[ ♪♪♪ ] >> Andrew: THE BIG WINNERS ON THE TSX TODAY WERE K92 MINING. NOW IT'S NOT THE BIGGEST PRODUCER OUT THERE BUT IT HAS A BIG OF A GEM IN PAPAU NEW GUINEA. THAT IS A GOLD MINE WITH GRADES OF 12 GRAMS A TONNE. , REMEMBER, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN OPENING OPEN PIT MINES IN RECENT YEARS SOME OF THEM WITH GRADES OF LESS THAN 1 GRAM PER TONNE. THE COMPANY JUST POSTED RECORD PRODUCTION NUMBERS FOR ITS LATEST QUARTER. WE ARE JOINED BY JOHN LEWINS ONE OF OUR REGULARS CEO OF K92. THANKS FOR COMING ON THE SHOW. >> ANDREW, THANKS FOR HAVING ME AGAIN. >> Andrew: JUST REMIND US IT'S A PRETTY UNUSUAL MINE, ISN'T IT? VERY RICH GRADE, K -- 12 GRAMS ROUGHLY PER TONNE AND REMIND US HOW YOU COULD DO IT. IT'S AN UNDERGROUND OPERATION BUT WITH A DIFFERENCE? >> UNDERGROUND WITH A DIFFERENCE, YES. WE ARE AN JUNKED MINE THAT YOU GO UP INTO, INTO THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN AND THEN UP GIVES YOU A LOT OF ADVANTAGES IN TERMS OF USING GRAVITY TO BRING YOUR PRODUCT OUT. >> Andrew: OH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAUL IT OUT? YOU CAN JUST HAVE IT ROLL OUT BASICALLY? >> I WISH IT WAS QUITE THAT SIMPLE BUT IF GRAVITY BRINGS YOU DOWN TO YOUR BOTTOM LEVEL AND THEN YOU CAN CRAM IT OUT, YES. >> Andrew: NOTHING IS EASY IN MINING, I GUESS, YEAH. >>> SO YOU HAD RECORD PRODUCTION THE LATEST QUARTER EQUIVALENT OF ALMOST 40,000-OUNCES OF GOLD AND FOR THE YEAR THEN WERE YOU ABOUT 117,000. >> THAT'S CORRECT. YES. SO IT WAS RECORD PRODUCTION IN TERMS OF OUNCES PRODUCED. THE RECORD IN TERMS OF THE TONNAGE THAT WE MINED. RECORD IN TERMS OF PROCESS AND RECORD IN TERMS OF OUR DEVELOPMENT METERS AS WELL. >> Andrew: GIVE US AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH YOU ARE GOING TO BE EXPAND TAG MINE. BECAUSE YOU JUST DID A DEAL THERE WITH GR ENGINEERING IN IN LATE 2023 FOR AN 81 MILLION-DOLLAR U.S. CONTRACT OR SET OF CONTRACTS. SO YOU ARE EXPANDING? >> THAT'S CORRECT. SO THIS YEAR WE PROCESSED ABOUT 500,000 TONNES. THE WE ARE BUILDING A NEW PLANT WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO PROCESS 1.2 MILLION TONNES PER ANNUM AND THAT'LL TAKE US UP TO OUR PRODUCTION FROM AS YOU SAID THIS YEAR ABOUT 117,000-OUNCES TO AROUND 300,000-OUNCES EQUIVALENT A YEAR. >> Andrew: WHAT IS YOUR ALL-IN SUSTAINING COSTS ROUGHLY? CAN YOU GIVE US A BALLPARK NUMBER? >> IF WE LOOK AT THIS YEAR OUR ALL-IN SUSTAINING COSTS HAVE BEEN AROUND 1100. WITH THE EXPANSION THAT'LL DROP TO AROUND 700, $750 AN OUNCE. >> Andrew: THAT'S LOW. THAT'S ONE OF THE LOWEST IN THE INDUSTRY, I GUESS. >> IT IS INDEED. AND YOU KNOW GRADE IS KING AS THEY SAY BUT COMBINED THAT WITH A MINE THAT GIVERS YOU ALL OF THOSE OPERATING BENEFITS OF BEING ABLE TO USE GRAPHICS ET CETERA, ET CETERA, THAT DRIVES IT FURTHER DOWN AND OF COURSE THIS IS THE STAGE THREE EXPANSION WE ARE BUSY WITH. STAGE FLOWER TAKE US TO AROUND 470,000-OUNCE AS YEAR WHICH IS SOME $600 AN OUNCE ALL-GIN SUSTAINING COSTS. >> Andrew: THAT'S HALF A MILLION OUNCE AS YEAR. THAT'S SIGNIFICANT. WHAT YEAR WOULD YOU HOPE TO GET TO THAT, JOHN? >> SO WE ARE COMMISSIONING STAGE THREE FIRST QUARTER NEXT YEAR '25 AND THEN END OF '26 TAKING US UP TO STAGE FOUR. >> Andrew: YOUR STOCK HAS BEEN A THING OF BEAUTY OVER FIVE YEARS, THERE IS TO NO DOUBT. I WAS JUST LOOKING AT A ONE-YEAR CHART FOR YOU VERSUS THE GOLD INDEX AND YOU WERE OUT OF FAVOUR THERE IN NOVEMBER. WHY WAS THAT? >> SO WE HAVE HAD A COUPLE OF CHALLENGES THIS YEAR AND CERTAINLY WE HAD A COUPLE OF MISSES EARLIER IN THE YEAR IN TERMS OF OUR QUARTERLY PRODUCTION. AND OF COURSE YOU KNOW THINGS DON'T JUST SUDDENLY HAPPEN. SO PART OF THE REASON WE HAVE HAD A RECORD QUARTER IS WHAT THE OPERATIONS TEAM HAVE BEEN DOING THIS YEAR AND IT'S BUILT UP TO THIS QUITE, YOU KNOW, I'LL CALL THIS OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPRESSIVE QUARTER AS FAR AS WE ARE CONCERNED. >> Andrew: NOW YOU JUST GOT I THINK IT WAS A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, YOU'LL CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG, A 100 MILLION-DOLLAR U.S. LOAN FROM THE GLOBAL COMMODITIES TRADING GIANT TRAFFIC GURRA. WILL YOU NEED TO RAISE MORE MONEY OR WILL THAT KEEP YOU GOING? >> OKAY, SO I THINK IN THE LAST QUARTER WE HAD ABOUT 80 MILLION IN THE BANK AND THAT'S BEEN PRETTY STATIC SO IT WILL BE ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER. AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE GOT 100 MILLION IN A LOAN AS YOU MENTIONED LOAN FACILITY. WE HAVEN'T DRAWN ANY OF THAT DOWN YET. I THINK WE WILL DRAUGHT FIRST DOWN IN THE FIRST QUARTER NEXT YEAR. -- DRAW THE. THE LOAN PLUS THE CASH FLOW THAT WE GENERATE FROM OUR OPERATION ALLOWS US NOT ONLY TO COMPLETE EXPANSION BUT TO KEEP BEING THE LARGEST EXPLOREER IN PAPAU NEW GUINEA AND WE WILL SPEND AROUND 20 TO $25 MILLION IN EXPLORATION THIS YEAR SAME AS WE SPENT LAST YEAR. SO IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION EQUITY. >> Andrew: SORRY? YOU WILL GO WITH EQUITY OR YOU WON'T? >> NO. WE DON'T NEED TO RAISE ANY MONEY FROM EQUITY RAISING AT ALL. >> Andrew: SORRY. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD THAT RIGHT. >>> NOW YOU DID -- YOU HAD FOUR DEATHS LAST YEAR. ALWAYS TRAGIC. AND TWO PEOPLE DIED IN A VEHICLE INCIDENT AND THEN A LITTLE WHILE BEFORE THERE WAS ANOTHER VEHICLE INCIDENT THAT WAS OFF SITE. SO OBVIOUSLY TRAUMATIC. CAN YOU TALK TO US AT ALL ABOUT THAT? >> LIKE I MEAN THE FIRST TWO WERE OBVIOUSLY OFF SITE AND INVOLVED IN -- ON A PUBLIC ROAD, AND YOU DO YOUR BEST ON THOSE THINGS BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU ARE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. >>> THE TWO ON SITE CERTAINLY FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE HAVING HAD THE BEST SAFETY RECORD IN THE COUNTRY FOR FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AND ONE OF THE BEST IN AUSTRALIA WHEN YOU HAVE A SETBACK LIKE THAT IT IMPACTS EVERYONE ON SITE. AND WHEN YOU HAVE DONE SO WELL AND THEN SUDDENLY YOU GET A SETBACK YOU REALLY START LOOKING AT YOURSELF AND SAYING, OKAY, SO DID WE GET COMPLACENT, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. AND SO WE HAVE LOOKED AT ALL OF THOSE THINGS CERTAINLY THE INCIDENT WAS A RESULT OF PEOPLE NOT FOLLOWING PROCEDURES AND SO WE F
