DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2024-- SSR Mining Inc. (Nasdaq/TSX: SSRM, ASX: SSR) ("SSR Mining" or the “Company") reports consolidated financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024, as well as an update on the February 13, 2024 incident at the Çöpler mine (the “Çöpler Incident” or the “Incident”).

Çöpler Update

Following the Çöpler Incident, the Company focused on four key priorities: (1) the recovery of our missing colleagues; (2) containment of the Incident and remediation of the site; (3) the investigation into the root cause of the Incident; and (4) preparing for the restart of the Çöpler mine.

With respect to our missing colleagues, all nine individuals have been recovered and returned to their families and we continue to support the families and the community members impacted by the Çöpler Incident.

All the planned containment infrastructure, including a grout curtain, coffer dam, and buttress, as well as pumping systems and the Sabırlı creek diversion, has been successfully installed and is proving to be effective. Public statements from Turkish government officials continue to reiterate that there has been no recordable contamination to local soil, water or air in the sampling locations.

In partnership with the Turkish authorities, the Company has continued to progress the remediation at the site. To date, over 16 million tonnes (approximately 86%) of the displaced heap leach material has been moved to temporary storage locations, including substantially all the displaced material from the Sabırlı Valley. As part of the remediation work, the heap leach pad will be permanently closed, and heap leach processing will no longer take place at Çöpler. We are continuing discussions with Turkish government officials around the final remediation plan, including the approval and construction of the east storage facility, which will permanently store the displaced material.

The Çöpler remediation and containment work is estimated to cost between $250.0 to $300.0 million and take a total of 24 to 36 months to complete. In the third quarter of 2024, $48.3 million was spent on remediation activities at Çöpler, bringing total remediation spend since April 1, 2024 to $103.3 million.

The initial design of the heap leach facility prepared prior to commencing production in 2010, and each subsequent expansion thereafter, was engineered, reviewed, and approved by independent, third-party engineering firms. Throughout the various stages of construction across the life of the heap leach facility, third-party reviews were also conducted to ensure conformance with the underlying engineering design parameters.

The investigations into the cause of the Çöpler Incident began shortly after the event. The Company has commissioned independent experts to review the design, construction, and operation of the heap leach facility. To date, this review has not identified any material non-conformance with the construction or operation of the heap leach facility relative to the third-party engineered design parameters.

SSR Mining continues to work closely with the relevant authorities to advance the required permits for the restart of the Çöpler mine. Once all necessary regulatory approvals, including the operating permits, are reinstated, it is anticipated that initial operations at Çöpler could restart within 20 days and would consist of processing a combination of stockpiled ore and ore mined from Çakmaktepe, while the remediation work continues.

As previously disclosed, in November 2023, prior to the Çöpler Incident, a legal challenge was filed in a local court against the Çöpler mine’s environmental impact assessment, which was approved in 2021 (the “2021 EIA”). On August 20, 2024, the local court issued a decision cancelling the 2021 EIA due to insufficiencies in the 2021 EIA approval process. The Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, who had originally approved the 2021 EIA, has filed an appeal of the decision, and the Company has filed a simultaneous intervener appeal as well. As previously disclosed, with the cancellation of the 2021 EIA, the operating guidelines at Çöpler revert to those outlined in the Company’s prior Environmental Impact Assessment, which was issued in 2014 (the “2014 EIA”). Among other operating considerations, the 2014 EIA prescribes a lower throughput rate for the sulfide plant operations of 6,000 tonnes per day, as compared to 9,000 tonnes per day under the 2021 EIA.

At this time, we are not able to estimate or predict when and under what conditions we will resume operations at Çöpler. Additionally, SSR Mining cannot, at this time, assess the entire scope of the impact of operating under the 2014 EIA. SSR Mining held $334.3 million in total cash at the end of the third quarter, with total available liquidity of $834.0 million and expected strong free cash flow generation from Marigold, Seabee and Puna in the fourth quarter of 2024. SSR Mining remains well positioned to continue remediation efforts ahead of a potential restart of operations at Çöpler.

For additional information on the Çöpler Incident, including a discussion of the associated risks, see the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed on February 27, 2024, as well as the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 filed on May 8, 2024, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 filed on July 31, 2024, and for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 filed on November 6, 2024. Further updates on the Çöpler Incident, as and when available, will continue to be provided through press releases and posts to the Company’s website.

Third Quarter 2024 Summary: ⁽¹⁾
(All figures are in US dollars unless otherwise noted)

• Operating results: Third quarter 2024 production was 97,429 gold equivalent ounces. In the third quarter of 2024, operations at Çöpler remained suspended following the February 13, 2024 incident. Additionally, operations at Seabee were suspended on August 21, 2024 due to forest fires in the vicinity of the mine. Seabee successfully restarted operations on October 11, 2024. Year-to-date, the Company produced 275,113 gold equivalent ounces at a consolidated cost of sales of $1,312 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”) of $1,886 per ounce. The Company’s year-to-date AISC includes $49.2 million in cash care and maintenance costs, or approximately $179 per gold equivalent ounce, of which $41.5 million was incurred at Çöpler and $7.7 million was incurred at Seabee.

• Financial results: Net income attributable to SSR Mining shareholders in the third quarter of 2024 was $10.6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, including $29.8 million in care and maintenance costs incurred at Çöpler and $9.6 million at Seabee. Adjusted net income attributable to SSR Mining shareholders in the third quarter of 2024 was $6.4 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, after adjusting for items related to the Çöpler Incident and other tax impacts. In the third quarter of 2024, operating cash flow was $(1.3) million, and free cash flow was $(34.1) million.

• Cash and liquidity position: As of September 30, 2024, the Company had a cash and cash equivalent balance of $334.3 million and total liquidity of $834.0 million inclusive of its revolving credit facility and accompanying accordion feature. At the end of the third quarter, the Company had no borrowings outstanding under the revolving credit facility, exclusive of de minimus letters of credit, and was in compliance with its covenants.

• Çöpler remediation: As of September 30, 2024, substantially all of the heap leach material displaced during the February 13th incident had been removed from the Sabırlı Valley. Remediation spend in the third quarter totaled $48.3 million, bringing total remediation spend since April 1, 2024 to $103.3 million.

• Marigold operations: Gold production was 48,189 ounces in the third quarter of 2024 at cost of sales of $1,573 per payable ounce and AISC of $1,828 per payable ounce. Year-to-date, Marigold produced 108,560 ounces of gold at cost of sales of $1,484 per payable ounce and AISC of $1,749 per payable ounce. Marigold remains on track for full-year 2024 production guidance of 155,000 to 175,000 ounces of gold. Reflecting increased royalty and maintenance components costs the Company now expects full-year mine site cost of sales of $1,450 to $1,480 per payable ounce and AISC of $1,650 to $1,680 per payable ounce at Marigold in 2024.

• Seabee operations: Gold production was 10,252 ounces in the third quarter of 2024, reflecting the temporary suspension of operations at Seabee due to forest fires. Employees were cleared to return to the site on September 23, 2024 and production restarted on October 11, 2024. Third quarter cost of sales of $1,280 per payable ounce and AISC of $2,301 per payable ounce reflected fewer ounces sold and the inclusion of $7.7 million in cash care and maintenance costs from the temporary suspension. Full-year 2024 production guidance for Seabee is now 65,000 to 70,000 ounces of gold at mine site cost of sales of $1,135 to $1,165 per payable ounce and AISC of $1,725 to $1,755 per payable ounce.

• Puna operations: Silver production was 2.9 million ounces in the third quarter of 2024 at cost of sales of $16.06 per payable ounce of silver and AISC of $15.37 per payable ounce of silver. The average realized silver price for Puna sales in the third quarter of 2024 was $30.05 per ounce, showcasing the mine’s significant margins in the current silver price environment. Quarterly process plant throughput averaged over 5,275 tonnes per day, a second consecutive quarterly record for the mine. Year-to-date, Puna produced 7.5 million ounces of silver at cost of sales of $16.27 per payable ounce and AISC of $15.36 per payable ounce. Reflecting higher throughputs and grades than originally expected, full-year 2024 production guidance at Puna has been increased to 10.0 to 10.5 million ounces of silver at unchanged mine site cost of sales of $16.50 to $18.00 per payable ounce and AISC of $14.75 to $16.25 per payable ounce.

• Hod Maden: During the third quarter of 2024, engineering studies and site preparation activities continued as the Company continues to advance the Hod Maden project through to a construction decision. In the third quarter of 2024, approximately $10.9 million were spent at Hod Maden. The Company will provide guidance on its expected 2025 capital spend at Hod Maden with its annual 2025 guidance.

Financial and Operating Summary

A summary of the Company's consolidated financial and operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023 are presented below:

Marigold, USA

For the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, Marigold produced 48,189 and 83,272 ounces of gold, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, Marigold produced 108,560 and 195,694 ounces of gold, respectively. During the third quarter of 2024, Marigold reported cost of sales of $1,573 per payable ounce and AISC of $1,828 per payable ounce.

Marigold remains on track for full-year 2024 production guidance of 155,000 to 175,000 ounces of gold. The Company now expects full-year mine site cost of sales of $1,450 to $1,480 per payable ounce and AISC of $1,650 to $1,680 per payable ounce at Marigold in 2024. Approximately 60% of the increase to AISC guidance is the result of increased royalty costs reflecting a higher year-to-date gold price against the Company’s initial forecasts. The remainder of the cost increase is associated with higher than forecast costs for components and parts utilized in equipment maintenance. These cost pressures are expected to persist into 2025.

Seabee, Canada

For the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, Seabee produced 10,252 and 19,824 ounces of gold, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, Seabee produced 50,734 and 52,020 ounces of gold, respectively. On August 21, 2024, operations at Seabee were suspended due to forest fires in the vicinity of the mine. Production restarted on October 11, 2024. During the third quarter of 2024, Seabee reported cost of sales of $1,280 per payable ounce and AISC of $2,301 per payable ounce. Third quarter AISC reflects $7.7 million in care and maintenance expenses incurred during the temporary suspension of operations, or approximately $685 per payable ounce. Year-to-date, the Company reported cost of sales of $1,025 per payable ounce and AISC of $1,655 per payable ounce, inclusive of approximately $141 per payable ounce associated with the third quarter care and maintenance costs.

As a result of the August 21 suspension, full-year 2024 production guidance for Seabee is now 65,000 to 70,000 ounces of gold at mine site cost of sales of $1,135 to $1,165 per payable ounce and AISC of $1,725 to $1,755 per payable ounce.

Puna, Argentina

For the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, Puna produced 2.9 and 2.6 million ounces of silver, respectively with the year-over-year increase primarily driven by more ore tonnes milled. Quarterly process plant throughput averaged over 5,275 tonnes per day, a second consecutive quarterly record for the mine. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, Puna produced 7.5 and 6.9 million ounces of silver, respectively. During the third quarter of 2024, Puna reported cost of sales of $16.06 per payable ounce and AISC of $15.37 per payable ounce. Year-to-date, the Company reported cost of sales of $16.27 per payable ounce and AISC of $15.36 per payable ounce.

Reflecting higher throughputs and grades than originally expected, full-year 2024 production guidance at Puna has been increased to 10.0 to 10.5 million ounces of silver at unchanged mine site cost of sales of $16.50 to $18.00 per payable ounce and AISC of $14.75 to $16.25 per payable ounce.

Çöpler, Türkiye
(amounts presented on 100% basis)

Operations at Çöpler were suspended following the Çöpler Incident on February 13, 2024. During the suspension, care and maintenance expense has been recorded which represents direct costs not associated with the environmental reclamation and remediation costs and depreciation.

Conference Call Information

This news release should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or www.ssrmining.com.

• Conference call and webcast: Wednesday, November 6, 2024, at 5:00 pm EST.

• The conference call will be archived and available on our website. Audio replay will be available for two weeks by calling:

About SSR Mining

SSR Mining is listed under the ticker symbol SSRM on the Nasdaq and the TSX, and SSR on the ASX.

For more information, please visit www.ssrmining.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements:

Except for statements of historical fact relating to us, certain statements contained in this news release (including information incorporated by reference herein) constitute forward-looking information, future oriented financial information, or financial outlooks (collectively “forward-looking information”) within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided for under these sections. Forward-looking information may be contained in this document and our other public filings. Forward-looking information relates to statements concerning our outlook and anticipated events or results and, in some cases, can be identified by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “projects”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts, as well as statements written in the future tense. When made, forward-looking statements are based on information known to management at such time and/or management’s good faith belief with respect to future events. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the Company's forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The key risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: local and global political and economic conditions; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities, including changes in government policy, government ownership requirements, changes in environmental, tax and other laws or regulations and the interpretation thereof; developments with respect to global pandemics, including the duration, severity and scope of a pandemic and potential impacts on mining operations; risks and uncertainties resulting from the incident at Çöpler described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter end June 30, 2024 and for the quarter end September 30, 2024; and other risk factors detailed from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR at www.sec.gov the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca and on our website at www.ssrmining.com.

Forward-looking information and statements in this news release include any statements concerning, among other things: all information related to the Company’s Çöpler operations, including timelines, outlook, preliminary costs, remediation plans, and possible restart plans; forecasts and outlook; preliminary cost reporting in this document; timing, production, operating, cost, and capital expenditure guidance; our operational and development targets and catalysts and the impact of any suspensions on operations; the results of any gold reconciliations; the ability to discover additional ore; the generation of free cash flow and payment of dividends; matters relating to proposed exploration; communications with local stakeholders; maintaining community and government relations; negotiations of joint ventures; negotiation and completion of transactions; commodity prices; Mineral Resources, Mineral Reserves, conversion of Mineral Resources, realization of Mineral Reserves, and the existence or realization of Mineral Resource estimates; the development approach; the timing and amount of future production; the timing of studies, announcements, and analysis; the timing of construction and development of proposed mines and process facilities; capital and operating expenditures; economic conditions; availability of sufficient financing; exploration plans; receipt of regulatory approvals; timing and impact surrounding suspension or interruption of operations as a result of regulatory requirements or actions by governmental authority; renewal of NCIB program; and any and all other timing, exploration, development, operational, financial, budgetary, economic, legal, social, environmental, regulatory, and political matters that may influence or be influenced by future events or conditions.

Such forward-looking information and statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions, including, but not limited in any manner to, those disclosed in any other of our filings on EDGAR and SEDAR, and include: any assumptions made in respect of the Company’s Çöpler operations; the inherent speculative nature of exploration results; the ability to explore; communications with local stakeholders; maintaining community and governmental relations; status of negotiations of joint ventures; weather conditions at our operations; commodity prices; the ultimate determination of and realization of Mineral Reserves; existence or realization of Mineral Resources; the development approach; availability and receipt of required approvals, titles, licenses and permits; sufficient working capital to develop and operate the mines and implement development plans; access to adequate services and supplies; foreign currency exchange rates; interest rates; access to capital markets and associated cost of funds; availability of a qualified work force; ability to negotiate, finalize, and execute relevant agreements; lack of social opposition to our mines or facilities; lack of legal challenges with respect to our properties; the timing and amount of future production; the ability to meet production, cost, and capital expenditure targets; timing and ability to produce studies and analyses; capital and operating expenditures; economic conditions; availability of sufficient financing; the ultimate ability to mine, process, and sell mineral products on economically favorable terms; and any and all other timing, exploration, development, operational, financial, budgetary, economic, legal, social, geopolitical, regulatory and political factors that may influence future events or conditions. While we consider these factors and assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to us, they may prove to be incorrect.

Such factors are not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company’s forward-looking statements and information, and such statements and information will not be updated to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. Forward-looking information and statements are only predictions based on our current estimations and assumptions. Actual results may vary materially from such forward-looking information. Other than as required by law, we do not intend, and undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking information to reflect, among other things, new information or future events. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.

Cautionary Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We have included certain non-GAAP financial measures to assist in understanding the Company’s financial results. The non-GAAP financial measures are employed by us to measure our operating and economic performance and to assist in decision-making, as well as to provide key performance information to senior management. We believe that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, certain investors and other stakeholders will find this information useful to evaluate our operating and financial performance; however, these non-GAAP performance measures – including total cash, total debt, net cash (debt), cash costs, all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”) per ounce sold, adjusted net income (loss) attributable to shareholders, cash generated by (used in) operating activities before changes in working capital, free cash flow, and free cash flow before changes in working capital – do not have any standardized meaning. These performance measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our definitions of our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. These non-GAAP measures should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements.

Non-GAAP Measure – Net Cash (Debt)

Net cash (debt) are used by management and investors to measure the Company's underlying operating performance. The Company believes that net cash (debt) is a useful measure for shareholders as it helps evaluate liquidity and available cash.

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents to net cash:

In addition to net cash and net debt, the Company also uses Total liquidity to measure its financial position. Total liquidity is calculated as Cash and cash equivalents plus Restricted cash and borrowing capacity under current revolving credit facilities, including accordion features. As of September 30, 2024 and as of December 31, 2023, the Company’s $400 million credit facility was undrawn, with a $100 million accordion feature.

The following table provides a reconciliation of Cash and cash equivalents to Total liquidity:

Non-GAAP Measure - Cash Costs and AISC

Cash Costs and All-In Sustaining Costs (“AISC”) per payable ounce of gold and respective unit cost measures are non-U.S. GAAP metrics developed by the World Gold Council to provide transparency into the costs associated with producing gold and provide a standard for comparison across the industry. The World Gold Council is a market development organization for the gold industry.

The Company uses cash costs per ounce of precious metals sold and AISC per ounce of precious metals to monitor its operating performance internally. The most directly comparable measure prepared in accordance with GAAP is cost of sales. The Company believes this measure provides investors and analysts with useful information about its underlying cash costs of operations and the impact of by-product credits on its cost structure. The Company also believes it is a relevant metric used to understand its operating profitability. When deriving the cost of sales associated with an ounce of precious metal, the Company includes by-product credits, which allows management and other stakeholders to assess the net costs of gold and silver production.

AISC includes total cost of sales incurred at the Company's mining operations, which forms the basis of cash costs. Additionally, the Company includes sustaining capital expenditures, sustaining mine-site exploration and evaluation costs, reclamation cost accretion and amortization, and general and administrative expenses. This measure seeks to reflect the ongoing cost of gold and silver production from current operations; therefore, growth capital is excluded. The Company determines sustaining capital to be capital expenditures that are necessary to maintain current production and execute the current mine plan. The Company determines growth capital to be those payments used to develop new operations or related to projects at existing operations where those projects will materially benefit the operation.

The Company believes that AISC provides additional information to management and stakeholders that provides visibility to better define the total costs associated with production and better understanding of the economics of the Company's operations and performance compared to other producers.

In deriving the number of ounces of precious metal sold, the Company considers the physical ounces available for sale after the treatment and refining process, commonly referred to as payable metal, as this is what is sold to third parties.

The following tables provide a reconciliation of Cost of sales to Cash costs and AISC: