Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Mitchell Krebs: Yes, absolutely. Good question. I’ll start, and then Mick, you can fill in July was a pretty significant step up from June. A lot of that has to do with getting that water under control, up in the upper levels of the Kensington area where we mine an area called Zone 12, which is where we were delayed in mining because of the heavy water. So getting that addressed helped with July. Equally, I think August is expected to be better than July. So incrementally, we’re heading in the right direction as they sort of get back closer to being on plan. But Mick, did I leave anything out that you want to mention?

Michael Routledge: Yes, there were a couple of things in that area because we have a blend in the same area of development mining at the same time. And that development program was going really well. But as we saw a lot more water, we really just had to step back a little bit in the first half and reset our methodology. Now we’ll have a little bit of a change in methodology, which proves forward from those development contracts. And when we see that higher level of water, then we can proactively grow and control those floors. That’s allowing us to perform a little bit better in July, and we expect that improvement to continue going forward.

Mitchell Krebs: Just one other thing I’d add on to that, Mike and Nick, bolter long-hole drill availability, improving new equipment on site. Let’s address that challenge.

Michael Routledge: Exactly. So that helps move a little bit faster. And then past management in the part of the main we’re employing a little bit of technology to support that process as well as really high up in the main as the wet wetness level of that pace, we have to have that a little bit higher. So we’ve been pump higher in the main and the team have a really good management plan for that, and we’re seeing good results. So it gives you a lot of confidence. We’re — it’s always a work in progress, of course, with minus, but it’s going really well.

Mike Parkin: Okay. So it sounds like the water inflow is it a function of coming down ramp access for ventilation. It’s more just saturation of the surface and then eventually seeping into the mine. Is that correct?

Michael Routledge: It’s a little bit of both, mostly though from the drilling program and then the Frechette sucks the ground and then it comes into the areas that we’re mining. So that’s where the majority of the inflow came from. And we saw some pretty high and unusual flows this year. And you’ve seen some of the news in the local environment around some of the flooding and that hasn’t impacted our operation, it gives you an indication of how wet it was up there in the early part of the year. And so we’re managing that well now it certainly was a challenge in.

Mike Parkin: So is there anything that you could do to like mitigate the risk of that being a severe going forward, like maybe lessening the egress through some of the infrastructural pathways going forward? Or is it just leave it and I hope it’s not a 100-year event again kind of thing?

Michael Routledge: Yes. I mean, look, since Aoife came on, we’re getting a higher and higher visibility around the structures and systems that we’re mining through Kensington. And that knowledge is helping us to look for and track we have potential additional water. I mean, you come from. I don’t know if Aoife wants to comment on that.