Alamos Gold Inc. ($AGI)

Good morning. I'll now turn the call over to Scott Parsons, Alamos Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and thanks to everybody for attending Alamos' first quarter 2026 conference call. In addition to myself, we have on the line today John McCluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer; Greg Fisher, Chief Financial Officer; and Luc Guimond, Chief Operating Officer. We will be referring to a presentation during the conference call that is available through the webcast and on our website. I would also like to remind everyone that our presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. As we will be making forward-looking statements during the call, please refer to the cautionary notes included in the presentation, news release and MD&A as well as the risk factors set out in our annual information form. Technical information in this presentation has been reviewed and approved by Chris Bostwick, our Senior VP, Technical Services and a qualified person. Also, please bear in mind that all the dollar amounts mentioned in this conference call are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. Now John will provide you with an overview of the quarter.

Thank you, Scott. And I'm going to start with Slide 3. First quarter production was 124,000 ounces in line with quarterly guidance with a strong performance from the Island Gold District offsetting lower-than-planned production at Young-Davidson. The Island Gold District had a solid overall quarter with a shaft a larger mill expansion advancing, underground mining rates increasing to a new record of over 1,400 tonnes per day and a significant improvement in Magino's milling rates over the past 6 weeks. The continued ramp-up of underground mining rates at Island Gold as well as improvements in mining rates and grades at Young-Davidson are expected to increase our second quarter production by approximately 20%. With the Island Gold District expected to drive further production growth in the second half of the year, we remain well on track to meeting our full year production guidance. With our year-end disclosure in February, we guided to costs for the first quarter being above the first half guidance range. All-in sustaining costs were $1,862 per ounce and are expected to decrease by approximately 5% during the second quarter. A more significant improvement is expected into the second half of the year reflecting an increase in low-cost production from the Island Gold District. Financially, we had another strong quarter with record revenues and margins. Relative to a year ago, our all-in sustaining cost margins nearly tripled to approximately $3,000 per ounce. This contributed to record cash flow from operations and another solid quarter of free cash flow of $102 million, while reinvesting in high-return growth. Now turning to Slide 4. We had a catalyst-rich first quarter that included releasing highlights of a successful 2025 exploration program across our portfolio. This supported a 32% increase in year-end mineral reserves to 16 million ounces and included a near doubling of reserves at the Island Gold District to over 8 million ounces. This growth was incorporated into the Island Gold District expansion study, which was also released in the first quarter. The study outlined a large, long-life, low-cost operation that is expected to be one of Canada's most profitable mine. At a $4,500 per ounce gold price, the Island Gold District is expected to generate over $1 billion in annual free cash flow and has a $12 billion after-tax NPV, making it one of the most valuable gold mines in Canada. Based on the ongoing exploration success we are seeing across the district, we believe there is further upside to come. Toward the end of the first quarter, the shaft sink Island Gold reached its planned depth 1,381 meters. We expect to complete the commissioning of the shaft early in 2027, which will be a key catalyst driving a further increase in production and decreasing costs. With strong ongoing free cash flow generation at current gold prices and significant growth expected ahead, we announced a 60% increase in our dividend in February, and we'll continue evaluating opportunities for additional shareholder returns. Turning to Slide 5. We previously outlined a clear path to 800,000 ounces of annual production by 2028, with costs expected to decrease 18% relative to 2025. We expect our annual production to continue increasing to 1 million ounces by 2030 with a further decrease in costs. This growth is expected to be internally funded by ongoing free cash flow generation and a strong balance sheet with $1.2 billion in available liquidity. Our team is making strides towards our long-term plans across our asset portfolio, the completion of the Phase 3+ Shaft Expansion at Island Gold is less than a year away. Our larger Magino mill expansion is well underway, and construction activities are ramping up at Lynn Lak and PDA. These are high-return projects. all lower costs and largely derisked, underpinning one of the best growth profiles in the sector. I'll now turn the call over to our CFO, Greg Fisher, to review our financial performance. Greg?

Thank you, John. Moving to Slide 6. We sold 122,000 ounces of gold in the first quarter at an average realized price of $4,829 per ounce for record quarterly revenues of $597 million. Total cash costs were $1,230 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs were $1,862 per ounce. As previously disclosed, first quarter costs were expected to be above the first half guidance range. We are continuing to monitor the impact of ongoing inflationary pressures across our cost structure, including higher labor contractor, diesel and electricity costs. We expect to manage any cost pressures with ongoing productivity improvements through the year, which are expected to drive costs lower and significant margin expansion at current gold prices. Operating cash flow before changes in noncash working capital increased to a record $338 million in the first quarter or $0.80 per share. This included a reduction of $43 million or $0.10 per share for cash utilized to buy out an additional 15,000 ounces of the legacy Argonaut Gold hedges prior to maturity. Our reported net earnings were $191 million in the first quarter or $0.46 per share. This included after-tax losses on commodity hedge derivatives of $20 million, adjustments for unrealized foreign exchange losses of $19 million and other adjustments of $1 million. Excluding these items, our adjusted net earnings were $232 million or $0.55 per share. Capital spending in the quarter totaled $184 million and included $45 million of sustaining capital, $127 million of growth capital and $11 million of capitalized expirations. We continue to fund our high-return growth internally while generating strong free cash flow. This included $102 million of free cash flow generated in the first quarter, net of $82 million in cash taxes paid. In the first quarter, we repurchased and eliminated an additional 15,000 ounces of gold forward contracts ahead of their maturity in the second half of 2026. These hedges were inherited as part of the Argonaut Gold acquisition in 2024. Existing cash of $43 million was used to eliminate these hedges, providing further upside to higher gold prices. To date, we have eliminated 245,000 out of the 330,000 ounces that were hedged by Argonaut prior to maturity. We will continue to monitor opportunities to repurchase and eliminate the remaining contracts, which total 85,000 ounces across the second half of 2026 and first half of 2027. Our ongoing free cash flow drove a further increase in our cash position to $660 million at the end of the first quarter. We expect growing production and declining costs to drive stronger free cash flow through the remainder of the year and into the next several years. while continuing to self-fund our organic growth plans. I'll now turn the call over to our COO, Luc Guimond, to provide an overview of our operations. Luc?

Thank you, Greg. Over to Slide 7. First quarter production from the Island Gold District totaled 61,200 ounces in line with plan and an improvement from the previous quarter. Underground mining rates averaged a record 1,423 tonnes per day, a 23% increase from the fourth quarter and in line with our ramp-up schedule. Grades mined of 9.4 grams per tonne were also consistent with guidance. We expect a gradual ramp-up of mining rates to 2,000 tonnes per day by the end of 2026 and higher grades into the second half of the year to drive growing production to the rest of 2026. Open pit operations continued to perform well with mining [indiscernible] averaging 50,000 tonnes per day, including nearly 12,000 tonnes per day of ore mined during the quarter. Grades mined and milled were in line with guidance. Total milling rates from the Island Gold District averaged close to 8,800 tonnes per day in the first quarter, with the Magino mill averaging 7,500 tonnes per day and the Island Gold mill averaging 1,260 tonnes per day. Magino milling rates are expected to increase in the second quarter and through the second half of the year, driven by recent improvements to the crushing circuit. Total cash costs and mine site all-in sustaining costs were above annual guidance but expected to decrease significantly in the second half of the year. This is expected to be driven by higher mill throughput at Magino as well as an increase in underground mining rates and grades at Island Gold. The Island Gold District generated mine-site free cash flow of $58 million in the first quarter net of the significant capital investment related to the Phase 3+ II Shaft project, large mill -- larger Magino mill expansion and exploration. At current gold prices, the Island Gold District is expected to continue generating strong free cash flow of funding its expansion plans and a large exploration program. Moving to Slide 8. In the latter part of February, a temporary pressure was added to the Magino mill, providing supplementary crushed ore feed into the processing plant. The addition of the crusher has contributed to a substantial improvement in milling rates, which averaged 9,200 tonnes per day over the past 6 weeks. Milling rates are expected to remain at similar levels in the second quarter with the SAG and ball mill liner changes and conveyor replacements scheduled for the quarter. Consistent with guidance, milling rates are expected to increase to steady-state levels of 10,000 tonnes per day by the third quarter. Combined with the Island Gold mill, the district is expected to process in excess of 11,000 tonnes per day of ore in the second half of the year and into 2027. Over the long term, a number of initiatives currently underway are expected to support higher milling rates and greater operational consistency. Connecting the Magino mill to grid power will provide a more reliable source of power at substantially lower costs into 2027. Additionally, the construction of a gyratory pressure, new truck dump configuration and or bins will greatly improve the performance of the existing circuit by reducing rehandling of ore and ensuring a more consistent flow of ore into the mill. All of these improvements will be in place by early 2028 as part of the larger mill expansion to 20,000 tonnes per day. Moving to Slide 9. Growth capital for the Phase 3+ Shaft Expansion has been largely all spent or committed. Shaft sinking to a planned depth of 1,381 meters was completed in the first quarter, and paste plant construction is on track for completion in the second quarter. Commissioning of the shaft and other surface infrastructure is expected to be completed by early 2027. This is an important catalyst to increase underground mining rates to 2,400 tonnes per day in 2027 and ultimately, 3,000 tonnes per day in 2029. Over to Slide 10. In February, we announced the results of the larger Island Gold District expansion study. The study included an expansion of the Magino mill to 20,000 tonnes per day, accelerated underground development to support mining rates of 3,000 tonnes per day and other infrastructure investments. The larger expansion is well underway with 11% of the growth capital spent or committed primarily related to the expansion of the Magino mill to 20,000 tonnes per day. As shown on the slide, construction of the mill building is well advanced, including structural steel and exterior cladding and all 8 leach tanks directed. With all the earthworks, concrete foundations and steel erected, the key elements of the larger expansions have been significantly dressed. The expansion remains on track for completion in early 2028 and will be a gain nature for the operation. With production expected to increase to average 534,000 ounces per year at $1,025 per ounce all-in sustaining costs starting in 2028. The Island Gold District is expected to evolve into one of Canada's largest lowest cost and most profitable ore mines. Over to Slide 11. Young-Davidson produced 30,000 ounces in the first quarter, lower than planned, primarily due to lower mining and milling rates. Milling rates of 6,800 tonnes per day were below guidance, reflecting longer-than-anticipated downtime to complete scheduled maintenance as well as an unscheduled repair to a transformer in the mill. Underground mining rates were also 5% lower than planned due to longer-than-expected time line to complete rehabilitation work on 1 of the 3 ore passes as well as delays in commissioning and newly constructed paths. This resulted in more rehandling of ore, reducing productivity during the quarter. With 2 passes now fully operational. The total number of active ore passes has increased [indiscernible] this is expected to provide greater operational flexibility and support increased mining and milling rates of approximately 8,000 tonnes per day in the second quarter and through the remainder of the year. Mine grades were also below the low end of annual guidance, reflecting higher-than-planned mining dilution. Grades are expected to return to guided levels in the second quarter, and combined with higher milling rates, we expect a substantial improvement in both production and costs through the rest of the year. Young-Davidson continues to deliver strong mine site free cash flow with $72 million generated in the first quarter. At current gold prices, higher production and lower costs are expected to drive further free cash flow growth through the rest of the year. Over to Slide 12. Production from the Mulatos District totaled 32,700 ounces, including nearly 27,000 ounces from La Yaqui Grande. Costs were at the low end of annual guidance, reflecting the higher grade stock. Grade stocks are expected to decrease in the second and third quarters towards the lower end of guidance, and costs increased through the remainder of the year to be consistent with annual guidance. The Mulatos district generated strong mine site free cash flow of $61 million, while funding the construction of the PDA project, a robust exploration program and paying $51 million in cash taxes during the quarter. Over to Slide 13. Construction activities on the PDA project are well underway, earthworks on key service infrastructure is now substantially complete. The mill foundation work is progressing. And last week, we call it the portals and we'll continue underground development through the rest of the year. The PDA project remains on budget and on schedule for first production at mid-2027. PDA is the future of the Mulatos operation. Based on the PDA deposit alone, this is a low-cost, high-return project, which will extend the Mulatos mine life by at least 9 years. We believe this is just a starting point as the operation transitions to processing higher grade sulfide mineralization and expect there is a significant upside to come. The addition of a mill for PDA is opening up a number of new opportunities for additional higher-grade mineralization within the district, such as Cerro Pelon and Halcon, where we are continuing to see strong ongoing exploration results. With that, I will turn the call back to John.

Thank you, Luc. I'll now turn the call over to the operator who will open the line for your questions.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Ovais Habib of Scotiabank.

Just a couple of questions from me. My first question is on Island Gold. Really great to see mining rates averaging 1,400 tonnes per day, and those are expected to grow over the next couple of quarters. So looking forward to that. In regards to the area which you had the seismic issue, how much more work is required to completely rebate that area? And second part of that is do you need this area to achieve the 2,000 tonnes per day that you're targeting by the end of the year?

Ovais, it's Luc here. Yes, with regards to the Island Gold mining front that we had to reestablish the escape way. We completed that at the beginning of the year. So this gateway is being reestablished so that allows us to actually continue mining in that area. But as far as the overall ramp-up for this year in 2026 with what we're expecting. There's not a lot of production actually coming out of that area. So we will see some production starting in the second half of the year. And we're just continuing with some minor rehabilitation in this area since we've completed the Escape way, which allows us to continue activities in that region, but not critical to the overall ramp-up for 2026 and as we move into 2027.

And then just moving to YD. Good to hear mining rates are expected to now increase to average around 8,000 tonnes per day kind of Q2 onwards. -- as both [indiscernible] passes now for your operations. In regards to underground grades, they got hit in Q1 to do some margins. How should we look at Q2 and then kind of in the second half?

Yes. As I mentioned on the issue that we had with Q1 was certainly some dilution from a couple of stores. But as we move in through the rest of the year, we expect to be within our guidance of that 1.9 to 2.05 grades from underground and we're on track as we move forward through certainly into Q2 and as we follow the rest of the mine plan for the rest of the year.

So grade should be kind of around that 2-gram per tonne then kind of going into Q2?

Yes, within our guidance that we provided, which was between 1.9 and 2.05.

Perfect. Okay. And then just moving on to exploration and maybe this question is for Scott. Can you give us just kind of a brief overview of where you are currently focused on? And especially if you continue to have any sort of success at client picking?

Yes, absolutely. Our 2026 exploration programs are well underway across the board at all sites. We're just concluding a -- starting with Lynn Lake, just concluding a program there focused on testing underground potential follow the MacLellan and Gordon deposits. And that was executed on time just in time for spring breakup. Hopping over to Island Gold. The focus there is on continued expansion of ion gold deposits. So we're drilling from surface, extending -- folks on extending mineralization to the east and to the west. And then also at depth below the bottom of the reserves and resources, and that program is well underway. The other aspect, as you mentioned, was Cline and Pick. We're drilling there and excited what we're seeing as we follow up on the -- some of the results that we had issued earlier in the quarter and really looking at some of the controls on mineralization in that system and testing it down plunge and in and around existing mine workings with the intention of having a resource estimate by the end of 2026. So we're -- that's well underway as well. Hopping over to Young-Davidson, the underground program is focused on continuing to define the hanging wall zones that we have really put out some results on earlier in the quarter. So both the mid-mine [indiscernible] zone and the South cyanide zone, and that program is well underway as well as testing from surface, some of the regional targets. So looking at -- we completed a program in Northeast, which is the potential opportunity for additional open pit material, if you can define a resource there, and that was successful in terms of that program as well as some of the other regional targets in the district. And then Mulatos, that program is well underway. We're really focused off the start of the year at Halcon and Cerro Pelon. We're excited about we're seeing at Cerro Pelon the 200,000 ounces we've defined over the end of 2025. I think that will be just a starting point for that target as we continue stepping out on that sulfide mineralization, both in and around the positive defined, but also within the broader Cerro Pelon region. And [indiscernible] coin as well a new discovery in 2025, and we're still defining the extent of that system. That's an exciting opportunity as well for additional sulfide mineralization in the Mulatos District. And then the last point I'll make, we're currently ramping up for our Kikavicprogram, which is our project in Nunavik in Northern Quebec, and that will be underway later in the second quarter.

Good stuff has got to have a lot going on. Looking forward to some results from these programs. That's it for me, guys, again, looking forward to Q2 for improvement in production and costs and then looking forward to the site trip in summer is what.

Your next question comes from the line of Fahad Tariq of Jefferies.

There was a comment in the press release talking about managing cost pressures with productivity improvements. Can you talk about what specific productivity improvements there are across the portfolio?

Yes, Fahad, it's Greg here. That's referencing what we've already identified as part of our plan in 2026 and even moving into 2027. But I mean, the critical thing is obviously ramping up our mining rates at Island Gold from 1,400 tonnes per day, which we achieved in Q1 up to 2,000 tonnes per day by the end of the year. And as we increase our production from the underground at Island that is critical for us because it's our lowest cost structure that we have across our portfolio. So that's obviously a focus. The other piece would be ramping up the Magino mill from 7,500 tonnes per day in Q1 to closer to 10,000 tonnes through at least the second half of the year. That's obviously going to bring down our cost structure in the second half of the year. And then the last view mining rates at Young-Davidson getting back up to 8,000 tonnes per day. So all of those things are items that are going to manage those cost pressures in 2026. And then as we move into 2027, there's the -- obviously, moving from ramp mining to shaft mining or skipping up the shaft is going to have a significant impact on our cost structure moving forward. And then the last is the hooking up to grid power at the Magino mill, and that's something that will have we plan to have in place by early 2027 as well. So all of those are things that we've outlined previously, but they go a long way to managing any inflationary pressures that we're seeing.

Okay. Great. And then maybe just to follow up on that. Can you just talk about what pressures you're seeing, I think, I guess, April 1 onwards in terms of diesel I think the press release, you've talked about labor, which might be like a second or third order effect. But just what you're seeing across the board on cost inflation?

Yes, you highlighted the 2 kind of primary ones. So diesel, obviously, that's a cost pressure that the entire industry is seeing. We're fortunate in that diesel isn't a big part of our cost structure. It's a 5% and if you break it down, about 2/3 of that is in Canada and 1/3 in Mexico. And in Mexico, it's a regulated system. So you don't see the same effects of the higher diesel price in Mexico that we do in Canada. And then in Canada, it's about 20% of our diesel has been hedged at much lower rates than what we're seeing right now. So all to say very manageable because it's a small component of our cost structure and being less than 5%. On labor, I'd say that the bigger pressure is more on contractor labor. We have put in place our increases for the year, all very manageable, all built into our budget. what we're seeing a little bit of is pressure from contractors to make sure that they can fill their roles and some increased cost there. But again, something that is manageable based on our cost guidance that we have for the rest of the year.

Your next question comes from the line of Ralph Profiti of Stifel.

Yes. My question is, firstly, on Young-Davidson and within the context of this strong recovery that we're going to see through 2026. There is some discussion around stopover break leading to a review of the blasting design. And just wondering, is this something new that we're dealing with? Was this identified as a risk when we encountered some of the headwinds in the back half -- just wondering, is the lasting review part of sort of just where we're having the stope overbreak issues? Or is this part of a router all-stop encompassing plan?

Yes, it's Luc here. I mean the drilling and blasting review is it's always an ongoing process with regards to the mining, I guess, closeout of the reconciliation about each of our soaps. So this is nothing new. We continue to review that on an ongoing basis. I mean historically, the performance has been good at Young-Davidson, but we've been mining there now for the better part of 13 years. And -- actual results from a grade perspective usually reconcile quite well to the model, and we've got a good history of that. In this specific quarter, we did have a couple of stopes that underperformed from dilution aspect where we typically model around 10% to 12% dilution, and we had some higher dilution on the basis of a couple of stopes that we mined in the quarter. But really, the process of closing out the reconciliation is also looking at the drilling and blasting design and seeing if there's some improvements there based on that reconciliation to any modifications that we may need to make and it could be specific to certain regions, maybe some geological structures within those regions that are adding to the dilution. And maybe we need to change our drill and blasting patterns as a result of that. So we take all that into consideration and basically a full analysis and part of it is certainly the drill and blast design as well.

Got you. Okay. And just as a sort of a minor follow-up. -- as right now, do you envision the supplementary temporary crushing at Magino to be in place until the 20,000 tonne per day expansion is commissioned? Or does the existing secondary crusher once it's optimized sort of get you to meet the plan? Or do you envision sort of weaning off the temporary?

Yes. We currently still have it in place. I mean, we commissioned that mid-February and really initially was to help us to get through -- certainly through the winter conditions, some of the challenges that we have operating in the winter have provided consistency for more supplemental feed into the mill grinding circuit. So we still have it in place currently, but we -- I would say we would rely less on it through the summer months and we need to do in the winter months. But when we do have scheduled maintenance, it allows us to continue to provide. If we have scheduled maintenance on the crushing circuit, it allows us to continue to provide mill feed into the grinding circuit. So that's the advantage of it. So periodically, we'll get used -- continue to get used through the summer months as well. But keep in mind, and I think we've discussed this is once we do complete that larger mill expansion to 20,000 tonnes per day. We are going to change some of that crushing circuit and primarily adding a gyratory pressure will eliminate some of the winter challenges that we had certainly with regards to the front end of that crushing circuit that we currently operate with. So come 2028, certainly, we would not require that. But periodically, we will continue to use it. Yes.

Okay. helpful answers.

Your next question comes from the line of Don DeMarco of National Bank.

Great to see the growth trajectory affirmed. First question, going back to the discussion on diesel. We see that costs are expected to decrease by 5% in Q2. Does this assume that diesel prices remain flat?

Correct. It's based on the spot prices that were in place at March 31. So the higher rates that we're seeing now is what we've assumed when we talked about that 5% reduction in cost.

Okay. And as Luc has mentioned, the island mining rates continue higher in Q1 and on her way to 2,000 by the end of the year. Are you stockpiling this or the delta between the nameplate at Island Gold? Or are you putting it through the Magino mill?

Yes. No, no, no stockpiling that's occurring there, Don. I mean the additional tonnes that come up from Island underground, outside of what can be milled at the Island mill itself and up over at the Magino mill, and we process it through the Magino mill. And we'll continue that as we move through the -- certainly the rest of the year with the ramp up. Any additional tonnes that cannot be fed into the Island mill will go into the Magino mill.

Okay. And then finally, do you plan to continue to settle the legacy Argonaut hedges each quarter? And are you looking at it more tactically? Or kind of are you thinking maybe the same amount that we saw in Q1 each quarter going forward?

I think we'll be opportunistic based on where we see the gold price going. So I think we've been tactical all along in taking out close to 250,000 out of the 330,000 ounces that we originally inherited. And we'll look to continue to doing that as we approach the remaining 85,000 ounces.

Good luck with Q2.

Your next question comes from the line of Lauren McConnell of Paradigm Capital.

Just on the Phase III plus expansion, it's good to see the shaft think complete and 100% of the growth capital spent or committed with commissioning expected early next year. What are sort of the remaining critical path, I think, is it that pace plant that's currently on track for completion -- and what are sort of the next sort of key milestones that we should continue to watch to make sure we've seen that on track for early 2027.

Yes. It's Luc, things are tracking well with regards to the -- certainly, the Phase IIIs expansion. I mean the 2 critical items, I guess, right now, as you mentioned, we've completed all of the rock work in the shaft. So now we're actually we're furnishing the shaft. We're putting all of the structural steel in the shaft, separating the compartments for skipping personnel, travel and services. So that will occur over the rest of this year. time line is that would be completed early in the first quarter of 2027. And then the second component of that is away from the shop, which is actually the ore and waste handling infrastructure that's required to be able to feed the shop. We're well embarked on that as well. So we're in the process of doing some rock work in relation to one of the bins, one of the large bins for the underground loading pocket and we'll be establishing our [indiscernible] station as well as the loading pocket at $1,350. That work is also expected to be completed in early 2027 in the first quarter as well. So that will all kind of tie in together. So I'd say by mid Q1, we should have [indiscernible] always handling components commissioned as well as the shaft commission to be able to start utilizing the shaft for ore and waste movement and personnel movement as well.

Okay. Great. That's really helpful. And then just on the overall larger expansion. I think that it said that about 11% of the growth capital has been spent or committed. And so I'm just wondering how much of that remaining, I think it was $542 million is to sort of inflation and procurement risk and any kind of scope changes at this point?

Yes. On that front, I mean, a bunch of that is development. So development is subject to labor inflation, basically. The other piece would be the kind of core components of the mill. And we've got contract in place for some of that, but we're still working through contracts. So technically, there is some inflationary pressure there, although we're not hearing right now that we're expecting much from that. So I'd say it would be normal course inflationary pressures of kind of 4% to 5%.

Okay. Great. That's really helpful.

And your last question come from the line of Sathish Kasinathan of Bank of America.

My first question is on capital allocation. We saw strong free cash flow generation in the first quarter but there were no share buybacks. Given the free cash flow is expected to improve throughout the remainder of the year, how should we think about the potential for getting more active in buybacks?

This is John speaking. We've always taken a very opportunistic approach to share buybacks. And we had what you call it that. We had a focus in the first quarter on increasing the dividend and the buyback of -- we spent $45 million buying back part of the legacy Argonaut hedges. But you take an opportunity like you see now with our shares underperforming in the market. Probably a good guess would be that we are we're being opportunistic on that front. We expect to be more active with the share buyback in Q2 and for the remainder of the year.

Okay. Yes. And most of my other questions have been asked and answered. Maybe one on Magino. You expect meaningful cost savings from connecting the Magino mill to credit pecan you maybe quantify the dollar per ounce impact once it is fully online?

Yes, it's about $5 a ton, correct?

$5 a ton.

There are no further questions at this time. This concludes this morning's call. If you have any further questions that have not been answered, please feel free to contact Mr. Scott Parsons at (416) 368-9932 extension 5439. That is 416-368-9932 extension 5439. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.