par Nexa Resources S.A. (NASDAQ:NEXA)
Nexa Provides 2024 Guidance Update
Nexa Reaffirms Total Mining Production Guidance for All Metals, Lowers Mining Cash Cost and Capital Expenditures 2024 Guidance
LUXEMBOURG / ACCESSWIRE / October 24, 2024 / Nexa Resources S.A. ("Nexa Resources" or "Nexa" or the "Company") (NYSE Symbol:NEXA) today reaffirms its 2024 guidance for total zinc and lead production in the mining segment, updates production guidance for certain of its mines and lowers mining cash cost and capital expenditures guidance. The figures contained in this report are forward-looking statements, preliminary and unaudited. The financial results for the third quarter of 2024 will be published on Thursday, October 31, 2024 (after trading hours).
Summary Highlights
Consolidated zinc production for 2024 remains unchanged overall. Increased production for Cerro Lindo, Vazante, and Atacocha is expected to offset reductions for Aripuanã and the exclusion of Morro Agudo contributions, following its sale and cessation of mining activities on April 30, 2024. We are increasing zinc production guidance at Cerro Lindo, Vazante, and Atacocha by 15%, 9%, and 14%, respectively (at the mid-point of the guidance range). Conversely, guidance for Aripuanã has been reduced by 26%, and Morro Agudo by 64%. El Porvenir's zinc production guidance was nearly unchanged.
Consolidated lead production guidance for 2024 also remains unchanged. Increased production for Cerro Lindo, El Porvenir, and Atacocha is expected to offset reductions for Aripuanã and Morro Agudo (excluded from guidance as of May 1, 2024). We are increasing lead production guidance at Cerro Lindo, El Porvenir, and Atacocha by 24%, 12%, and 9%, respectively. Conversely, guidance for Aripuanã and Morro Agudo has been reduced by 23% and 58%, respectively. Lead production guidance for Vazante remains unchanged.
Copper and silver production guidance for 2024 remains unchanged at 30-35kt and 11-13MMoz, respectively.
Our 2024 metal sales guidance for our smelting segment remains unchanged at 580-605kt.
Our run-of-mine mining cost, our conversion cost and cash cost net of by-products credits for the smelting segment remain unchanged.
Cash Cost net of by-products credits for the mining segment has been revised downward by 64% (to US$0.03-0.20 per pound of zinc sold) due to higher LME metal prices and year-to-date performance, increasing by-products contribution, and slightly lower treatment charges ("TCs").
Our 2024 CAPEX guidance has been revised downward by US$11 million, from US$311 million to US$300 million, primarily due to positive FX impacts and continued efforts and initiatives to optimize capital allocation.
Our 2024 Exploration & Project Evaluation and Other expenses guidance remains unchanged at US$93 million.
2024 Production Guidance - Mining Segment
Mining production | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Metal in concentrate) | 2024e | 2024e | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Zinc | kt | 323 | - | 381 | 323 | - | 381 | |||||||||||||||||
Cerro Lindo | 73 | - | 86 | 84 | - | 99 | ||||||||||||||||||
El Porvenir | 51 | - | 57 | 50 | - | 58 | ||||||||||||||||||
Atacocha | 8 | - | 9 | 9 | - | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
Vazante | 130 | - | 148 | 140 | - | 163 | ||||||||||||||||||
Morro Agudo (1) | 18 | - | 23 | 7 | - | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
Aripuanã | 42 | - | 57 | 31 | - | 42 | ||||||||||||||||||
Lead | kt | 66 | - | 82 | 66 | - | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
Cerro Lindo | 11 | - | 13 | 13 | - | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
El Porvenir | 23 | - | 28 | 25 | - | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||
Atacocha | 11 | - | 12 | 12 | - | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
Vazante | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Morro Agudo (1) | 4.3 | - | 6.6 | 2.3 | - | 2.3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Aripuanã | 16 | - | 20 | 12 | - | 16 |
1) Considers only the four months of operations from January to April 2024.
Cerro Lindo: based on the performance and production forecasts, we have increased Cerro Lindo's zinc and lead production guidance (at the mid-point of the guidance range) for 2024 by 15% and 24%, respectively. As a result, the updated production guidance for zinc is expected to be between 84-99kt, and for lead, between 13-17kt. This increase is mainly due to higher average grades and higher mined ore volumes.
El Porvenir: based on the performance and production forecasts, we have increased El Porvenir's lead production guidance (at the mid-point of the guidance range) for 2024 by 12%, resulting in an updated lead production guidance of 25-32kt. El Porvenir's zinc production guidance remains nearly unchanged. The increase in lead guidance is mainly attributed to higher metal recoveries and slightly higher mined ore volumes.
Atacocha: based on the performance and production forecasts, we have increased Atacocha's zinc and lead production guidance (at the mid-point of the guidance range) for 2024 by 14% and 9%, respectively. As a result, the updated zinc production guidance is 9-11kt, and lead production is 12-13kt. This improvement is due to higher mined ore volumes, slightly better metal recoveries, and higher zinc average grades, partially offset by slightly lower lead average grades.
Vazante: based on the performance and production forecasts, we have increased Vazante's zinc production guidance (at the mid-point of the guidance range) for 2024 by 9%, with an updated zinc production range of 140-163kt. The lead production guidance remains unchanged. The increased zinc production guidance is primarily driven by higher mined ore volumes, partially offset by lower zinc average grades and slightly lower metal recoveries.
Morro Agudo: as previously disclosed, we announced the closing of the sale transaction on July 1, 2024, and mining activities attributed to Nexa ceased on April 30, 2024. Consequently, the year-to-date production for zinc and lead has been included in our updated guidance: 7kt for zinc and 2.3kt for lead, reflecting only the four months of operations from January to April 2024.
Aripuanã: based on the performance and production forecasts, we have reduced Aripuanã's zinc and lead guidance (at the mid-point of the guidance range) for 2024 by 26% and 23%, respectively. The updated production guidance is now 31-42kt for zinc and 12-16kt for lead. The guidance reduction is primarily attributed to lower mined and treated ore volumes and fewer working days, mainly driven by the previously disclosed debottlenecking activities in the early months of the year combined with the peak of the rainfall season in the same period, as well as a short-term mine plan comprising lower-than-expected ore grades. Additionally, challenges in the filter circuit and flotation system were experienced, resulting in lower volumes. Despite these challenges, we remain focused on improving operational performance, with expectations of increasing plant throughput rates and reducing operating costs, while maintaining the concentrate grades and maximizing metal recoveries in the coming periods.
2024 Cash Cost Guidance
We have lowered our 2024 cash cost net of by-products credits guidance for our mining segment. Run-of-mine mining costs, conversion cost, and cash cost net of by-products credits for the smelting segment remain unchanged. The 2024 cash cost assumptions are based on several factors, including but not limited to:
Zinc and other metals production volumes.
Updated commodity prices forecast for 2024e - (Zn: US$1.21/lb, Cu: US$4.14/lb, Pb: US$0.95/lb, Ag: US$27.8/oz, Au: US$2,328/oz); and 4Q24e - (Zn: US$1.21/lb, Cu: US$4.18/lb, Pb: US$0.97/lb, Ag: US$30.0/oz, Au: US$2,450/oz), versus previous 2024e - (Zn: US$1.13/lb, Cu: US$3.76/lb, Pb: US$0.95/lb, Ag: US$23.5/oz, Au: US$1,945/oz);
Updated foreign exchange rates for 2024e - (BRL/USD: 5.25 and Soles/USD: 3.74); and 4Q24e - (BRL/USD: 5.32 and Soles/USD: 3.71) versus previous 2024e - (BRL/USD: 4.90 and Soles/USD: 3.67); and
2024 zinc treatment charges ("TCs") of US$165/t concentrate versus the previous 2024e estimate of US$174/t concentrate.
Cash Cost | Cash Cost | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mining Operating costs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2024e | 2024e | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mining Cash Cost (1) | 0.23 | - | 0.42 | 0.03 | - | 0.20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cerro Lindo | (0.22 | ) | - | 0.03 | (0.56 | ) | - | (0.28) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
El Porvenir | (0.02 | ) | - | 0.25 | (0.09 | ) | - | 0.18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Atacocha | (0.27 | ) | - | (0.02) | (0.85 | ) | - | (0.59) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Vazante | 0.52 | - | 0.60 | 0.46 | - | 0.52 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Morro Agudo (2) | 0.80 | - | 1.24 | 0.93 | - | 0.93 |
(1) C1 Weighted Cash cost net of by-products credits is measured with respect to zinc sold per mine.
(2) Considers only the four months of operations from January to April 2024.
Note: Consolidated cash costs do not include Aripuanã.
Full-year cash cost guidance has been revised downward by 64% (the mid-point of the guidance range) to US$0.03-0.20/lb from the previous US$0.23-0.42/lb. This adjustment is based on year-to-date performance and forecasts of higher-than-expected LME metal prices, leading to higher by-products contribution (in both prices and volumes), as well as slightly lower TCs, positively impacting our mining segment.
In Peru, cash costs have decreased across all mines, primarily due to higher by-products contribution and slightly lower TCs.
In Brazil, the updated cash cost guidance for Vazante reflects the positive effects of higher by-products contribution (in both prices and volumes), slightly lower TCs, and the depreciation of the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar.
For Morro Agudo, as mentioned above, the sale transaction was completed on July 1, 2024, with mining activities ceasing on April 30, 2024. The year-to-date cash cost performance, reflecting only the four months of operations from January to April 2024, has been incorporated into our updated guidance.
2024 CAPEX
In line with our ongoing capital allocation strategy, we have revised our capital expenditures guidance downward by US$11 million, bringing the updated figure from US$311 million to US$300 million.
We plan to invest US$261 million in sustaining investments (unchanged vs. the previous guidance), with US$187 million allocated to mining, and US$74 million to smelting (vs. US$200 million and US$61 million, respectively, in the previous guidance).
Health, safety and environmental ("HS&E") capital expenditures are now projected at US$20 million (down from US$24 million in the prior guidance). This reduction reflects efficiency improvements. This optimization allows us to maintain our commitment to safety and environmental standards while strategically aligning expenditures across other priority areas.
Other non-expansion capital expenditures are forecasted to total US$16 million in 2024 (vs. US$21 million in the previous guidance).
CAPEX | 2024e | 2024e | ||||||
(US$ million) | Previous | Updated | ||||||
Non-Expansion | 307 | 297 | ||||||
Sustaining (1) | 261 | 261 | ||||||
HS&E | 24 | 20 | ||||||
Others (2) |