Newmont Corp (NEM) — Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our call today. Please note our cautionary statement and refer to our SEC filings, which can be found on our website. Today, I'm joined by my executive leadership team, including Natascha Viljoen and Karyn Ovelmen, and we'll all be available to answer your questions at the end of the call. I'd also like to take a moment to acknowledge our friend and colleague, Rob Atkinson, our Chief Operating Officer for the past 5 years. Rob will leave Newmont in early May, although his legacy will endure. Through his visible self-leadership, Rob has driven our fatality risk management program, achieving 5 years of fatality-free performance. Throughout the pandemic, Rob navigated our operations through challenges, including periods of care and maintenance, order closures, and vaccine implementation. Rob also represented the very best of our values when he guided Peñasquito through 2 major challenges: resolving a community blockade in 2019 and an unjustified strike last year. In both situations, Rob found sustainable solutions that protected the long-term value of Newmont. Over the last 5 months, Rob and Natascha have conducted a thorough handover of accountabilities, and Rob will remain with us to support the transition before finishing up and heading back to the U.K. to spend more time with family. Before we get started, it is with great sadness that I share the tragic news regarding a fatal incident at our recently acquired Brucejack operation on December 20 last year. I'd like to take a moment to remember our colleague Adam Kennedy. Adam was only 44 years old. He was a partner, a son, a brother, an uncle, a best friend, and a valued colleague. Our condolences go out to Adam's loved ones during this difficult time, and we are again reminded how important it is to maintain a sense of chronic unease when it comes to the safety of everyone who works at Newmont. Any fatality is totally unacceptable. We fully understand the fatality risk in our industry and the critical controls that need to be in place at all times to manage them. So we have been taking the time to conduct a safety reset across all Newmont sites, not just the 5 new Newmont operations, with a laser focus on the implementation of our fatality risk management system. This reset work includes training delivered by our line leaders, our managing directors, our general managers, and our senior health and safety leaders. Training on our fatality risk management standards, and our critical control verification process. We are also concluding our thorough investigation into this tragic incident, which is being led by David Thornton, the Managing Director of our Africa business unit. We are applying the lessons learned from this investigation at all of our managed operations globally, and we will share them widely with our mining industry peers. Nothing is more important than our commitment to the health and safety of our workforce, and we are determined to create an environment where every person working at Newmont across all locations returns home safe and well to their families and loved ones at the end of each and every shift. Turning to our performance in 2023. Newmont finished the year with a solid fourth quarter, putting us in line with the revised standalone outlook that we issued following the resolution of the strike at Peñasquito. In summary, we produced 5.5 million ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of $1,444 an ounce. In addition to gold, we produced nearly 900,000 gold equivalent ounces from copper, silver, lead, and zinc over the course of the year. This performance enabled us to deliver $4.2 billion in adjusted EBITDA, return $1.4 billion to shareholders, and end the year with liquidity above $6 billion. In a few minutes, Natascha and I will explain how we expect to improve upon this performance in 2024 and beyond, focusing on delivering meaningful value to our shareholders. But before we do that, I would like to describe how we're transforming our business into a unique collection of the world's best gold and copper operations and projects following last year's transaction. When we announced our binding agreement to acquire Newcrest in May last year, we outlined a powerful value proposition built around 4 key commitments. First, to set a new sustainability standard and strengthen Newmont's position as the gold sector's recognized sustainability leader. Second, to create the industry's strongest portfolio of world-class gold and copper assets in the most favorable mining jurisdictions. Third, to deliver $500 million of annual synergies and realize over $2 billion in cash from portfolio optimization. And finally, to continue driving a disciplined, balanced approach to capital allocation. After closing the transaction on November 6 last year, the integration of the 5 new operations into our Newmont operating model has been progressing very well. As we enter this critically important year of integration and transformation, I'll be holding myself and my executive leadership team accountable for delivering on these commitments, and this will be our key focus in 2024. To support this work, earlier today, we announced 4 key actions that together will enhance our ability to deliver on our clear and consistent strategy. First, we plan to divest 6 high-quality but noncore assets this year. From this point forward, our world-class portfolio will consist entirely of Tier 1 and emerging Tier 1 operations and districts. And it will have a significant exposure to growth in copper and gold from our industry-leading organic project pipeline. Second, we provided our 2024 and 5-year outlook, outlining the work we're doing today to expand margins and appropriately sequence our projects to deliver sustainable value. Third, with the clarity, simplicity, and focus that our Tier 1 portfolio provides, we have committed to deliver a further $500 million in cost and productivity improvements across the entire portfolio. These improvements are over and above our synergy commitment from the Newcrest acquisition. We expect to hit this $500 million annual run rate of improvement by the end of 2025. Finally, we announced a balanced shareholder return framework, consisting of a $1 per share annualized base dividend and a new $1 billion share repurchase program. Our go-forward Newmont portfolio is focused on Tier 1 gold and copper operations and projects located in the world's most favorable mining jurisdictions. It features 10 Tier 1 operations, representing half of the world's Tier 1 guidelines in the Newmont portfolio. Additionally, it includes 3 emerging Tier 1 operations, each with a clear path for growth. We also have the opportunity to create a Tier 1 district in British Columbia, where Newmont will operate for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, it boasts an unmatched organic development pipeline with 6 large-scale top oxide gold projects, and it is underpinned by the industry's most robust foundation of reserves and resources. Going forward, Newmont has the industry's largest gold resource base and the largest base of copper resources in the gold industry. To put these numbers into perspective, Newmont has an almost 30% larger gold reserve resource base than our nearest peer and a 40% larger copper reserve resource base than our closest gold peer. No other gold producer in the world can offer the depth and quality that Newmont's Tier 1 portfolio can today. Later on, I'll provide a little more insight into Newmont's longer-term outlook and the exciting gold and copper opportunities ahead of us. But first, I'd like to step back and give some insight into how we are framing the year ahead. 2023 brought with it a number of unique challenges, which are now certainly behind us. The 120-day labor dispute at Peñasquito, asset integrity issues that were inherent in the original design of equipment at Ahafo, and wildfires in Canada impacting Éléonore—all contributed to our final production number, which did not reflect the full capability of our assets. As we emerge on the other side of these events, I am proud of the decisions we made to protect the long-term interest of our company rather than look for short-term experience solutions. However, I am also not satisfied with the underlying level of our operating performance. We have the opportunity to improve our compliance to mine plans, enhance our fixed and mobile equipment reliability, and improve our mill throughputs and recoveries. Therefore, our focus for 2024 will be on safely integrating new teams and operations in our Newmont operating model and culture while transforming our portfolio and laying the groundwork for sustainable operating performance, margin expansion, and strong returns. Finally, this morning, we also announced that we have extended the completion date and increased the project capital cost for our Tanami 2 expansion project. In the second half of last year, we completed the concrete lining of the top half of this 1.5-kilometer deep production shaft. This milestone allowed us to assess the condition of the known overbreak and ground conditions at the very bottom of the shaft, as well as incorporate lessons learned from providing the top half of the shaft into the cost and schedule for our work going forward. We have critically assessed a number of options to safely address the lower overbreak, and this work includes key third-party reviews before we settled on a methodology. Although I'm not pleased with the extension of time and cost, I am confident that we have chosen a method that is safe and will ensure the shaft construction meets the quality necessary to service the Tanami prolific ore body for many years to come. So with that, I'll hand it over to Natascha to walk you through our operational priorities in 2024 and what we are doing to ensure that we deliver on our commitments this year. Over to you, Natascha.

Thank you, Tom, and good morning. Since joining Newmont in October, I have visited 14 of Newmont's 17 managed operations, and I have been really impressed by the quality of the assets, the dedication of our people, and the commitment from our operational leaders to drive safe and profitable production. Now before I begin, I'd like to provide a brief introduction to the operational team focused on integration and value delivery in 2024. As mentioned last quarter, within our global operating model, we have 6 regional business units, each headed up by a world-class experienced Newmont leader. This scalable integrated operating model enables alignment across our operating leadership team while empowering our managing directors to apply extensive local and technical knowledge and draw on global functional expertise to lead each unique operation. To support our operations from the project execution side, we have a dedicated restructured project delivery team. This team of subject matter experts is working across the full spectrum of our organic pipeline, including studies, project development, construction, and commissioning of projects. By strengthening our operating model with block driving capability and an understanding of industry-leading practices in project development, this year, we will have a laser focus on the performance of our 11 managed operations in our go-forward portfolio while also guiding our 6 noncore assets through a safe and productive process for divestment. As we work to deliver efficiency and reliability from our global portfolio, we are committed to progressing our 4 key projects in execution and keeping them on track in 2024. As a result, we are entering the year with a strong focus on integration and the safe delivery of our targets. Our success in 2024 will largely depend on the performance of our 6 managed Tier 1 operations: Boddington, Tanami, Peñasquito, Ahafo, Lihir, and Cadia—not to mention the significant impact of performance from the full portfolio of operating assets. I will also separately address Telfer and how we are ensuring its integrity at this new Newmont operation. We're very clear on the key priorities to integrate and deliver in 2024 and how this sets up operations for the next 5 years. I will touch on some of these in each of the Tier 1 managed operations. At Boddington, we are progressing the stripping of the current laybacks in the North and South pits as planned, with improved productivity from our fully autonomous equipment fleet. At our polymetallic mine Peñasquito, our focus is on delivering strong silver, lead, and zinc from the Chile Colorado pit while continuing wide stripping in the Peñasco pit to ensure a higher gold grade in 2025. At Ahafo, we remain on track to replace the girth gear in the second quarter to maximize operational efficiency. At Tanami, we are improving material movement through the decline as we progress deeper underground. Our team will focus on simplifying the mine plan and improving asset reliability. At our other Newmont operation, Cadia, we are commissioning the next block cave and progressing some essential tailings rectification and expansion work to synchronize preparations for the next decade of ore feed. We have full potential teams on the ground at Cadia, actively working through our diagnostic phase and designing initiatives to extract value and deliver on the identified opportunities. Considering these key priorities, we anticipate that production will be around 53% weighted toward the second half of the year as we return to full production rates at Ahafo, reach higher grades from the Liberator ore body at Tanami, and integrate Newmont sites into the Newmont operating model. Touching briefly on Telfer, a noncore operation in Australia, we are focused on remediating issues detected at the tailing storage facility in December, where we halted operations to complete the first phase of remediation work. In early February, we temporarily restarted the plant while evaluating options for further remediation and will provide an update on that work during our first-quarter earnings call. With a focus on fatality risk management, we expect to meet our commitments this year. On top of delivering in 2024 operationally, we are working to bring forward new low-cost ounces from the 4 key projects we have in execution. These projects include the second expansion at Tanami, as Tom just covered. Our focus is on safely addressing the lower section of the shaft and continuing to construct drilling and combined infrastructure underground. Two block cave projects at Cadia aim to recover both gold and copper, where we have just begun ramping up the first of these caves. Additionally, at our new mine, Ahafo North, we are making good progress on constructing supporting infrastructure, along with stripping to allow us to begin accessing ore for stockpiling. When this new and very exciting mine is combined with the underground potential of Subika, Apensu, and Awonsu, we form a Tier 1 Ahafo district capable of producing around 850,000 ounces of gold per year up to and beyond 2025, making it one of the world's top gold mining districts by any measure. Now, bringing all of this together, as we focus on integration and meeting our targets this year, we expect our Tier 1 portfolio to produce around 5.6 million ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,300 per ounce, combined with the significant production of 1.9 million gold equivalent ounces from copper, silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum. Our unit costs are expected to improve compared to 2023 due to steady production volumes and the realization of synergies and improvements, with the lowest unit cost coming from Newmont's managed Tier 1 portfolio. Our capital reinvestments remain in line with pre-acquisition spending levels as we continue to focus on our disciplined delivery and a balanced approach to capital allocation. With a stable reduction and structured reinvestment, we are strongly positioned to integrate and deliver on our commitments in 2024, setting the stage for future-proofing these world-class assets with benchmark performance and meaningful growth in 2025 and beyond. And with that, I'll turn it back to Tom.

Thanks, Natascha. Moving on to the foundation we are establishing in 2024 that Natascha just covered, I'd now like to provide a bit of color around the opportunities that we are seeing from our go-forward portfolio. We will continue to optimize the performance of our mature Tier 1 operations and our new Newmont assets. At Boddington, the stripping that we are doing today will bring forward strong gold and copper grades starting in 2026, all supported by the gold industry's only fully autonomous whole fleet. At Tanami, the completion of the second expansion will provide efficient access to ore at depth and open up this prolific underground ore body by 2027 and beyond. At Peñasquito, the ongoing stripping will balance out gold ounces from the Penasco pit with the strong production of silver, lead, and zinc from the Chile Colorado pit. At Ahafo, we are building out district potential with new low-cost ounces from both underground and open pit at Ahafo South, and our new mine, Ahafo North, coming online in 2025. At Cadia, we will commission our second block cave within this timeframe, bringing forward higher gold and copper grades while leveraging our full potential program to improve reliability and throughput. Simplifying the mining plan is expected to deliver a significant improvement in gold production as we reach higher grades from Phase 14a. As I mentioned earlier, with a clear insight into the Tier 1 managed operations in our portfolio, we have identified $500 million of additional cost and productivity improvements over and above our synergy commitments. So taking everything into account, over the next 5 years, we expect to deliver growing gold production driven by the completion of the laybacks at both Boddington and Peñasquito, new ounces from Ahafo North, completion of the second expansion at Tanami, both block caves at Cadia, and ongoing improvements combined with higher grades. In addition to this growth in gold production, Newmont will produce a significant amount of copper alongside silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum through our diversified global Tier 1 portfolio. Driven by high metal production and a focus on improving costs, we expect to bring down our all-in sustaining costs to $1,150 per ounce by 2027. For development capital, we are applying a pragmatic and methodical approach to our project work to ensure we are efficiently advancing opportunities aligned with our strategy while remaining disciplined with our capital allocation priorities. We expect to spend an average of $1.3 billion per year on development capital, driving healthy competition for investment in our large projects and advancing the next wave of profitable production from our organic project pipeline. Newmont is supported by the deepest and best project pipeline in the gold industry, and we will manage it with discipline and rigor to ensure that the most value-accretive opportunities are advanced at the right time and to the right order. We have 3 world-class copper and gold projects in our pipeline ramped up behind the 4 projects we currently have in execution. Moving underground, we have the block cave at Red Chris, development at the block cave, and processing sulfide ore at Yanacocha. Looking beyond those projects, we have 3 exciting long-term opportunities to further diversify into copper: Galore Creek, Pueblo Viejo, and Norte Abierto. Over the next 10 years, the demand for copper is expected to increase significantly, and based on current production trends, the world can expect to experience around a 10 million-tonne shortfall of this critical metal by 2035. Bridging this gap will necessitate significantly more copper mines, copper recycling, and enhanced hedging processes, creating an exciting opportunity for Newmont to help meet this demand while continuing to provide unparalleled exposure to gold and its enduring value. And with that, I'll hand it over to Karyn to discuss our balanced capital allocation strategy.

Thank you, Tom. Our capital allocation strategy is underpinned by 3 priorities: maintaining financial flexibility, sustainable investments, and balanced shareholder returns. Working in these three priorities allows us to maintain the financial flexibility necessary to reinvest in our business with the goal of generating long-term sustainable free cash flow, ultimately positioning us to return capital to shareholders through our balanced shareholder return framework. Beginning with financial flexibility, the first of our 3 priorities, we intend to maintain an investment-grade balance sheet with gross debt of up to $8 billion and liquidity of $7 billion, including approximately $3 billion of cash. By maintaining a strong balance sheet, we can steadily fund cash-generating capital projects while returning capital to shareholders. As announced this morning, we have 6 assets currently classified as non-core. The anticipated proceeds from these divestments, along with free cash flow from operations, will cycle through our capital allocation priorities, starting with enhancing our financial strength and flexibility. The proceeds from divestitures will first be allocated to maintaining our minimum cash balance of approximately $3 billion and later applied to reducing debt to $8 billion or below. Our initial debt target of $8 billion aims to return free cash flow from operations and divestiture proceeds to our shareholders. Moving to sustainable investments, as Tom and Natascha mentioned, we expect meaningful production growth from volume-wise low-cost operations over the next 5 years as we invest an average of $1.3 billion in development capital into projects that will yield the highest returns. The third priority of our capital allocation strategy is our balanced shareholder return framework, designed to return capital to shareholders through our base dividend and share repurchases. To be clear, we are not yet at the level we want to be in terms of generating free cash flow to return to our shareholders. However, we believe we have a solid framework to return an increasing amount of capital as our operational and financial performance improves. Our balanced shareholder return framework starts with an annualized base dividend of $1 per share, which equates to a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share. We expect to pay the base dividend from free cash flow over time, subject to approval from our Board of Directors each quarter. Historically, our free cash flow generation has been weighted towards the end of the year, and we expect that to be the case in 2024, as our production profile and synergy realization will be higher in the second half than in the first. Additionally, first-quarter free cash flow in 2024 will be impacted by the payment of stamp duty tax related to the acquisition of Newcrest. As necessary, we will use the flexibility of our balance sheet to maintain our base dividend throughout the quarters, keeping the annualized dividend fixed while we leverage our free cash flow. Our Board has authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program. Once we satisfy our liquidity and debt parameters, we intend to repurchase shares in line with our free cash flow and asset sale proceeds. To reiterate, our free cash flow and proceeds from divestments will be prioritized as follows: The first dollar will be allocated to maintaining our minimum cash balance, the second will go toward reducing debt to $8 billion, and the third will fund share repurchases. Our goal is to position our portfolio for improving margins and performance over time, funding our capital allocation priorities while allowing us to return capital to our shareholders. We believe that reducing debt and returning capital creates an attractive value proposition for our existing investors while improving the company's financial position over the long term. I'll now turn it back to Tom for closing remarks.

Thanks, Karyn. Newmont's go-forward Tier 1 portfolio sets the new standard for gold and copper mining and provides our shareholders with exposure to the highest concentration of Tier 1 assets in the sector, located in the most favorable mining jurisdictions, alongside an improving cost profile to maximize margins and generate strong free cash flow. The industry-leading growth optionality in copper and gold stems from disciplined reinvestment and project execution, alongside a balanced shareholder return framework. As we look forward to this very important year of integration and transformation, I am very confident in the quality of our assets and the capability of our team to deliver on our commitments and justify our position as the benchmark gold equity. This year, we will also continue working on transforming our go-forward portfolio and, importantly, building out strategic and life-of-mine plans for each of our managed sections. I look forward to updating you on the longer-term potential of this world-class portfolio at our Capital Market Days in the second half of this year. And with that, I'll turn it over to the operator to open the line for questions.

Thank you very much, operator. I guess I'll limit my questions to just the single one. On the Newcrest reserve front, it looks like the overall totals for gold declined by about 1/3. I understand the differences were primarily due to reporting changes under SEC guidelines. I'm wondering how we should be thinking about the prior reserves that were there and whether the company would expect to incorporate these as part of their reserve base in the future or if this is something different than that?

Thanks, Josh, and good morning. As we worked to bring the Newcrest reserves and resources into the Newmont standards, we obviously have a tighter set of rules regarding what qualifies as a Newmont reserve and resource. Once the numbers were finalized, we found that they were very consistent with what we had assumed during our due diligence back in April and May. There are a number of moving parts here, Josh, and after discussions with the team over the last few days and reflecting on our experience with Goldcorp 5 years ago, I think it would be beneficial for all of you to sit down in a more detailed session to address your inquiries. We will have our Investor Relations team, along with Don Doe, who oversees that process, take you through any discrepancies you might be seeing. We are committed to updating you as we analyze this further.

Thank you very much, operator. And thank you all for the update today. Could I ask about the capital return and how you thought about that? It looks to me like you've shifted capital from dividends to share buybacks. What drove that decision to make that transfer of capital return?

Thanks, Lawson. I'll start off, and Karyn can elaborate. When you look at how we transformed with the acquisition of Newcrest, it reshaped the Newmont go-forward portfolio significantly. Once we defined the go-forward portfolio, our focus shifted to determining the appropriate capital allocation strategy in the context of a Tier 1 asset portfolio with a very long lifespan. We reviewed our balance sheet, particularly the debt incurred during the acquisition and the number of shares we issued for this transaction. These are critical factors as we examined our capital allocation framework while ensuring we maintain the necessary cash reserves. Our target is to have cash to satisfy Karyn's mentioned targets, which enables us to fund operational reinvestment while keeping the fixed $1 per share base dividend intact. This dividend, which we expect to remain in effect, and the introduction of a $1 billion share buyback program give us the means to return any additional net free cash flow. In short, our decision reflects a concerted effort to align our portfolio with capital allocation settings that serve our shareholders well.

Sure. Just to follow on that. In our portfolio review, we made sure to link the return of capital directly to our free cash flow realization. In terms of consistency with 2023 financial results, our fixed base dividend of $1 per share going forward aligns with historical dividends of around $1.4 billion. We believe that this is the appropriate level given our free cash flow generation. Coupling this with a variable return component through share repurchases should align with our new equity and allow us to bring the share count down.

Tom, Karyn, and Natascha. My first question is about the metallurgical changes at Peñasquito. Could you talk about that? What exactly happened there? What years does it impact? I noticed a reduction in reserves at Peñasquito for gold and silver, and I seek clarity on that.

I'll start and then I'll defer to Karyn, Natascha, and Rob if they want to contribute. The situation involves a few factors, Anita. We've drilled about 40 kilometers of infill drilling throughout Peñasquito and assessed impacts on reserves and resources. A cutback in the Peñasco pit is planned, extending into the 2030s. The drilling did not yield the metal levels we anticipated, leading to the reserve and resource adjustments. Nevertheless, our focus remains on enhancing operational efficiencies at Peñasquito, and we believe there is considerable potential for improvements moving forward. We have a good decade ahead of us to reclaim those ounces.

Understood, and to clarify about the terms underbreak and overbreak—I'm unclear about what those mean. Could you explain what's happening at Tanami? My understanding is there was an issue during the drilling process, and if I am mistaken, what exactly is going on?

Thanks, Anita. To provide context, the production shaft at Tanami is 1.5 kilometers deep. Our primary challenge, the overbreak, is at the very bottom of the shaft where some areas have expanded beyond the intended diameter, making it difficult to line that shaft adequately. This is typical in underground mining and shaft construction, where certain pockets of rock can have poor conditions. We’ve observed some overbreak that has led to an increased diameter, and safety protocols mandated a thorough understanding of these conditions before proceeding. We're engaged in developing several methodologies to address the overbreak safely while ensuring quality standards at the lower shaft section.

That does clarify some points. I’m particularly curious about the term underbreak. Could you just explain that?

Underbreak refers to materials that protrude into the targeted shaft dimensions where we have not fully removed the necessary rock during drilling. We need to rectify that to achieve the required diameter for lining the shaft appropriately. In essence, it means we need to do some cleanup to meet the expected specifications.

I have questions regarding some of the Newcrest assets that I've been observing for quite a while. With Lihir, which has been a consistent underperformer since Newcrest acquired it, what gives you confidence that you'll achieve better results and maintain consistency at Lihir moving forward?

Good morning, Daniel. Lihir is an important asset that was developed by a previous mining company, and after Newcrest took over, it encountered some difficulties. Incorporating Lihir into a solid Tier 1 portfolio helps us optimize its long-term mining plans by aligning production with other Tier 1 operations. This strategy enables us to tackle the equipment reliability challenges that were previously overlooked because Lihir was seen as a cash-generating asset within a smaller portfolio. Our new strategy is focused on streamlining the intricate mine plan and improving operational efficiency. I want to emphasize that since we began managing Lihir in the last quarter, our field team has successfully created a mine plan for 2024 that they can actively pursue. This shift in culture is crucial, and the boost in morale among our team contributes to achieving better operational outcomes.

That's affirmative. My second question is similar regarding Wafi-Golpu. How much are you investing in that asset currently, and what is its timeline within the growth pipeline?

Wafi-Golpu represents an incredible copper resource in a highly productive area. However, we are still in the study phase, thus not spending substantial sums currently. Our primary focus is to collaborate with our joint venture partners and the PNG government to ensure we establish a secure financial framework for investment as we advance. Wafi-Golpu sits alongside our other promising projects, including Red Chris and the necessary expansions at Yanacocha, forming a robust pipeline in our portfolio.

Thank you. Regarding the dividend, could I clarify your outlook? Given the emphasis on capex reduction, do you see your strategy evolving into a more progressive dividend payout policy where you might raise the dividend year-over-year, as some peers have done?

Greg, when modeling returns, I suggest planning for a fixed $1 per share dividend. Any additional free cash flow we generate beyond our established debt and liquidity targets is likely to be returned via share buybacks. Our recent hefty share issuance gives us reason to aim to lower the share count effectively, but we are committed to maintaining the $1 base dividend.

I wanted to clarify the expected $5 billion net debt target. Are there specific metrics you're targeting to achieve that?

Certainly. Our primary goal is to ensure financial flexibility and maintain our investment-grade rating. We're targeting a 1x net debt-to-EBITDA ratio moving forward.

That's insightful. Briefly, during the transaction phase, you mentioned potential in the Golden Triangle area. Can you discuss how you envision that region evolving over the next few years?

Yes, Carey. I’ve had the opportunity to visit the area on several occasions recently. Brucejack has excellent resources and exploration potential that we are confident will contribute meaningful revenue. Moreover, given the scale and quality of Red Chris, our focus will be on ensuring that we build that mine to high-quality standards. This will evolve over decades, alongside possible expansions into Galore Creek and other exploratory advancements. We see significant future prospects in this pivotal copper mining region.

Thank you. There's been a lot of information shared today, and I'm looking ahead at what may come next. At your Investor Day, you referenced new life-of-mine plans. Will the reserves now reflect Newmont's standards, meaning upcoming life-of-mine plans will be adjusted accordingly? Will there be more detailed information available beyond what's provided in the charts on 5-year production and costs for your Tier 1 assets?

Yes, Tanya, the reserves and resources are set to Newmont standards. We are currently developing life-of-mine plans based on those updated numbers. Our strategic mine plans will offer a clearer view of longer-term potential, beyond merely the 5-year production outlook. We aim to provide further insight regarding the 10- to 15-year potential for the entire upgraded portfolio at our Capital Markets Day in the late November timeframe next year.

Understood. I also want to clarify your plans for the 6 operating assets you referred to earlier. Are we set to see any changes in financial reporting, reflecting the discontinued nature of these assets from Q1 onward?

Yes, Tanya, the expectation is that by the end of Q1 2024, these 6 assets will be classified as held for sale.

Understood. So we can expect your reporting on operating assets to adjust accordingly?

Correct.

Thank you all for your time, and I look forward to catching up with you soon. Thanks, everyone.