Pan American Silver Corp Q1 2021 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Trevor Turnbull - Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Research Division - Analyst : I have a question, I guess, with respect to Bell Creek. It got touched on at the end of last quarter, you were making some geotechnical modifications to accommodate it sounds like wider ore. And I'm just wondering is it as simple as just adding more support or more rock bolting, that type of thing? Or is there a more significant planning element to how you approach these areas? And the reason I was asking is it seems as if the remedy is going to take some time. You were talking about it getting kind of back to where you want it later this year. And so to me, that seemed like maybe it was more than just applying more hardware to the problem.

Question: Trevor Turnbull - Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. And then maybe just a quick question on costs. Your costs went down at many of the silver segment operations, obviously, with the exception of La Colorada, and you've talked about Manantial. But the others, you actually lowered the cost guidance going forward. You've kept your base metal assumptions unchanged. So that doesn't seem to be the factor. I was just curious what's driving those better numbers. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 13, 2021 / 3:00PM, PAAS.TO - Q1 2021 Pan American Silver Corp Earnings Call

Question: Don DeMarco - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : Okay. Maybe I'll start off with Shahuindo. When I look at the gold guidance hasn't changed, which is great to see. Yet we did see the -- some of the softer production coming out of Timmins, which has already been discussed on the call. But I also see Shahuindo seems to be running below the run rate. Can you just remind me about maybe the seasonal impacts on Shahuindo or confirm my expectations for an accentuated back-end loaded year?

Question: Don DeMarco - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : Okay. That's great. And then maybe just returning to the question about the impacts of COVID weighing, and I appreciate the color that Michael had provided with regard to the focus on the underground operations. But to get a little bit more granular, is it the -- is it social distancing requirements that's causing the issues or supply chain slowdowns? Like what is it on the ground level that's impacting the production performance? And what indications do you have that this can be addressed by way of a vaccine or whatever other measures are being implemented?

Question: Don DeMarco - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : Okay. And shifting over to the La Colorada skarn is my final question. Certainly, this is a catalyst that's quite significant, and you released some drilling update with the financials last night. So what I see is that there was a highlight hole that reported 11.7% zinc equivalent over 115 meters. This is above what we calculate as an average grade, somewhere on the order of around 8% or something on other intercepts. How do you find the -- are you getting really high-grade hits like this? And what are the implications on proximity to infrastructure, potentially sequencing some high-grade zones or whatnot? Just any additional color on this particular highlight would be appreciated. Christopher Emerson Yes. Don, it's Chris here. Yes. No, I mean we're obviously infill drilling. So we were hoping to get high-grade, so this is all going to plan in inverted commerce. Sure. As was previously mentioned, those 30 drill holes and the one you're specifically relating to is in that core, which is very close to the intrusive. It's where we've got this exoskarn and it's where the fluids have come up and then sort of dissipated out. So really around this higher grade core, which is going to be the emphasis on the PEA and where all the infill drilling is happening is we are expecting to see these high-grade areas. As we move out off to the West, we go into the more of the breccia. So this is in between the breccia and the intrusive, and this is where we're expecting to see those high grades. Specifically, as we set out beyond the breccia on U-40, we then started to see additional skarn, which is really pleasing for the team and certainly for the expansion of this project going forward.

Question: Don DeMarco - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : Okay. Okay. That's all for me. And good luck, rebounding in production and costs through the rest of the year. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 13, 2021 / 3:00PM, PAAS.TO - Q1 2021 Pan American Silver Corp Earnings Call

Question: Ryan Thompson - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Just a couple of questions on the sort of, call it, social, political, legal side of things. I noticed in your disclosure that there was recently a legal proceeding brought at Escobal. Could you just give us a little bit of color on that, and if there's any sort of potential for delays on the ILO 169 consultation process? Or would this legal proceeding sort of run in parallel to that?

Question: Ryan Thompson - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Got it. Okay. And then maybe just switching over to Peru. Obviously, there's a lot of chatter there on the political front and the narrative seems to be changing every day, it seems. Just wondering if you could provide any sort of comment on what you're seeing or hearing from sort of boots on the ground in Peru on the upcoming election in early June.

Question: Ryan Thompson - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst : Okay. And then maybe just lastly, obviously, copper prices are looking pretty good here. Can you just give us any sort of update on La Arena 2? I know there's been some thought of potentially selling it before. Are you seeing increased interest? Or can you just provide any sort of update on that?