Morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Hudbay and Arizona Sonoran conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question- and- answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone acknowledging your request. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star then zero. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded today, March second, at 11:30 A.M. Eastern Time. I will now turn the conference over to Candace Brûlé, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets and Corporate Affairs at Hudbay. Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator. Good morning and welcome to the conference call announcing Hudbay's acquisition of Arizona Sonoran. The news release announcing the transaction is available on our website at www.hudbay.com. A corresponding PowerPoint presentation is available in the investor events section of our website, and we encourage you to refer to it during this call. As shown on Slide three, our presenters today are Peter Kukielski, Hudbay's President and Chief Executive Officer, and George Ogilvie, Arizona Sonoran's President and Chief Executive Officer. Accompanying Peter and George for the Q&A portion of the call will be Eugene Lei, Hudbay's Chief Financial Officer, Andre Lauzon, Hudbay's Chief Operating Officer, Nick Nikolakakis, Arizona Sonoran's Chief Financial Officer, and Bernie Loyer, Arizona Sonoran's Senior Vice President of Projects.
Please note that comments made on today's call may contain forward-looking information, this information by its nature is subject to risks and uncertainties, and as such, actual results may differ materially from the views expressed today. For further information on these risks and uncertainties, please consult Hudbay's relevant filings on SEDAR+ and EDGAR and Arizona Sonoran's relevant filings on SEDAR+. These documents are also available on our website. As a reminder, all amounts discussed on today's call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. Now I'll pass the call over to Peter Kukielski.
Thank you, Candace. Good morning, everyone. We're super pleased to be here today announcing the acquisition of Arizona Sonoran, creating the 3rd largest copper district in North America. This acquisition establishes a major copper hub in southern Arizona with the addition of the Cactus Project to our Arizona business, complementing our existing Copper World project. This transaction strategically positions Hudbay to become a leading supplier of domestic US refined copper with the expected significant copper cathode production from both Copper World and Cactus. Not only does this transaction bring together two highly complementary copper growth assets in Arizona, but it also further strengthens our position as a premier Americas-focused copper company with a pipeline of long life, low cost assets in Tier 1 jurisdictions. In this presentation today, George and I will discuss why this transaction is compelling for both companies and will position the Cactus Project for long-term success.
Before we discuss the strategic rationale for the transaction, let me begin by reviewing the transaction terms on Slide four. Hudbay will acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of Arizona Sonoran not already owned by Hudbay. We currently own 20.8 million common shares, representing approximately 10% of the basic shares outstanding. Arizona Sonoran shareholders will receive 0.242 of a Hudbay share for each Arizona Sonoran share. As of the last trading day on February 27th, the offer represents a 30% premium based on the closing prices and a 36% premium based on the 20-day VWAP. The equity value of the transaction is approximately $1,480 million, the enterprise value to Hudbay, net of our existing equity ownership, is $1,278 million.
After the transaction is completed, existing Hudbay and Arizona Sonoran Copper Company shareholders will own 89% and 11% of Hudbay respectively. The board of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction and the deal is subject to Arizona Sonoran Copper Company shareholder approvals and other customary approvals. We expect the transaction to close in the Q2 of 2026. Hudbay has been executing a consistent and disciplined growth strategy for more than a decade, and this has been a continued focus of mine since I became CEO six- years ago. Over the past three- years, the company enhanced its operating portfolio, significantly de-leveraged the balance sheet and completed a financial transformation which has enabled us to continue to strategically allocate capital across our portfolio while also looking for opportunities that meet our stringent acquisition criteria.
The acquisition of Arizona Sonoran is a highly compelling transaction that further enhances our high-quality copper growth platform in the United States. The Cactus Project is a large-scale copper development asset in a mining jurisdiction that we know well. Since making our initial strategic investment in January 2025, we have been very pleased with the progress that George and his team have made in de-risking the project and unlocking value at Cactus. This transaction is on strategy for Hudbay, offering several strategic benefits as shown on Slide five. First, the pro forma company establishes the third largest copper district in North America with a major hub in southern Arizona creating a district scale. With the advancement of both Copper World and Cactus, Hudbay would become the second largest copper cathode producer in the United States.
Second, it strengthens our competitive advantage in the United States by expanding our strategic footprint, positioning us as one of only a few operators capable of producing refined copper domestically to support the U.S. critical mineral supply chain. Third, it increases our exposure to a high-quality development asset that offers long life production at low costs in one of our top jurisdictions. High-quality copper assets are scarce globally, especially in good places. Fourth, the acquisition is expected to unlock significant operating efficiencies and regional synergies through the creation of an Arizona operating hub. Fifth, with Hudbay's strong financial position, we are in an ideal position to continue to advance growth investments across the entire portfolio, including advancing the Cactus Project following Copper World, while continuing to maintain strong financial flexibility and an optimal balance sheet.
Finally, we believe there is significant opportunity to unlock long-term value for both sets of shareholders through leveraging our proven mine development and operating expertise to deliver industry-leading copper growth, maximize value, and create sustainable returns for all stakeholders. I'll now pass it over to George to provide an overview of the benefits of the transaction for Arizona Sonoran shareholders and provide further details on the Cactus Project. George?
Thank you, Peter, and good morning, everyone. I'm very pleased to be here today with Peter and the team announcing this transaction. Starting on Slide six. This is a highly attractive transaction and creates significant long-term value potential for Arizona Sonoran shareholders. The transaction provides our shareholders with immediate and significant premium of 30% to the last closing price and 36% to the 20-day VWAP. It delivers Arizona Sonoran shareholders compelling value today while preserving meaningful exposure to the long-term upside of Cactus. Through ownership in Hudbay, our shareholders will gain immediate exposure to strong cash flow generation from a larger, diversified and well-capitalized operating platform of long life producing assets in Tier 1 jurisdictions and the Americas. Shareholders will also gain exposure to Hudbay's strong pipeline of world-class copper growth projects, including Copper World and Mason, and continue to participate in the long-term value of Cactus.
Hudbay's strong balance sheet, proven track record in Arizona with Copper World, and disciplined approach to project development meaningfully de-risks the development of Cactus and positions it for long-term success as part of a new major copper hub in Arizona. I have extreme confidence in the Hudbay team and their ability to use their technical expertise to unlock the full potential at Cactus. Their success in permitting in Arizona, as well as developing the operating large-scale copper projects, will significantly reduce the financial dilution and execution risk for Cactus and its shareholders. In addition, shareholders will benefit from Hudbay's enhanced capital markets profile, gaining access to higher trading liquidity with dual New York Stock Exchange and TSX listings, a consistent dividend and ownership in a company with increased market presence.
Hudbay is the third largest New York Stock Exchange-listed copper company, complementary with their growth projects as are located in the U.S. The Cactus Project on Slide seven is a long life, low cost copper development project located in a prolific mining jurisdiction in southern Arizona. Cactus is a large, high-grade copper porphyry deposit located on private land, which de-risks permitting and land status. We are fully permitted under the 2021 preliminary economic assessment, and permit amendments are well underway for the latest 2025 pre-feasibility study or PFS for short. Reserves at Cactus include 465 million tonnes at a grade of 0.52% copper, supporting a 22-year mine life.
Based on our PFS and using a copper price of $4.25 per pound, the project has a net present value after tax of $2.3 billion and an after-tax internal rate of return of just under 23%. The project envisions a simple operation with conventional open pit mine and a heap leach and SX/EW facility to produce made in America copper cathodes. It is a brownfield site with key infrastructure already in place, which together with the high-grade copper, makes the upfront capital intensity attractive. The site has access to water, with water rights secured to the year 2070.
Power lines are already available on the property. Nearby access to major road and rail lines makes the property easily accessible. I believe one of the attributes that attracted Hudbay to Cactus is the strong social license we've developed in Pinal County with an 87% favorable rating to bring the mine back into production. Hudbay recognizes our team's expertise and our strong relationship with local stakeholders as we advance Cactus through permitting and towards development to deliver made in America copper for the U.S. supply chain. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our whole team at ASCU for their tremendous efforts in advancing the Cactus Project and creating lasting benefits for all stakeholders. I strongly believe the full potential at Cactus will be realized as part of this larger, diversified, great company. I now hand it back to Peter.
Thanks, George. As shown on Slide eight, the pro forma company will have a strong presence across tier one jurisdictions in the Americas, with operating and development assets in Canada, the United States and Peru. Today, Hudbay produces roughly 140,000 tons of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold from three long life operating mines. Each of these operations have significant brownfield growth potential through mill expansion and exploration opportunities. With the addition of the Cactus Project, we will have an industry-leading brownfield and greenfield copper portfolio with three highly attractive copper development projects in the United States. These U.S. copper projects have the potential to grow our copper production to nearly 500,000 tons of copper per year.
The Constancia Copper Mine in Peru is a 17-year mine life open pit operation with annual production of approximately 85,000 tons of copper. Located adjacent to Constancia, our highly prospective Maria Reyna and Caballito exploration targets have the potential to provide additional sources of high-grade ore and further extend the production profile and mine life. In Manitoba, where we have been operating for 99 years, today we have the Snow Lake gold operations that produce approximately 200,000 ounces per year. The operations have a current 13-year mine life based on reserves, but offer significant potential for resource conversion and mine life extension through upgrading our large inferred resources and advancing extensive exploration activities on our prolific land package. In British Columbia, we have made significant progress on our three-year optimization plan following the acquisition of the Copper Mountain Mine in 2023.
Our optimization efforts have successfully increased the mining rates to execute an accelerated stripping program to unlock higher grades and implement mill improvement initiatives to ramp up towards higher throughput rates. We are on track to increase production from this mine to more than 45,000 tons of copper annually. In the United States, we have the Copper World Project in Arizona, a top-tier, fully permitted copper development asset that has a 20-year mine life on private land, and is currently advancing through definitive feasibility studies with a sanctioning decision anticipated later this year. We also have the earlier stage Mason Copper Project in Nevada, which has a 27-year mine life and attractive project economics.
With the addition of Cactus to our portfolio, Hudbay will now own three of the best copper development projects in the United States, further enhancing our pipeline of long life, low-cost assets in tier one jurisdictions. Diving further into the strategic and financial rationale, the acquisition of Cactus will transform Hudbay's Arizona business into the third-largest copper district in North America, as shown on Slide 10. This reinforces Hudbay's position as a premier copper growth company with the potential for meaningful U.S. domestic production, and positions us as one of only a few operators capable of producing refined copper domestically to support the U.S. critical mineral supply chain. The combination of Copper World with Cactus in Arizona will enable comprehensive regional knowledge to be applied across both projects as we work to advance development.
As you can see on Slide 11, Cactus and Copper World are located approximately 150 km apart and are connected via highways and rail lines that would enable local operating synergies and scale. The stage development of the two projects will allow us to utilize the full potential of our Arizona technical team by advancing Copper World through definitive feasibility studies and towards a sanctioning decision this year, while focusing on integrating Cactus into our Arizona business, advancing permitting activities, and positioning the project for a future feasibility study. With Cactus expected to come into production after Copper World, we will be able to leverage our skilled team at Copper World and our comprehensive regional knowledge to apply to the future development of Cactus.
This will include replicating our Copper World development and permitting success at Cactus, redeploying our trained Copper World construction team to Cactus, and realizing project efficiencies and cost savings. Slide 12 shows that relative to other copper producers, Hudbay will have the highest exposure to North America and the United States with this acquisition, providing shareholders with industry-leading exposure to top mining jurisdictions and an attractive geopolitical risk profile. In addition, we would be one of a few copper companies with a 100% exposure to the Americas. We value the advantages of operating in top regions with established rule of law, stable tax regimes, access to skilled labor and efficient infrastructure. With the addition of the Cactus Project to our existing Arizona business with Copper World, Hudbay will become the second-largest copper cathode producer in the United States, as noted on Slide 13.
As mentioned earlier, Hudbay will be one of only a few operators capable of producing refined copper domestically to support the U.S. critical mineral supply chain. Slide 14 showcases the complementary attributes of the Copper World and Cactus Projects. The pro forma Arizona business will comprise two of the highest grade and the lowest cost open pit copper assets in the U.S. Hudbay has a proven track record of prudent capital allocation with the successful development of Constancia in 2014 and the optimization of the Copper Mountain Mine, which is planned to be completed this year. All of Hudbay's projects have been completed on time and with strong capital cost control, as shown in Slide 15. Cactus remains consistent with our capital allocation strategy and together with Copper World, represents the next generation of low capital intensity copper development projects.
Turning to Slide 16, we see significant operational efficiencies and regional synergies with the acquisition of Arizona Sonoran. By creating an Arizona operating hub, we will enable strong industrial logic through a centralized local head office for the permitting and development activities of all our Arizona projects. We will benefit from sharing technical and support functions with the integration of a highly skilled Cactus technical team. Arizona Sonoran has done a fantastic job with community relations and progressing Cactus to this point. We expect there will be many crossover benefits of integrating our local teams. We anticipate the timing of Cactus feasibility studies and development will complement Copper World's timeline, potentially enabling us to strategically redeploy the Copper World construction team to Cactus. From an operating perspective, we anticipate there will be potential future optimization around the Albion plant and the production of sulfuric acid for use at Cactus.
We also believe the regional purchasing power for procurement, tax structure and pooling tax losses would create further efficiencies. At a corporate level, we anticipate to realize synergies of between $5 million and $10 million through reduced G&A corporate cost efficiencies and enhanced commercial terms. Turning to Slide 17, Hudbay is in a very strong financial position as a result of stable free cash flow generation and successful deleveraging efforts over the past few years. This, together with our strong leverage to higher copper and gold prices, has enabled us to achieve the optimal capital structure to prudently invest across our portfolio of assets. In 2025, we achieved record EBITDA at over $1 billion and record free cash flow generation at nearly $400 million.
We recently closed a minority joint venture transaction with Mitsubishi Corporation at Copper World. Today we have over $990 million in cash and cash equivalents. Our net leverage ratio of zero times positions us as one of the lowest in the peer group. We are well positioned to build the next generation of major copper mines in the United States and establish the second-largest U.S. copper cathode district with the advancement of both Copper World and Cactus, while continuing to maintain a strong balance sheet and reinvesting in other growth opportunities across our portfolio. As I mentioned earlier, we are a proven mine developer and operator, which is summarized on Slide 18. Hudbay has the technical and operational expertise to realize the full potential of the Cactus Project.
Across our operations, we have demonstrated success in creating value through exploration, best-in-class mine development and operational efficiencies and continuous optimization while maintaining our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. We have extended mine life in Manitoba and Peru through exploration and new major discoveries, and we are on the pathway to replicate that exploration success at all three of our operations. Our team has delivered best-in-class mine development projects and brownfield expansion projects. Our Constancia project has been recognized as one of the best mine builds over the last cycle, and its mill ramp up set a new gold standard. I am particularly proud of our culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence. Constancia is one of the most cost-efficient and consistent copper mines in South America, and our Snow Lake operations are one of the lowest cost gold mines in Canada.
This has been largely driven by our ability to operate well above nameplate capacity while never losing sight of maintaining the strongest safety performance. We expect to leverage this proven technical and operating expertise at Cactus to continue to de-risk permitting, advance project feasibility, and progress the project towards development after Copper World, creating significant long-term value for all stakeholders. Concluding on Slide 19, this transaction significantly increases our long-term copper production profile, provides further attractive geographic diversification while leveraging our complementary gold exposure. The acquisition of Arizona Sonoran Copper Company will be accretive to key Hudbay per share metrics, including increasing net asset value per share and bolstering copper reserves and resources per share. Hudbay's consolidated copper production has outsized growth driven by our pipeline of U.S. assets. The key focus area for Hudbay in 2026 is on advancing our valuable U.S. pipeline.
We are on track to complete our Copper World feasibility study in mid-2026, with a sanctioning decision expected later this year and first production in 2029. We will continue to de-risk Cactus permitting activities and advance feasibility work to stage this project after Copper World. We also intend to initiate pre-feasibility studies at Mason. Our U.S. pipeline has the potential to meaningfully expand our current annual copper production levels of approximately 140,000 tons to nearly 500,000 tons of copper in the long term. Together with the advancement of Copper World, this transaction creates one of the most significant copper districts in North America and reinforces Hudbay's position as a premier copper growth company while preserving financial flexibility and delivering long-term value for shareholders. With that, we're pleased to take your questions.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will begin the question- and- answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then one 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 two. The first question comes from Dalton Baretto with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.
Thanks, operator. Good morning, or I guess almost good afternoon, Peter and George. George, I guess my first couple of questions are for you. Why now? Why not wait until the permits were amended? Why not wait until the DFS is done? Thanks.
Thank you, Dalton. We found that the terms of the offer from Hudbay to be attractive. As noted earlier, the consideration delivers a meaningful premium to Arizona Sonoran's current share price, which is at an all-time high and exceeds all brokers' 12 months targeted prices. We're confident that Hudbay will be able to leverage its mine building experience and financial capacity to unlock additional value at Cactus. The share consideration provides Arizona Sonoran shareholders the opportunity to participate in the future of Cactus while also gaining exposure to Hudbay's high-quality, diversified asset portfolio, notably alongside Copper World. The consolidated production profile will create the third largest copper district in North America.
As we are working on the feasibility study and nearing a project financing decision, we think now is the right time for Cactus to be owned by an experienced mine builder and operator, lowering risk to Arizona Sonoran shareholders as a single asset development stage company.
Dalton, maybe I could add to what George says before you continue.
Sure, Peter.
Before you continue with the next question, I think, you know, from Hudbay's perspective, we really believe that this is an ideal time, recognizing the significant progress that's been made at the Cactus Project and our goal of refining the project to ensure the maximum long-term value. Doing so now ensures that we can establish the final design before Cactus advances to sanctioning. We are also at a point where our operating platform continues to demonstrate exceptional resilience and to deliver a record production and financial results. You know, with our prudent financial management, that's significantly deleveraged the balance sheet and positioned the company with strong financial flexibility to pursue the next leg of growth.
This is further supported by, you know, the recent contribution of $600 million from Mitsubishi Corporation with Copper World, which reduced our remaining equity contribution to some $200 million. With Copper World definitive feasibility studies nearing completion in the middle of the year, we're on track for project sanctioning in 2026, as I said a little bit earlier. We feel now is the right time to leverage the team's capabilities and add our next growth project. It just makes a lot of sense. We have a say in how this project progresses before the Arizona team progresses it to the next stage, and we're fully aligned on that.
Yeah, thanks for that, Peter. Peter, maybe if I can just stay with you. Can you just speak to some of the regulatory approvals that will be required and whether, you know, U.S. asset transacting will matter given that you're both Canadian companies? Thanks.
No, there's no issue. The only thing is that, first of all, it's exactly the same as Copper World. I mean, we would probably apply for a CFIUS review, but that's kind of normal course. Otherwise, permitting regime is exactly the same as Copper World.
Thanks for that, Peter. I'll jump back. Thank you.
The next question comes from George Edie with UBS. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks, team. Maybe for you, Eugene, can I ask about funding for this? Can you talk through where Cactus' funding will be, and would you consider strains across the other portfolio, or are you comfortable with essentially project financing the vast majority of Cactus? Thanks.
Thanks, George. Maybe first off, I want to make the comment that there's no impact on Copper World sanctioning or development. This doesn't impact that financing or funding or sanction decision. Secondly, I would say that this comes with about $100 million of cash. Arizona has raised some cash, and our intention here, as Peter outlined, is to take this through pre-feasibility study and permitting over the next two years before the feasibility study. The cash spent here for the next two years is only about $30 million a year. With that stage development timeline that we've outlined, I think this ideally fits in our funding structure. We have, you know, a pure leading balance sheet with strong free cash flows and lots of financing flexibility.
Once this project is at the feasibility stage, we would then put in a prudent funding plan as we did with Copper World. You know, we'll look for non-dilutive ways to create, you know, value and we think there's lots of opportunity here. We think there's going to be strong cash flow generation in this kind of intervening period, and then we'll monitor the market to see what opportunities are there. I, you know, never say never, but I would prefer not to do a streaming deal on this transaction. We don't think we need to, particularly at this time.
We would look at, you know, potentially if we were looking at non-dilutive ways, potentially partnering this in the future once the feasibility study was complete and we reevaluated our financial situation. This stage is perfectly with our Copper World development decision, and our funding is not impacted at all with this transaction.
Yeah, great. That's very detailed. Thanks, Eugene. Break fee, what can you tell us maybe roughly the quantum of that and the circumstances? I'm assuming it's another offer coming into Arizona, given the no-shop clause, but just any color there, please.
I think you can assume that the break fees are standard for a transaction of this size. They'll be in the disclosure materials when they're published.
Great. Thanks. Thanks, guys.
The next question comes from Lawson Winder with Bank of America Securities. Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator. Good morning, Peter and George and your teams. Peter, if I could ask you a question just on timing of assets now. With Copper World, I mean, you've been clear that later this year we'll be getting a sanctioning decision one way or another. Then first production in 2029. When do you then see first production from Cactus? Then when do you see first production from Mason? What's kind of the standard of those projects, you know, coming to first production now?
Thanks, Lawson. That's a lot of questions, but they're quite simple. Look, first, what I'd say is these two assets, so I mean, Copper World and Cactus are highly complementary for many reasons, including the ability to optimally sequence each project from a de-risking perspective. Copper World is nearing completion of the DFS, and we're on track for a sanction decision later this year. That means we'll be able to transition our engineering team to Cactus to analyze and update the 2025 PFS for Cactus. While we are developing Copper World, we'll advance Cactus through final permitting and definitive feasibility studies to be ready to bring Cactus into production after Copper World is in production in, as you say, 2029.
I mean, we've built a tremendous team in Arizona, which complements George's Arizona Sonoran team, and together, you know, we're looking forward to unlocking value at Cactus through continue this continued de-risking and advancing towards production. What I'd say is it's too early to say precisely when we would bring Cactus into production. It'll depend on the status of progressing the updated pre-feasibility study and permit amendments. Therefore, it'll follow Copper World, as you say. When the final permits and feasibility studies are advanced, at that point, we'll consider how best to develop Cactus to create optimal value or maximum value. Remember that, you know, Cactus is a conventional open pit and heap leach SX-EW operation that's relatively straightforward in terms of project design, which should simplify development timelines.
Now if I go back to your question, I've sort of given. I've said we don't know exactly, but I would say we're gonna bring Copper World into production in 2029. Construction period for Cactus is approximately a couple of years. Obviously, we could start with the stripping activities a little bit earlier. You know, consider that, and that sort of tells you when Cactus could come into production. Mason, of course, is moving into pre-feasibility now. We won't complete the pre-feasibility study until late next year, and then we need to push it through a NEPA permitting process. It really won't be ready for a construction decision until sometime in the early 30s. The staging works beautifully. I think, you know, we'll bring Copper World into production.
Not too long after that, we'll bring Cactus into production, and a little bit later, we'll bring Mason to production, and we'll have, I think, the best operating portfolio in the copper space in the United States.
Thank you for that. Just a question somewhat related to the permitting process and just considering the fact that... I think this question may be best answered by George, but Peter, I'd love to hear your view on it as well. Copper was added to the USGS critical mineral list last year. George, was your team having any conversations with any U.S. agency with respect to the permitting timeline and how that might be accelerated as a result of copper being a critical mineral?
Well I can tell you that we were having conversations with various U.S. government agencies, given copper is a critical mineral. We were well advanced with those, and I think, given that Hudbay now is going to be accessing this asset, there is certainly an opportunity for Hudbay to explore those opportunities as well
I would add to what George has said, you know, so both projects are on entirely on private land, so the permitting regimes are exactly the same. You know, I think as you know, we've had lots of discussions with the United States government with respect to what the future might look like, but there's no point in entering into permitting activities for phase II of growth at this point while we don't need access to federal lands.
Just for further clarification, you know, Cactus is fully permitted today as per a PEA that was part of a qualifying document in 2021 when we IPO-ed the company. At that time, however, because it was a much smaller operation, it was only an 18-year mine life and only 28,000 tons of cathode production a year. As the project has grown in size and scale over the last five- years, we have gone back to the local municipality and state regulators, and we've had the project permits amended. The longest time period that we've had to wait for any amended permit was five- months for an amendment to the Aquifer Protection Permit. Remember, because we're on private land here, there is no federal nexus.
When we apply for permits at the state or the local municipal level, once the application is administratively accepted, within six- months, the regulator by law must give us a response to the permit. That's why when we're on private land, we're able to expedite the permitting process and obviously plan around that.
Fantastic. Thank you both very much.
The next question comes from Matthew Murphy with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Hi. Congrats on the deal. Question just around project upside. I'm kind of interested, I guess Hudbay first took a stake, I think, early 2025. Can you talk about the diligence you did on the asset? Are there any elements of the project that might not be, you know, well understood by consensus? I don't know if it's resource conversion. And you talked about wanting to influence final design. Anything that you would change in scope, conceptually versus the PFS?
Sure. It's Andre. Yeah, we've done extensive due diligence on it. I think the first time we walked the property was in 2022, I think it was April 22, so quite some time. We've been following it for a number of years and looking at a variety of aspects. I think the team's done an excellent job on, in this latest pre-feasibility study. To your question around what people may not have insights to, I think Peter alluded to it a little bit in his narrative around the synergies with Copper World.
With this being an SX-EW project, which is an acid leach of the copper, one of the key cost drivers for the Cactus Project is the acid consumption to liberate the copper. One of the key products from the Copper World Project with our Albion Process is we are extracting the sulfur product out, and we'll have an acid plant to generate sulfide sulfuric acid in Arizona. What we'll be creating is a long-term, reliable stream of sulfuric acid that the Cactus Project will benefit on for the entire length of the project. I think you'll, you know, something that's always an uncertainty when you're, you know, sanctioning these projects is what are those major drivers?
In this case here, we'll be able to have very, very stable reagent costs. In terms of the rest of it, I think it's all pretty straightforward. We're, you know, it's a, as Peter said, it's a very conventional open pit operation with a very straightforward capital project, and it's in a brownfield site with power already there, rail and water. It's a great project, and that's why we've been interested for some time.
Matt, I would add to what Andre says is that, you know, we, so after our entry into the project in January of last year, we had technical committee observer rights, which enabled us to follow the project very closely. That in itself was also a form of very significant due diligence.
Yeah. We're confident in the value.
Oh.
Yeah.
Thanks for that. Then just as a follow on, if the asset is important to getting Cactus up and running, does that make you want to advance the Albion plant faster than maybe you were initially thinking?
I would say it's early days. Let's get through the feasibility studies and, see how we sequence them, and then we'll make that decision. It certainly does remain, a form of optionality that we can contemplate.
Okay. Thank you.
The next question comes from Orest Wowkodaw with Scotiabank. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good morning. A couple more from me, if I could. George and team, I believe you were working on a definitive feasibility study that was going to be done this year. How does that change now? Will that become an internal study? It sounds like Hudbay is planning to work on a PFS. I'm just wondering if we're going to see that DFS or if sort of how the sequencing and timing might be of the next technical report.
Orest, it's Peter. Let me step in quickly because just to explain, so the plan, you know, George and team's plan obviously was to proceed with the DFS through the remainder of the year. Now that we're putting two companies together, our plan is to revisit the PFS because we need to revisit it in the context of our operating parameters, how we see things, et cetera. And so we will land on a pre-feasibility study with which everybody is entirely comfortable. The permits need to be amended to reflect any modifications to the pre-feasibility study. We will move into definitive feasibility study. I hope that answers the question.
Thanks, Peter. What do you think the timing of that sort of revisited PFS is? Is that this year or is that more likely next year?
I would say, well, of course, we will complete, carry on with the pre-feasibility study review this year. Then, of course, we need to make sure that that's reflected in the amended permits. I can't definitively say when that's complete. George has given you some idea of how long the permits take. My guess is definitive feasibility is likely early next year.
Okay. From obviously, your balance sheet's a lot different than Sonoran's. Is the scope of the project, I guess still does that still make sense, or is there potential that they may look at it with a bigger lens?
I think it still makes sense as it is.
Okay. Just finally, on the acid, synergies, can you how much does acid cost represent of the operating costs of Cactus? Any early ideas on what the potential savings could be from your internal supply?
I can tell you within the PFS that we published last October, November, we went out for quotes on acid, and we had quotes of $160 a ton FOB delivered to the gate.
Do you, George, do you remember how many tons of acid you're consuming or we're gonna consume per year?
No, not off the top of my head, Orest, but I can get that information for you and I'll follow up with you and get it over to you.
Thank you.
Orest, just to clarify, I think what I said with respect to timing is we would complete the PFS, we'd complete the PFS next year, and then the DFS would follow.
Okay. Thank you.
The next question comes from Bryce Adams with Desjardins Securities. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Peter, George, and everyone on the call. I had a chance to ask questions earlier in the day, but one more that came to mind through this presentation is around ownership levels and risk. Maybe you touched on it a little bit, but would you want a project partner like the one announced last year for Copper World? Would that be part of the strategy? Otherwise, with phase I ramped up, would you go it alone on $1 billion of CapEx for Cactus? Does it appeal for you as a way of, you know, sharing CapEx but also managing risk within your business? That's all from my side. I appreciate the presentation.
Thanks, Bryce. We're always trying to balance risk and reward here with our financial strategy. As we execute the feasibility study and pre-feasibility studies for Cactus, we'll understand the economic value of the project. We'll also be able to examine where the state of our balance sheet is from the free cash flows that we've generated. Then we can make a determination on what the best way to proceed is. I can say that we, you know, certainly created a lot of value by partnering Copper World and the valuation we achieved. We would consider that and balance it off of the portion that we would have to sell to move that project forward. I think at this point, we don't have any current plans to sell down the Sonoran Cactus asset.
We're gonna go through the study and then evaluate what the best way to create value is on a balanced basis between, you know, equity and debt that would be required to proceed with funding the project and develop it.
Okay, thank you very much.
The next question comes from Martin Pradier with Veritas Investment Research. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Most of my questions have been answered. I would be interested in any color on the savings on the asset part. You know, is that 20% of the cost? Is 10% of the cost? I mean, what kind of, if you can give us some kind of color on that?
We'll give you a call back later. We just don't have the numbers in front of us at the moment.
Perfect. Thank you.
The next question comes from Anita Soni with CIBC. Please go ahead.
Hi. Like Martin, most of my questions have been asked and answered. I just wanted to clarify with Lawson's question about sequencing. Are you contemplating at all if it makes sense, an overlap between the build-out of Copper World and Cactus?
Hi, Anita. I don't think so. We're gonna do it optimally and sequentially and sensibly. you know, there's no need to stretch, overstretch ourselves. Remember that we can actually start stripping in the pit while Copper World's production facilities or process facilities are being constructed. In essence, we're not going to build two at the same time.
All right. Thank you. That's it for my questions.
The next question comes from Stefan Ioannou with Cormark Securities. Please go ahead.
Great. Thanks very much. Great to see you guys. I think you've already kind of answered this, so maybe just to touch on it. I know previously Arizona Sonoran spent some time with Rio while looking at the sulfides at depth. Did that, do the sulfides factor at all into your thinking about Cactus even way off into the future? Is your vision very much just the cathode side of the project?
Andre, no, we looked at the entire project and, you know, the basis for the decision and the values on the pre-feasibility study, which is driven on the SX-EW component and the oxide. I think, you know, the sulfide component remains an upside for the project later on. It's later on in the mine life towards the end. We do have synergies in Arizona. We have SAG Mills sitting in storage in Tucson and ball mills. There may be opportunities in the future to repurpose some of that infrastructure that we got when we bought the original Rosemont project many years ago. There's lots of upside opportunity in the future.
Okay, great. Great. Thanks very much, guys.
This concludes the question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Candace Brûlé for any closing remarks. Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator, and thank you everyone for joining us today. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to our investor relations team. Thank you. Have a great day.
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the conference call today. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.