SilverCrest Metals Inc. (NYSE:SILV) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call August 10, 2023 11:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Eric Fier - Chief Executive Officer
Chris Ritchie - President
Pierre Beaudoin - Chief Operating Officer
Conference Call Participants
Stephen Soock - Stifel
John Sclodnick - Desjardins
Operator
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to SilverCrest reports Second Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on Thursday, August 10, 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to Eric Fier, CEO and Director. Please go ahead, sir.
Eric Fier
Thank you, operator and good morning, everybody and thanks for joining. Today, we will be providing commentary on our robust Q2 2023 results and H2 guidance. After which, we will be happy to take questions. The slide deck we will be referring to in this presentation is available on our website at silvercrestmetals.com under the Investors tab.
Before I get started, I would like to direct you to the forward-looking statements on Slide 2. All figures discussed this morning are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated and any references to the report are in relationship to the recently released updated technical report. All of the ounce comments on ounce and per ounce references discussed will be based on silver equivalent ounces unless otherwise specified.
On the call with me today is Chris Ritchie, President and Pierre Beaudoin, Chief Operating Officer.
Starting on Slide 3, Q2 marked another successful quarter for production. We have continued to generate free cash flow after eliminating our debt with $25 million repayment in the quarter, also adding approximately $4 million in volume and $8 million of cash to our treasury assets, while spending about $10 million in sustaining capital. Our balance sheet continues to be a differentiator among our peers.
The Las Chispas operation continues to perform well, with 13,400 ounces of gold and 1.45 million ounces of silver sold in the quarter in line with estimates in the report and quarterly levels outlined in our guidance. Almost all-operating parameters showed improvement over Q1 2023, including underground mine ramp-up, which continued to progress well, with an average mining rate of 818 tons per day for the quarter, a 16% increase from Q1 and in line with the updated technical report estimates.
Last week, we released the results of the updated technical report, which will be filed within 45 days. The data used to compile the report was generated from actual underground operations resulting in a production and cost profile that we are confident in. The change in the broader economy and our project from the last 3 years warranted an updated study that is more in line with current operating environment. We hope the release of these Q2 results will continue to highlight our strong margins and balance sheet as well as our unique position to opportunistically allocate our capital. We continue to advance our ESG initiatives, including a strong focus on health and safety as well as managing the risks and opportunities within the communities which we operate.