Metals Exploration (LSE:MTL) — Investor Presentation

0:00 Good morning and welcome to the METALS EXPLORATION PLC Investor Presentation. Throughout this quarter presentation, investors will be in listen only mode. Questions are encouraged and they can be submitted at any time by the Q and A tab situated in the right hand corner of your screen. Simply type in your questions and press send. The company may not be in a position to answer every question it receives during the meeting itself. However, the company can review all the questions submitted today and publish responses where it's appropriate to do so. Before we begin, I'd like to submit the following poll. And I'd now like to hand you over to CEO, Darren Bowden. Good morning to you, sir. Good morning. Thank you, Sandra. Good morning, everybody, and well, afternoon depending on what part of the world you're in. I'm here just to talk through the recent acquisition of Condor Gold by METALS EXPLORATION. I've got a small presentation I will take you through.

0:47 We are gonna cover a little bit of information that we covered in December, but we're trying to keep the presentation short so that we can spend some time answering questions, which we weren't able to do in December. So, I look forward to, hearing from you guys. We will try and get through as many questions as we can as we go. So without further ado, I'll move to the presentation, and we'll, we'll start. I think, you know, you've seen the RNS has come out in the last couple of days, but and I think most people know who METALS EXPLORATION are. But, you know, we're a a gold company listed on AIM. We're operating in The Philippines, and we currently produce circa 80,000 ounces a year. You know, we've got a proven track record over the last five years. We've grown the company to what it is today, and the Condor m and a activity is a clear example of the board's willingness to to expand this company into other jurisdictions as we go forward.

1:46 So in 2024, we both there's two acquisitions, a small acquisition of YMC, which is a small exploration company which has tenements in ABRA. So you'll hear me talk about the ABRA projects or YMC interlaced. And most recent acquisition, as everybody's aware, on January 15 was Condor Gold, which has assets in Nicaragua and gold gold assets in Nicaragua. You know, we, passed, this year 25,000,000 man hours LTI free. It's an amazing record, and it speaks volumes about the team and their commitment to safety and, commitment to the, the operation of the company. So, very good result for us all the way around. I I will talk about the financial results for the company as we go into the slides.

2:39 So, you know, we have set ourselves strategies, and I I've been talking in most presentations. I talk about about the four pillars that we work to, and those pillars have not changed, but we've been flexible about some of the outcomes of how we've achieved those pillars as we're as we're moving through the years and to the future, and we'll talk through that. But just looking at how we've delivered on our strategy, you know, we we have talked about having cash flow at the end of Runruno. The Condor acquisition definitely helps us achieve that. We've had very good cash flow over the last two years, again, assisted by the share price, but also assisted by the performance of operations.

3:24 Sorry, the gold price, but assisted by the performance of operations as well, which has set our balance sheet up for, you know, a very strong future, and it helps us look at the the self funding of the the condo construction and operation going into operation in Nicaragua. The acquisition of Avra gives us a long term future in the exploration play. There's some significant potential there, as we've talked about previously, with what we see as some opportunities for Tier one assets to be developed into the future through those exploration tenements. You know, we will continue in the future looking at m and a when it makes sense to us, when the value creation for the shareholders works. So, you know, the strategy we've set forward, we're moving through and we're working through very, you know, with the with the goal and with the the board absolute behind the management moving in that single direction to try and grow this company into the future.

4:28 So our four pillar strategy is simple. We have the the first pillar was always the performance of the existing asset. You know, we can't move past and on if we can't perform in what we already have known. And, you know, 2024 source achieved all of the metrics, 90% recoveries, you know, a a 20% increase in throughput in the plant, 80,000 ounces produced, that would be guidance in all cases. It's been a great year from a performance, from an operating, from a community and from a safety point of view at Runruno. And I believe pillar one has been solidly put in place. And over the next two years, we'll deliver that performance we require to keep growing this company and building this company.

5:15 The two to four year plan, we were looking and it has been mentioned in some of the questions, which I will answer later about, you know, maybe that a small scale mining strategy within the country that is still part of our overall long term vision. But at this stage, we haven't been able to solidify that, you know, the approval processes and the time frames to do that outside of what we needed to get a second operation up and running. And then Condor Gold made complete sense to meet that second pillar to have a cash flow generative project on stream prior to the closure of Runruno. Now, you know, our three to five year growth strategy is basically the transformation of the Runruno assets in The Philippines, whether they they move somewhere else at a repurposed or we can actually find something close by and extend the life of Rotmaroon using the existing assets repurposed on-site, you know, and project strategy there. And I think Dupax is probably something we will talk about to a little to an extent. It was mentioned in the last presentation, and that fits that strategy very well.

6:26 There is work to do there, but it definitely has all the hallmarks of something that can give us an extension of life at RunRuno. And then the, you know, the ten year strategy is looking out to those tier one assets, growing this company, finding that, you know, that large deposit that puts this company on a very short footing to operating assets. If we haven't done further m and a beyond those assets, then we have the the opportunity to look and to grow this through organic growth internally with the with the exploration targets that we have in our portfolio at this stage. So that strategy, that four pillar strategy, I'll keep talking to it over the years, and, hopefully, each one of those, you know, time frames when we get to those time frames, we can clearly show that we've met those requirements and that credibility we've built over time can keep growing with with further results.

7:16 The highlights for 2024. Mentioned some of them focused on growth, the acquisition of Condor and YMC, a clear path forward on our our forward future strategy. Runruno production, 83,900 or close enough, 83,900 ounces exceeding guidance at the top end of where where we'd like we we wanted to see it. We had targeted recoveries around the 86% mark achieved over 90. The team performed very well, and the asset is performing where we want it. And now is that at that performance over where it's meeting design, and the the next couple of years are going to deliver on that performance as we go forward as well.

8:02 Record revenues, 190,000,000. Free cash, nearly 97,000,000. So it puts us in a very good position to to move to move the needle with regards to the construction and internal funding of the Nicaragua project, Landia. We were debt free by Q1 twenty twenty four. Amazing result. There's nearly 160,000,000 of debt paid down over the three years of growth within the and re performance of the the Runruno assets. As we've said, our safety record is is part to none, 25,000,000 man hours without a lost time injury. So, Ranruno, the the the team and the performance have been exactly where we want them to be for setting ourselves up for the future.

8:54 So the acquisition of Condor Gold. We'll talk through why and we'll talk through what we see and our internal studies that have been done to date of how we see that going forward. So the rationale, really, we were looking for a near construction or a producing asset to bring into our portfolio so that we could replace the cash flow of Renruno when Renruno's life finished. Condor met all of those requirements. It's a high grade, open cut underground resource. We clearly see the potential there that was recognized by the previous management. Without the funding to fully realize that potential, it gave us a lot of value creation that we can see for the future and for the the project going forward. It is fully permitted.

9:46 We've already started the the process of reengineering to the design that we want. We have a Spanish speaking team that's already agreed to come on board for to move that project into construction as soon as possible. And what we're focused on is financing that construction phase with internal cash flow so there's no further financing required in the company, or we won't be making a an equity call for any anything in the future as well. We're targeting we'll get to the key metrics, but we're targeting a 145,000 average ounce production a year over we've got our our base case is ten years, but we're looking up to up to fourteen years with the existing resource we can see now.

10:33 Now we have to do a lot of definition drilling over the next two years to bring that resource into reserve and to have the confidence level that we wish to for the full ten to fourteen years. But the starting nucleus of the project is there. It's at a reserve ready stage, and we will build on that as we go forward. So we're building the plant and designing the plant for that future production and for where we want to see that mine and the numbers we want to come out of that mine. So, you know, we currently got 2,300,000 ounces in in the resources there. We we agree with the the Condor the Condor take on that that project and that that total tenement package that it is a 5,000,000 ounce project. There's no doubt about that. It just needs the work put into all of the the secondary targets that are already identified, and we will start that work immediately. And part of the the deal with Condor is they wanted some benefit of that future in the CVR, which is a an additional ounces that gets put on the books to grow that resource, which benefits us and benefits shareholders of Condor under the CVR is something we're very focused on doing over the next five years.

11:53 You know, we want to see those 5,000,000 ounces, and we want to see the benefit to all shareholders. La India is the heart of the project. There are a number of other deposits around La India, Cacao, Matises, Las Americas that will all come into play and all come into the production schedule. There are many more to that actually that we have seen that will require work over the next five to ten years to keep just keep that plant operating into the future. You know, I think there is a long there will be a long established mine life once we start running there as we go forward with the work that'll go into exploration. You know, right now, the M and I sits at a 3.6 gold equivalent. It's significant.

12:44 We're looking at the La India initial feasibility that was done because they were looking for bankable. It was based on just the reserve numbers that could come through those reserves, to not looking at the expansive numbers within the resources at 80,000 ounces. And we feel that the, you know, the 1,400,000 tonnes production a year with a a 140 to 150 ounce production profile is absolutely doable. We're very confident that that's achievable over a ten year time frame, if not after the fifteen or twenty years as we go forward. So if we look at those those resources, they are you know, the underground is where really the the significant extension's required and will grow the resource. The underground is marginally higher grade to the uppercut. As you get deeper, we're seeing the grade pick up, which means we're getting closer and closer to the boiling zone in the an epithermal gold type deposit, which really does, you know, speak that the more we drill, the better it's going to get. That's that's what we're seeing from from the way the trends we're seeing in the drilling that's already existing.

13:55 But the solid open cut within Landia and the other operations from TSYS and Las Americas, There's probably extensions on those that'll happen once we we do the drilling to those extension zones as well. So, you know, looking at an underground sorry, an open cut, 9,700,000 at this stage at 3.6, 3.5 grams per ton, and underground right now is already identified at 8,600,000 at 4.3 grams. So, you know, nice numbers nice numbers to have on our in our portfolio, and we're very much looking forward to getting into operation as we go forward. The next phase of the exploration drilling program, my team was on-site earlier this month working with the the condo team in country, and they've already defined and identified how the next two years of drilling is going to start to evolve.

14:50 And we will start that program immediately as we've committed to do so. So we're looking at at least two drills coming on onboard. Firstly, some geotechnical drilling to build out the the mine plan and ensure that the geotechnical aspects of the plan are well catered for. But from that point, we'll be looking at definition and extension drilling in Langea South and Langea North once we can get in to those areas. Then we have a the Cacao, which is, I think, a significant prospect, which has been identified, has some drilling in it, some drill meters available there. We will be doing some drilling in Cacao within the next two years as well to try and do some extension to those resources so we can bring them into reserves as well.

15:38 All of that speaks volumes to the project and to the value creation that exists within that tenement area and within that holding that that has now come into MTL through through the Condor acquisition. So we look at the just some metrics, and these metrics come in at an hour and a half this morning, so everybody's seen them. But, basically, our studies and what we see, we we believe we can we can bring with the underground resources, which will require definition and and confirmation, but, you know, there's enough there to say that the continuity exists, and there's just work to do to bring it all together. You know, we see a plant of about 1,400,000 a year. We see the the time frame ten to fourteen years making sense to us over that. We're currently planning on a 1,800,000 life of mine in those in those numbers, which we're hoping once the extension drilling starts online near South, like Cacao and other areas, can start extending that that planning.

16:43 We we've put together an initial capital budget of 122,000,000. There's work to do there. You know, that that's an initial estimate. That will be updated as we go. We've worked we've worked quite hard on that, but at this stage, the engineering needs to be put in place to get a a final number around that. We did use all the feasibility engineering, the PEA work that was done to give ourselves some scope on that. And we've looked at a secondhand the purchase of a secondhand plant to meet the 1,400,000 tons. We're able to bring that plant on at a a very you know, at a reasonable price. We're already looking at the the components of that secondhand plant in the engineering phase that we're we're down to two engineering companies. We'll be choosing one of those engineering companies in the next four weeks to start that engineering work.

17:36 And the second hand plant that we're we're looking to purchase will be moving on within that same time frame. What does that do for us? You know, there's always risk associated with bringing on secondhand plants into these type of, type of environments. What it does for us is time. The issue is and in all construction, the, you know, the benefit of achieving an early start up makes extreme sense, especially in this case where we have a two year time frame. We wanna guarantee that time frame, and the purchase of that secondhand plan makes that achievable, especially at the 1,400,000 tons a year that we're trying to achieve. It has the right crushing and milling components. It has the back end in terms of gold. It has gravity separation. It has all the the assay labs, all of the MCCs, the transformers, all of the things that can take time, especially long lead items in terms of purchase.

18:36 And once you've, you know, had to redesign to meet that, and then you've gotta go out and look at purchase strategies, they slow that construction phase down. All of the long lead items come with this secondhand plan, which gives us about a six month, you know, a six month window where we can reduce that schedule to two years. And, hopefully, we can reduce it to less than two years, but it it gives us a more confidence and a a higher level of achievement or or, you know, confidence we'll be able to achieve that two year time frame for delivery of that that project. And that was critical for us in the decision making on, one, the the tons we needed and the the opportunity to take on that secondhand plan. So as we've said, we're looking to be in production before the end of twenty twenty six.

19:22 Construction drawings will start in February. We'll have those construction drawings construction ready by by May for the initial civil works, and we'll start civil works in May. We see two two key areas where we've looked to change to the original design. The tiling storage facility, it didn't meet what we saw as international guidelines, the new Church of England delivery and parameters around those in terms of how you manage communities with regards to tailings facilities. And so we've we've already found a new location for that. We've got design parameters around that new location, and we're starting the baseline environmental and engineering to ensure that that tailings facility can be delivered in time. That was one of the key risks. The second key risk is power and the power transmission to the site.

20:16 It wasn't sufficient for what we were trying to achieve as even in the original plan if you're going to go underground. So we're working with the government, and we started those discussions with government on making sure that the power facilities that can be transmission that can be brought to site and the facilities that are on-site will meet all of our needs, just now, but into the future as well. And for me, they were really the two key areas which we've had to focus. We've still got some work and some discussions to move forward with the government, but, you know, we're well in hand, and we know where we need to go, those risks are being mitigated as we speak. And as I said, we're looking to start the the definition and extension drilling in April, and that that work's already in train with the plan in place to move that forward.

21:04 So, really, that is that's Condor. You've seen all the announcements on the, you know, the structure of the deal. The the shares have been issued. They're now trading. It has brought our market cap up to, I think, Thursday, pounds 155,000,000. Good to see that the shareholders have seen that dilution as positive. We've actually seen some buying into the shares. So, you know, the with the balance sheet we have with the new assets, we're looking at, being cash generative and definite value creation, in putting these two companies together, derisking both, you know, both geopolitical situations which are having in The Philippines or in Nicaragua. We we derisk that by bringing the two countries two companies together.

21:51 You know, the the future looks bright, and, you know, I appreciate the fact that the shareholders have seen that, you know, it's it it works for them as well without any we haven't seen any movement in the share price in the wrong direction, which is great. Runaround story. I'll talk to the numbers now. You know, upper upper end of guidance was 82 and a half thousand ounces. We beat that at 83990% recovery, which is where the majority of that come from. The actual head grade was delivered as per the budget. It was really a recovery and a small increase in performance for the plant. About a 100,000 tons extra was put through the plant for the year. So those two aspects of the performance was where the incremental ton incremental ounces come from above budget.

22:41 A record gold recovery as I've just talked about. So looking at strong, strong production, strong cash flows, and that's going to keep going in the future. Now we do see in 2025, '26, the head grade is dropping off as we go to the back end of mine life. So the guidance numbers are coming down as we go forward, but still very strong production and cash flow numbers coming out of the mine, which meet our requirements to to fund the project as it goes forward as well. And as I said, you know, I I always feel proud that the team are doing such a good job in the area of safety, you know, communities. This year, we we won the president's award again, and I'll speak to that as we went forward. That's the third year in a row.

23:29 It seems like we're probably the only company that's done that. So very good results from a community environment and safety performance aspects. You know, five years of operating, these numbers speak for themselves all in sustaining when we first started. We got the numbers down by the end of 2020 2019 sorry. 2020. 2019 was significantly higher than, the years before that were over two thousand, driving the all in sustaining cost down against a rising, a rising cost base, being able to maintain a, a cost structure within a couple of percentage points of where we started to now is testament to the team's focus on on cost. We have driven up the the the revenues being driven by that performance and by the the gold price as well, and the cash flows have followed. So great great numbers for for the business and look forward to the next couple of years as we, you know, finalize and move around Reno forward.

24:28 And we work with building the land here tenement and land here project. Yeah. Look. I I can't speak enough about the team that work with communities. You know, all all companies, especially in developing nations, have to work and have strong community spirit a strong community engagement. We've always done an exceptional job here, and, again, the team are still delivering on that 1,400,000 community expenditure that is with the we delivered 98% of our community projects. Our employees, 98% of the employees are Filipino.

25:13 Nearly 30% of that is female, so we have a very strong female contingent on-site driving driving equipment operating in the plant in our technical and administration areas as well. We're very proud of the the the diversity that we have been able to bring into the company and that exists within the, run renewal operations. So that's, that's it for me, guys. The presentation, as, really, I was hoping just to have a a quick presentation. I didn't want us to talk too much to stuff that you've seen before. And I'll I'll start with the questions that were presubmitted. I'll go through those, and then any new questions that have come in that we're going to get through get to, we'll try and get to as we go forward. So one of the first questions was that a couple of years ago, it was actually last year in in Daba, I was talking with Matt from Cracks, and I mentioned the opportunity of talking about doing small scale mining and how that benefits community and the company, and it actually has a very positive impact.

26:24 And I still absolutely believe in this. It's one of my mantras. I think small and large scale mining should work together. I think there's always opportunity to do so. You know, there's always a resource we can find that's no that doesn't meet our economic requirements but can meet small scale requirements. We are still very focused on having that as part of our overall strategy as we move forward. However, the time frame around that has it is is slower than I'd like it to be, but it is what it is. There's a lot of government hurdles you have to jump over, which we're working through. And the communities themselves, the engagement with the communities, really, the the whole model is new for them and bringing that on board quickly. We're gonna take our time. We're gonna do it right. We're gonna make it work. I think structurally, the benefit, not just for company, but community, You know, you you look at the our policies around children at risk.

27:16 Where are children at risk? The one of the key areas where they're most at risk is illegal mining. So being bringing that into responsible mining even at small scale, we can protect children better. You know, we can protect the environment. We can increase the benefit to communities. I really like small scale mining. I think it's a very big part of something I wanna take forward as CEO of this company, and it it might take a little longer than I'd like. That's always the case. We we'd love to do things tomorrow that we can't do, but I've gotta say it's still part of our our strategy, and it's not off the radar. Once the right project comes up in the right community and the the environment to make that happen happen, we will be doing so. The the management time the next question I've got is how much management time will be allocated to the new acquisition?

28:06 I've gone through my existing team, and my existing team, by the way, a lot of them actually followed me from somewhere else coming to Ramaruno. They're the people I've actually what we've done is we've backfilled some of those slots in the existing team, and they're gonna be moved to the to the Landia project in Nicaragua. You know, our chief metallurgist, the man who's pretty well senior handily responsible for turning around the run Reno plant. He is gonna be the lead designer on the the new plant. He's already finished the PDC, which is the performance design criteria for the engineering. He's the one who's written the scope, and he's working with the engineers to start that process immediately. We backfilled a slot in our maintenance team so, key maintenance personnel can, step out as well. On top of that, the team that I've had in, you know, fifteen, seventeen years myself in, South America, I've called on a lot of a lot of people I trust, a lot of people I've worked with, and nearly all of them have said yes, and they're all coming back on board to to work the lead in their project with with myself and the team. So we have a management ready team over there.

29:15 We're backfilling some slots here for some key people. I wanna have in that construction and that performance team to ensure we can deliver deliver the plant on time. It's really my time between here and Nicaragua that that I will be I'll be traveling there more than more than most. And I I'm lucky, you know, we've built Brunner. It's operating effectively. We've hired recently an in country country manager who has environmental and community technical background. He he's running all of the subsidiary projects to Runruno. So my time is freed up, by those aspects. I'll be doing a lot more of, of this, of the IR, the investor relations work, because I do wanna get the story out there. I think it's time for us to get on the radar and make sure people understand who we are and what opportunity they have to be invested in metals exploration.

30:13 So, you know, I think the resources are there. The team's being built. The team has accepted to come on board. The country manager for for Nicaragua has already started. He's he actually worked with us here in in The Philippines, and he's got more experience in South America than I do. He actually has Nicaraguan experience through the Canadian embassy and through other work that he's done within within the private sector in South America. So the team's there, and I think the the allocation of those resources is definitely where it needs to be and in hand. On completion of the third question I've got here is on completion of the takeover, we've got about 3,000,000,000 shares. Actually, it's, you know, more like 2.6, but, yep, I get your point. There is a lot of shares and, you know, is there going to be consolidation at some point? We'll definitely look at that. There's you know, it's something we're not considering right now. We're not considering an equity raise. And if we do, then I think there might be an opportunity to think about that. So right now, you know, we're not looking to consolidate or go back to the market or do anything fancy.

31:20 We're gonna sit where we are. We're gonna work on building credibility and getting the assets up and running, and we're gonna try and move forward that way. So, yes, something that can be thought of in the future, but it's not on our on our agenda at this time. Can you please provide an update on extending the line life at Runruno? I did talk in a presentation in December of a tenement that we picked up a a while back. It's an old tenement that used to be part of METALS EXPLORATION. It's an old mining lease that, you know, got we're we're picking it up by starting an exploration lease over it again. We're still working through the exploration permit. There's a couple of hurdles we're jumping through with the environment department to make that to finalize that. I very much like it. It's a drill ready target.

32:06 We've got some amazing grades out of there. It's a VMS. Normally, VMS is a higher grade, but they're polymetallic. So the the current plant would be repurposed to suit if it turns out that it has the opportunity to build the resource large enough to to work. And VMS is the guys are currently considering that, you know, the size of it. They're working through those numbers, and we'll bring that out in our s's in the very near future. Just just estimates and ideas because we haven't started the drilling project. We have got an you know, there is an old mining tenement there. There is an old mined area, so we we could see what what scale they had and where where that sits. So we have ideas of what we think it's gonna be, and I definitely I'm very confident that it has the opportunity to do an extension, even if it's five years, to to the Roan Bruno asset, leaving it where it is while we build other opportunities as we go forward. So, watch your space. We're hoping to start drilling there in the next three to four months.

33:07 And, if so, we'll be bringing more news flow out about that. It is, a VMS, and there are some spectacular grades we're seeing in the rock samples we are taking out of that area as we speak. What else have we got here? The next question I've got is, can you confirm how soon the mine build will begin and the timeline of completion? I think I've talked to that question. Need to talk to it again. But, yes, end twenty twenty six, we are targeting to be in operation in La India, and we're we're running or walking to make that happen. How you might convince the current Condor shareholders to stay with you after the acquisition? Well, actually, I think this is an interesting question.

33:52 I would have thought that Condor shareholders got into Condor to see an operating mine. I don't think they got into it for an exploration play. Now I could be wrong, and I think the majority of them would probably wanna stick around themselves just to see, you know, what they've been seeing and especially the longer term Condor shareholders for ten or twelve years. Are we ever going to get a operating mind? Well, stick around. You'll see it happen. I think that's how we convince them. We show the credibility that we will deliver on a an operating mind. And I think we will see the Condor shareholders, not only the Condor shareholders, but more share more people wanting to come into a company that is growing with the potential that that that asset has. So I actually think I don't think I'll have to convince them. I think this is what they've wanted for a while, now there's money available to make this happen. I think they'll be very happy to see it as we go forward.

34:43 What is the planned timing of the potential impact drilling for copper in Manicabel? Look. It's a five to ten year plan. It really is. It's out there. It's as we've talked about, as we put in our own assets as we've seen, it's huge. It is I I'm you know, exploration is one of those things that can get you excited. And a lot of the time, you don't see what you're drilling for and you're hoping to hit something. Well, we can see what we're drilling for. As we said, there's historical drill drilling that's already occurred there. We're really just working through the political environment, quite frankly, right now so that we get all the engagement at the community level and and LG youth local government units ready so that we can start that work. We were hoping to start earlier, but we're currently in a very I I'm gonna sort it's a high tension political environment because local elections have started.

35:40 And if anyone's been in developing countries, the local elections are like a little bit like the Wild West. They can be very you know, there's a lot of tension in the air. There's a lot of political maneuvering. And, you know, we wanna make sure that when we do start, we can do the do it the right way, and we can work with the the people that we that are in the local government units and that, you know, other people who are our stakeholders. And right now, we're working through that. So, you know, really five to ten year plan, but we're hoping to start that drilling. The local elections finish in May, and we're hoping to start that drilling after May. We were considering trying to push for to start it earlier, but, you know, just giving you the news now, we have been given, you know, the the news on the ground and the I the the comments on the ground from the local government is that, you know, please work with us, White, and we'll work with the community to get you started once the elections are finished.

36:36 So we will be doing that as per the request. So the next question that has been presubmitted is, I see the merger of MTL's money expertise and condos untapped resources as an enormous step forward for all MTL shareholders, both new and old. I agree with whoever's written this question. I fully appreciate that that cash flow run, Bruno, directed to construction of, like, India, also used to develop other projects within The Philippines. As a long term MTL investor, I'm interested in the board's view on what point that could be considered dividends. And look. If I look at my cash flow over the next two years, clearly, that the cash flow will be directed towards the construction of La India, the exploration there, and the exploration here in The Philippines to develop that, you know, that extension to run or the ABRA project assets or targets that we have.

37:38 So for me, if I've got a crystal ball, it's definitely outside of the 2026 time frame. We will probably revisit that in 2027 once the cash flow starts coming out of out of, like, India. Just to you know, the idea of India, it's 50% bigger in terms of production. Well, it's more, you know, 50 day 50 to 60% bigger than Ranuno. We will have more cash available. We'll be very cash generative. So at that stage, there's definitely consideration, I would believe, from the board to start thinking, well, let's just not look at growth. Let's look at giving some share giving something back to the shareholders. So for the next two years, I think we'll hold our powder dry, and I'll I'll just give you that note now. Again, the board could change their minds.

38:27 But I do believe where the cash has been targeted to go, that's where it'll end up, and we'll look outside of that time frame before we start considering dividends. In order to expedite all production and revenue generation fleet in India ahead of establishing its own processing infrastructure, is there any short or long term custom JV milling arrangement that we might be considering with Caliber or other mining companies within the fill within Nicaragua? The answer is no. We wish to maintain the value creation that we've taken on with and the the tenements that we hold there for the benefit of our shareholders.

39:13 While we could bring cash flow on a little earlier, we will actually give away value by doing so. And we're not interested in giving away that value given that that cash right now is not specifically required to grow that asset. So the answer is the board hasn't considered that. I don't believe the board will be considering that in the near in the near future or in the near term. However, we will you know, anything's up for grabs depending on the value that we can generate for shareholders. At this stage, the answer to that question is, no. We're not considering that or moving that forward. Next question. How will you get a larger motor for the SAG mill straight away? Interesting. Someone recognizes SAG mill motors are under undersized.

40:00 So the interesting thing is the the secondary assets that we've targeted secondhand assets we've targeted, the power that is in the milling circuit on that asset offsets the smaller segment motor. So we've done all the shelf has done all the milling studies based on the the work indexes that we have, and the combined sag ball mill performance that we're looking for actually matches the requirements, and we can keep the motor that's there. So, again, reduces that time frame from a long lead item. We can maintain the asset that we have as it is, and we can implement a strategy given the size of the ball mill that we've got coming on board to match that segment. Again, a prerequisite in some of those secondhand options we were we're looking at. So not necessary is the answer, and it will match our performance requirements with the other assets we bought in that milling circuit or are looking to buy for that milling circuit.

41:05 Next question. Although it is early days in you getting to understand the new project in there, can provide an example how you were surprised on the upside with what you have found? And one example will require more costs than originally thought. Look. The upside potential is very clear there from an exploration point of view. Just walking the site, I spent a week there. We had a couple of Georges come in. The general manager, he spent time as part of the DD team. The new general manager spent time as part of the DD team. We all saw the the extensive potential that this asset can bring in terms of resource growth.

41:52 It it's absolutely there. There's no doubt about that. Even some of the drilling that's indicated in Cacao, for example, which hasn't got a resource around, it shows that that definitely will come into resource ready within the, you know, within the next two years. So from that point of view, I don't think there's any doubt that we can see that 2,300,000 growing into the future and assisting in the further life of mine production. The benefit is the basis for the start is already there. So it's really we will grow on what we have rather than, oh, we have to find something to start. No. That's not the case, and that's a good thing. Will it require more working costs?

42:37 We allowed and we budgeted a 10,000,000 exploration program. It's part of the CVR. That's what we said we were gonna do. That's what we believe we need to do over the next five years, and that should give us that growth we're looking at. We're targeting, what, a 1,600,000 ounce growth from the existing numbers right now based on a $10,000,000 spend. We don't see any issues with that. We're still we still believe that's reasonable for what we're targeting. Sam m, if the gold price were to fall, would you slow down the CapEx plan, or would you be prepared to take on debt and fund? We would take on debt and fund. Whether that's that's finance, whether that's equity, we would definitely take on debt. There's already been a number of people purchase for finance, so I don't think there's any issues with us financing, especially if we're in late stage construction, and it's something we're very much watching because that is part of the issue. We will be running you know, construction phase has a, you know, very steep s curve in the middle of the construction, and our cash flow will be very tight.

43:45 You know, we've run tight cash flows for last years to ensure we drew that that debt as soon as possible. So we know how to manage that, and we will be watching that very closely as we go forward. But, no, we will not slow down production. We will get that asset up and running because, quite frankly, that is the end game, and that is what will drive not just the generative creation creative value that we want in the business, but it will grow the best result. There's no better NPV even if you take on some financing to make it work. So we will be doing that for sure. With the Philippine assets, plus the Nicaraguan assets, how incorporated in METALS EXPLORATION's portfolio, is there any advantage in looking to acquire further assets over the next two years or three? Over the next two years, I don't think so. I'm not gonna say, you know, categorically, no.

44:34 But especially in the next year, I look. I need to show you as the shareholders, as the new shareholders, that I have the credibility to deliver on what I've said. There's no doubt about that. And if we do deliver on what we've said and we do see, you know, a significant uplift in the share price and it does the and the right assets, con another Condor asset comes along where there's significant creative value available, then I'm sure the board will look at it. But at this stage, the thought process is consolidate, get some credibility, start the construction, get it moving forward, and then think about it. In the next two years, the next year, I think, is very unlikely. The next two years, there's probably the board might look depending on what's going on in the next three years. I would say there's definitely opportunity for the board to start looking and thinking about it. Once the cash flow is being generated, we are showing that credibility. The management team have proven themselves once again. I do believe that there will be a thought process from the board to start looking at how do we grow this company quicker.

45:38 So I do believe that's something that can come into the the plan in the the next three or definitely five years. High recoveries are into 2025, I assume, because you've already seen the run recoveries for 2024. Recoveries, definitely. The all we're moving into seems to be very conducive to flotation. And the because we're dropping grade, the sulfur numbers are coming down. The biocircuit's actually performing better. I don't see a recovery issue in run run going into the next two years. So I don't see that as being an issue.

46:28 We have in the next three years a at least one underground mine, Lanevia South, in the plan and in the capital that we put together in the numbers you've seen. Actually, we have two undergrounds, one in three, one in five, already costed into that those numbers you see. So those numbers and we didn't feel that the costs that were allowed by in the previous work were sufficient. We thought the underground cost for operation weren't sufficient, which is why you see a marginal increase in the all in sustaining cost in our numbers. But the capital numbers are as more significant than you you see in the first two years. So construct the plant, get the uppercut running within three years, have an underground on the back of that using cash flow to build it.

47:15 Those numbers are in our plan, and, we can talk to those numbers, a little later once we've got more more definition around them. But they're significantly higher than what were previously allowed. So we ensured we we would have the you know, we'd be able to offer something that we know we could prop we we can achieve. Okay. What do we have? Daniel, have you had any dialogue yet with the mining industry in Nicaragua? Will you be leveraging off the management's relationship? Yes. We have, and, absolutely, we will. There's really thanks to Mark and the team that built an amazing in country relationship. Mark is moving on, of course, but there's no one in country at this stage who's moving on. They're all very excited to to see the project move forward, and that team is we we're very happy with the team that Mark's built there, and we'll be working with them.

48:17 Our in country manager country manager who's started with us, James Carmichael, he worked with me here. He's worked with me in Columbia, worked with me in the Doctor. He will be heading up in the Greg when relationships and community security teams. He will do all of that work. He's already been in country. He's going back in the country early February again, and he will start building on those relationships that have been created by by the existing team working with the existing team to do so. We have no issues with that that moving forward. We're we're quite comfortable. Actually, I I do like the stability I see in Nicaragua. You know, there there might be issues in a geopolitical sense whether they're human rights or other, but the stability in the country right now, there's three international companies operating perfectly under their their existing contracts.

49:12 All we've got from a feel from the government is when can you start? So we see that there's definitely a positive move for the government to move us forward. We very much like that. We see a very positive outcome there. And, yeah, those relationships will just keep growing. At Roanoke, local miners were mining high grade veins. How extensive have you found the high grade veins? Look. They're definitely we've included a reduction in resources in our statements over the next two years for that mining. It's not significant. When we talk about local mines, there's a lot of them that they they probably move 50 kilos, you know, a day, you know, as a small team. They don't move a lot of material. So, yes, while there was some depletion in some of the areas and we've allowed for that in our plan, it is catered for, and we don't think there's we we're pretty confident that we've caught everything we've seen because our our definition drilling that we do do and our GC drilling is on a very tight spacing.

50:18 So there's probably not much we have missed. We've actually added some small areas from that drilling into the plan, actually brought some areas back in. So I think while some's gone, there's been a little bit come back in. I think we're okay for the next two years. When can we expect to receive, more definitive guidance on the resource situation in The Philippines? As I said, I think, we're talking at this stage. We won't start any real work in the ABRA project until May, and that's driven purely by the current political tension that exists in that area. But we are really hoping to be into duplex within the the next two months. The team's ready to go, and we're just working through the last government permit to get that up and running. So that's where we are with that.

51:12 Would you consider equity dilution if the assets are cash flow generative and we essentially why would you consider equity dilution if the assets are are cash generative and we are essentially debt free? Look. I don't disagree with you. If we can finance, we finance. There's no doubt about that, and I don't see that as an issue. Again, I'm not gonna make decisions for the board at this stage, and you you know, I don't have the crystal ball to see what might happen in the future. So for mine, don't disagree with this statement that if you're cash generative, why would you go for dilution? I don't think you would. If we need a short term cash call and we can finance it, I think we definitely would. But, again, I'm not gonna speak for the board, I'm not gonna speak for a situation I don't know that might pop up in the future.

52:04 However, I'm you know, I'm I'm not saying that the comment is in fair and reasonable. I do agree. And the last question I've got here is what is the long term plan with the other assets in Nicaragua? Look. We will the extension drilling and the exploration drilling will keep growing. There there's absolutely no doubt about it. It's why, you know, if we look at the last two targeted productions in the plant from the work that was done by Condor earlier, they were looking at, you know, an 890,000 ton a year plant or a 1.2. We've gone higher at 1.4. We believe that there is upside in this thing. We believe that we can generate a long term value with a little bit larger plant, and we believe places like Australia is one of those places that will add that value.

52:58 There is a number of them, guys. There's a number of veins identified, a number of areas within the tenement holding that I believe can add value, and we will go step by step through them all, prioritizing them based on the the geologist's input and work through them as we go. As we've said, I think Cacao is probably one of our primary extension targets, but I also also think that the extension from Landia South through to Mahara is also probably said that wrong, but is also a key extension target. It looks like that is contiguous over a kilometer. And if that is the case, you know, those two alone will give us the answers we require to grow this business into the future without even looking beyond. So lots of potential, lots of upside, lots of targets.

53:52 We will work through them diligently step by step, and we'll we'll rely on our geologists to prioritize those as we move forward. And, really, you know, being a minor, I'll be prioritizing them on who can generate the most economic value for me versus what's technically looks nicest for the the geologists. You know? There's always that argument between all that discussion between geologists of, you know, where they'd like to drill and what makes economic sense. So we'll be working through that as we go. But, you know, I really look forward to it. I'm I'm excited about the the project, and I I have been for a while. I I you know, if we'd had the opportunity to move early, we probably would have just glad that the board once, you know, we reconfigured the business in August with the changes we made at the board level, removed some overarching agreements. So, you know, immediately, the board opened the door for for this acquisition, and I I appreciate their confidence in us in doing so.

54:51 So thank you, everybody. I've come to the end of the questions and, that have been put forward for me. And, I do, thank you for your time, and I hope everybody, got something out of it. And, we'll be doing this more in the future, so, please watch this space. Perfect, Darren. Thank you very much for answering those questions from investors. There have been lots of questions. Of course, the company can review all the questions submitted today, we've all published such responses out on the Investor Meet company platform. Could I please ask investors not to close this session? As you now be automatically redirected to provide your feedback in order that the management team can better understand your views and expectations. This will then take a few moments to complete and I'm sure be greatly valued by the company. On behalf of the management team of METALS EXPLORATION PLC, we'd like to thank you for attending today's presentation and good morning to you all.