Now we start the meeting. Hello everyone, welcome to MMG 2025 First Quarter Production Report briefing. All participants are currently on mute. We will now proceed with the disclaimer. This conference is intended solely for participating investors. The audio and the transcript of this meeting are for reference only. MMG has not authorized any external parties to redistribute the content of this conference. The company and its affiliates shall not be held liable for any losses or liabilities arising from the reproduction of the content. The market carries risks. We remind all investors to make prudent investment decisions. Before the meeting begins, we would like to remind all investors that there will be a Q&A session. Now over to the company's speaker.
Good morning everyone, this is Guo Yu representing the Executive Committee of the company. Welcome to MMG's First Quarter Production Report teleconference. Joining us for this call are CEO and Executive Director Mr. Zhao Jing, CFO Qian Song, Executive General Manager Operations Wang Nan, Interim Executive General Manager Commercial and Development Wang Xiaojing, and also on the English line, we have Executive General Manager Corporate Relations Troy Hey and General Manager Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Andrea Atell. I would now like to hand over to Mr. Zhao Jing. He will take us through the highlights of the report. Following that, we will open the floor for questions.
Thank you very much. It's my great honor to report to you the production in the first quarter. I would like to start by thanking Mr. Cao for his contribution as the CEO of the company. He led MMG to achieve growth in production and profit and capital structure optimization. I'm honored to take over the responsibility from Mr. Cao and to work with the team to build on this positive momentum. On behalf of the executive committee of the company, I would like to thank all the company members for their contribution, and I would like to join hands with all of you to build on this positive momentum and forge forward. That's all for my introduction. Now I will hand over to the moderator for Q&A session.
Everyone, now it's the Q&A session. For those who have any questions from participants, please press the star key followed by the number one on your handset. Online participants, you may submit your questions in the chat box or click the raise hand button. Thank you very much. Once again, from participants, press star key followed by one. Online participants, please use the chat box or use the raise hand function. Now, Mr. Zhao from CICC, please proceed with your question. Mr. Wang Nan, will you answer this question? That's the end of the Q&A session. Thank you very much for your time. The meeting concludes over here. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact our investor relations or corporate affairs team. See you next time. Thank you.
Hello, can you hear me? Okay. Oh, [Foreign language] Hello, this is Jimmy song from BOCI.
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Okay, okay, thanks, thanks management team. This is Jimmy Song from BOCI. I have two questions. The first one is, do you expect higher than 400,000 tons production at Las Bambas, given your sales exceeded 100,000 tons in the first quarter? The second question is, are there any opportunities to reduce the Las Bambas C1 cost in the future, given that you have some optimistic items in the first quarter? That's all.
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Hello. Hi, can you hear me?
Song Song, Song Song, ring up.
Yes, I can hear you.
Hi, hi Troy, this is Sherry. Thanks for joining. Let's wait for a while.
No worries at all, Sherry.
Thanks, Troy.
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Yes, we can hear you. Yeah, yeah, please translate for us. Hello?
Hello,
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Hello.
Yeah, we can hear you. Hi, Andrea. Troy, this is Sherry. Can you hear me? Thank you.
I can hear you.
I can hear you, yes. This is Andrea on the line.
Oh, you're here.
Troy is also on the line.
Yeah, thanks.
We are going to test the line. Hi, interpreter. Mr. Wong, right? Hello? Hi? Hi, interpreter. Hi, hi. Can I know your name?
English interpreter is on the line.
Okay, good. So we want to test the line. So probably, Troy and Andrea, you say, went to the device?
I can go first. This is Andrea. One, two, three, four, five.
Okay, good. Troy?
Troy, hey. One, two, three, four, five.
Good, good. Thanks. So we will start at 9:00 AM on 10th. Sorry, at 9:00 AM, Hong Kong time. That will be 11:00 AM your time. And Godfrey will make the introduction followed by Eva's presentation. So, if there are any specific questions in English, so Troy and Andrea, I would like you to address the English-specific questions. Thanks.
Thanks, Sherry.
Yeah. During the presentation process, the interpreter will translate for us so you can hear the interpreter's voice during the process.
Perfect. Thank you.
Thanks.
The meeting will start in two minutes. Thank you. Now it's time to start the meeting. Hello everyone. Welcome to MMG 2025 First Quarter Production Report Teleconference. All participants are currently on mute. We now proceed with the disclaimer. The meeting is intended solely for participating investors. The audio and the transcript of this meeting are for reference only. MMG has not authorized any external parties to redistribute the content of this conference. The company shall not be held liable for any losses or liabilities arising from the reproduction, dissemination, or use of the conference content. The market carries risks, so we remind all investors to make prudent investment decisions. Before the meeting begins, we would like to remind all investors there will be a Q&A session after the speaker's presentation. Now, over to the company.
Good morning, everyone. This is Guo Yu, representing the executive committee of the company. Welcome to MMG's First Quarter Production Report Teleconference. Joining us for this call are CEO and Executive Director, Mr. Zhao Jing (Iv o), CFO Qian Song, Executive General Manager, Operations, Wang Nan, Interim Executive General Manager, Commercial and Development, Madam Wang Xiangjing , and also on the English line, we have Executive General Manager, Corporate Relations, Troy Hey, and General Manager, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Andrea Atell. I will now hand over to Ivo, who will take us through the highlights of the report following his overview. We will open the call for questions.
Thank you. Good morning and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to MMG's First Quarter Production Report Teleconference. I would like to start by thanking Mr. Cao Liang for his contribution as the CEO of the company. He led MMG to achieve growth in production and profit and capital structure optimization and honored to take over this responsibility from Mr. Cao and work with the team to build on this positive momentum. At MMG, safety is our first value, so I will start with the introduction of safety performance. The total recordable injury frequency, or TRIF, per million hours worked was 2.40.
The significant events with energy exchange frequency after first quarter of 2025 was 1.08 per million hours worked. Both metrics increased from last quarter. Safety is now an elevated focus company-wide. All sites will prioritize contractor management, proactive field task observations, and effective implementation of critical controls to improve the overall safety performance of the company. Now turning to our production results. In Q1 2025, MMG's operations delivered copper production at just over 118,000 tons, 76% higher than the same quarter last year. Production increased on all three copper assets, especially Las Bambas, due to improvement in ore grade recovery rate. It produced over 95,000 tons of copper in copper concentrate in the first quarter 2025, impressively 71% increase compared to same period last year.
Also, sustained operational stability of mining activities at Ferrobamba and Chalcobamba pits contributed to a record high ore mined volume of over 20 million tons for the quarter. It is great to see our team's hard work and commitment to strengthening community relations pay off at Las Bambas. Huancuire Community Company Corp was awarded a contract to transport Las Bambas copper concentrate. They are now operating 30 new trucks. This accomplishment follows the successful implementation of this business model with the Ferrobamba Community Company at the same time. Through work for tax, we are assisting community development.
The first school in the local community now is under construction. The total investment for this project is 29 million Peruvian sol. Going forward, we will continue advancing the project. Now let's move on to Kinsevere in DRC. Kinsevere produced almost 12,000 tons of copper cathode, 19% increase compared to the same period last year. The mine expansion project is progressing steadily with the production ramping up as planned, enabling gradual capacity release. The team continued to pursue solutions to enhance power stability, including the commissioning of 12 MW of new diesel generation. Additionally, a 1 MW per hour trial solar and battery system is currently under commissioning. Now I will move on to Khoemacau asset in Botswana.
In the first quarter of this year, Botswana experienced its most severe rainfall in nearly 50 years. Despite these extremely difficult weather conditions due to higher ore grades resulting from mining sequence, it produced close to 11,000 tons of copper in concentrate, 4% increase from the previous quarter. As the dry season is approaching, production in Q2 is expected to increase. In terms of capacity planning at Khoemacau, we will utilize the existing process plant, focusing on assessing the higher grade areas of the mine through increased mining fronts and operational flexibility so as to increase the annual production to 60,000 tons in the coming two years, and the C1 cost will go down.
On the other hand, our plan for further expand the mine's capacity to 130,000 tons of copper in copper concentrate per annum is progressing very well. At this moment, everything is going very well. The new processing plant is anticipated to begin next year, and the first concentrated production will be in 2028, and the C1 cost will be around $1.55 per pound US dollars at full capacity. Now to zinc assets in Australia. Due to the impact of bushfires and flooding at Dugald River and the scheduled maintenance at Rosebery, total zinc production was 13% lower than the same period last year.
Despite these challenges, the zinc recovery rate of Dugald River stayed above 90%. Rosebery's strategy of focusing on zinc equivalent production continues to deliver positive results. Both assets are expected to see improved production in the second quarter, remain on track to meet 2025 production guidelines. That's all for the production report in Q1. Going forward, we will focus on safety performance improvement, delivery of expansion project, and we will continue to progress our nickel Brazil acquisition and integration plans.
At present, the operations at Las Bambas are stable and in good order. Against favorable market conditions, including declining TC/RC rates for copper and zinc concentrates and rising precious metal prices, the company is conducting a comprehensive review of its 2025 production and cost guidance. Looking ahead, it's exciting that MMG remains at the forefront of delivering the base metals critical to a cleaner low carbon future in each of our operating regions. We are making positive impact to people's lives. Our focus remains on working to achieve our long-term goal to become one of the top 10 global copper producers.
On behalf of MMG's executive committee, I would like to sincerely thank you, our team, for their hard work and commitment to safe operations at MMG. We have a bright future. This concludes our presentation. My colleague and I will take your questions. Now hand over to moderators.
Hello everyone. If you have any questions for participants, please press the star key followed by the number one on your headset. Online participants, you may submit your questions in the chat box or click the raise hand button. Once again, for participants, please press the star key followed by number one. Online participants, you may use the chat box or click the raise hand button. Thank you. From HSBC, please go ahead.
Hello everyone. This is Analyst from HSBC. Thank you very much for this opportunity for me to ask questions. Congratulations on the results of Q1. I have several questions, so I will do it one by one. First question, you mentioned the transport contract in Las Bambas. Does this mean that the community issue is already resolved? And Las Bambas production will be around the higher end of the guidance for the whole year, and will the cost go down further? That's my first question about Las Bambas. Thank you.
Thank you very much. I will answer your question. About Huancuire Community Company transport contract. It means that we are improving our relations with the local community. We have been doing community negotiations for two years. At this moment, everything is very well on track. It means that we have provided a solid foundation for the stable operations of our business in that community. It's already our second community company to do the transportation of copper. We are building a shared community over there. About the cost, the production is rising. Of course, our cost will go down due to scale economics. If there won't be any nationwide incidents, then our production will definitely go up, and it will be possible for the production to meet the upper limit of the guidance. Thank you.
Next question also about Las Bambas. By the end of Q1, did the inventory in Las Bambas digest or lowered to a reasonable level? The number of trucks operating there increased, and the capacity per quarter in terms of sales, it's over 100,000 tons. There is a room to improve the sales scale and also the production because you increased the number of trucks. About inventory in Q1, our sales in Q1 increased mainly because of the inventory in Q4 last year because of the blockage of roads. Part of the inventory in Q4 was sold in Q1. In terms of production, we are sticking to our guidance. Thank you.
My last question is about Kinsevere. In Q1, there was power outage, so the production in Q1 increased by only a little bit on Q4 last year. Is this in line with our expectation of this year? Do you think there is a chance for you to downgrade the guidance for the whole year's production in Kinsevere? We are also using diesel power generation as a backup over there. Can I ask you, what is the proportion of diesel power generation in Q1? Do you think this will push up the cost over there? Thank you.
Nan, would you like to answer the question?
Sure, sure. Let me answer the question. You mentioned several things. First, power outage in Q1. Actually, in Q1, it was a still ramping period in Kinsevere. By the end of June, the production will reach designed capacity. Before the end of June, it's still ramping period. In terms of power supply, yes, we are under some impact at this moment. But we added 12 MW diesel power generation as a backup. For the whole year, we are very well on track with our guidance. The primary source of power will be the national power supply, and we are also importing power from Zambia. Diesel power generation will only be the backup. At this moment, the supply is good enough to support the productions of our mines.
About the cost of diesel power generation, as I mentioned, it's a backup. When there is power outage, we will use diesel power generation. In terms of the percentage it takes in our total power consumption, it's very small. Our cost guidance remains the same as before. Thank you.
Could you please specify the proportion of diesel power generation, like lower than how much percentage points?
The use of diesel power generation varies from month to month. I would say 10% to 15% if you would like to quantify, but it's always subject to the power supply of the grid. 10% to 15%, that's the range. It varies from month to month.
Thank you. That's very clear. Indeed, very small proportion of diesel power generation. Thank you very much. I have no further questions. Congratulations once again on your Q1 performance. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Next question from CITIC Securities.
The question, very happy to see the improvement in production in Q1. Two questions. Production in Las Bambas closer to 100,000 tons. There is an active growth, quote unquote. Is it due to seasonality, whether this can be fixed in the coming quarters? Thank you.
Mr. Qian, would you like to take this question?
Yes. Thank you very much for the question. Our production in Las Bambas in Q1 was affected by the rainy season and also the maintenance scheduled. It's closer to 100,000 tons. Next quarter, the production will improve. For the whole year, if there won't be any road blockage nationwide, then I think the production will reach the upper limit of our guidance. Thank you.
Thank you very much. I have one further question to ask you about Khoemacau. The preliminary expansion work is underway. Do you anticipate any more work later this year for the expansion of the capacity over there?
Let me answer the question as well. Thank you very much.
For Khoemacau, our top priority at this moment is the feasibility study. We would like to complete the feasibility study by the end of this year. After the approval of the feasibility study, we will accelerate the construction. In 2026, 2027, it will reach 60,000 tons. In 2028, the production will reach 130,000 tons. We are also doing some exploration work over there. The potential is very big. We are busy arranging the work. The mineral resources will grow because of our exploration. After the completion of the 130,000 tons plan, we will see if there is any further opportunities to keep expanding the capacity. We are going to inform you when the time is ripe.
Now to the next participant. Please go ahead with your question.
Hello. I have several questions to ask you. The first question is about Q1. The grade is okay. Recovery rate is also okay in Las Bambas. Do you think the grade will be stable for Q2 and also the recovery rate? Do you think it's only seasonal or is it sustainable for the whole year for next quarter as well? Sorry, I didn't quite get your question. Could you please repeat? Could you please repeat your question? Las Bambas grade and recovery rate were both very good in Q1. Are they sustainable? That's my question.
In Ferrobamba, it's a 0.4% grade. Chalcobamba's grade is higher, around 1%. In the first several years, the grade will be very stable.
Thank you. On average, it's a 0.8% grade, right? Because in terms of the volume processed, it's half-half in Ferrobamba and Chalcobamba.
0.8% grade is sustainable. Yes, you can understand it this way. Recovery rate is improving very fast.
I would like to ask you about the recovery rate. Is it also sustainable?
Wang Nang can add a few words later. For the recovery rate, the recovery rate was quite low in the beginning phase, and we made some adjustments. We used extra materials to improve the recovery. It means that we did the processing technology optimization. That is why the recovery rate is improving now. We would like to work harder to maintain the recovery rate. Mr. Wang Nang, would you like to add a few words on that?
Yes. We are optimizing our work at the mines over there, and we are looking for more opportunities to improve the recovery rate in Ferrobamba and Chalcobamba. We are going to tap the most potential out of the mines and improve the recovery rate.
I see. Thank you. For precious metals price at this moment, it's very high, and the cost has been going down. If you look at the cost here in China, it's even lower than the lower limit of your guidance for your cost. Normally, the guidance will be adjusted in the middle of the year or by the end of the year. Is that the case?
There are external factors working on the cost. We are doing the assessment of the cost at this moment. We are doing the optimization work at this moment. Hopefully, in the coming several months, we can do better in terms of cost optimization.
I see. I see. I understand. Thank you very much. My last question is about financial cost. At this moment, you are reducing the financial cost. Do you think the financial cost in the first half of this year can go down a lot compared to the second half last year?
Mr. Qian, would you like to take this question?
Sure. At this moment, the leverage ratio is on the decline. The credit conditions provided by the banks are also improving. But for our existing loans, it will be the interest rate applied before. At this moment, in terms of the financial cost, there is no significant improvement. But China lowered its interest rate last year in the second half. This will lower our financial cost going forward. After the conclusion of the Brazilian project, there will be some financing arrangements. But at this moment, nothing is certain.
You mean financial cost at this moment is more or less the same as the second half last year? No significant reduction?
Yes. Yes. You are right.
You mentioned this financing arrangement in Brazil. It will be debt-based financing arrangement, right? Not equity-based financing arrangement. I remember you mentioned you will not do equity financing over there. Is that still true?
We are looking at the market conditions at this moment. As you may understand, we have very good financing partners, debt partners, equity partners. We are going to look at the market conditions to make the final decision to decide how much debt financing and how much equity financing.
Thank you. I have no further questions.
Next question, Niu Jianbin.
Would you like to ask Las Bambas C1 cost in Q1 and what are the factors affecting the C1 cost over there?
Mr. Qian?
Cash cost in Las Bambas, right?
Yes, yes.
That's my question.
C1 cost in Las Bambas in Q1. I think Wang Nang already touched upon this. Cash cost two parts are controllable and uncontrollable. Controllable things include the operational cost, safety performance, things like that. The production this year is on the rise, so the cost will keep going down. Uncontrollable things include TCRC, the value of the byproducts, and also the selling expenses, etc. In the first half this year, precious metal price, it's going up. There will be improvement of the cost. There will be precious metal sales in Las Bambas. The value of byproduct will appreciate. This will improve the C1 cost in Las Bambas. But it's always subject to the market conditions. It's very difficult for us to give you a guidance.
Next question. Please go ahead.
Thank you very much. I would like to ask you about capital allocation, dividend payout, and investment in new mines. Please go ahead. We understand the concern of our investors. For example, unreasonable M&A. But we do M&A very cautiously so we can assure our investors there won't be any unreasonable M&A cases going on.
In terms of capital allocation, we are going to repay the debt, the principal, the interest, and also CapEx. We talked to our investors in our annual results announcement. We have a very strong capacity to generate cash. The capital expenses are very well supported. If it's necessary, we can always do debt financing and equity financing. We injected new capital in Khoemacau. We included a new equity investor. A lot of debt financing partners are engaging with us very actively at this moment. We are going to make our decisions very cautiously. We have multiple choices at this moment.
Thank you very much. About the cost of Las Bambas C3 cost, what is the room for the C3 cost to reduce this year?
C1 cost will improve, as we already introduced. C3 cost, it's really subject to the capital investment in the construction phase. There will be a process for C3 cost to go down from C1 to C3. I think we are very well on track. There won't be large fluctuations. It's really up to the change of C1 cost.
What is the current C3 cost in Las Bambas? How does it fit in in the global average?
I don't think we have a global C3 benchmark at this moment. Most of the benchmarks are for C1.
I see. Thank you. Thank you very much for the answer.
If you have any questions from participants, please press the star key followed by the number one. Online participants, you may submit your questions in the chat box or click the raise hand button. Thank you. Once again, from participants, please press the star key followed by the number one. Online participants, you may submit your questions in the chat box or click the raise hand button. Wang Jingjie's question, from BG.
The mining volume, it's bigger than processed volume for several consecutive quarters. What is the reason? Also, the mining volume in Kinsevere is quite low. What is the reason? What will be the cost in Kinsevere when it reaches the full capacity?
Mr. Wang Nang, would you like to answer the question?
Sure. I will talk about Las Bambas first. We have Ferrobamba and Chalcobamba. The stripping sequence, it's designed by our technical team. When the mining volume is bigger than the processed volume, there are several reasons. First, to stabilize the grade and improve the recovery rate. That's the consideration. There are technical factors in our consideration. The excess mines will be stocked on site, and they will be used in the following quarters.
For Kinsevere, the mining volume was quite low, mainly because we have sulfate mines over there on the pit. We are arranging the work over there with the value maximization of the pit as the major consideration. It's also cost-related consideration. When sulfate mine is reaching the full capacity, then the cost will be in line with our guidance. We are going to do the assessment in June when it reaches the full capacity to look at the cost. We will share the results with our investors at that time. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your answer.
If you would like to ask questions from participants, please press the star key followed by the number one. Online participants, you may submit your questions in the chat box or click the raise hand button. Thank you. If you have any questions, feel free to press the star key followed by the number one for phone participants. Online participants, you may submit your questions in the chat box or click the raise hand button. Next question from Yang Wen Jia.
Do you have any plans to do market cap management? Thank you.
Mr. Qian, would you like to answer the question? Thank you.
Sure. We value investor return, and we believe in the long-term value of our company and our business. Our interest is in line with our investors. In the board meeting this year, we composed our dividend policies. At this moment, the work is very well on track. The dividend policy is approved by the board at this moment. In terms of market cap management, we are following the leadership of SASAC. We attach great importance to market cap management and return to investors. At the very core of it, it's improving the performance of the company. That is our ultimate goal.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. Next question from Huatai Securities. Please go ahead.
This is Huang Zhidie from Huatai Securities. I would like to ask you about the tax issue in Las Bambas. The work for tax program in Las Bambas, how much impact it will have on the cash, or will it be offset of corporate income tax? What will be the corporate income tax after the reduction? What will be the rate? Thank you.
Mr. Qian?
Sure. Thank you. Thank you very much for your question. We are working with the tax authority in Peru at this moment to resolve the tax issue. We won the case, but SUNAT, which is the tax authority over there, is filing a follow-up case against us, and it will take several years for us to get an answer. We are positive on the results of the lawsuit. In terms of the impact on the company's cash flow and corporate income tax rate, we think there won't be very big impact. This kind of tax dispute has been around for some time, and they are with no reasonable ground. We keep the record of the tax risks. The tax authority didn't collect any tax from us in the meantime. If we win the case finally, there won't be any impact on our cash or on our corporate income tax rate.
We have this tax stability agreement with the local government. In the term of this agreement, the corporate income tax will not change. Hope this answers your question.
Very clear. I have no further questions.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next question.
I would like to ask you about Khoemacau. Do you expect the C1 cost to go down? If yes, by how much when the production volume goes up?
When our capacity is 60,000 tons, the cash cost will definitely go down. When it's 60,000 tons, we are going to do assessment of the cost of the mines over there. After that, we will share the information with our investors.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for your answer. If you would like to ask a question for phone participants, please press the star key followed by number one. Online participants, you may submit your questions in the chat box or click the raise hand button. Thank you. Once again, phone participants, please press the star key followed by number one. Online participants, you may submit your questions in the chat box or click the raise hand button. Thank you. Next question from Fan Jingyang.
Would like to ask you, Q1 production about twice the size on Q4 last year. What do you have for share repurchase considerations?
In terms of the financial factors like share repurchase, we are going to share with you in our interim results presentation. At this moment, we do not have the authorization to do share repurchase.
Thank you very much for your answer.
That's the end of today's Q&A session. Thank you. Thank you all for your participation. This concludes our session. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our investor relations or corporate affairs team.
Thank you. See you next time.
Thank you very much for your participation.
This concludes our session. Wish you a good day.
Thank you. See you next time.