OceanaGold Corporation (OGC) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, afternoon and evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Ian Reid, and as Chair of the Board of OceanaGold Corporation, I'd like to welcome you to today's annual general and special meeting of shareholders. As it is now 9:00 a.m. Australian Eastern standard time, and a quorum is present, I declare the meeting open. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce my fellow Directors attending this meeting. Mr. Michael Holmes is President and Chief Executive Officer of OceanaGold. Michael has been with OceanaGold since 2012 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed President and CEO earlier this year, along with his appointment to the Board of Directors. He's a mining engineer with over 30 years of global experience working in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and North and South America. Prior to joining the company, he was the general manager of Glencore's Alumbrera Operation in Argentina and general manager of the Mount Isa copper operation in Australia. Also with us on the call today are our non-Executive Directors. Mr. Paul Sweeney joined OceanaGold in July 2014 and brings with him substantial international experience across mining and renewable energy industries. An independent business consultant since May 2011, he is currently on the Board of the Adventus Mining Corporation and recently joined the Board of Prime Mining Corp. Paul chairs the Audit and Financial Risk Management Committee of OceanaGold and is a member of the Remuneration, People and Culture Committee and Governance and Nomination Committee of OceanaGold. Dr. Geoff Raby joined OceanaGold in August 2011 and was Australia's ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China from 2007 to 2011. Geoff's extensive experience in international affairs and trade, having previously served a number of senior diplomatic roles, Geoff chairs our Sustainability Committee and is a member of the Audit and Financial Risk Management Committee and Governance and Nomination Committee of the company. Mr. Craig Nelsen joined the company in February 2019. Craig brings extensive exploration, management and capital markets experience. Craig was founder, CEO and Director of Avanti Mining. Prior to that, Craig served as Executive Vice President, Exploration of Gold Fields Ltd., Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of former Metallica Resources, now New Gold, Craig chairs our Remuneration, People and Culture Committee and is a member of our Sustainability Committee at OceanaGold. Ms. Catherine Gignac, Catherine joined the company in August 2019 with more than 30 years of capital markets experience, including an extensive career as a mining equity research analyst with leading global brokerage firms. She spent her early working years as a geologist and currently serves as an independent non-Executive Director and Chair of the Reserves Oversight Committee of Cameco Corporation. Catherine chairs our Governance and Nomination Committee and is a member of our Audit and Financial Risk Committee and Sustainability Committee. All of the current Directors of OceanaGold, including myself, will be seeking reelection to the Board at this meeting. We also have with us today, Mr. John O'Donoghue from our auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, attending the meeting via teleconference in Australia. John has over 30 years' experience in audit and assurance and has been the lead responsible audit partner for OceanaGold since 2013. At this point, I advise that for governance purposes, particularly considering the various locations from which attendees are joining us, and as provided for in the company's constitution, I exercise the right to call for a poll on all resolutions. Today, as with last year, we will be using the Lumi mobile AGM app to allow attendees to view the webcast, submit questions and for registered shareholders and proxy holders to cast votes on these items of business. [Operator Instructions] If your question is not responded to during the meeting, please send us a message at [email protected], and we will respond soon after the meeting. When we arrive at the formal business of the meeting, I will call for a poll to be opened on all items. For registered shareholders and proxy holders, the resolutions will appear in your app, along with for and withhold or for and against voting options, depending on the resolution. Simply select one of these options to cast your vote. You can change your vote as many times as you wish, up until the close of the polls. Any third-party proxies appointed by the registered shareholders for this meeting should vote in the same manner. The voting options selected by the app will cause any discretionary votes you may hold to be cast as selected. Underlying instructions from holders will automatically be cast at the close of the polls. When voting is closed, the final voting selection entered into your app will be recorded. These votes will be added to the proxy votes received prior to the meeting. The results of the meeting will be tabulated and announced to the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Stock Exchange after the conclusion of the meeting. After we conclude the formal business of the meeting, I'll invite Michael Holmes, OceanaGold's President and Chief Executive Officer, to provide an update about the company. If you're logged in with Lumi, you can switch between screens of the presentation, voting resolutions and messages and questions from attendees. If there's a pertinent question from the shareholders through Lumi, I will voice this at the meeting and respond to that. We'll now move to the formal business of the meeting. I've requested the Liang Tang, company secretary, to serve as recording secretary for the meeting. Christopher Dedrick of Computershare Investor Services, the registrar and transfer agent for the company, is present and will act as scrutineer for the meeting. We will first consider the financial statements of the company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, and the auditor's report. This is a nonbinding item for discussion and does not require a vote. If there is any discussion -- if there is no discussion, we will move on to the next order of business. Is there any discussion on this item? Seeing none, hearing none, we will now open the voting on the 3 resolutions specified in the AGM notice of meeting and management information circular. You can only vote for or withhold on the first 2 resolutions. The app will now display the resolutions for your voting options. Voting will remain open during discussion on the resolutions. I will also provide you with notice that the polls are about to close. So resolution 1, election of Directors, to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following 6 items as ordinary resolutions. Details of the person seeking election and reelection are set out in the notice of meeting and management information circular. Are there any questions in relation to the resolutions reelecting each of the Directors? To carry on, item 1 that Ian M. Reid be elected as a Director; item 2 that Paul B. Sweeny be elected as a Director; item 3 that Geoff W. Raby be elected as a Director; item 4 that Mr. Craig J. Nelsen be elected as a Director; item 5 that Ms. Catherine A. Gignac be elected as a Director; and Item 6 that Michael H. L. Holmes be elected as a Director. Our second resolution is the appointment of the auditor. To consider, and if thought fit, pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. To appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditor of the company for the ensuing year and authorize the Directors to fix their remuneration. Now displayed is the final proxy position for this item of business. Is there any questions in relation to the resolution? As there is no further discussion, I will close the poll on each of the first 2 resolutions in the next few minutes. [Voting]

Just awaiting a signal that it's time to close the poll -- the first poll.

Voting is complete. You can now close the poll.

Thank you. We will now open the voting on the final resolution. You can only vote for or against on this resolution. The app will now display the resolutions and your voting options. Voting will remain open during discussion on this resolution. I will also provide you with notice that the polls are about to close. [Voting]

Resolution 3, a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation. To consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. The approval of a nonbinding advisory resolution accepting the approach to executive compensation disclosed in the company's accompanying management information circular. Now displayed is the final proxy position for this item of business. Are there any questions in relation to this resolution? Hearing none, as there's no further discussion, I will close the poll on the final resolution in the next few minutes.

Voting is complete. You may close the poll.

Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, I now declare the poll closed. We are pleased to announce that all resolutions have been passed. Detailed results of the meeting will be announced to the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Stock Exchange later today. Thank you once again for attending the meeting. I now declare this annual general meeting closed. I will turn it over to Michael Holmes, President and CEO. Michael?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hello, everybody. It's a pleasure to be here with you today and provide an update on OceanaGold. These are certainly unprecedented times for all of us. And I hope each of you, your family and your friends are healthy and safe. The logistics of our annual general meeting are different this year in light of COVID-19. And for those of you joining virtually or in person, thank you for being here. Over the course of the presentation, I will discuss the current state of our business and operations, including 2019 results. More generally, I will take you through our strategic focus and particularly our significant growth pipeline. We will also review our 2019 sustainability report and our commitment to responsible mining. Also before we proceed, note that the presentation contains forward-looking statements, which, by their very nature, are subject to some degree of uncertainty. There are no assurances that our forward-looking statements we'll provide to be accurate, as future results and events could differ materially. It is also important to note that while we have maintained our full 2020 guidance, the current situation related to COVID-19 virus is still fluid and could impact the current state of our business. However, we have very strict protocols in place to safeguard the health and well-being of our workforce. 2019 was a challenging year for us, but we did close on a positive note, with strong operational and financial performance from Haile and our New Zealand operations. The company delivered approximately 470,000 ounces of gold production and just over 10,000 tonnes of copper at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,061 per ounce. Haile and New Zealand outperformed at year-end, delivering an increase of nearly 20% in gold production and an all-in sustaining cost reductions of 13% quarter-on-quarter. Haile delivered significant operational improvements through the balance of 2019. All-in sustaining costs decreased by 40% as a result of operation -- operating efficiencies and productivity improvements. Strong performance out of Haile and New Zealand helped to offset the impacts from the suspended operations at Didipio in the second half. At 2019 year-end, the FDA renewal was reendorsed to the Office of the President. And currently, we are maintaining a state of operational readiness at the site. I will discuss this in more detail as we walk through each operation shortly. We ended 2019 at a relatively low financial leverage with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.84 and effectively maintained our financial flexibility. With the support of our banking syndicate, we amended our corporate debt facilities, whereby we eliminated the scheduled step down and extended the maturity to the end of December 2021. We continue to manage the balance sheet to ensure we can meet whatever short-term challenges may arise, while ensuring we have the firepower to deliver our growth projects on optimal time frames. During 2019, we continued to advance the Haile expansion, and we are feeling good about the progress of the operation, which is shaping up to be a robust long-life mine in a Tier 1 jurisdiction. The Waihi District in New Zealand represents the largest value-creating opportunity we have in our portfolio, and exploration results continue to yield positive results. Drilling in 2019 resulted in an updated resource of approximately 2.4 million ounces at Martha Underground and WKP. These projects will underpin the PEA-level Waihi District Study and the extension of the mine life at Waihi operation. As mentioned, 2019 was a challenging year for OceanaGold. And as you can see, we're in the bottom quartile of total shareholder returns for the year. In the first half of 2019, we were recovering from extreme weather that hampered productivity at Haile. As Haile was recovering, we experienced the ongoing disruptions at Didipio following the expiration of our FTAA contract in June and later with blockades that forced us to shut down the operations in October. Didipio currently remains in the state of operational readiness, and the resumption of operations remains our top priority for 2020. The operational challenges we faced last year put considerable pressure on the share price. However, we are now looking forward to delivering on the company's 2020 commitments and advancing our organic growth opportunities over the next several years. As you can see on this slide, despite the challenging past year, we continue to deliver positive results, and we remain the only gold company -- mining company that has delivered a positive return on invested capital every year going back to 2011. We have consistently maintained low levels of debt, and that remains the case. We took proactive steps subsequent to the -- subsequent to 2019 to strengthen our liquidity, which have proven timely given the emergence of COVID-19. These actions included the sale of our equity position in GSV to cash, which netted $23 million. We booked approximately $11.5 million related to the sale of gold doré at Didipio. And we executed a gold prepay in March of this year, which bought forward $78.5 million in cash flow. Finally, as an added insurance measure, we chose to draw down the remaining $50 million against the revolving credit facility. These factors, further supported by the strong banking syndicate, have ensured we have the flexibility to continue to execute on our plans. We have operated a sustainable business for the past 30 years by applying robust ESG practices across our business. And today, we have launched our 2019 sustainability report that captures our commitment to responsible mining. We are proud of our ability to discover ore bodies, build projects, operate mines and rehabilitate depleted mines. This is clearly demonstrated by the work we've been doing at the Reefton Mine on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As you can see from the photo, the Globe Pit, which operated for about 9 years, is transforming into a freshwater lake surrounded by native forests. Since the mine closed in 2016, we have completed over 100 hectares of rehabilitation and planted more than 700,000 native seedlings, with another 300,000 seedlings to be planted over the next 3 years. We have a strong social license to operate, which is critical to have when we're operating in any jurisdiction, particularly those that are socially complex, like the Philippines. Didipio is the most responsible mining operation globally, and our operations reflect our strong commitment and performance in ESG. Driving for improvements in health and safety continue to be a critical component of our business. And as you can see, our total recordable injury frequency rate improved in 2019. Our overall ESG performance has been recognized by the major ESG rating agencies, where we are ranked in the top 5 globally in the gold industry. Although we are proud of our ESG performance and programs we have, we can always do better. Today, we launched our 2019 sustainability report, which was based on the globally recognized Global Reporting Initiative framework. The report was independently verified and highlights our performance in environmental, health and safety and social performance. It also highlights indicators that are material to our business and to our stakeholders and captures opportunities for improvement. In 2019, under our new integrated management system, we made significant progress in a number of areas, including review of our responsible mining policies, the launch of a new policy around our engagement with government and civil society, and the insurance of 9 Statements of Position to focus on social and environmental aspects. We are considering -- we are considered one of the top mining companies for disclosure. And frankly, for a company of our size, we believe we are leaps and bounds ahead of our peers for ESG policies, standards, implementation and verification. We reported our first quarter 2020 financial and operating results a couple of weeks ago. Despite the emergence of COVID-19 creating additional and varied risks across our global operational footprint, we delivered a good quarter of operational performance, while safeguarding the health and well-being of our workforce. We also reaffirmed our 2020 guidance and delivered on this -- delivering on this guidance is one of our top initiatives this year, in addition to resuming the operations at Didipio and progressing our organic growth profile. OceanaGold has a high-quality management team and high-quality assets, which is a recipe for success, and now top that with one of the best organic growth pipelines in the gold sector. Our operations span the globe and are expected to produce approximately 370,000 ounces of gold this year at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,100 per ounce of gold. 2020 is a transitional year for us across the portfolio. Without Didipio in operation and Waihi currently in development phase, we are currently flying on 2 engines, Haile and Macraes, with a strong balance sheet to support operations and to fund organic growth. Today, we are managing the business for the near term and planning for the long term. We have a strong asset base, and we are acutely focused on making long-term decisions, while delivering consistent positive results and long-term value. We need to deliver our commitment by driving social -- strong operational performance across our portfolio, and we've had a good start to achieve this despite the restrictions that were placed at our New Zealand operations due to COVID-19. The resumption of operations at Didipio, as mentioned, is a top priority, and we continue to have encouraging tangible discussions and, most important, actions from the national government. We continue to advance our organic growth opportunities, which, we believe, represents one of the most significant growth platforms for investors in the gold industry. Over the next several years, we expect to build 4 underground mines in low-risk jurisdictions where we had extensive operating experience. We are committed to delivering these projects on time and on budget. Much of our growth is in New Zealand, particularly at Waihi, where we are building the Martha Underground Project. And despite the 5-week development hiatus related to COVID-19, we continue to expect first production from Martha Underground in the second quarter of next year. We're also nearing the completion of the Waihi District Study, which is expected to provide an initial view of the value-creating potential of the Waihi District opportunities, including Martha Underground and WKP. At Macraes in the South Island of New Zealand, we continue to advance the Golden Point Underground study we expect -- which we expect will highlight a new underground mine replaces -- replacing the Frasers Underground and extend the mine life of Macraes for an additional 4 to 5 years at similar production rates. This study is expected to be completed in the second half of this year. Finally, in the U.S., the Haile expansion is in the final stages as we approach the 200-plus ounce per year production rate objective. The Horseshoe Underground permitting process is also in the final stages, and we continue to optimize the development plan, with the portal development expected to begin next year. Moving on to the operations. At Waihi, we are transforming from mining at the major veins in the Correnso Underground to production at the Martha Underground in the second quarter of 2021. Mining at Correnso was completed in the first quarter this year, producing approximately 12,000 ounces of gold. Currently, we completed over 1,500 meters of development at the Martha Underground until activities were temporarily curtailed due to COVID-19-related restrictions. However, we remain on track for first production in quarter 2 next year. WKP is a major discovery, only 10 kilometers away from the Waihi process plant, with a resource of 1.1 million ounces between 12 and 13 grams per tonne, and this is only based on 35,000 meters of drilling. We expect to drill it for the next decade. The existing resources at Martha Underground and WKP underpin the Waihi District Study that is nearing completion. With so much drilling ahead of us, it is important for me to highlight that the Waihi District Study will only include the reported resource and, thus, will only capture what we believe to be a fraction of the value that WKP may contain. We call Macraes the mine that keeps on giving. It's truly the most unappreciated asset in our portfolio. Macraes has generated very strong free cash flows over the past few years. The New Zealand denominated gold price has never been this high, with a long -- which, along with lower fuel prices and exchange rates, represents major tailwinds for our New Zealand business. With the release of the Golden Point Underground study in the second half of this year, we expect to daylight a mine life extension at Macraes at consistent production levels of 150,000 to 180,000 ounces per year at an all-in sustaining cost of around $1,000 per ounce. We expect Macraes to be a major source of free cash flow generation for many years to come. Moving on to Haile. As mentioned, we were pleased with the operating and productivity improvements delivered at Haile year-over-year. First quarter production was in line with our expectations, and mining rates increased at improved unit costs, down 50% from the first quarter of 2019, while total mining movements more than doubled year-over-year. By the end of the first quarter, we have had all 15 of the new Komatsu haul trucks operating and delivering measurable productivity improvements. The process plant continues to operate ahead of expectations, with recoveries as expected, and we will continue to fine-tune the regrinding circuit. The Haile expansion is in the final stages, and we are optimizing the Horseshoe Underground with portal development expected to begin next year. With the right leadership team and the workforce in place, we are confident in achieving Haile's long-term vision as a 2,000-plus ounce gold producer in the future. In the Philippines, as mentioned, we are focused on lifting the restraints at Didipio Mine and the renewal of the FTAA, the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement. The government's attention turned to COVID-19 response in March. The renewal remains with the Office of the President, and we understand that the President has been involved in discussions about the renewal with senior government officials. Didipio is a significant source of jobs, taxes and revenues that we will -- that, we believe, will be critical in contributing to the Philippines' post-COVID-19 recovery, despite the temporary layoff of our nonessential workers in mid-April and the uncertainty around the timing of the end of the COVID crisis, we remain confident of a positive outcome there. In summary, we are managing the near-term risks and planning for the long term with an acute focus on the health, safety and well-being of our workforce. We are strongly committed to creating long-term value for our supportive group of shareholders. We have a high-quality operations, a solid pipeline of organic growth opportunities and the right team in place to achieve our goals. And finally, we have the 3 key initiatives this year is to: one, deliver on the 2020 expectations; to resume the operations at Didipio; and progress our organic growth pipeline. I will now turn it over to questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Michael. There are no questions on the Lumi board. However, there was a question that was sent through prior to the AGM, and so I will read that out for you. It's just a one question that we've received. How does the Board -- apologies. How does the company propose to limit or reform its hedging practice losses or unwind existing hedges?

Thank you, Sam. When we have a look at it, the New Zealand gold hedge strategy has always been focused on protecting the margins in New Zealand on the downside, especially Macraes, given its low relative grade and higher costs. The mechanism that we use is a zero cost to New Zealand gold cap and co-arrangement, offering both gold price in New Zealand protection up until late -- and up until late 2019, they had been effectively free insurance with New Zealand gold trading below the cap. For 2020, we had additional risk of Waihi ceasing production, while requiring material capital growth -- material capital for growth, combined with Macraes, with a relatively high strip ratio, so we chose to lock in the strong New Zealand margin on the proportion of the New Zealand production to support both the operating margins and the growth that we have with the 6-year highs in the New Zealand gold. Obviously, with COVID and other macro factors have combined to drive a strong gold rally over the past 6 months, while at the same time, the New Zealand currency weakened margin -- materially. As a result, our 2020 hedges have been out of the money in the last 2 quarters. However, we are relatively conservative in the volume hedged, with only 2/3 of the New Zealand 2020 forecast production covered. So while our hedge is out of the money, and we are disappointed not to have fully participated in the record New Zealand gold prices, we still have 1/3 of our 2020 New Zealand production unhedged. And at group level, almost 70% is unhedged even without Didipio. So on a pure economic basis, I'd always prefer to have a relatively conservative hedge volume out of the money rather than have the money in the hand. So working through that, we have the remaining hedges for the New Zealand, which will terminate this year, as I mentioned, that is overall a roundabout 1/3 the gold produced. As for the gold presale, it was not a price hedging strategy. This was just a matter of cash flow matching with our liquidity management actions. So with the Didipio restart remaining uncertain, the operating cash flow of the other assets was materially second half weighted, reflecting the grade profile both at Haile and Macraes. And despite this, we have a very clear important growth profile projects that we are currently working on to deliver significant long-term value for the operations and for the company. And therefore, the gold presale was executed to reprofile the 2020 operating cash flow to better align with the growth profile requirements. So this was evidenced during the short duration of the presale. And unlike many of our other peers who remain -- have much larger open positions, they keep pushing out -- that they keep pushing out for the years to come. This is also reflected in the volume, only 1/3 of our expected forecasted production reprofiled from late -- in the late half of this year, in H2 as being more back into H1.

Thank you, Michael. There are no further questions.

So thank you with that. With no further question, that concludes the conference call. And please, wish everybody to remain healthy and safe. Thank you very much.