Sandfire provides September quarter results

The company maintained Group Copper Equivalent production of 38.0kt, and is on track to achieve annual group production, cost and capital expenditure guidance.

The combination of robust operating performance and strong demand for Sandfire’s products delivered unaudited Group sales revenue of $282M and Underlying Group EBITDA of $121M during the quarter for a further $51M reduction in net debt to $345M at 30 September 2024.

Sandfire’s five-year plan to materially increase reserves and increase the life of the MATSA and Motheo mining hubs is gathering momentum. The company continues to actively test targets generated by the extensive geophysical and geological work undertaken in prior periods.

At Motheo, Botswana, Sandfire received approval of the Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) project which further derisks the development of the A4 open pit mine and its delivery of first ore in Q2 FY25.

At MATSA, Spain, environmental approval of the new tailings facility was another particularly important milestone in the permitting process that will enable the complex to remain an important contributor to the Andalusian regional economy in southern Spain for decades to come.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Reported a marginal increase in our Total Recordable Injury Frequency (TRIF) to 1.8 in Q1 FY25 (1.6 at 30 June) as we continued to embed our new way of working, The Sandfire Way, and further strengthened our system of risk management and internal control
• Received environmental approval for the new tailings facility at MATSA, which is an important milestone in the permitting process with construction scheduled to commence in Q4 FY25
• Maintained Group Copper Equivalent (CuEq) production of 38.0kt(a) in Q1 FY25 and retained annual group production, cost and capital expenditure guidance, further establishing our credentials as a consistent and predictable performer
• Increased CuEq production by 4% at MATSA in Q1 FY25 to 23.7kt as we maintained an annualised processing rate of 4.6Mt and delivered an improvement in Cu and Zn recoveries, having gained greater access to more favourable poly-metallic ore
• Sustained an annualised processing rate of 5.3Mt at Motheo across Q1 FY25 despite completing a planned shutdown in July, while CuEq production contracted by 6% to 14.3kt following a particularly strong end to FY24
• Achieved an Underlying Operating Cost of $40/t of ore processed at Motheo in Q1 FY25, which was 5% lower than our FY25 guidance, while MATSA’s Underlying Operating Cost was 4% higher than our FY25 guidance at $78/t of ore processed as the Euro temporarily strengthened against the US Dollar
• Invested ~$5M in regional and ~$2M in resource extension exploration as our five-year, granular exploration plan gathered momentum and we stepped up our level of drilling activity within the Motheo and MATSA mining hubs
• Generated unaudited Group sales revenue of $282M and Underlying Operations EBITDA of ~$140M in Q1 FY25, for Underlying Group EBITDA of ~$121M and a further reduction in unaudited net debt to $345M at 30 September 2024

Sandfire CEO and Managing Director, Mr Brendan Harris, said:

“Our Total Recordable Injury Frequency increased from 1.6 at 30 June 2024 to 1.8 at 30 September 2024 as we continued to embed our new way of working and further strengthened our system of risk management and internal control. Nothing is more important than the health and wellbeing of our people, and the communities we are proud to be part of.

“At an operating level, we maintained Group Copper Equivalent production of 38.0kt in Q1 FY25 and remain on track to achieve annual group production, cost and capital expenditure guidance. We were also particularly pleased to receive pivotal regulatory approvals during the period for projects that are expected to underpin our ability to deliver consistent and predictable performance in the longer term. At Motheo, approval of the Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) project enables the timely development of an important bore field, which further derisks the development of the A4 open pit mine and its delivery of first ore in Q2 FY25. Similarly, environmental approval of our new tailings facility at MATSA was another particularly important milestone in the permitting process that will enable the complex to remain an important contributor to the Andalusian regional economy in southern Spain for decades to come.

“From a strategic perspective, our five-year plan to materially increase reserves and increase the life of our MATSA and Motheo mining hubs is gathering momentum as we are actively testing targets generated by the extensive geophysical and geological work undertaken in prior periods. We look forward to sharing the early results of this work as we mobilise additional rigs and ramp-up both regional and resource extension drilling activity in the coming periods.

“The combination of robust operating performance and strong demand for our products delivered unaudited Group sales revenue of $282M and Underlying Group EBITDA of $121M during Q1 FY25 for a further $51M reduction in net debt to $345M at 30 September 2024. We will maintain strict, capital discipline as we move toward a net cash position.”

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