Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (WDO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello and welcome to the Wesdome Gold Mines Limited Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. My name is Warwick Morley-Jepson, and I am the Board Chair of Wesdome Gold Mines. I will preside as Chair of this Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in accordance with the company's bylaws. Joining me is Robert Kallio, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, who will act as Secretary for the meeting today. Also joining us in the room today are other members of the Board being: Anthea Bath, Louise Grondin, Charles Main, Nadine Miller, Brian Skanderbeg and Edie Thome. Jacqueline Ricci, a nominee for the body is also with us today and Bill Washington is joining us virtually. In addition to Anthea and Rob, I would like to introduce the other members of the senior leadership team that are here with us today: Fernando Ragone, Chief Financial Officer; Raj Gill, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations; Mike Michaud, Senior Vice President, Exploration and Resources; Kevin Lonergan, Senior Vice President, Technical Services; and Chris Morin, Vice President, Investor Relations. Once the meeting has been terminated, a presentation will be given by Anthea. I now call this meeting to order. I appoint Rob Kallio, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the company to act as Secretary of the meeting. I would now ask the secretary to set out a few rules for the orderly conduct of this meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, everyone. As this meeting is being held in a hybrid format both in person and virtually by Computershare platform, we think it is necessary to set up a few rules for the orderly conduct of this meeting. Questions in respect of a motion can be submitted by a registered shareholder or duly appointed proxy holder using the messaging service of the platform. Click the Q&A icon in the upper right hand side of your screen. Once you have finished typing out the question, click the send button. Questions will generally appear shortly after they are submitted, but will only be addressed at the end of the meeting, provided the questions regarding procedural matters or directly related to the motions before the meeting may be addressed during the meeting. Shareholders today in person may ask questions regarding procedural matters or directly related to the motions before the meeting at any time. For those registered shareholders or duly appointed proxy holders attending the meeting virtually, voting was opened at the beginning of the meeting and will remain open throughout the meeting. This will allow you to choose to vote on each resolution now or wait until the conclusion of the discussion on each resolution prior to the casting your votes. Only registered shareholders or duly appointed proxy holders of the company are permitted to participate in the online voting. Shortly after the final resolution is proposed and voted on, we will close the online voting. For those registered shareholders or duly appointed proxy holders attending the meeting in person, voting for each resolution will be conducted by paper ballot. If you have not received your ballot, please see the scrutineer immediately. You may choose to fill-out each ballot now or wait until the conclusion of the discussion on each resolution prior to completing the applicable ballot. I will call for you to return all the ballots to the scrutineer after the final resolution is proposed and voted on. If you have already voted in advance to the meeting and do not wish to change your vote, then you do not need to do anything. For those who have not yet voted, we encourage you to vote when called upon to do so. The notice calling this Annual General Meeting of shareholders was dated May 14, 2024 and was mailed to shareholders along with the company's management information circular and the form of proxy on May 14, 2024. During the course of this meeting, reference may be made from time to time to matters discussed in the management information circular. If any shareholders are unclear as to the meaning of certain items, please refer to the management information circular, which is available through the virtual interface for this meeting as well as on the company's website and on SEDAR+. Finally, pursuant to Section 9.10 of the bylaws of the company, quorum for the transaction of business at a meeting of shareholders is 2 individuals present in person, each being a shareholder entitled to vote at the meeting or a duly appointed proxy or proxy holder for an absent shareholder that is entitled to vote holding or representing in the aggregate now less than 10% of the issued shares of the company enjoying voting rights at the meeting.

Thank you Mr. Secretary. I request that you please table the attach to the minutes of this meeting and proof of mailing indicating that the notice of the annual meeting, management information circular and the form of proxy are properly mailed to shareholders. We will now proceed with the formal business of today. For the purpose of this meeting, I appoint the company's transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, through its representatives as scrutineer for the meeting to report on the number of shareholders present in person or by proxy for the purposes of establishing a quorum to tabulate the votes and to report to the secretary on the foregoing. For the purposes of establishing a quorum, voters present both virtually and in person will be countered. Mr. Secretary, I understand the scrutineer's preliminary report has now been provided.

Yes, it has, Mr. Chair. The scrutineers' preliminary report shows that there are present at this meeting, 182 shareholders in person or represented by proxy representing an aggregate of 98,976,554 common shares for a total representation in person and by proxy of 66.19% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I'll ask that you please attach a copy of the scrutineer's final report on attendance to the minutes of this meeting. I now, therefore, declare that a quorum is present and that this meeting is properly constituted for the transactions of the business for which it has been called. As stated in the notice of the meeting, there are 3 proposals to be voted on today, being the election of the directors of the company for the ensuing year, the reappointment of Grant Thornton LLP as independent auditors of the company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, and the advisory vote to approve the Board's approach to executive compensation. Each of the proposals is discussed in detail in the management information circular. In order to expedite the formal business of the meeting, we have arranged for certain shareholders to make and second the formal motions at the appropriate time. I now place before the meeting the audited consolidated financial statements of the company for the financial year ended December 31, 2023, together with the auditor's report thereon. It is not proposed to ask shareholders to approve the financial statements, but management of the company would be pleased to answer any relevant questions following the termination of this meeting. The first item of business is the election of the directors of the company to hold office until the next Annual General -- Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Wesdome or until their successors are elected or appointed. The management information circular, which was mailed to shareholders contains the names of 7 nominees. The process of voting will be on an individual basis. Shareholders can vote or withhold from voting on the election of individual directors. The company's bylaws require advance notice to the company of nominations of directors for election at an annual meeting of shareholders of not less than 30 days prior to the date of the annual meeting. Since no such nominations were received by the company, only the nominees set out in the management information circular are eligible for election. For the sake of convenience, I now place in nomination for election as directors, the following 7 individuals: Anthea Bath, Louise Grondin, Charles Main, [ Jacqueline Ricky ], Brian Skanderbeg, Edie Thome and Bill Washington. I now request a motion that the individuals so nominated be elected directors of the company to hold office until the next Annual Meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed subject to the company's articles and bylaws. The motion is now on the floor. Please vote your ballots. The next item of business is the appointment of the auditors of the company for the ensuing year and to authorize the directors of the company to fix the remuneration of the auditors. On the recommendation of the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors of the company has approved, subject to shareholder confirmation, the reappointment of Grant Thornton LLP to serve as auditors of the company until the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders and to authorize the directors to fix the auditor's remuneration. I will ask for a motion to approve these matters.

I so move.

I second the motion.

The motion is now on the floor. Please vote your ballots. The final matter to be dealt with is the consideration of an advisory vote to support the Board's approach to executive compensation as disclosed in the company's management information circular. I will ask for a motion on the nonbinding resolution as set forth in the company's management information circular. The motion is now on the floor. Please vote your ballots. If you are attending the meeting in person, we kindly request that you return all paper ballots to the scrutineer at this time. The polls are now closed. I ask that the scrutineer please compile the report regarding the results of voting on all business matters and deliver the report to the Secretary of the meeting.

Mr. Chair, I've been advised by the scrutineers that the proxies deposited for the meeting have been voted in favor of each of the resolutions as follows: Each of the 7 nominees have been elected as directors of the company to serve until the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed. The appointment of Grant Thornton LLP as auditors of the company have been approved, and the Board of Directors of the company has been authorized to fix their remuneration. And on an advisory basis, the company's shareholders accept the approach to executive compensation disclosed in the company's management information circular dated May 14, 2024. The final results of the voting will be announced in a press release and filed on SEDAR in accordance with the policies of the TSX.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Now I ask that the results of the poll be included with the minutes of this meeting. As the formal business of the meeting of shareholders of the company has now been completed, I will ask for a motion to terminate the meeting. Thank you. As there is no other business coming before this meeting, I declare the meeting terminated. As you are all aware, I have not put my name forward for reelection for the forthcoming year. Having been elected as a director of the company for the first time in 2017, the last 7 years, of which the last 5 as Chair, have been both an honor and a privilege representing and serving the interest of our shareholders. During that time, we have seen the company increase its production almost triple, increase its share price by more than 400%, enhanced its governance policies and oversight and adopted and formalized its ESG commitments and reporting and established an exceptional team of executives, managers and operators that have the skills and experience to continue building Wesdome organically through its exceptional assets in Eagle River and Kiena. As we conclude, I'd like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to the Board of Directors for their continued support and to Anthea and her Wesdome team for their outstanding efforts throughout 2023 and 2024. As I will continue to be a Wesdome shareholder, I will watch the company's continued growth and return of value to all its stakeholders. I thank you all once again most sincerely and would like to invite Anthea to provide you all with an update on the activities of the company.

Thank you, Warwick, and hello to everybody, and thank you for joining us here. Before I get started, please view the safe harbor slide behind me as I'll be making forward-looking statements throughout the presentation. Last year was a great year to Wesdome. First off, both of our mines delivered on the operational targets. Eagle River produced nearly 88,000 ounces of gold at an average head grade of 12.4 grams a tonne and met its cost guidance. Eagle also had a discovery, the Falcon 311 zone and continued to advance development towards the 300 zone at depth. At Kiena, gold production exceeded 35,000 ounces, driven by a 66% increase in tonnage. To set Kiena up for success in 2024 and beyond, last year, we spent a lot of work on this operation. First of all, reaching Level 129, which was a milestone, ensuring that our operational processes were well tested and very robust. We undertook underground drilling at both Kiena Deep and the footwall zones, and we advanced the development of the Presqu'ile zone. I'm pleased to report that the Presqu'ile portal is now complete and the ramp development is beyond 210 meters, and we continue to advance daily. Importantly, in the latter part of 2023, we reviewed and upgraded the health and safety protocols at each site. The impact of these changes has been positive and we are seeing a significant improvement in 2024. These operational achievements at Eagle Ribbon Kiena could not have happened without a lot of hard work and I'd like to recognize the contribution of our employees across the operations and the corporate offices. Because of you, we met the 2023 full year consolidated guidance, exceeding the production midpoint of 123,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of USD 1,683 per ounce, which was at the lower end of our guidance. We have an incredible team. On behalf of the Board and management, I'd like to thank each and every one of you. Last year, we also grew 2P reserves by 12%. This increase reflects, among other things, an initial estimates at Presqu'ile Zone together with additions in Kiena Deep as well as the Eagle River Loan 6 Central. Exploration is Wesdome's DNA, and we have a long history of making discoveries and extending the mine life at each of our mines. Responsible Mining is the core of our operations and fundamental to the long-term success of Wesdome. Our Board and senior leadership team understands this importance and the importance of developing and maintaining a strong social license because we'd like to leave a positive legacy in the area after mining operations are long gone and make sure we continue to deliver value to all of our stakeholders. Last year was a busy year for our sustainability group. A number of things were achieved. I'm going to notice 2 right now. We developed and implemented a new reverse osmosis system at Eagle River as a means to improve the water management systems on the site as well as we signed a pivotal agreement with Pic Mobert First Nation to identify business opportunities and strengthen relations. Additionally, significant advances were made towards an updated Kiena Grievance Mechanism. The list of the last year's accomplishments are far too long to go through a year. However, they'll be outlined in our 2023 ESG report, which will be available on our website in early July. Now let's take a look at what's in store for 2024. Earlier this year, we issued multiyear guidance and our road map to get there. Compared to 2023, we are targeting significant production increases of between 30% and 45% in 2024 and up to 70% in 2025. Importantly, based on these improvements, implicit in the 2024 cost guidance, together with current spot prices, we're expecting to double our ASIC margin to approximately $1,000 an ounce. 2024 also marks a cash flow inflection point for Western. We have a history of taking a disciplined approach to equity dilution and have always been focused on self-funding growth. As you can see from the slide behind me, we have a track record of delivering on cash flow and production growth per share metrics. I'd like to highlight that there's potentially hidden upside in these numbers as consensus endless gold price remains below spot. Based on 2024 guidance, we expect to see at least part of this excess cash being used to pay down the balance of our revolver and to fully fund our pipeline of organic high-return opportunities across both properties. Our near-term focus is on initiatives at Eagle River and Kiena are expected to accelerate free cash flow inflection or growth generation. Health and safety will continue to be our primary focus. As part of our strategic objective to [ fill the mill ], we're evaluating a 2-mine structure, which would mean leveraging near-term near surface resources as well as ore depth to improve mill capacity utilization. As well, there are many opportunities for optimization, whether it be in cost or the ore body or in exploration. Exploration plays a significant role as we plan to spend more than $30 million across both properties. This is double the amount spent in 2023 and represents one of the largest self-funded exploration program in Wesdome's history. One thing that really surprised me in joining Wesdome is a market exploration potential across 100 square kilometer land package at Eagle and 75 square kilometer land package at Kiena. There's still many opportunities to be drawn, and we believe much more goal to be found. Given the mineral-rich nature of the [indiscernible] and the mine to discovery surrounding our properties, it's really hard to believe that there wouldn't be opportunities where another Kiena Deep could be potentially possible and other significant opportunities in Kiena or more parallel zones like the Falcon 311 Zone at Eagle River or continued extension [ downtrend ] at both operations. We also see a lot of potential in both inferred and other categories that currently are not included in resource estimates. In designing this year's ambitious exploration program, our objective was to strike a balance between the near-term drilling and development requirements as well as exploration drilling to drive future value of the business. Exploration was historically delivered or has historically delivered Wesdome's highest return on invested capital, and we're very excited about the opportunity we see in front of us. As we draw on yield results, our goal is to enhance the market's visibility and confidence in our ore body. We've come a long way over the last 12 months. Our stock price has increased by more than 50%, bringing our market cap close to $1.6 billion. Our balance sheet continues to strengthen. As of the end of March, we had $49 million in cash and $29 million drawn on our revolving credit facility. We had extensive and supportive capital market coverage and a high-caliber list of institutional shareholders who place their trust in us to which we're very grateful. Delivering value to shareholders is a top priority as we pursue our vision of becoming a Canadian intermediate gold producer. I'd like to also use this opportunity to thank our 2 directors as well. Nadine and our Chair, Warwick, who will be retiring from the Board. Nadine, you've been a tremendous asset since you've joined as a director in 2016. You brought in valuable technical and operational experience to the Board, the Governance Nominating Committee, the Audit Committee and the Technical Safety and Sustainability Committee. Nadine, on behalf of Wesdome, thank you for your leadership and contribution. You will surely be missed. [ Main ] is going to bring something to you quickly. Next, our Chair, Warwick, who joined the Board in 2017 and became Chair in 2019 and acted as an interim CEO for the first half of 2023. Your selfless efforts during this period did not go unnoticed and your entire team would like to thank you. While it's only been a year, I've had the pleasure of working with you, and I want to thank you for your insights and your support and all that you've done for me too. We'll miss you. I'd also like to welcome our newest director, Jacqueline Ricci. Jacqueline brings with her more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, and extensive knowledge of the mining industry. She currently sits as well on 2 TSX-listed boards. Jacqueline, we're really looking forward to your insights and we're looking forward to your contributions on our Board. Thank you to everybody for coming here today, and we really appreciate it. With that, I'd like to invite you to join us, the Management and Board for some refreshments.

This concludes the meeting. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.