Marigold has now matured to where this is being integrated into the planning process. As a result of previously highlighted ore blending requirements and to ensure pad recovery performance, the Marigold mining schedule has been updated to account for the blending of durable and nondurable ore.

In addition, increased gold prices have resulted in pit expansions and the relocation of a planned waste dump to avoid sterilizing ounces. While this work has changed the production schedule, the total ounces produced at Marigold at the 5-year period is materially the same as reflected in the 2024 TRS. In 2026, Marigold is expected to produce between 170,000 to 200,000 ounces of gold and an all-in sustaining of $2,320 and $2,390 per ounce. Production is expected to be 55% to 60% weighted to the second half of the year.

ASC will be highest in the first half due to both production profile and sustaining capital, which is expected by 70% weighted to the first half. Sustaining capital in 2026 is expected to total $108 million as we made significant investment in fleet and component placements and process planned improvements. These investments will help to ensure Marigold is well positioned for both additional near-term haulage requirements and to enable development of potentially significant mine life extension opportunities ahead. To that end, Buffalo Valley and New Millennium projects continue to advance and SSR Mining anticipates potentially integrating both deposits into an updated Marigold TRS over the next 18 months.

Now on to Slide 13 for an update onCC&V. CC&V had another excellent quarter, producing 39,000 ounces of gold and all-in sustaining cost of $1,596 per ounce. Quarterly production benefited from better-than-expected gold recoveries and drove full year SSR Mining attributable production of 125,000 ounces well exceeding the 110,000 ounce top end guidance.

It is also important to highlight that CC&V generated more than $200 million in mine site free cash flow to our count in 2025, an exceptional outcome when compared to the $100 million upfront transaction outlay we paid to acquire the mine last year. In November, we released a technical report summary for CC&V showcasing an initial 12-year life of mine with an NPV of $824 million at consensus metal prices. The mine plan was based on 2.8 million ounces of reserves and CC&V has an additional nearly 7 million ounces of measured indicated and deferred resources to support potential mine life extensions over the long term.

Combined with our long-term production platform at Marigold, this TRS reiterated our position as the third largest gold mine producer in the United States. SSR now holds more than 6 million ounces of mineral reserves in U.S. along with an additional 7 million ounces of M&I resources and 2 million ounces of inferred resources, all calculated at conservative metal price assumptions well below the current spot market.

In 2026, we expect CC&V's production and costs will be well aligned with figures outlined in the TRS, Full year production of 125,000 to 150,000 ounces between [ $780 ] and [ $1,850 ] per ounce should position the asset well for another year of strong free cash flow. Production will be 50% to 55% and weighted to the second half of the year, with costs trending above full year guidance in the full first half.

Now over to Slide 14 to discuss Seabee. As highlighted in our Q3 results, Seabee's fourth quarter reflected a continued focus on underground development in the second half and saw increased oil contributions from the lower-grade gap hanging wall. Accordingly, the production totaled approximately 9,000 ounces at an ASIC of $3,433 per ounce in the fourth quarter. In the first half of 2026, underground development will remain the focus as we look to improve stope availability going forward. Full year production of 60,000 to 70,000 ounces gold is expected to be approximately 60% weighted to the second half with the strongest results in the fourth quarter.

ASIC guidance of $2,170 to $2,240 per ounce will be higher than the first half, reflecting the aforementioned production profile and the typical cadence of spend given the winter road season to start the year. Work at Porky continues to advance and we were able to declare a maiden 200,000 ounce mineral reserve at Porky with the year-end update. We are also excited about some of the recent drilling results at Santoy and we'll continue advancing both near-term drilling and development at Santoy targeting high grades. Regional exploration is also expected to continue across the property in 2026.

Now on to Puna to Slide 15. Puna delivered another excellent year, exceeding its production guidance for the third consecutive year. Record tonnes in both the fourth quarter and over the full year for a major factor in Puna strong results with Q4 production of 2.1 million ounces of silver and ASIC of $18.39 per ounce. Full year ASIC of $14.24 per ounce was slightly better than the guidance and drove mine site free cash flow of more than $250 million in 2025.

Puna has been an exceptional contributor to our portfolio, and we see potential to extend operations of Puna well beyond 2028 through growth opportunities both at Chinchillas and Cortaderas going forward. In 2026, we expect Puna will produce 6.25 million to 7 million ounces of silver and all in sustaining costs of $20 to $22 per ounce. As noted, we are pursuing opportunities for additional pit laybacks at and chairs as well as further evaluation of the leaner target to the northeast of the current Chinchillas pit. Drilling has also been very successful at Cortaderas, an underground brownfield deposit on the [ Pirquitas ] property, and we are advancing engineering work to delineate its potential contribution to put Puna's longer-term profile.

Now I'll turn back to Rod for closing remarks.

Great. Thanks, everyone. We had an excellent finish to 2025. delivered solid operating results that are well aligned with expectations and now went to 2026 in a strong financial position with a number of key catalysts on the horizon. We're well positioned to deliver year-on-year production growth and strong free cash flow and are also well advanced on a number of growth initiatives across the portfolio that we look forward to sharing over the next 12 to 18 months.

So with that, I'm going to turn the call over to the operator for questions. Thank you.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from George Eadie with UBS.

Can I start with Marigold, please? Just looking at the 21 million to 23 million tonnes stacked at 0.4 gram a ton and the 0.35 in Q4. My math that gets me to the top end of guidance. So maybe just a little bit more color here. Like is there a bit of conservatism baked into the guidance range of 170 to 200.

I'm going hand it to Bill.

As we talked, we've been doing a lot of work, particularly on the technical front, and we baked that now into our updated forward schedule. And that considers how we actually have to complete our blending. So that blending and the updated plan for that is actually well outlined in the plan forward. So we believe that guidance is a good indication of what we'll deliver this year. A different stacking plan comes with that.

Okay. But looking at the tech report, like I know it's old now, but the next 2 years, it had 0.3 gram a tonne. But given commentary before, like should we expect next year's grade incrementally higher versus this year? And then 2027 to 2028. Just clarifying like should we be looking at a stacking grade of high 0.4 to low 5s potentially, given the commentary before about keeping the sort of medium-term outlook unchanged.

So as always, as noted, right, across 5 years, we're basically in line. In terms of what's happening is with these metal prices, which is very exciting. We've got growth in pet sizes. We've got additional haulage. So there is a complete reschedule of the mine. So we're still delivering the same goal across the period and particularly like the mine as well, but the timing of it will be different.

And that's why there's reference there. We've also got Buffalo Valley coming in. We've also got further upgrades. So the reference to completing an updated TRS port report comes in there as well. So there's a lot of work going on in terms of those changes ahead.

Okay. But that referenced 5 years, what is that exactly, sorry? Like if I look at the tech report average 5 years, from today, it's 235,000 ounces per annum. Like what is that reference 5 years you're speaking to?

Yes. I think what he's saying -- let me answer it, Bill. George, it's Rod. . Thanks for the question.

Look, I think what Bill is outlining is with all the work that we have completed, I mean that's been the blending requirements that we've got for durable and nondurable law we'd actually been doing work over the last 2 years to upgrade some of the ore body knowledge. So it wasn't something that we just did in 1 quarter. It was actually in conclusion of a lot of work over a period. So that's been now built in, and that's what Bill was sort of talking about with the blending requirements in the short term and near term as well as some of these other opportunities where we've identified some shifts in the mine plan because it would have sterilized some other opportunities in the future.

So we're actually wrapping all that work up. And then if you wait in Buffalo Valley and New Millennium, I think what it needs is a new tech report. And then within that new tech report, we're going to outline the new profiles, not only in the 5 years, but obviously, over the life of mine as well with some of those growth opportunities. So if you just be a little bit patient with us, we'll set it out all at once for you here over the next 12 months.

Yes. Okay. No, that's clear. And maybe just 1 more if I can, for Puna, what silver prices, do you sort of needed a minimum to go beyond 2028? Like it's 70 ounces or higher? Could we be talking well into the 2030s potential? Or is it a bit too early and dependent still on Cortaderas success?

We're excited about what we have in front of us. Cortaderas is, be it, in the underground opportunity there's a lot of work there to do, but it's very positive. But moving back to Chinchillas itself. We do see opportunity for it to go a lot longer with work going on both in the Chinchillas pit or potentially additional step backs as well as the Molina pit, which is right within that area being added on as well. So let's just say that works underway at the moment, and this the silver prices more than support that. So we're doing that work as we speak now, and we see it extending into the future.

Yes. I'll just -- what Bill said, George, to look at the opportunity set that at Puna has really come through a lot of hard work by the guys over a sort of extended period here. And if you sort of wanted to prioritize it as sort of Chinchillas, Molina, Cortaderas and that's how we sort of see it sequencing out. Silver price obviously is very helpful in that regard as we look forward and look at those opportunities. But all in all, I think the future is pretty bright for Puna. We've just got to finish some of the work, particularly around Molina and Cortaderas.

Next question comes from Cosmos Chiu with CIBC.

Great to see the new TRS at Hod Maden. Maybe, Rod, can I ask, is there any kind of time line that we can expect in terms of SSR Mining coming to a construction decision? And if you can't give us a time line, could you maybe talk about the different factors that you will consider before making such a decision?

Cosmos, it is a great tech report. It certainly outlined a terrific project for all the joint venture partners that are involved. So what's going on at side right now, the work on the ground still continues. So it's not like we've got pens down and we're waiting for approvals. It's the efforts on the ground for the early earthworks some of the creek diversions the civil works, the road access tunnels and others is underway and ongoing.

So that work hasn't stopped post the publication of the tech report, we're now just going through the sort of review processes with our partners and once that come will have a project decision. So I'm not going to set out a time line on behalf of everyone. But clearly, we're maintaining some progress on the ground there as well. So don't think of it as like a pins down, then we'll pick them back up. We are maintaining some of that momentum.

Understood. Maybe going to Puna a little bit here. I noticed that the guidance to 6.25 million to 7 million ounces, slightly lower than 7 million to 8 million ounces that you highlighted back in the August 2025 study for 2026. Could you maybe talk a little bit about that?

Yes, I'll pass that one on to Bill.

Just -- the permanent time line for the work that we're completing was it?

[ 2 5 versus ] late that we had talked about.

Yes. So the 6.25 to 7 as we're talking is our guidance range. You wanted an update against that, sorry, because I missed...

So the August 2025, your Q3 2020 update you at 2026 silver production at Puna will be between 7 million and 8 million ounces.

Yes. All right. Yes. No, I see. All right. quarter. Yes. So obviously, with the work we're doing at the moment, and we're continuing to do -- there's more phasing work happening with additional mining happening at Chinchillas. The timing of ounces has changed in saying that we have -- we're looking at a further depth of the production levels staying at a higher level for longer.

So in other words, we saw it dropping off quicker it's come down, as you know, but we're looking at it going, maintaining a higher level for longer. We look forward to updating that as we complete some of this work going forward in future -- has stepped down for the year ahead, but it's going to continue for longer. That would be the best way of terming it.

Okay. So it's a timing thing. We should take those ounces that are not produced in 2026, put into 2027 or 2028?

It will be, yes. It will be better.

Perfect. And at Marigold -- sorry, going back to Marigold here. Could you maybe explain to me durable versus nondurable ore and blending. I'm not fully appreciating the sort of the technical aspects behind it.

So to put it into a simple manner, depending on the fines content and how -- and then the height of the heat, it creates compression on the material. So the effectiveness of the solution transfer can be impacted. So if we go back in time for those that have a long history with Marigold, we've had -- we were challenged in late '22, early '23, where we had a -- where we ended up with our heat became bound up -- so in other words, a lot of good work has happened to understand that ore body better.

And so with that, we now have implemented different land requirements of what can be mixed with what -- and then that changes the schedule of how we bring different parts of the ore body together to ensure optimum blending and optimum recovery from the -- does that make -- does that answer that sort of in simple terms?

Yes. I think I got it now. When you mentioned fine, I think I remember that now. So Great. And maybe 1 last question. I see that you're still using fairly conservative numbers. for your MR estimate $1,700 an ounce for reserves at Marigold.

So I guess my question is, I don't know how much you can answer about, but what would a higher gold price assumption due to what you can do at the ore body. It sounds like you're considering it because you're talking about not sterilizing some of the certain parts in the ore bodies or you're leaving that optionality open. And so to the point that you can share with us what is the higher gold price assumption mean. And could that be incorporated into this new sort of technical report that could come out in 12 to 18 months' time. And you talked about Buffalo Valley and also New Millennium. Could those be part of that new study coming out as you well?

Yes, that's why Cosmos -- look, I think across the portfolio, we took a view for this year at least that given the profile that we already presented ourselves and some of these other growth opportunities that we have, we'll park any decisions on increasing the gold price kind of lowering the cutoff grade, et cetera, and maintain the margins. So -- but we really didn't see anything necessary to do that work. We do have a lot of growth studies, exclusive of gold price that are in front of us that we're looking at.

And that's really the key focus at the moment to complete that technical work. So ultimately, we can start to include those into the technical reports for the future. And then obviously, we can come back to the gold price question about looking at where how sensitive some of the operations are for gold price increases as well. So that really was this year. We just got so much other work going on. We just wanted to complete that and then come back to come back to later on.

And then would that coincide with your time line, say at Marigold because as you say, you're going to come up with a new technical study in Marigold in 12 to 18 months, could this sort of reevaluation of the gold price coincide with that time line as well?

Correct. Yes, good. And particularly New Millennium and some of those other targets as well.

The next question comes from Ovais Habib with Scotia Bank.

Congrats on a good quarter, especially at [indiscernible]. A couple of questions from me. And just again, going back to Marigold following up on the previous caller's questions, the fine that Marigold looks like blending is working. And I mean, is this issue now behind us? Or are we still expecting to see this issue linger into Q1?

No. In terms of the look forward -- I got this one, Bill. In terms of the look forward for the surveys, it's pretty simple. We're going to have areas where we will encounter finds in the future. It's throughout the ore body. And as Bill said, since '22, we did a lot of work drilling et cetera, to understand at a greater level of detail, some of those pockets where the final existed.

And so that's all been incorporated to the future mine plans to allow for that blending of what we call in durable and nondurable. You'll hear us say that as well. in the future. So it informs the scheduling to ensure that we have the appropriate blend. So we get the right outcomes on the heap leach pads in the future. So it hasn't -- it's not a one-off. It's going to be a future feature for Marigold and all of the work we've been doing is really just in preparation to handle that. which has been terrific work actually.

And as I said to -- I think George was asking about we'll have a new tech report, which will outline all of those requirements in the future as well as some of these other growth opportunities.

Got it. And just again, I think there's a follow-up question on Puna as well. I mean drilling has been pretty successful at Cortaderas. Don't believe this deposit has been included in Puna's mine life extension. Rod, are you looking to release any sort of a new mine plan for Puna in the near term, including Cortaderas as well as Chinchillas?

Look, I think what we'll probably see at Puna basin don't hold me to it because it depends on the work. But I think we'll see some additions to the mine life just through some of the extensions that we're going to go into encounter Chinchillas and potentially in Molina.

As they start to -- the drilling programs there and also upper quarter -- continuing some of the technical work behind those that drill program concludes, then we may consider doing a new tech report into the future. But I think at the moment, -- the guys have done a terrifically good job at already establishing a longer life at Puna. We see the potential for more of that.

And then hopefully, in the longer-dated near term having -- sorry, in the near term for the longer-dated future some of these other larger opportunities playing our feature into Puna well into the future. So it's a pretty exciting where we've come from -- if you think back, it wasn't that long ago that folks were thinking about Puna as a depleting asset that was coming towards the end of his life. And I think what we're finding there through the efforts is quite contrary to.

Excellent. And then just moving on to CC&V, which has been a real success for SSR. Currently, I mean, the project has around 4.8 million ounces in M&I now you already have a 12-year mine life at CC&V, but what's the plan there to accelerate these ounces into the mine plan and improve the production profile of CC&V? Is this just the permits? Is it more infrastructure that needs to be allocated? Any sort of color there?

It's pretty linear from what we can tell at the moment. Avast the mine extension is obviously predicated on the success of the amendment for approval. That amendment for that approval allows us to continue with the pad expansions. That is already well sequenced out over sort of the next 5 to 10 years. So that's really the first sort of stage of growth, if you like, on the current reserves as you point out.

Is there opportunities to optimize and do things. I mean that's our job is to try to trying to do that. But I wouldn't -- similar to Marigold, Cripple Creek has durable, nondurable or as well, and it's really important to stay in sequence with that asset base not to put a risk the future.

So we'll try. But look, I think it's fairly well set out. And then beyond it, obviously, we'll look at the opportunities for conversion of the 7-odd million ounces of resources that we also have available, which would require then another expansion permit for that regards as well.

So look, I think the asset itself has done remarkably well. since we acquired it. We're very proud of the efforts that have gone on down there and proud of the team, and they're now part of SSR and they deserve a standing ovation because I think it's been a terrific integration into the portfolio. Now our job is to optimize and to extend that asset well into the future and really demonstrate its strength in the portfolio. So we're pretty excited to have it.

And just my last question then on Çöpler, Rod. I mean, any sort of progress there that we can kind of put our finger on or any sort of updates that you're looking to provide in the term future on Çöpler? Any sort of discussions going ongoing that you can talk about?

Yes. Look, I think that's right, be -- so discussions are ongoing. So in terms of like activities, there really was nothing to note since the last quarter. I mean the activities at the site, as Michael sort of mentioned in his financial discussions had sort of wound down in terms of material movements and site rehabilitation what we're waiting for the final approvals for the e-storage facility and pad closure.

The guys are obviously still very busy in that in regards of care and maintenance of the activities around the plant, in particular, to maintain integrity for a start-up, but that's really been the sort of key focus on the ground at site. And then obviously, as you note, we continue to progress the various discussions with different parts of the government and government authorities. So it's just ongoing at this stage.

Next question comes from Don DeMarco with National Bank.

A lot of my questions have already been answered. But Rod, I'll start off with this. had and can just continue on as we're looking forward to this formal construction decision. And I see that in the interim, you're looking at maybe spend on the order of about $15 million per month. Should we pencil that into our model like beginning as of January 1, I think? Or should we wait until a construction decision? In other words, are you kind of getting ahead of yourselves a little bit here with some of that spending before the formal decision is made.

No. Look, a lot of that spending was already committed, Don. On the early site works that I mentioned before, the tunneling is ongoing. We actually just had John shared actually before this meeting, the first blast of the tunnel, which is terrific for that site access tunnels, a lot of the civil works around that Creek diversion, et cetera, are all ongoing.

So that was work already in progress, and that's what I was sort of saying before. I think while we're waiting for the decision, we're still very busy at side. The team is very busy on side in getting the site prepare and then we know, obviously, once a construction decision gets going. We're well prepared to execute contracts and get moving on the bigger build as well. So it's -- I think that's fair to use that sort of number. And then obviously, we'll do a -- we'll update the guidance once we tally up what the actual cash out the door will be for the capital for the construction during 2026.

Okay. Okay. That's helpful. And just my final question then, shifting to Marigold. So I see that there has been a sizable increase in sustaining CapEx in '26. And of course, the print details that there's some fleet replacements. Of course, there's the plant upgrades. So is this sort of this spend to be onetime in '26? Or should we also be modeling maybe a little bit higher CapEx going forward in the next '27, '28 years.

Yes. Look, I'll answer and then Bill can jump in, if you like, as well.

I think we do what we always do when we look at our fleet and our mine plans in the long-term exercises around total cost of ownership. Fleets obviously have a useful life arm and particularly parts and maintenance and major component rebuilds. We completed that work for Marigold last year and what I determined was, in some cases, that it was wise for us from a value perspective to do that work in 2026. So that's really what you're seeing there.

So it's normal course. In some cases, some of them might have been accelerated by a year or 2 and some of that fleet replacement might have changed as well, but it's really just sort of an exercise in value for the fleet of understanding the optimized approach to that replacement. But nothing out of the ordinary, Bill?

That's correct, Rod. And a lot of work looking at what the optimum timing is for value. So some things are a little bit earlier than they originally planned, but that's because it gives very positive financial return to the business. That's why we're doing it.

This concludes the question-and-answer session and today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to SSR Mining's Third Quarter 2025 Conference Call. This call is being recorded. At this time, for opening remarks and introduction, I would like to turn the call over to Alex Hunchak from SSR Mining. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining today's conference call to discuss SSR Mining's Third Quarter Financial Results. Our consolidated financial statements have been presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These financial statements have been filed on EDGAR and SEDAR, and they are also available on our website. There is an online webcast accompanying this call, and you will find the information to access the webcast in this afternoon's news release and on our corporate website.

Please note that all figures discussed during the call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. Today's discussion will include forward-looking statements, so please read the disclosures in the relevant documents.

Additionally, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures during our discussion and in the accompanying slides. Please see our press release for information about the comparable GAAP measures.

Rod Antal, Executive Chairman, will be joined by Michael Sparks, Chief Financial Officer; and Bill MacNevin, EVP, Operations and Sustainability on today's call. I will now turn the line over to Rod.

Great. Thanks, Alex, and good afternoon to you all. Our third quarter results have us tracking to close out the year in the lower half of our production guidance, where we continue to expect a stronger fourth quarter.

Our full year all-in sustaining costs are trending towards the high end of annual guidance, and this is largely due to the impacts of higher gold prices on royalties as well as the share price performance over the year-to-date impacting share-based compensation calculations.

Generally, the third quarter results were in line with our expectations. Before working capital adjustments, we generated $72 million of free cash flow, and we maintain a very healthy cash and liquidity profile to support the continued investment in growth opportunities across the business.

We also made great progress on a number of other initiatives in the quarter. The Cripple Creek & Victor technical report should be ready for publication in the coming weeks. This will provide our initial view of the potential at Cripple Creek, where the technical report will feature mineral reserves that are aligned with the already in progress Amendment 14 expansion permit.

At Hod Maden, we have now spent $44 million advancing the project this year and remain on track for our full year growth capital guidance of $60 million to $100 million. A key milestone of the work this year will be the comprehensive update included with the new technical report. This will form the basis of the project and construction decision in the coming months.

To this end, Hod Maden remains one of the most compelling undeveloped copper-gold projects in the entire sector and work completed to date reinforces our view of extremely attractive asset returns.

Across the rest of the portfolio, we have continued to make great progress in advancing organic development projects, including Buffalo Valley at Marigold, Porky at Seabee and Cortaderas at Puna.

We're seeing some very encouraging results from the summer drill campaigns across all of these targets, where we hope to emulate the initial success of adding the initial 3 years of mine life extension at Puna.

Bill will speak more of this later in the call. And lastly, we continue to make good progress at Çöpler and remain fully committed to a restart.

We are in close communication with the relevant government authorities as we seek approvals to bring the mine back online. Overall, it was a solid quarter and as expected with good progress made on a number of initiatives across the portfolio. So now I'm going to call -- turn the call over to Michael to bring you through the quarter 3 financials, starting on Slide #4.

Thank you, Rod, and good afternoon, everyone. In the third quarter, we produced 103,000 gold equivalent ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $2,359 per ounce or $2,114 per ounce, excluding costs incurred at Çöpler during the quarter.

For the full year, production of 327,000 gold equivalent ounces is in line with plan, and we are on track to finish within our full year guidance of 410,000 to 480,000 gold equivalent ounces, albeit in the lower half of that range.

As Rod noted, higher-than-forecasted royalty costs and share-based compensation, coupled with production in the lower half of guidance is pushing our AISC towards the top end of our full year cost guidance range.

We ended the quarter in a strong financial position with $409 million in cash and total liquidity of over $900 million. Our strong balance sheet ensures capacity to fund our numerous growth initiatives across the portfolio, which includes Hod Maden, where we incurred another $17 million in capital during the quarter.

We are very excited about the progress of Hod Maden and look forward to sharing an updated life of mine plan and construction decision for the project in the coming months.

Let's move on to our quarterly financial results on Slide 5. In the third quarter, we sold 105,000 gold equivalent ounces at an average realized gold price above $3,500 per ounce. Net income attributable to SSR Mining shareholders was $65.4 million or $0.31 per diluted share, while adjusted net income was $68.4 million or $0.32 per diluted share.

As highlighted in the table, free cash flow in this quarter was impacted by working capital movements, particularly inventory movements at Marigold and CC&V as well as prepayments associated with development activities at Hod Maden.

Accordingly, free cash flow before changes in working capital was $72 million, highlighting our strong margins despite continued investment in growth initiatives across the portfolio.

Now over to Bill for an update on the operations, starting on Slide 6.

Thanks, Michael. I'll first start with EHSS. We continue to advance initiatives aimed at ensuring our purpose and values are reflected in everything we do. I'll share some examples of this.

We've seen improvements in how we're applying risk review and mitigation in both our planning and field execution. There's also been great progress on integrating progressive closure into our life of mine plans, which has the potential to reduce overall cost to the business.

Now on to Slide 7 for Marigold. In the third quarter, Marigold produced 36,000 ounces of gold at an AISC of $1,840 per ounce. These results were in line with plan, and we continue to expect a strong fourth quarter, albeit slightly below our initial expectations for the period. As we have advanced mining at Red Dot Phase 2, we have encountered a consistent grade profile aligned with our internal models.

However, the ore has had more fines than expected, resulting in the need for additional blending to ensure pad recovery performance.

Our technical teams at both Marigold and CC&V have been working collaboratively this year to improve ore body knowledge, focusing on processing planning.

Through these efforts, we're improving our approach to ore blending at Marigold to ensure that we appropriately deal with the final ore we are encountered.

With respect to growth, we're advancing work on Buffalo Valley deposit with the goal of fully integrating the project into the Marigold life of mine plan. This work is progressing positively so far, and we expect Buffalo Valley will provide a meaningful mine life extension opportunity for Marigold and potentially complement our Mineral Reserve growth at New Millennium.

Now on to Slide 8 for CC&V. CC&V had a solid quarter, producing another 30,000 ounces of gold with an AISC of $1,756 per ounce. Key to highlight is the mine has now generated nearly $115 million in asset level free cash flow since acquisition, an incredible result given the $100 million in upfront consideration we paid to the asset earlier this year.

The CC&V technical report is well on track for completion within the fourth quarter, and we're excited to showcase the initial mineral reserve life of mine plan. for which CC&V has clearly established itself as a core operation in our portfolio.

We expect this technical report will showcase a 10-plus year life of mine and also highlight significant mineral resource upside to further extend the mine life.

The key bottleneck to converting these mineral resources to reserves is the advancement of permitting for additional heap leach capacity. And our teams are working hard to set up -- set us on the right path for success for decades to come.

Now on to Seabee. Seabee had a challenging quarter, producing 9,000 ounces at an AISC of $3,003 per ounce. These results reflected our continued focus on underground development as we noted in quarter 2 as well as some lower grade-than-expected grades. We expect production to improve incrementally in the fourth quarter, but we remain focused on prioritizing underground development into year-end as we aim to improve available stope inventory moving forward.

Work at Porky targets continues, and we had some good success with the drill this summer as we aim to improve confidence in the existing mineral resources at the project and also test further opportunities for growth.

We're excited about the potential here and look forward to providing updates to the market next year.

On to Puna on Slide 10. Puna continued its track record of solid performance in the third quarter, producing 2.4 million ounces of silver, an AISC of just $1,354 per ounce. With the initial extension to Chinchillas operations announced in the third quarter, we are working to advance other opportunities to extend mining at Chinchillas while also continuing to evaluate the Cortaderas target. We're excited about the potential here, and we'll provide further updates as warranted.

On to Slide 11. Lastly, at Hod Maden, we spent $17 million on engineering and site establishment work in the quarter. Year-to-date, we have spent $44 million advancing preconstruction activities of the project and remain on track for our full year guidance range of $60 million to $100 million in growth capital.

Our technical teams have continued to advance an updated technical report for the project as we move towards a construction decision in the coming months.

And the results continue to demonstrate an incredibly compelling project that could represent one of the highest margin projects in the sector once in production.

We look forward to providing more detail on these initiatives to the market in the coming months. Now I'll turn back to Rod for closing remarks.

Great. Thanks, Michael. Thanks, Bill. Progress in the quarter was solid on a number of fronts, and we're well positioned for a strong close to the year with consolidated production aligned to our full year guidance.

We're making great progress at key projects across the portfolio and with updated technical reports for Cripple Creek & Victor and Hod Maden on the horizon, where we are keen to showcase a bright future for each of those assets and their upside potential.

And of course, with continued efforts towards a restart of Çöpler, we firmly believe SSR Mining still represents a compelling value proposition moving forward.

So with that, I'll turn the call over to the operator for any questions.

[Operator Instructions]

The first question comes from Ovais Habib with Scotiabank.

Congrats on a pretty good quarter. A couple of questions from me. Just first one, starting off with your expectations of Q4. As you guys said, Q4 is expected to be a strong quarter. Is this basically strength coming from Marigold and CC&V. And then just a follow-up question to that, in terms of Marigold and the fines you are encountering at Red Dot, based on how much you can blend, could some of that production expected in Q4 spill into Q1 of next year?

Thanks, Ovais. Look, I'll answer some of the questions and Bill and Michael can go ahead and add any other color if they feel.

The answer to your first question around the quarter 4, yes, that was right. Predominantly, it was coming from Marigold. As we've talked about before, a stronger fourth quarter was always sort of set up that way to be the primary difference to quarter 3.

And I think Cripple Creek itself will be more of what you've seen. And then from the answer to your question around the fines, yes, it certainly presents us with the necessity to handle them differently in terms of their placement and having available more durable material to be able to blend. So that is what we're working through at the moment on how we get the best result for Marigold for the last quarter by managing through the ore placement.

In some regards, where we don't have durable ore available, we'll stack that ore on the higher portions of the leach pad. But where we do, we're obviously stacking on the new leach cell that Bill mentioned last quarter that we completed. So that's the -- that will be the key to finishing strongly at Marigold for quarter 4.

And then just at Seabee, obviously, grade came in lower than expected. Again, was this a negative reconciliation issue? Or were you not able to access the stope or stopes that you were expecting to mine from in Q3? I was a little bit -- I didn't really understand the justification of the lower grade.

I'll hand that one over to Bill.

Yes, Ovais, Seabee in the quarter had a good quarter increasing the amount of development we were doing, which is our focus. So we do have more available stope material.

At the same time, we did have some of the material -- we had an increased proportion of material from the Gap Hanging Wall and some of that material came in at lower grade than we had expected. So that was -- that happens at some times, but they were the drivers.

And based on the development that you've done, obviously, you're expecting a better kind of Q4 and better understanding of the stopes that you have in hand kind of going into 2026?

Yes. We still have some more -- a lot of development focus ahead of us for Q4 as well. And we will continue to work diligently in both Gap Hanging Wall and Santoy to get the best out of the ore body that we can. There was no surprises in what we found, so to speak.

And then just my last question, I guess, on Çöpler. Rod, you mentioned you guys are having discussions with the regulatory bodies and things seem to be progressing. Any kind of -- again, is it more on the remediation side or on the restart side that the focus has been -- and obviously, I'm guessing you guys are pushing pretty hard on the restart side.

But what I'm trying to understand is also, is there any community support that you guys are getting right now that is, let's say, pushing the regulators to make some sort of a decision moving into 2026?

Yes. It's less about the last point of your question, Ovais. I think if you sort of take a step back since the incident itself, the early work was on -- and I'll say it again because it's important on securing the site, returning the -- our lost folks back to the families.

We moved into remediation, which really focused on the clearing out of the Sabirli Valley, which was done and completed.

And then remember, in the last sort of 6 months, the efforts have been around providing the -- all of the technical aspects to the regulators for approval of the storage facility and the closure of the -- the final closure of the heap leach pad.

So it's sort of been a normal sequence of events that you would expect to go through. And we've been in constant dialogue with regulators. It's not a new occurrence. This has been going on since day 1 of the incident itself.

But we're closing off some of those technical aspects for the regulators to approve it. And that will be the key to getting the approval to start the operations. But as it happens, more recently, and particularly you've seen it in the press, so it's nothing that is not public.

There has been definitely a higher level of public support for a reopening, very, very marches, a lot of senior local folks supporting a reopening in the press and on TV and within the media more generally.

So that actual uptick is actually more naturally occurred because of the fact that the community, the local community, in particular, are hurting around economic activity with the mine shut.

So it's probably a coincidence in timing, but it really doesn't have a bearing on the -- it helps, but it certainly -- it's not the driver of getting the government to give us the approval.

The next question comes from Don DeMarco with National Bank Financial.

First off, yes, encouraging to hear what you just mentioned about the high level of public support for the reopening. But to my first question, I think I'll turn to Hod Maden.

Of course, as you mentioned, there's a go-forward decision that's pending in the coming months. Looking at the guidance, you've reiterated guidance, but it seems like you might be tracking the low end of the range.

Is there any items that may have been in the scope this year that's going to be carried into 2026?

You're talking in particular in terms of the spend of Hod Maden.

Yes, that's right. You're at $44 million year-to-date. I think guidance is $60 million to $100 million. So it seems that you're on a pace to kind of hit the lower end of that range.

Look, I think -- sorry, Michael is going to say something, but I'll jump in. He pause for a second. We'll actually probably be more towards the midpoint of that guidance range. It's sort of a ramp-up, a normal type of -- as you would expect, there's a ramp-up of spend.

But the committed spend that we have for the work that we wanted to get through this year is well advanced. So we're on track to spend what we had allocated to the project. It just happens to be the timing of the cash out the door.

Was there anything else on that?

The work has actually gone along very well. The effort that we put in this year was all predicated on using that information for the comprehensive update to the tech report, which is all coming together.

And that is really the basis of what we'd be using to make a project approval decision to move forward. So everything is moving along on track in those regards and very pleased with the work that's been done at the site.

So we'll look forward to that go-forward decision. Will there be a mine plan that's published at around the same time? And is the go-forward decision tied into Çöpler in any way?

Like do you first want to see the Çöpler mine restarted before you commit to building another mine in the country? So just 2 parts to that question asking about the report and the potential connection with Çöpler.

Yes. Well, look, it will be a comprehensive refresh of the technical report, Don, which will publish. And we haven't -- remember, when we acquired the asset, there was a tech report available at the time that we said that we wanted to do the work to ensure that what was contained therein is a project that we could actually deliver to.

So the effort around the time since we acquired it has been going through all of the technical components around flow sheets, process flow sheets, all the met models, the geomet models, the geotechnical work around the site. It's a complex site from that perspective.

And then moving forward with the early stage, some of the earthworks and civil works that are going on right now to ensure when we look at the critical path tasks to get the project underway and on schedule once we finally release the new schedule, we've got a head start on it.

So as I mentioned, all of that goes into the update as well as then the sort of market work around going out to market and getting new pricing in today's dollars for the project itself.

So all going very well, as I mentioned. In terms of the dependency, I guess, around the project decision itself on Çöpler, I've said all along, we're treating them as mutually exclusive from that point.

It's an entirely different project in an entirely different region of Turkey. It has a completely different set of stakeholder groups. If you remember, the project is fully permitted, and that's really important.

So we're not waiting on any permits. And the efforts on the ground around ensuring we have good community relations and good social support have been going along with the project development itself because they're a completely different group.

So we're not attaching a dependency on Çöpler to the Hod Maden decision.

And then just as a final question, if we just take a step back, a question about your strategy. I mean, certainly, you've got a lot of organic opportunities within the portfolio and then there's potential other growth levers with respect to M&A.

Can you share any bias whether for potential growth or how your strategy looks ahead over the next, say, 5 or so years?

Really no change, Don. I think we've always been fairly transparent around the criteria that we look at from an M&A perspective. And M&A can be everything from strategic to bolt-on acquisitions like we had with Cripple Creek & Victor.

There is a number of criteria that we look for, and it needs to fit within those criteria for it to be a strategic fit, and we've always been very true to that. And we'll continue to follow that because I think it does provide a discipline to the way we look at the business.

So no change at all, building on the core jurisdictions we have, building on the platforms that we've got in Canada, U.S., Argentina and Turkey is sort of a first order of priority for us, and then looking for those value-accretive opportunities that might be available from time to time.

So look, we'll stay true to that. I think it's good practice. And it means that when we bring something to market that we like, you know that it has gone through a fairly rigorous due diligence process, and it fits on strategy.

This concludes the question-and-answer session and today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to SSR Mining's Second Quarter 2025 Conference Call. This call is being recorded. At this time, for opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to Alex Hunchak from SSR Mining. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining today's conference call to discuss SSR Mining's second quarter financial results. Our consolidated financial statements have been presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These financial statements have been filed on EDGAR and SEDAR, and they are also available on our website. There is an online webcast accompanying this call, and you will find the information to access the webcast in this afternoon's news release and on our corporate website.

Please note that all figures discussed during the call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. Today's discussion will include forward-looking statements, so please read the disclosures in the relevant documents. Additionally, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures during our discussion and in the accompanying slides. Please see our press release for information about the comparable GAAP measures.

Rod Antal, Executive Chairman, will be joined by Michael Sparks, Chief Financial Officer; and Bill MacNevin, EVP, Operations and Sustainability on today's call. I will now turn the line over to Rod.

Great. Thank you, Alex, and good afternoon to you all. It is pleasing to report a really good quarter that progressed largely to plan. Despite the temporary suspension at Seabee due to the forest fire, we had a very strong quarter that generated both good operating results and significant free cash flow.

We continue to work constructively with the relevant authorities in Turkiye to advance the restart of the Çöpler mine, including progressing the various engineering plans and design documents. This includes the closure plans for the heap leach pad and the issued preconstruction documents for the East storage facility. While this is another step forward, we cannot yet provide a definitive time line for a restart.

Another key milestone was achieved at Puna in the quarter. We have developed a plan that will extend the mine life at Chinchillas by an initial 3-year period through to 2028. Further, we will continue to evaluate other opportunities, including advancing the studies at Cortaderas.

Other notable highlights in quarter 2 include we had consolidated free cash flow generation of nearly $100 million, reiterating the strength of our Americas platform. We had a strong first full quarter from Cripple Creek and Victor, which itself generated excellent free cash flow, delivering on one of the main strategic rationales of the acquisition.

And lastly, we continue to advance the Hod Maden project towards a construction decision, including $29 million in capital expenditure year-to-date. As we move into the second half of the year, we have a number of meaningful catalysts remaining on the horizon. These include the release of a technical report and life of mine plan for Cripple Creek and Victor initially based on existing mineral reserves and of course, the advancement of the Hod Maden project towards a construction decision.

Across the portfolio, we'll continue to evaluate further organic growth initiatives at Buffalo Valley and New Millennium at Marigold, the [ Porkish ] Target at Seabee and the Cortaderas target at Puna. And of course, the top priority is continuing to advance Çöpler to a restart.

As you can see, we've already delivered on a number of our key priorities and demonstrated strong operating performance in the first half. This is particularly pleasing when you overlay the heavy lift of resources required for the very successful integration of Cripple Creek and Victor. And now I'm going to turn the call over to Michael to take you through the quarter 2 financials, starting on Slide #4.

Thank you, Rod, and good afternoon, everyone. As noted, the second quarter of 2025 was another strong operational period. Production in the quarter was 120,000 gold equivalent ounces, a better than 15% improvement over Q1 as we benefited from the full first quarter of production from CC&V.

All-in sustaining costs in the second quarter were $2,068 per ounce or $1,858 per ounce, excluding care and maintenance costs incurred at Çöpler. These results drove operating cash flow of $158 million (sic) [ $157.8 million ] and free cash flow of $98 million (sic) [ $98.4 million ] during the quarter.

We spent approximately $16 million advancing Hod Madden in the second quarter as we progress engineering and initial site development activities. This brings year-to-date spend at the project to $29 million as we advance towards a construction decision for what remains one of the most attractive, underdeveloped copper gold projects in the sector. We also announced an initial extension to the Puna mine life, which Bill will speak to later in the call.

Moving on to our financial results on Slide 5. We recorded attributable net income of $0.42 per diluted share in the second quarter and adjusted net income of $0.51 per diluted share. Both figures include approximately $37 million in care and maintenance costs at Çöpler during the quarter as these costs are not adjusted for under SEC rules.

Adjusted net income removed the impact of the additional reclamation and remediation costs at Çöpler, which I will speak to shortly, as well as the $44 million in insurance proceeds received during the quarter. As previously noted, second quarter free cash flow of $98 million was an excellent result. This strong free cash flow generation maintains our total liquidity position of over $900 million. We remain in a very strong position financially and are well positioned to manage all capital requirements across the business going forward, including the remaining remediation and reclamation costs at Çöpler.

Let's now turn to Page 6 for an update on these efforts. Following the Çöpler incident, the company estimated future reclamation and remediation costs of $250 million to $300 million related to the Çöpler incident. In Q1 2024, the company accrued the low end of this estimated cost range, recording $250 million in reclamation and remediation costs in addition to the $22.5 million that had already been incurred during the first quarter of 2024.

In the second quarter of 2025, we recorded a $62.9 million revision to the initial reclamation and remediation costs, resulting in a $12.9 million increase to the initial estimate. The revision in estimate reflects the company's advancement of the engineering and construction design of the E Storage facility as well as the advancement of the studies for the permanent closure of the heap leach pad. This approximately 4% increase in reclamation and remediation costs reflects the improved fidelity in our engineering and construction designs and is not unlike the refinement in capital costs we are used to seeing as projects advance from PEA level scoping studies towards executable project plans.

As I mentioned previously, the engineering plans and related studies for the permanent closure of the heap leach pad continue to advance. As part of the heap leach pad closure planning, the company will conduct further field investigations and we will use the findings to refine and update the closure plan for the heap leach pad. Now over to Bill for an update on the operations, starting on Slide 8.

Thanks, Michael. It was another solid quarter for our operations, starting with Marigold. Marigold produced 36,000 ounces in the second quarter at an AISC of $1,977 per ounce as costs trended higher over the first quarter as expected. For the full year, we continue to expect a second half weighted production profile with Q4 planned to represent the strongest quarter of production for the year. We continue to be impacted by higher royalty costs at Marigold, given the strength of the gold price through 2025, but overall, remain on track for our full year targets.

With respect to exploration and growth, we are continuing to advance engineering and study work at Buffalo Valley and New Millennium, 2 key avenues for future mineral reserve conversion and mine life extension.

Feasibility study level work has commenced at Buffalo Valley, including infill drilling and initial engineering. We look forward to providing further updates on these initiatives as they progress.

Now on to CC&V on Slide 9. CC&V delivered an excellent Q2 with production and costs benefiting from better-than-expected solution grades coming off the pad. Second quarter production was 44,000 ounces of gold at an AISC of $1,339 per ounce. These strong results helped drive significant free cash flow in the quarter. Since acquisition at the end of February, CC&V has now generated nearly $85 million in free cash flow, effectively paying back our initial upfront purchase in just 4 months.

While we expect production and costs to normalize over the remainder of the year, CC&V is off to an excellent start, establishing itself as a core piece of our Americas platform going forward. We are continuing to advance an initial technical report for CC&V. We expect this document will represent a first step in our longer-term plans to delineate meaningful growth and upside for the asset in the future.

Now on to Seabee. Seabee's quarter was heavily impacted by the power interruption caused by forest fires in Saskatchewan. Firstly, I want to take a brief moment to acknowledge the impact these fires had on our staff and their communities across Northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This was a particularly damaging fire season across the region. And while the impact to our operations was thankfully limited to power interruptions, our thoughts are with all those whose livelihoods were impacted.

Owing to the downtime and scope subsequent ramp-up back to operations, Seabee produced 11,000 ounces of gold at an AISC of $2,708 per ounce. Costs were particularly high in the quarter as we kept our full complement of staff on site to be ready for the restart of operations as soon as was practical.

For the remainder of the year, grades will remain at or near reserve grade and production is expected to trend towards the lower end of full year guidance. With respect to growth and exploration, we are continuing to advance drilling campaigns at both Santoy and the Porky Tragets as we evaluate potential opportunities to extend the mine life at Seabee. This work has continued delivering promising results, and we look forward to providing further updates with our year-end reserves and resources.

On to Puna on Slide 11. Puna produced 2.8 million ounces of silver in the second quarter at an AISC of $12.57 per ounce, another excellent result. While Puna has had an exceptional year so far, it's worth noting that the year-to-date gold to silver ratio has been higher than our forecast, unfortunately, diminishing some of the positive impacts from Puna's strong first half on gold equivalent ounces. Positively, our continued efforts on exploration and development at Puna have provided an initial 3-year extension of operations at Chinchillas.

We're continuing to advance opportunities to build on this progress and are also continuing work to evaluate the opportunity at Cortaderas as a pathway for longer-term growth. Puna remains an exceptional contributor to our portfolio, and we are keen to see its continued production and growth for many years to come.

On to Slide 12. At Hod Maden, we spent approximately $16 million on the initial site assessment efforts and technical report in the quarter. While infill drilling also continues at site with the aim of derisking the early years of the mine. Year-to-date spend at the project is now $29 million, and we continue to advance towards a full investment decision. Overall, it was a solid quarter across the business, and we're looking forward to continuing to deliver in the second half. Now I'll turn back to Rod for closing remarks.

Great. Thanks, Michael, and thank you, Bill. With the first half now behind us, we remain in a good position to meet our full year targets and are poised to continue to generate free cash flow through the second half. We still have a number of meaningful catalysts over the remainder of the year across the portfolio that should lead to value delivery for our shareholders.

This obviously includes Turkiye, where we remain firmly committed to advancing to a restart at Çöpler. With a strong balance sheet underpinning the portfolio and solid operating performance over the year-to-date, we are in excellent shape as a business, and it is our priority to continue to build on this strength over the remainder of the year.

So with that, I'm going to turn the call over to the operator for any questions you may have.

[Operator Instructions] First question comes from Ovais Habib with Scotiabank.

Many congrats on the Q2 beat and really great to see the successful integration taking place at CC&V. Rod, just a couple of questions from me. Starting off with CC&V. Based on what CC&V has already produced so far, and the outperformance we saw in Q2. I mean is there a chance for CC&V to beat guidance? I mean any thoughts and color you can provide on how you see the second half?

Yes. I appreciate the congratulations, Ovais. It is pleasing. I mean the guys have done a terrific job across the business already this year. But look, on -- specifically on your question, things have gone really well down there. The plan that we put together for the year is as expected with the higher production in the second quarter, the first full quarter that we've owned it.

And it really is just as a result of the higher grade that was stacked on the heap leach during the last part of last year and the early part of this year and those residual grades being produced. So at this stage, Ovais, it's tracking to plan. And as we look forward to the second half with our stacking plans and all going up on the pad, we're still comfortable with the guidance at this stage.

And then just maybe a little bit more color on this technical review that you guys are going to be coming out with on CC&V. Obviously, this is going to be based on the updated reserves that Newmont had published before the closing of the transaction. I mean, is there a possibility over here to significantly improve the mine life? Do you think you can pull forward some of that production? Any thoughts, color on that, Rod, would be appreciated as well.

Yes. Look, I think the purpose of the update really was just to ensure that the most recent information for Cripple Creek and Victor was actually in the public domain. As you know, you might haven't published a tech report on it for many, many, many years. So we've basically just picked up what we know using all the information available to us based on the current reserve base. And that's the starting point for the -- and the purpose actually of the tech report itself.

So we'll conclude all of that work and publish it. Your question around future growth and future growth opportunities, clearly, we see that. We saw that through the due diligence and now having ownership for the best part of 4 months. We continue to evaluate it. But it's still pretty early, Ovais, for us to get our arms around it. We've got other priorities right now around getting Amendment 14 approved, which is important to underpin the reserves, as I stated by Newmont, that's really clearly our first objective.

And then as we look further field and into the future, many of the opportunities will take some time to study properly and then obviously bring that to market once our understanding is more mature. So really just -- it's really just a placeholder at the moment to get the information out there. So we're all working off the same information. So you can see the production profile importantly and the cost profile importantly, and then we'll go from there in the future.

But look, it's off to a really good start for sure. I couldn't be more pleased or more impressed with the team down there.

Excellent. And just quickly moving on to Copler. I just wanted to see where things are at in terms of kind of discussions with the regulators. I'm just trying to figure out if the regulators have just given you a task list or agenda and any sort of permit to restart only comes once those tasks are completed? Or is there any sort of fast tracking that could happen as well on the restart?

Yes. Look, I think we've sort of made most of the disclosure within the quarter. But I would say that the last quarter, in particular, quarter 2 was very good in terms of the progress that we did make. A number of the open items we had been working on with the various stakeholders around the plans for the construction of the East storage facility, which will hold some of the heap leach material, the remnant heap leach material as well as the closure planning for the actual heap leach really made a lot of progress all the way through to us, as we mentioned on the call, being able to issue the construction, the East storage facility.

So that was a significant positive outcome for the work over the last quarter. And as you can imagine, Ovais, as I've talked about early on, the work in this is important to work with the various government officials, stakeholders, professors from various universities to ensure we get it right in accordance with the Turkish law, but also a number of the interested parties.

So that's been a good quarter for us actually in a lot of ways to get a lot of the open issues resolved. So that's favorable. And then as we look forward, there isn't a sort of set of things that we have to do per se, Ovais, you must do this before you do that. Clearly, we want to make sure that everything is in place before we seek approval for a restart but we're not quite there in a few regards, but we're obviously plugging along and making good progress. So I was really pleased with the quarter, actually.

Congrats on a great quarter.

The next question comes from Don DeMarco with National Bank Financial.

Rod, certainly, investors are interested in the Çöpler restart and your disclosure covers a lot. In the disclosure, you mentioned that you're not sure what the time frame is that a restart might occur. But do you know what the time frame may not be? In other words, do you know for certain that it won't be, say, within 1 month or 3 months, but it would be longer than that?

Yes. If you're trying to trick me in a different way, negative way to answer a question, Don, I appreciate it. But look, I think what we've said publicly is what we're going to say publicly. There isn't a definitive time line as sort of I was just explaining to Ovais. I think the important thing for us is to continue to make progress, and we are, which is important and continue to evolve it into a point where we'll be seeking the approval for a restart.

So I'm not going to put out their timetables in this regard to put unnecessary pressure on anyone. It's not the valid point here. I think we're -- like we've said, we're committed to Turkiye. We see tremendous value for the country in both the Çöpler asset and also in the Hod Maden project. And I think our commitment around Hod Madden and the progress that we're making there, leading up to the sort of for investment decision with our Board at the right time really does, I think, support our commitment to country. So -- and obviously, our progress in terms of getting a restart. So I think we're in good shape as we move forward. But look, I'm not going to put out there a timetable at this stage.

Okay. Well, we'll keep looking for updates on that. Could you remind me what the permitting status is at Çöpler? What level of throughput, for example, is currently permitted? And upon a restart in the event that it occurs, what is the process to update the permitting?

Yes. So if you remember, we disclosed probably, I don't know, it feels like a long time ago, probably 12 months ago that we would have to revert to the 2014 EIA, which is around 6,000 tonnes per day -- sorry, 6,000 tonnes per day on a throughput rate. And that will be our starting point once we get a restart.

And then we'll then be seeking a refresh to the EIA to account -- for everything we have to account for in terms of the site to be looking at improving that throughput rate in the future. But that won't come immediately. It will be a process. But first things first, just let's just get things started. So we revert to 60,000 tonnes per day.

Good luck with the rest of the quarter.

This concludes the question-and-answer session and today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.