Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the First Quantum Minerals Limited second quarter 2023 results conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press Star then one on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing Star then zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Bonita To, Director, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Gaylene, thank you everyone for joining us today to discuss our second quarter results. During the call, we will be making forward-looking statements, as such, I encourage you to read the cautionary notes that accompany this presentation, our MD&A, and the related news release. As a reminder, the presentation is available on our website that all dollar references are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. On today's call will be Tristan Pascall, our Chief Executive Officer, with opening remarks, followed by Rudi Badenhorst, our Chief Operating Officer, who will provide an overview of our operations. Ryan MacWilliam, our Chief Financial Officer, will review our financial results, Tristan will then wrap things up, after which we will open up the lines to take questions. With that, I will now hand it over to Tristan.
Thank you, Bonita, and thank you everybody for joining us on our conference call today to discuss our second quarter results. After what was a challenging start to the year, it is pleasing to report improvements in the second quarter, which Rudi will speak to in his review of operations. As a result of our focus on productivity and costs, to which we continue to seek to improve, our second quarter EBITDA of $568 million increased from the first quarter despite the weakness in the copper price, which Ryan will provide more details in his financial review. Overall, I am pleased with our second quarter results, with our three largest operations hitting daily production records during the period. I am confident that our three main operations are set up well for the remainder of the year.
We do expect a stronger performance in the second half of the year, and we remain comfortable with our guidance, although production will likely be at the bottom end of the range. I would like to give an update on the concession contract in Panama. As you are aware, we reached an agreement with the government of Panama earlier this year. Since this agreement, the concession contract has successfully gone through the public consultation process in April and has been signed by both the government and MPSA in June. It is currently under normal course review with the National Controller , which is the final stage before the contract is presented to the National Assembly. We do expect endorsement from the National Controller in short order and continue to expect the concession contract to be put in front of the National Assembly in the current legislative term.
The Cobre Panamá team continued to work closely with government to support the passage of the contract into law for the mutual benefit to Cobre Panamá and the people of Panama. Before I hand over the call to Rudi to review operational results, I would like to highlight that during the quarter, we published our 2022 ESG report, which was our seventh annual report on our sustainability performance. Following the publication of this report, we hosted our inaugural virtual ESG day that outlined our practical and pragmatic approach on a number of ESG areas that are key to our business. I'm very proud of the work we do across our business and the commitment of all our operations to the surrounding communities and our commitment to produce copper in a safe and responsible manner.
If you were unable to attend this event, I encourage you to review the replay, which is available on our website. With that, I would like to hand the call over to Rudi.
Thank you, Tristan. After a difficult first quarter, it is pleasing to see operations back on track in the second quarter, with Sentinel achieving its highest monthly production for the year in May, and Cobre Panamá and Kansanshi achieved the same records in June. Total copper production for the second quarter was approximately 187,000 tons, up over 48,000 tons from the first quarter, as grades increased at each of our 3 largest operations and throughput improved at both Cobre Panamá and Sentinel. At Cobre Panamá, the operation delivered a strong performance in the second quarter, with copper production of just over 90,000 tons, 38% higher than the first quarter, as grades improved and mill throughput continues to ramp up towards the 100 million tons per annum rate.
At Kansanshi, copper production of approximately 35,000 tons was nearly 6,000 tons higher than the first quarter. Production during the second quarter focused on mining cutbacks at elevated benches that have historically had higher grades. As a result, grades across all three circuits were higher quarter-over-quarter. During the quarter, we encountered harder ore in the mine 11 area with high carbon content, which impacted crushing and milling rates. This is being addressed by blending with softer ores from stockpile and by continued acceleration of ore from the mine 15 and 17 areas. Sentinel reported copper production of 54,000 tons in the second quarter, approximately 18,000 tons higher than Q1.
While mining activities continue to be impacted by excess water from the heavy rains in the first quarter, by mid-May, operations steadily improved once the pit was dewatered, thereby allowing operations to regain access to higher grade ore. Overall, it was good to see an increase in production in the second quarter, and we expect to see these improvements continue over the remainder of the year, which Tristan will address in the guidance section of his closing remarks. Thank you, and I will now hand the call over to Ryan to review the financials.
Thank you, Rudi. The copper price averaged $3.84 per pound in the second quarter, down 5% from Q1. This fall was as a result of the weak global industrial activity and accompanying recession concerns, as interest rates continue to rise. This broader demand softness was balanced by reasonable electric grid and electric vehicle spending, particularly in China. Commodities like copper, which are tied to the energy transition, outperformed traditional industrial commodities. Despite the weaker copper price in the second quarter, total revenue increased 6% from Q1. This was driven by increased copper sales of 27,000 tons due to the higher production, which Rudi described. Sales were lower than production during the quarter, partly due to inventory levels returning to normal following a low Q1, as well as the timing of shipments, which will catch up over time.
As can be seen on Slide 15, copper C1 cash costs of $1.98 per pound were 12% lower than Q1. This decrease was driven by higher production and lower fuel and explosive costs in the quarter. This was partially offset by higher maintenance costs and lower byproduct credits due to the lower gold grades at Cobre Panamá. Our costs generally fall into three categories. The first category include costs directly linked to commodity markets, such as fuel, freight, and explosives. This category makes up roughly 25% of our costs and is an area where we have seen strong cost improvements through the first half of this year. The second category includes items such as grinding media and reagents, where the cost base is partially linked to commodity prices built into the cost base, but with a lagging effect.
These make up roughly 15% of our costs, and improvements so far have been muted due to this lagging effect. The last category includes labor, services, and fixed costs. These fixed costs include items such as electricity, which is generally based on multi-year contracts, and items such as treatment charges, which are priced off annual contracts. These costs make up roughly 60% of our cost base, and it is in this category where costs remain sticky. This is similar to what we're seeing in inflation globally, as core CPI remains above broader CPI measures. Slide 16 highlights the Q2 EBITDA increased by 10% to $568 million, driven by higher revenues. Net earnings attributable to shareholders increased to $93 million, and adjusted earnings per share increased to $0.12. Moving on to our balance sheet.
During the quarter, we announced the offering of our first standalone eight-year senior notes. This $1.3 billion issuance resulted in a 50% increase in our weighted average debt maturity. The proceeds were used to pay down $970 million in the existing revolving credit facility and $300 million of redemption of the company's outstanding 2025 senior notes. This provides us with a continued strong liquidity buffer, which is important given the global macro uncertainty. Our net debt decreased by $130 million to $5.65 billion, due to higher EBITDA and favorable working capital movements. Also, during the quarter, it was pleasing to see the government of Zambia reach a $6.3 billion debt restructuring deal with external government creditors.
This unlocks another tranche of IMF funding and is expected to benefit the fiscal and monetary environment in Zambia, and therefore its sovereign credit rating. This benefits Zambia and First Quantum, as an improvement in the Zambian rating decreases the country risk component of our corporate credit rating. Lastly, our continued confidence in our underlying business has led to the declaration of an interim dividend of $0.08 per share, based on our 15% of cash flow dividend policy. This will be paid out on September 19th. That brings the finance section to an end. I'll now hand the call back to Tristan.
Thanks, Ryan. As Rudi noted, the second quarter saw production improvements, and we are well set up for this to continue in the second half of the year. At Cobre Panamá, the CP 100 expansion project is ramping up well, already achieving brief periods at full design capacity and on track to exit the year at a consistent rate of 100 million tons per annum. In addition, we continue to expect grades to continue to improve over the course of the year. As such, we are maintaining our copper production guidance for Cobre Panamá at 350,000-380,000 tons. Construction of the moly plant is progressing well, with completion and commissioning expected by the end of 2023, for first molybdenum concentrate production in the first quarter of 2024.
At Kansanshi, the second quarter started to see the benefits of changes in mining fleet deployment and mining on the upper elevations of mine 15 and 17, which have had historically higher grades. Our extensive drilling campaign has allowed for better visibility of the mining areas, as well as the grades in our stockpiles. As such, we continue to expect copper production to be within our guidance range of 130,000-150,000 tons, albeit the bottom end of the range is more likely. Production will remain at these lower levels until the S3 Expansion project comes online in 2025. Overall procurement for this project is approximately 33% committed. Several long lead items are on track for delivery in the coming weeks, including the first haul trucks. The construction works already underway are expected to accelerate into next year.
We are confident that we remain on schedule for first production from the S3 Expansion in the second half of 2025. At Sentinel, with the groundwater now under control, we have already begun accessing the higher-grade ore at the bottom of the pit. As well, we have de-deployed a drilling contractor for July to work alongside our own drill rigs to increase stocks of broken material. We expect milling rates and grades to continue to improve for a stronger second half of the year. However, taking into account the challenges we encountered in the first quarter, production for the year will likely come in at the lower end of our guidance range of 260,000-280,000 tons. At Enterprise, an important milestone was achieved with first production of nickel concentrate achieved in the second quarter.
As well, the process plant temporarily demonstrated nameplate capacity during the quarter. The remaining focus will be to ramp up to commercial production over the remainder of this year and with full ramp up in 2024. At the Las Cruces underground project, while all necessary permits are now in place for project approval, technical and study work continues. The project continues to be evaluated, taking into account the current economic conditions and the company's debt reduction objectives. This brings to an end my prepared remarks. However, before I open the line for Q&A, I would like to take this opportunity to commend all the teams at our operations. During the first quarter, each operation faced its own unique challenges, and the team swiftly responded, bringing the operations back on track.
This has resulted in an improved second quarter, and I believe places the company in a position for a stronger second half of the year. With that, we will be happy to take questions now. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll now begin the analyst question and answer session. Analysts are permitted to ask one question and one follow-up, and are welcome to rejoin the queue if they have more. To join the question queue, press Star, then 1 on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone acknowledging your request. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. To withdraw your question, please press Star, then 2. The first question is from Orest Wowkodaw with Scotiabank. Please go ahead.
Hi, good morning. question is around Sentinel. can you maybe walk us through what gives you confidence that operation can still meet the low end of guidance expectations for this year, just based on the weak first half?
Well, let me give you the high level, and then Rudi can jump in with some detail. As we said on the last call, we still had water in the pit in Sentinel, really towards the end of April and into early May. What we've seen so far this quarter and the production results of 54,000 tons reflects really a strong operation from the two months, May and June. July, we've seen that we're very much on track. As we said in the first quarter call, the lack of access to the lower areas of the pit really meant that we were focused on lower-grade areas in the phase two area of the pit, and we were on site just in the last couple of weeks.
The working areas, the benches, and the roads are now in very, very good condition, particularly in the bottom of the pit, and we now have very good grades there. You know, up to 1.5% copper in the bottom of the pit. That was always intended to come out this year. It's just that the sequence across the year is now shifted. We'll see the majority of that in the second half. Rudi, do you want to add anything to that?
No, I just concur, Tristan. The important thing is that, as we said at the end of the first quarter, pre-stripping or the stripping in those areas associated with high grade was already done. It was just a matter of getting rid of the water. We already, as Tristan highlighted, seeing very, very positive results into the first month of the third quarter, and we have absolutely no reason not to be positive about the production coming out of Sentinel for the remainder of this year. Certainly, as far as preparations are concerned for the upcoming wet season in November, additional pumping capacity has been employed.
Last year, where we couldn't pump any of the contact water to the environment without doing the necessary neutralization, that has principally been removed by installing a facility to pump all of that water to the process plant, so we won't have any restrictions on pumping water there. The efforts around opening up the northern wall for setting us up for 2024 has progressed exceptionally well. Orest, there's absolutely no reason for us not to believe that we will get there this year. We are in the ore, all the shuttles are all bound, and things are looking good there.
... thanks, Rudi. Just as a follow-up, those changes that you've made with respect to water treatment, does that suggest that you expect a more balanced profile next year with respect to production through the first half of the year versus second?
Exactly that.
Okay.
The next question is from Jackie Przybylowski with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Thank you very much. Actually, I'll ask my first question as a follow-up to Orest's question. In the MD&A that you put out last night, you talked about fragmentation issues at Trident and that you're deploying a contractor to help with some of the drilling and mining. Can you talk a little bit about how you expect that contractor will impact the costs at Sentinel, and I guess at Enterprise as well? And, you say in the release that you're expecting that will start in July. Can you talk about how long you expect that contractor will be deployed for?
Rudi, do you wanna take that one?
No worries. Hi, Jackie. The we decided to go the route of additional drill rigs in the Sentinel pit, It's really primarily to give the operations an opportunity to get ahead of some broken stock. We are planning to only utilize the additional three rigs for a period of about six to nine months, and then we will let them go. It's really just to help our own existing fleet come ahead of the game, where we lost a bit of opportunity with the rain last year or the beginning of the year when it was quite wet, and we couldn't get those drill rigs in. At the...
As far as costs are concerned, the contractor that we've brought in are drilling at similar rates and in some cases, slightly lower costs than ourselves. We don't expect to see any real increase in drilling costs. What is more important is that we will see a substantial increase in broken stock, which will allow for the more efficient feeding of the crushers and upping the milling rate, which is essential.
Thanks so much, Rudi. Appreciate that. Maybe as a second question, Can I ask if you can comment at all on the progress in the Panamanian government or Panamanian National Assembly to approve your proposed changes to the mining code? Do you have any sense on when that comes up in the debate or discussion or when we might expect to see a resolution on that? Thanks.
Thanks, Jackie. I'll take that one. The contract is currently sitting with a National Controller , and that's an administrative process to validate the counter signature by the government on the contract that was signed, and that's the last step before it does go into the National Assembly. The current sitting of Parliament commenced on the first of July. Our understanding is that in the last 3-4 weeks, they've been working on the establishment of the various committees, so the Finance Committee and so on. The process is that the contract goes into the committee for a reading, and then it passes from the committee into the full house in the National Assembly. That's the sequence.
We believe as soon as it's signed by the National Controller, which we believe will happen in short order, that it would then go into the National Assembly, read by the committee and then for debate, and voting in the house. There's no reason to expect that wouldn't occur, as we said, in this current sitting of Parliament.
The next question is from Ralph Profiti with Eight Capital. Please go ahead.
Thanks, Operator. Good morning. Tristan, two questions. The first one is on Cobre Panamá. It looks like just a shade under 92 million tons per annum as the run rate, as the average for Q2. Just wondering where you are as the exit rate of Q2, or even in today's terms? Just, you know, how close are we to getting to 100 on a steady state basis, even before the year-end target?
Thanks, Ralph. Really, that's a combination question at the front end of the circuit around the efficiencies, generated by the screening plant, and that's the focus and the optimization work that's going on. We're very, very happy with the contribution that Ball Mill 6 is already making. The process water upgrades have, since the last of year, end of last year, have meant that even at these high throughput rates, we've seen very good recoveries. Really it's around the optimization of that screening plant with secondary and pebble crushing. That's going well.
We have seen days where we exceed the normal throughput rates and that target of 100 million tons per annum. It's now a matter of stringing that sequence together and alongside, you know, the grade coming out of the pit. We do see variations across the pit. Some areas are harder than others, some are more competent than others. Also, we have areas where there's clay content that has an impact on that screening plant. That's why the optimization is important and takes that time, and we're very confident of hitting that 100 million tons per annum. We are not saying that we will achieve that anytime sooner, if we do that would be a bonus.
At this stage, we continue to hold to what we said, which is by the end of the year.
Okay. Yeah, got it. Thanks. If I can ask a second question, maybe for Ryan. Just on the Zambia IMF deal, you talked about corporate credit advantages, just wondering if you're seeing some of those savings on the recent senior notes refinancing, where you're seeing that savings on the jurisdictional component on the terms of those notes. Is that something that we can infer from some of the rates that we're seeing on those coupons for that refi?
Yeah. Hi, Ralph. This is the first time we've issued notes that are at better rates than what the JP Morgan high yield index is. I think that's driven by a combination of factors. It's driven by the more than $2 billion in debt reduction over recent years. It's driven by the constructive relationship now in place with the government of Panama, and it's driven by the fact that we're on track with our brownfield projects. Certainly, the dynamic in Zambia and the positive part that the government has delivered that IMF deal and continues to make progress and part of the debt restructuring is part of it. There's still more work to go there with the government, and we think that will help in the future.
I'd say the Zambia piece is a part of it, but it's together with other factors that help that bond issuance.
The next question is from Ioannis Masvoulas with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Hello. Thanks for taking my questions. The first question is on Kansanshi. You mentioned in the MD&A and on the prepared remarks about the processing challenges due to the ore hardness and the fact that you had to use a stockpiled material. Is this something you expect to persist in the second half of the year?
Thanks, Yannis.
Hi, Ya nnis .
Rudi-
Sorry.
Rudi-
Go ahead, Rudi.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely, Yannis. Currently, we're experiencing some very hard, material in the mine 11 area of the pit. That is offset by mining, as we stated in the MD&A and also in the call earlier, by going up into mine 17 and mine 15, where we have some higher grade and very, very good material. Also, you know, the strategy with S3 coming on in a year and a half, 2 years' time, has always been to also incorporate our stockpiles. When we have the advantage to use those stockpiles and offset some throughput issues through the crushers and the mills, by using those stockpiles, we'll continue to do so.
We have drilled those stock piles in the last six months. We now know quite well where, you know, where the grade is in those stock piles and where there isn't any grade. It's not like just a haphazard feeding of stock piles. It actually forms part of the strategy, and it's working well for Kansanshi at the moment.
Okay, great. Thank you for that. Just a follow-up on the Cobre Panamá fiscal, the talks. When does the current legislative term of the National Assembly end?
Hi, Yannis. It's first of October is when the current term ends.
The next question is from Chris LaFemina, sorry, from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Hey, hey, thanks, guys, for taking my question. I have a bit of a bigger picture question regarding your strategy and how that might change as commodity prices change. It seems like strategy now is deliver the balance sheet, a prudent conservative approach to growth, but you obviously have a pretty big organic growth pipeline. What if we have a period where copper prices go a lot higher than people expect? How does the strategy change? If we think about your project pipeline, the La Granja and Haquira are kind of tied up with community relations work that you need to do. Taca Taca, there's fiscal stability that you need to focus on before you can really start putting a lot of capital there. What happens to cash flow if you can deliver more quickly in the event of higher copper prices?
You drop those pieces on the ground. What about beyond that? Is it capital returns, or is there anything you can do in the portfolio to accelerate some of the investments? Then I have a follow-up question to that as well.
Sure, Chris. Thank you. I mean, the first thing to say is, look, we certainly understand the, you know, the structural shape of the copper market and the challenges on supply to what looks like, you know, stronger and stronger demand in the future. As Ryan said in his comments, in the near term, you know, we also need to plan, and it seems in the last few days that the outlook is improving, but certainly it would make prudent sense to plan for, you know, a downturn or recession or, you know, continued challenges on inflation. Look, our first responsibility is to deliver and not to get ahead of ourselves on that in terms of making sure, you know, the plan for this year is in solid place and into next year.
Certainly that's the focus, as Rudi has set out there. Yeah, beyond that, we believe that First Quantum has an enviable, brownfield and greenfield portfolio, and certainly, has the team in order to be able to put those into play. If we do see and that rosy scenario comes to bear, you know, we have the assets and the capability to deliver that, but we would only do that as we've said many times from position where the balance sheet is in strong position. We did set out our capital allocation policy.
It's in the presentation and sets out pretty clear, the focus on improving the balance sheet, and then investing in the business, but also making a return to shareholders as well to share in that upside if it does come to bear.
Conversely, in a weaker market, what levers would you pull to make sure the business stays structurally intact?
Thanks, Chris. Yeah, look, I think that's an important question. As I said, it's really around delivery on the plan. If we do see, you know, significant compression, you know, what we would say is, as Ryan set out in terms of our cost structure, we would expect, you know, some of those more sticky elements to pull back as well. You know, that our margin, we've noted the resilience of the copper price, even as, you know, during these challenges time. We would see, seek to push hard on our supply and our cost control. If things get really squashed, you know, we would be looking at how we're spending capital in the business, that would be the next lever to pull.
In the meantime, as I said, it's really around delivery on the production plan. You know, revenue and copper generation is what gets us there and achieves the balance sheet, the leveraging that we want to see in the near term.
The next question is from Greg Barnes with TD Securities. Please go ahead.
Yes, thank you. Tristan, just a comment from you around the risks as the concession agreement in Panama goes through the National Assembly and these various committees. Can the committees, or do they have the power to change some of the terms of the agreement, or is this more of a formality?
Yeah, Greg, I wouldn't say it's a formality, but the process is that the committees do the reading, and then it goes from the committee into the full house. No, there's no it's just a yes or no vote. You know, the detail of that in terms of, the various diputados and so on, and so where they would line, you know, that's part of what the government is focused on. The government and the company are aligned in terms of the PR effort and moving that forward, but it is a democratic process.
I would say that we're confident, but it is a democratic process. You know, everything that we're seeing at the moment gives us reason to believe that we expect it would pass. We would like to see that in the near future.
Okay. Just a follow-up question also on Cobre, but for Ryan. Your hedging on the coal for the power plant comes to an end at the end of this year. What's the thinking around protecting the coal price, beyond 2023?
We'll certainly consider future coal hedges. The current hedge program there has been successful and certainly protected the costs around power generation. Our guidance for next year assumes a coal price of around $150 a ton, and that's what's embedded in those C1 costs. If we're able to get a lower coal price, as it's been more recently in the spot market, you'll see better-than-expected costs coming out of Cobre. Conversely, if the coal price is above $150, it'll move the other way. It is a discussion with the suppliers, I think that'll just be, you know, we'll go into those commercial discussions. If there's a sensible contract for us and them to put in place, we'll put it in place. If there's not, we're also comfortable buying coal off the spot market.
Over time, coal does become a smaller portion of the cost there, Greg, as we move to renewables. We've already got that expansion project powered by renewables, and we've disclosed that by 2030, we'll be fully off coal. It's an important question, but of less importance with time.
The next question is from Ed Brooker with Barclays. Please go ahead.
Hey, thanks for taking the question today. My first one was just on the recent, the recent new deal. Historically, you've waited to look to refi bonds, really kind of 12 months ahead of when they mature. Just wanna get your thoughts on why you're proactive now. What was the rationale coming to market for that bond, especially in the context where rates are right now?
Sure. We'd actually redeemed $850 million of the 2024s before the end of the first quarter, and we drew from the revolver to fund that redemption. Effectively, to some extent, this most recent redemption was partly for the 2025, $300 million. The other way to think about it is the majority, the balance, the $1 billion, most of that actually went to the 2024s, which we'd recently redeemed. A fairly consistent strategy with what we've done previously.
Got it. Then, you know, the La Granja Acquisition was small and, you know, I'd say prudent. There's some CapEx on the back end, but, you know, it seems like there, you know, in the capital allocation plan, there's inorganic projects that you could look at. I just want to get your thoughts on more acquisitions in the near, I guess, or medium term, how large you're looking, or if it's more of an afterthought.
We drive a fairly consistent approach to acquisitions, where we monitor opportunities out there through the prism of where can we add value to a situation? Where do we have the skills or experiences from what we've done before to unlock value? And certainly with La Granja, it's a challenging project, but we think there are learnings from within our business that we can apply to it for the benefit of both us and Rio Tinto. We will continue with that approach, and that means opportunities might come up, and we might do acquisitions. Similarly, if no opportunities come up, we're very comfortable not doing any acquisitions, given the strong pipeline that Tristan mentioned.
Where we do them, it's generally gonna be focused on where can we take our existing skills and capabilities to unlock value traditionally in copper projects for our investors?
The next question is from Bryce Adams with CIBC. Please go ahead.
Hey, all. thanks for the call. Several questions already on the production front. My question is on cost performance. You're now guiding to the high end of costs for this year. Should we be expecting that cost pressure to impact the outlook for 2024 and 2025, or not at this stage?
Yeah. Hi, Bryce. The main reason to guide towards the top end of costs is because we're guiding towards the lower end of production. The main driver there is just less units of production embedded in that C1 cost guidance, particularly where we've seen lower gold production through the first half of this year. As we'll go through our planning process for next year, certainly, in some areas, as we noted, we've seen things like the oil price come down versus what we had in our plan for this year and the next two years. That would be a tailwind as we think about costs in the out years. But we'll do that work through the balance of this year and then put out that guidance in early next year.
Okay, thanks. The follow-up is just a clarifier on the Panama National Assembly. Did you say, or did I hear they're sitting until October 1 or October 31?
Hi, Bryce. Yeah, it's first of October, October the first.
Okay. Thanks so much.
The next question is from Dalton Baretto with Canaccord. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Good morning, everybody. Just one question for me. Tristan, in the past, you've said that you'd like to add a third leg of production somewhere, you know, in addition to Panama and Zambia, I guess. I'm just wondering, is that still a priority? Then do you think it can come from your existing pipeline, or do you think you'll have to look externally for it? Thank you.
Thanks, Dalton. Look, we see a continued rationale to diversify, you know, operations in Zambia, operations in Panama, and a third leg would continue to diversify that. We think that's prudent in terms of the volatility of our earnings, but also in terms of, you know, the share price and so on as well. The greenfield pipeline that we have is very competitive. We're particularly excited about the deal with Rio Tinto that we expect to finalize very soon, being the La Granja acquisition. That is a world-class ore body, one of the largest unexploited copper ore bodies in the world. That will take some time to go through the validation and studies in order to deliver that project.
In the meantime, we are looking and continue to look closely at Taca Taca in Argentina, and I was there during the quarter on the ground, just to understand the lay of the project, but also the country and the appetite for the investment that it may have as it comes up to the elections in October. You know, those questions around Argentina will be answered by Argentina. The project is in good standing, and it's really about, you know, the administration that goes forward as to how they see investment into the country.
We do think that there's a strong call for copper in the country. We note, you know, the level of, of other projects and other opportunities for Argentina in that regard. That would be very strong for the country, given where the economy is at the moment. Those are very competitive. As Ryan said, you know, we do look at other opportunities elsewhere from time to time. We do think, you know, we also have the people that can deliver those projects in the near term.
That's great. Thank you, Tristan.
This concludes the question and answer session. I'd like to turn the call back over to Tristan Pascall for closing remarks.
Thanks, Operator. Thank you everyone for joining us today, and I would like to wish you all an enjoyable and restful summer. I look forward to the next update with our third quarter results.
This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.