LITTLETON Aug 7, 2015 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc earnings conference call or presentation Friday, August 7, 2015 at 12:00:00pm GMT TEXT version of Transcript ================================================================================ Corporate Participants ================================================================================ * Pam Solly Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - Director of IR * Jacques Perron Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director * Pam Saxton Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO * Mark Wilson Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer ================================================================================ Conference Call Participants ================================================================================ * Brett Levy CRT Capital - Analyst * David Charles Dundee Securities Corporation - Analyst * Steve Bristo RBC Capital Markets - Analyst * Melissa Tan R.W. Pressprich - Analyst * Nathan Hickey BofA/Merrill Lynch - Analyst * Theodore Small ARN Limited - Analyst * Jorge Beristain Deutsche Bank - Analyst * Garrett Nelson BB&T Capital Markets - Analyst ================================================================================ Presentation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [1] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ladies and gentlemen, please stand by. Your conference is about to begin. Welcome to the Thompson Creek Metals Company second quarter 2015 financial results conference call and webcast. To participate in today's webcast, and access the slides that will accompany this call, please visit the Company's website under the Events Calendar for more information. This presentation has also been posted to the Investor Presentations page of the website. (Operator Instructions). As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded today, Friday, August 7th, 2015, and will be available within two hours after the call. I would now like to turn the call over to Pam Solly, Director of Investor Relations of Thompson Creek Metals Company. Please go ahead. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Solly, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - Director of IR [2] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Thompson Creek Metals Company second quarter 2015 financial results conference call. Today's call will take approximately 20 minutes, and we will then open the call for questions and answers. Before we begin, I would like to caution you that we expect to make forward-looking statements on this call. Please be aware that actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties. We refer you to our filings with the SEC and SEDAR for a discussion of factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements. During the call, we will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. We refer you to today's second quarter 2015 conference call presentation, which has been posted to our website, and furnished as an exhibit to the FORM 8-K dated August 6, 2015, for more information about these non-GAAP measures and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Unless specifically noted, all comparisons of results for the second quarter of 2015 are made against the corresponding period in 2014. Joining us on the call today will be Jacques Perron, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [3] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning. This is Jacques Perron. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Solly, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - Director of IR [4] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [5] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning, everyone. This is Pam Saxton. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Solly, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - Director of IR [6] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And Mark Wilson, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Wilson, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer [7] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning. This is Mark Wilson. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Solly, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - Director of IR [8] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'll now turn the call over to Jacques Perron. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [9] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you, Pam. Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us this morning. We will begin this morning, as we always do, with our safety performance. A core value of our Company is to live safe every day. We're pleased to report that our safety record has significantly improved from one year ago. We are proud of our all-incidents recordable rates for the second quarter of 2015 of 0.46 compared to 3.43 in the second quarter of 2014. This is directly attributable to the commitment of all our employees in regards to safety, and we want to thank all of them for their dedication. Operationally, we also experienced significantly improved performance at Mount Milligan during the second quarter, which we expect to continue for the remainder of the year. With our recent improvements in the mine and mill, together with the utilization of the temporary second crushing circuit, during the second quarter we achieved our highest quarterly daily average mill throughput to date of 44,940 tonnes, and for May and June we averaged 49,913 tonnes. For the month of July, daily mill throughput averaged 43,302 tonnes. We had scheduled and unscheduled maintenance shutdowns to the pebble crushers, ball mills, and primary crushers during the month. We also made a few adjustments to the crushing and grinding circuit. We have started the third quarter at a milling rate of about 30% higher than the second quarter, when we compare July to August. From July 26th through August 4th, throughput has averaged 52,290 tonnes per day, which supports our expectations of a better Q3 compared to Q2. As well, recoveries, steadily improved during the second quarter, averaging 85.5% for copper, and 72.7% for gold. For the quarter, we completed three shipments of copper and gold concentrate from Mount Milligan, and recorded four sales, which included one sale from a shipment in the first quarter of this year. Copper and gold sales contributed $106 million to our total revenue. Based on our expectations of continued operational improvements at Mount Milligan, as well as our cash position during the quarter, we were able to deploy capital for additional senior notes repurchases, as part of our plan to reduce our debt. During the quarter, we repurchased and retired approximately $34 million of the Company's 9-3/4% senior secured notes due December 2017. Prior to the bond repurchase in the second quarter, we generated approximately $10 million of free cash flow, and our cash balance as of June 30, was $211 million. Since December 2014, we have repurchased and retired approximately $67 million of our bonds, with future interest savings from these repurchases to maturity of approximately $22 million. Our molybdenum business contributed approximately $4 million of net cash flow and $29 million to our total revenue in the second quarter. Our primary focus remains the ramp-up of Mount Milligan mine, and we will continue to optimize the mill to sustain design recoveries, and achieve design mill throughput. Management continues to focus on addressing the challenges that come when ramping up a significant mine like Mount Milligan, and driving operational improvements to achieve our production objectives. During the second quarter, we consistently utilized a temporary secondary crushing circuit, which proved to have a significant impact on throughput. It is still our objective to achieve daily mill throughput of approximately 60,000 tonnes by year end. Although this objective had proven to be more challenging than originally anticipated, we believe it is reachable by optimizing the size of the secondary crush product and the ratio of secondary crush tonnes to fresh tonnes in the mill feed. Additionally, the installation of a second SAG discharge screen deck, which is expected to occur at the beginning of the fourth quarter, will remove a constraint to increase mill throughput. While the temporary secondary crushing circuit is not a long-term solution, given its proven success during the second quarter, it is certainly a viable option in the near to medium term, and provides us with some flexibility as we weather these volatile commodity markets. The detailed engineering work for the permanent secondary crushing circuit is substantially complete, and we estimate total CapEx for the project to be approximately $65 million to $70 million, including $15 million of cost that we expect to incur in 2015. If a decision to move forward with the construction is made in the fourth quarter of this year, we expect to be completed and commissioning to occur in the fourth quarter of 2016. Once the plant is commissioned, design daily mill throughput is expected to increase to approximately 62,500 tonnes per day. In addition to the continued ramp-up at Mount Milligan, we are committed to strengthening our balance sheet, and reduce our debt. Since the completion of Mount Milligan mine through June 30th, 2015, we have repaid and retired approximately 12% of our debt balance, or approximately $121 million, including the net repayments of our capital lease obligations. Our target is to reduce our debt over time to 3 times EBITDA for a 12-month period. We are actively working on refinancing and debt reduction opportunities. We are exploring measures to make reductions to our debt balance, and/or extend maturities of our debt and reduce interest costs in the long term. We intend to take these measures well in advance of December 2017, and intend to make public announcements with the related details when appropriate. As part of our current business strategy, we expect to maintain the optionality of our molybdenum business and transition Langeloth into one of the largest independent molybdenum conversion plants in the world. In 2015 we expect our molybdenum business will generate positive cash flow of approximately $20 million to $21 million, which includes our share of accrued severance payments at Endako mine of approximately $7 million related to the decision to put the mine on care and maintenance effective July 1st, 2015. I will now turn the call over to Pam Saxton to review the second quarter financial results. Pam? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [10] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you, Jacques. In the second quarter of 2015 we generated revenue of $134 million, operating income of $12 million, and non-GAAP EBITDA of $41 million. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss for the second quarter was $14 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, excluding non-cash foreign exchange gains related to intra-company notes, net of income tax effects. On a GAAP basis, we had net income of $0.3 million or zero per diluted share. During the first half of this year, we had total revenues of $257 million, operating income of $17 million and non-GAAP EBITDA of $68 million. Revenues and operating income decreased in the second quarter and the first half of the year, compared to the same periods in 2014, primarily the result of the lower molybdenum sales due to the suspension of production at Thompson creek and Endako mines. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss for the first half of the year was $28 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, excluding the non-cash foreign exchange losses related to intra-company notes, net of income tax effects. On a GAAP basis, we had a net loss of $87 million or $0.40 per diluted share. Cash capital expenditures for the first half of 2015 were $23 million, which were primarily related to Mount Milligan. We ended the quarter with approximately $211 million of cash, $191 million of working capital, and $898 million of debt. We have updated our guidance from our -- for our molybdenum business to reflect the placement of Endako mine on care and maintenance and our share of the related severance costs, the ceasing of stripping at our Thompson Creek mine, effective August 6th, 2015, and expected cash flow from our Langeloth facility and sales of molybdenum inventory in the second quarter -- second half of this year. For 2015, we estimate cash flow from our molybdenum business to be approximately $20 million to $21 million, as Jacques mentioned. Our copper and gold production and cost guidance remains unchanged. Please note that all of the guidance has been updated for foreign exchange rate of $1 equals CAD1.25 for the second half of this year. We also revised our 2015 capital expenditures guidance to reflect a settlement of vendor claims in connection with the construction of the Mount Milligan mine, together with the updated foreign exchange rate. Slide 20 reflects our updated 2015 EBITDA estimates, based on various copper prices. With expected cash flows at current metal prices, exchange rates, and cash on hand as of June 30th, 2015, we believe we will have sufficient liquidity to fund our planned capital expenditures, working capital needs, and scheduled debt and interest payments. As Jacques mentioned, we are actively working on refinancing and debt reduction opportunities. We intend to execute on these opportunities well in advance of our first note maturity in December 2017. Slide 21 reflects our current hedging program to provide downside price protection for 19 million pounds of copper, and 16,900 ounces of our share of the gold for July through December of 2015. During the first half of 2015, we had a gain of approximately $3.7 million from copper forward sales contracts for 12.1 million pounds, at an average hedge price of $3.04 per pound. We also have foreign exchange and fuel hedges in place. The US-Canadian exchange rate during the first half of 2015 averaged $1 equals CAD1.24. With approximately 90% of Mount Milligan's costs in Canadian dollars, the foreign exchange rate has a significant positive impact on Mount Milligan's operating margins. For illustration purposes, the U.S. dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate for the first half of 2015 had a positive impact on Mount Milligan operating costs of approximately $9 million, or a positive unit cost impact of $0.25 per pound of copper, compared to applying the average US dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate for the fourth quarter of 2015 or $1 equals CAD1.14. As you can see from the slides 23 and 24, the weakening Canadian dollar continues to support margins, and somewhat mitigates the effects of copper and gold price volatility. At this time, I will turn the presentation over to Mark Wilson, who will provide the sales summary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Wilson, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer [11] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you, Pam. Looking at our copper and gold sales for Mount Milligan in the second quarter, we completed three concentrate shipments and recorded four sales, which included one payment from a shipment in the prior quarter. In total, we sold 40,000 tonnes of concentrate containing approximately 21 million pounds of copper and nearly 58,000 ounces of gold. These four sales resulted in $49 million in sales revenue from copper at an average realized price of $2.63 per pound, and $56 million gold, with a weighted average realize price of $975 per ounce, after recognizing the sale of gold under the gold-steam arrangement with Royal Gold. For the first six months ended June 30, we completed seven concentrate shipments, and recorded all seven sales. In total, we sold 68,000 tonnes of concentrate containing approximately 36 million pounds of copper, and approximately 95,000 ounces of gold. These seven sales resulted in $82 million in sales revenue from copper at an average realized price of $2.56 per pound, and $92 million from gold, with a weighted average realized price of $979 per ounce. The average realizations we received for both copper and gold were adversely affected by declining prices over the second quarter and over the first six months of the year. Since we sell copper and gold contained in concentrate, the pricing is based on a forward price following the time when we first record the sale. So, at any point in time, we have booked provisional revenue subject to change when the pricing period is finalized. As the price changes from the end of one pricing period to another, there is an adjustment in revenue, and, thus, a change in the average realized price. For the second quarter, before any adjustments, our average realizations was $2.76 per pound for copper, and over the first six months of the year, it was $2.69 per pound. A detailed reconciliation for both copper and gold realizations is provided in the appendix to this presentation, as well as in our Form 10-Q and earnings release. For 2015, we expect to make 15 or 16 shipments of concentrate. We have scheduled five shipments for the third quarter, and expect to record all five sales in the quarter. In the second quarter, molybdenum sales totaled just over 2 million pounds, and generated $21 million in sales revenue at an average realized price of $9.23 per pound. Our sales included nearly 600,000 pounds of molybdenum produced from our mines in 2014. For the first six months of the year, molybdenum sales totaled 6.5 million pounds and generated $65 million in sales revenue at an average realized price of $9.73 per pound. Out of this total, 3.1 million pounds were from our mine production in 2014. Since the beginning of this year, we have emphasized our tolling business at our land-locked facilities for converting molybdenum concentrate to oxide, and also to convert molybdenum oxide to feral molybdenum for customers that deliver concentrate to our plant. Sales revenue, primarily from tolling contracts, generated $8 million and $20 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015. We see this business growing over time. Lastly, I would like to make a few comments regarding the copper market. We saw nearly a 9% decline in pricing in July, and a 17% decline over the first seventh months of the year. Pricing weakness for copper has followed a significant decline in all commodity prices over the same period, especially in the price of oil. Although there are a number of near-term headwinds for the price improvement, namely the strength of the US dollar, the lack of growth in Europe, and some developing countries, and, more recently, the realization of China's slowing economic growth, nevertheless, the fundamental elements to the overall copper market are unchanged as we look forward over the next three to five years. Economic growth is returning to the developed economies and demand growth in emerging markets, especially China, are expected to remain at very healthy levels when looked at in terms of total copper consumed. Moreover, current pricing weakness only further delays the time when substantial new supply is likely to come to market. So, we remain quite positive in the pricing outlook for copper, as we look forward over the next several years. And with that, I would like to turn the presentation back over to Jacques. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [12] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you, Mark. During the second quarter, Mount Milligan had payable copper production of approximately 20 million pounds, with a cash cost on a byproduct basis of $0.40 per pound, and on a co-product basis of $1.55 per pound. As shown at the bottom of slide 31, copper recovery improved significantly quarter over quarter and averaged 85.5%. Payable gold production for the second quarter was approximately 60,000 ounces with a cash cost on a co-product basis of $434 per ounce. Quarter over quarter, gold recovery has also improved, and averaged 72.7%. Payable copper production for the first half of the year was approximately 37 million pounds, with a cash cost on a byproduct basis of $0.75 per pound and on a co-product basis of $1.60. Payable gold production for the first half of the year was approximately 106,000 ounces with a cash cost on a co-product basis of $466 per ounce. For the first half of the year, recoveries averaged 82.5% for copper and 70% for gold. We are particularly pleased with the progress our team has made with a significant increase in recoveries. The adjustments and improvements made during the second quarter have produced excellent results. We will continue to focus on additional improvements in the second half of 2015. As stated earlier and shown on slide 33, we are continuing to make operational improvements at Mount Milligan. With these improvements and the utilization of the temporary secondary crushing circuit, we expect to positively impact throughout and recoveries to steadily improve production at Mount Milligan over the course of the remainder of the year. In closing, I would like to leave you with a few messages. Although these are challenging times in the mining industry, and metal prices remain volatile, we believe we are favorably positioned to weather the storm. Our cash position at June 30 was $211 million. With 90% of Mount Milligan's operating costs in Canadian dollars, the weakening Canadian dollar supports margins and provides a mitigating effect on copper and gold pricing volatility. Our 2015 unit cash cost guidance on a byproduct basis, which is estimated to be $0.70 to $0.90 per pound of copper produced, assuming an exchange rate of $1 equals CAD1.25, is much lower than many other copper producers around the world, and sets us apart from many of our peers. The other members of management and I remain confident in our ability to execute our current business strategy, which includes completing the ramp-up of Mount Milligan mine by year-end 2015, executing a debt refinancing and reduction plan well in advance of the first maturity date of our bonds, containing costs throughout the Company, and maintaining the optionality of our molybdenum business with expected positive cash flow from Langeloth in 2015 and beyond. Thank you, again, for joining us today. I will now open the call for questions. Operator, please review the instructions. ================================================================================ Questions and Answers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [1] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you. (Operator Instructions). And your first question comes from Brett Levy with CRT Capital. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett Levy, CRT Capital - Analyst [2] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, Jacques, Pam, Pam, and Mark, good quarter. Impressed that you're guiding on five shipments to an even better third quarter. Obviously, you're hitting you marks production-wise. I wanted to revisit the statement about 3 times leverage in a 12-month period. Is that going to be the next 12 months? Do you define your streaming agreements with Royal Gold as part of your debt structure or not? And then, I guess my thought is that, given you're kind of guiding to slightly north of $100 million EBITDA kind of at current prices, how do you do that? Would that be an asset sale included? Would that be increased gold streaming? Sale of the -- is it -- when you look at the Company now, even with your impressive debt repurchases, it's hard to get from 8 to 9 times leverage to 3 times leverage in a 12-month period. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [3] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning, Brett. Thank you for the question. First of all, with regards to your second question on the gold stream, we do not consider the gold stream as debt. It's shown on our balance sheet as deferred revenue. So, that is not included in the debt balance. With regards to our target of 3 times EBITDA, that -- maybe there's a little confusion over the 12 months. What we're talking about is EBITDA for a 12-month period, the last 12 months. That is our target to get to that level. And so, as we move forward, as you clearly point out, we are looking at various options of monetizing assets, different things that we could do to reduce that debt level, in addition to our operating cash flow. So, that is a long-term target to get to that level. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett Levy, CRT Capital - Analyst [4] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And the new 12 months is not the next 12 months, it's just a 12-month period somewhere in advance of the late 2017 maturity of the first note issue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [5] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's exactly right. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett Levy, CRT Capital - Analyst [6] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay. That's a good thing. All right, and then, you said something about wanting to significantly increase the throughput at Langeloth. Can you talk about what strategic initiatives are potentially out there to do that? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Wilson, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer [7] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes. This is Mark Wilson. This year we expect to have roughly 26 million pounds of roasting there, of which none will come from our own mine. So, versus last year, when we had about 10 million pounds, between 8 million and 10 million pounds of third-party material, we've increased it quite substantially and I think rather successfully, in a reasonably brief period of time. Because it was only in November that we made the decision to shut down Endako. And, going forward, we anticipate that next year we'll be able to get in excess of 30 million pounds, and then the year following we expect to be at full capacity, which is approximately 36 million pounds. We're able to source materials from North and South America at our facility. Despite its age, we've put a lot of investment. It's quite efficient, and it's well located for the end market. So, even though molybdenum travels a long way to get here, it doesn't, then, have to travel far to the consumer. So, it's not really location disadvantaged to bring in -- to import materials. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett Levy, CRT Capital - Analyst [8] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And also, you've got a lot of steel mills in the Midwest. So, that's probably good, as well. Last question, and then I'll get back in the queue. You've got two mines on care and maintenance. They may have option value to someone other than yourselves. Does there seem to be any interest in, perhaps, somebody else taking over running these mines, or is it something that you look as a long -- you look at as a longer-term asset? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [9] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett, this is Jacques. I think if you look at the business in general, and not only the moly business, but the mining industry in general right now, there's not a lot of people excited about the moly price where it is, and there's some people that might be interested to consider our moly assets, but I would say it's very limited at this point due to the weak, very weak, molybdenum price. That could change very fast. We saw a significant decline in the price from -- between last summer and this summer. Depending on market conditions, we may see more or less interest, but right now it's -- I would say it's on the quiet side of things. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brett Levy, CRT Capital - Analyst [10] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks very much. Back in queue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [11] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from David Charles with Dundee Capital Markets. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Charles, Dundee Securities Corporation - Analyst [12] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, good morning, everyone. I suppose the question I have is similar to the last gentleman. I'm just wondering how you reconcile your need to refinance the debt with your indication in your presentation that you would look to spend somewhere between $65 million and $70 million on the permanent secondary crusher at Mount Milligan. I understand how the value of this, but I'm just wondering how sort of will you manage that new CapEx? And maybe if you could, could just give me a heads up as how much of the Canadian dollar have you got hedged for the second half of the year? I mean, I know you have some Canadian dollar hedges, but you said that you'd give your numbers at CAD1.25 to $1. I'm wondering is that fixed for the second half, or is there still upside on those (inaudible) numbers to further weakening in the Canadian dollar? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [13] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning, David. Thank you for the question. The first part of -- I'll answer the first part of your question and Pam can talk about the hedging. In regards to the capital required for the secondary crusher, the permanent plan, as we mentioned, we have not made the decision yet to go ahead, and basically, what we've done this year is we kept our options open. So, we had made the decision last year that we would do the detail engineering and we completed that. It's substantially complete. A bit earlier this year we made the decision to go ahead with the dirt work and the concrete work at site. So, we're currently moving some dirt and preparing for a concrete foundation. And by doing that, it leaves all the doors open. So, we still have time to evaluate how the temporary crushing circuit is performing, which has been very good, I have to say, in the second quarter. The plant is providing us the tonnage that we want to have. The quality of the product that we from the temporary plant is excellent, and we've seen significant improvement to our throughput by the addition of the secondary crush material. What we continue to do in the third quarter is continue to see how the plant is performing. We're currently doing different tasks to see what is the best size, volume of production coming out of the plant, to maximize our throughput. We're monitoring closely the reliability of the plant, and at the same time, we're monitoring our cash balance. We're monitoring the metal prices, and we have -- our internal plan is at the beginning of fourth quarter to make a decision if we're going to go with the construction, or not, of the plant in the next 12 months. We still have the option to decide -- to make the decision to go ahead, which would cause us to spend, on top of what we're going to spend this year, approximately $50 million to $55 million next year to complete the construction of the plant. Or, if the temporary plant is doing its job, and providing us with good value, we may decide, depending on metal prices, and, again, cash position, to delay the construction of the plant. When we do the math and we look at the cost of the plant, and the operating cost of the temporary plant, it's definitely a good financial decision to go ahead with the construction. It makes financial sense, but one has to have the financial ability to support that decision, and if the markets are -- and the prices are weak, and we don't see that -- if we think it's too much of a risk for us to go ahead with the construction at this time, we may make the decision to delay. So, we haven't made that decision yet, but, again, we have all the options open and we're going to make the decision at the beginning of the fourth quarter. So, I'll let Pam answer your question about hedging. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [14] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, good morning, David. We have in place, as of the date of this report, it's CAD80 million at an exchange rate of CAD1.28, and that's for the period of August 15th through February 16th. So, as you look at the remainder of the year, and that also includes our costs up at Endako, that's about 50%, 60% hedge on our Canadian dollar costs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Charles, Dundee Securities Corporation - Analyst [15] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you very much. That's a great help. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [16] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from Steve Bristo with RBC. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Bristo, RBC Capital Markets - Analyst [17] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes. Thanks for taking my question. I just wanted to come back to the severance. You guys had $7 million of severance at Endako this quarter. I know original guidance was for $10 million to $12 million if that went on care and maintenance. So, I wonder if we can expect more severance or is that $7 million all the severance you're now going to have at Endako? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [18] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That really is the bulk of the severance. There's a small amount that may be made in the third quarter, but that's the bulk of the severance. So, when we were doing those estimates, those were estimated at the time based on who the individuals that were involved and all of that, and so -- and, plus, certainly the exchange rate helped us on that, also, in terms of making the dollar amount come down. So, you can assume the $7 million is good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Bristo, RBC Capital Markets - Analyst [19] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, thanks. And then, just one other question I had. Can you share with us how much mine material inventory is still left to be sold? I had calculated about 1.1 million pounds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Wilson, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer [20] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, this is Mark Wilson. It's just shy of 1 million, about 950,000 pounds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Bristo, RBC Capital Markets - Analyst [21] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, perfect. Thanks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [22] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from Melissa Tan with [W.R.] Pressprich. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Melissa Tan, R.W. Pressprich - Analyst [23] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. First question is I know there's a lot of focus on your production throughput, and I'd just to focus a little bit more on your ore grade and recovery rate, because technically speaking, the grade and the recovery rate also affect your ultimate production numbers for the quarter and for the year. So, just if you can give more color and detail in terms of how comfortable with the improving ore grade and recovery rate in the second half? Because looking at your historical numbers, there have been quarters where your throughput increased, but your copper, for example, ore grade and recovery rate actually didn't increase sequentially. Thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [24] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning. That's a very good question. Ore grades in the second half of the year are expected to be similar to -- on average, there's going to be ups and downs, but on average similar to what we experienced in the first half of the year. So, 0.25%, 0.26% copper, and then the 0.5 gram per tonne of gold. We expect recoveries to continue to slightly increase in the second half. What we -- at Mount Milligan, we have areas in the pit, the near surface, that are weathered areas, weathered material or oxide ore. We are going to have more oxide material fed into the mill in the third quarter than we -- than what we experienced in the first quarter. So, that's going to have an impact on throughput, a positive impact on throughput, but it will have, also, a slight negative impact on recoveries. So, we expect our recoveries to be somewhat similar, or maybe a little lower, in the third quarter than what we experienced in the second quarter, but back to where in the second quarter and slightly higher in the fourth quarter. So, that's -- that's what's going to happen. In the beginning of the fourth quarter, as we indicated, we're going to be installing a second screen deck, and that second screen deck will be installed at the same time that we're doing a major ball mill and SAG reline. So, we're going to have significant downtime for the ball mills and SAG mill reline, and the screen deck installation at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which will impact our throughput at that time. But we expect to come out strong after the screen -- the second screen deck is installed, and have a good end of the year, as far as throughput is concerned. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Melissa Tan, R.W. Pressprich - Analyst [25] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you very much for the detail. I'd just like to confirm, you said that ore grade for gold you're expecting was it close to 60% or 50, or 0.6 or 0.5? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [26] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.5 gram per tonne. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Melissa Tan, R.W. Pressprich - Analyst [27] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, 0.5 gram. Okay, thank you. And the next question has to do with you talked about you're still waiting on the full engineering report on Mount Milligan. I'd just like to know what the status on that, in terms of your decision for the permanent secondary crusher. You mentioned it's early 4Q. And also you talked about you want to make the decision to possibly re-fi the senior secured note before the call date, which is also in December, 4Q. Would the decision for these two -- is it one or the other, or you could do both? Thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [28] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just to clarify, the secondary -- the permanent plant, we want to make the decision to go ahead this fourth quarter, so Q4 2015. The first maturity date for our bonds, our first bond to mature is fourth quarter 2017, and the first call date is this December. So, the decision to go ahead with the crusher or the decision to do something with the bonds, it's somewhat related, but at the same time, somewhat non-related. They're two different decisions. As far as the permanent plant, as I mentioned, the engineering is substantially complete. So, we're over 90% complete. The only thing we're waiting is to see how the temporary plant is performing in the third quarter, and what are the financial conditions, the metal prices, before making our financial decision to go ahead or not with the construction of the permanent plant. As far as the debt is concerned, as we pointed out, we want to continue -- be very active at looking at different alternatives, and it is our intent to complete and have a plan for the debt refinancing well in advance of our 2017 maturity date. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Melissa Tan, R.W. Pressprich - Analyst [29] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you. And just lastly, what is your current secured debt capacity since you bought back some senior notes this quarter, or during second quarter? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [30] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, our -- good morning. This is Pam. So, our current debt capacity, we can go up to $350 million on our secured notes. Right now, we're at $314 million. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Melissa Tan, R.W. Pressprich - Analyst [31] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I appreciate it. Thank you very much. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [32] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from Matthew Fields with Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Hickey, BofA/Merrill Lynch - Analyst [33] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning, guys. This is Nathan Hickey, filling in for Matt Fields. Thanks for taking my question. First off, I just had a quick question. How much does the new screen deck cost that you guys are installing in the fourth quarter? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [34] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's -- as we mentioned before, it's a $3 million project. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Hickey, BofA/Merrill Lynch - Analyst [35] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $3 million. Okay, great. And then, also, so, how much does the secondary crusher, how much does that reduce your milling costs? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [36] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Compared to what we're currently -- the temporary crushing plant, when we look at the crushing costs, and the rehandling of the material, it's about $5 per tonne crushed. And our feed rate in the second quarter was 18% of the total material. So, if you do the math, it's about, on per tonne milled, it's about 20 -- about $1 per tonne milled for the temporary crushing plant. We expect the permanent crushing plant to come out at about $0.20 per tonne milled. So, that gives you, an idea of the reduction in cost for -- of the temporary plant compared to the permanent plant. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Hickey, BofA/Merrill Lynch - Analyst [37] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, great. Thank you. And then finally, last question, what kind of margins do you guys get on the roasting of third-party moly? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Wilson, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer [38] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Actually, for competitive reasons, we don't divulge that sort of information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Hickey, BofA/Merrill Lynch - Analyst [39] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay. All right, got you. I'll jump back in queue. Thank you guys very much. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [40] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from [Theodore Small] from [ARN Limited]. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Theodore Small, ARN Limited - Analyst [41] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning. First of all, I'd like to commend you on your safety record. Of course, that's of priceless importance to the worker's family, but it's also in the shareholder's interest. My question is regarding the note repurchase of 2017 that you announced on July 13th and also reiterated in the press release. Originally, when you disclosed that on July 13th, we were happy to see it. Not so happy about the prices that were paid, so, we looked at the trade data available through FINRA, could not locate it, so made the assumption that it was done in private transactions, which you confirmed in your press release within the last 24 hours. Have you disclosed who the parties are that you made those transactions with? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [42] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. We have not disclosed. As you clearly know, it was a private -- privately negotiated transaction. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Theodore Small, ARN Limited - Analyst [43] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Right. But that doesn't mean that it's not of interest to the shareholders to know who was on the other side of the transaction. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [44] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, that's information that is not for the general public. So, we -- that's confidential transaction between us and the buyers, and not something we're going to disclose. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Theodore Small, ARN Limited - Analyst [45] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay. Let me ask you this. You indicated in the past that your policy, which we, again, welcome, was to be opportunistic in the repurchase of debt. "Opportunistic" is a qualitative word, rather than a quantitative one. However, one would normally assume that opportunistic, that is, for the buyers, would be at a price below market price or below par, or no worse than market price, and no higher, certainly, than other alternatives, which would be, for instance, your call price, your first call price in December of this year, and also, considering the fact of -- that you have other issues, that is, 2018 and 2019, the unsecured debt, which trades at big discounts, which you indicated that you are not restricted. So, the question is, how do you rationalize the paying of in excess of 107-plus for this tranche of debt, which is now trading below par, and, you know, given your own assessments on the metals market, et cetera, and these other alternatives? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [46] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, as we -- at the time that we were approached, this reverse inquiry, coming into it, it was a very large block of the secured notes, and, as we had in our press release, at the timing of the purchase, when you include the interest savings, then what we paid for those bonds, it was less than what the call price is of 1.04 coming in December of 2015. And so, given the large size of it, plus the interest savings, plus being below the call price that's coming up in December, as we assessed it, we thought it was a good transaction for us to do, as we look at our entire debt structure and capital structure, and as we work through this to refinance our balance sheet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Theodore Small, ARN Limited - Analyst [47] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay. So, are you considering having bids in on the open market at the lower end of pricing, and waiting for them to be hit by customers? Have you repurchased any more debt? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [48] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's something we're not going to disclose at this time, and our strategy remains a confidential strategy. We're not going to open up our kimono just yet, because we want to take advantage of a situation, so this is not something we're prepared to discuss. So, thank you for your questions, and we'll let some time for others to ask questions now. Thank you and have a good day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [49] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from (inaudible) with Brookfield. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unidentified Participant [50] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi. How are you doing? I was actually going to ask a question about the buy-backs, but given -- given the length of that question, I'll just make it more brief. Just really briefly, given that you were buying back your secured bonds at 107 before, and that you had bought back unsecured bonds in the past, I'm surprised to find out that you didn't do any buybacks in the past few weeks. So, I was just wondering if you could just give maybe a little bit more thought -- a little bit more of your thought process on that? And I have one more follow-up, please. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [51] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sure. In the past few weeks, as you clearly know, commodity prices have declined dramatically, as Mark talked in the earnings call. And so, we -- as we look at bond buyback repurchases, while there's opportunities there, we continue to assess our cash needs, our working capital needs, and we it's something that we continue to monitor on -- honestly, on a daily basis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unidentified Participant [52] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, fair enough. And a question on -- as you continue to evaluate your refinancing options, one thing that we noticed is that the M&A market seems to be valuing assets, companies, however you want to call it, on a pretty decent premium to spot, just based on the recent Barrick transaction. So, I'm curious to get your thoughts on that, as well as wondering if, as you're looking for financing opportunities if the potential finance providers are also valuing or looking at your Company on a forward price versus the more punitive spot market? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [53] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We're -- first, if you want my comment, I'm not familiar with the Barrick transaction, so, I wouldn't make any comment on that one. As far as valuation from other companies, I guess, we would have -- you would have to ask other companies how they see it, because it's -- we're not going to make comments on how they see our business. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unidentified Participant [54] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, thanks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [55] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from Jorge Beristain with Deutsche Bank. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jorge Beristain, Deutsche Bank - Analyst [56] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, good morning, guys. I guess my first question is, maybe, for Mark. If you could just talk about it looks like the third-party tolling business for moly is really looking quite good, and you would not comment earlier on the cash margins, but could you comment if it's logical to expect that with the increase in volumes that you're expecting in the next two to three years, a sort of linear relationship in improved EBITDA there? Or is there going to be the possibility of even better profitability there, as you sort of fill the mill, or, better put, fill the roaster with tonnes that maybe have better margins, or pounds, thanks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Wilson, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer [57] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes. Good morning, Jorge. Thank you for your interest. The -- it's not linear, the profitability increases with volume. So, we do get a benefit for the last 10 million pounds of throughput that's disproportionate to the first 26 million that we have at the moment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jorge Beristain, Deutsche Bank - Analyst [58] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great. Just a question on the roaster, in terms of remediation. Has that site been totally reserved and I just don't know what kind of further life it has ahead of it, but in the event that you come down to a shutdown, eventually, of that roaster, has that been fully reserved on your balance sheet? Do you know what the rough sort of remediation costs for that site would be? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Wilson, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer [59] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And despite the fact that it's been in operation for nearly 80 years, we really have no environmental cleanup that we're responsible for there, so, there is no reserve. And in terms of its life, we've invested quite substantially in the last 10 years at the site, and we're fully anticipating another 80 years of life still there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jorge Beristain, Deutsche Bank - Analyst [60] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay. And then, my last question, maybe for Jacques. Jacques, could you just -- obviously, you have the numbers on a per-tonne basis of the potential savings of doing the crusher versus the temporary crushing you're doing. Could you just give it to us on a dollar or a per pound basis? I think, rough numbers, you're looking at investing around $50 million, 5-0, if you were to do a crusher. Are you looking -- a permanent crusher. Are you looking at a one-year payback on that? Is it two years? Or could you just dimension it on a cents per pound basis in terms of potential savings? Thanks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [61] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning, Jorge. I would have a hard time to give you a number on a per tonne basis, a per pound basis. I haven't done the math that way, but we can probably get you the information after the call. But on the per tonne basis, as I pointed out, we go from about $5 a tonne crushed, so about 20% -- at a 20% ratio to $1 per tonne on total tonnes, milled, for the temporary plant, and we would reduce to about $0.20 per tonne, milled, with the permanent plant. Now that being said, you're right, if -- we're going to invest about $15 million this year, and next year we would have to add, to invest, another $50 million for building the plant next year. Or it would be the same $50 million if we built it later. And, based on our calculations so far, we expect the plant to pay itself by the savings that we get from the crushing cost, in less than two years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jorge Beristain, Deutsche Bank - Analyst [62] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Got it. So, less than a two-year payback. Okay, that's what I was after. Thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [63] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from Garrett Nelson with BB&T Capital Markets. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Nelson, BB&T Capital Markets - Analyst [64] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, good morning. Just to clarify on your leverage ratio goal of 3 times, is that total debt to EBITDA or net debt to EBITDA? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pam Saxton, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and CFO [65] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is total debt to EBITDA. That's our goal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Nelson, BB&T Capital Markets - Analyst [66] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, great. And then, last month you received a continued listing standard notice from NYC. Do you plan to take action to avoid delisting, if necessary, perhaps a reverse split or something of that nature? Are you content with just having the Toronto listing? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [67] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We -- no, we continue to believe that our share price is currently depressed, and as we continue to ramp up and achieve our objectives at Mount Milligan, and come up with solutions for the debt solution, we believe that we will experience a re-rating due to removing uncertainties about our future. So, those are, I would say, for us, the main actions. We'll continue to focus on making sure that Mount Milligan continues to progress, and come up to -- with good solutions to our debt situation. We believe with that, that we will be able to improve the perception out there and the confidence from the market in what we're going to achieve in the future, and that is our main, I would say, main plan to address the situation with the New York Stock Exchange. Now, that being said, we're going to -- our shares are going to continue to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and if, for whatever reason, we don't meet the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, we'll look at other options to list our shares in the US. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Nelson, BB&T Capital Markets - Analyst [68] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay. Best of luck. Thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [69] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from David Charles with Dundee Capital Markets. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Charles, Dundee Securities Corporation - Analyst [70] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, just one quick question. I was just wondering, the $13 million to Terrain Metals that you paid in the quarter for Mount Milligan, can you just give some color on exactly what that was, and what it was related to, please? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [71] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think you're referring to the $13 -- is it 1-3, David, that you're talking about, or 3-0? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Charles, Dundee Securities Corporation - Analyst [72] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, I apologize for my accent. It's 1-3. It's the vendor cost that you mentioned this quarter? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [73] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes. Don't apologize for your accent, David. I think it's pretty good. I -- the $1-3 million that we paid for vendor claim, when the construction at Mount Milligan was completed, and after all the wrap-up was done, a few vendors had claims for extra costs. They claimed that they were impacted by some delays and construction issues, and what-not, and we had been in discussions with some vendors for some time, and in the last month, we were able to blitz the discussions, and we were able to finalize all these old claims that came out of the construction at Mount Milligan. So, we paid the construction company, two construction companies, and now all the claims are resolved and out of the picture. So, that's the end of the -- that's the full end of the construction of the Mount Milligan project. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Charles, Dundee Securities Corporation - Analyst [74] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All right. Thank you very much. That's excellent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [75] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And your next question comes from Steve Bristo with RBC. Your line is now open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Bristo, RBC Capital Markets - Analyst [76] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes. Thanks for taking my question. I just had a follow-up on talking about the tolling and calcine business. I noticed that revenues from that were down quite a bit this quarter versus last quarter. I just wonder if you can provide some commentary on that, please? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Wilson, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - EVP and Chief Commercial Officer [77] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, we had a substantial amount of volume for the first quarter, relative to the second quarter. In the second quarter, the deliveries -- there's -- our tolling business, there are flexible delivery options for some of our customers and the volumes that were delivered in the second quarter was down versus the first quarter, as a result of lower molybdenum production. And we see it being up over the second half of the year versus the second quarter, but, perhaps, not at the level that we experienced in the first quarter. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Bristo, RBC Capital Markets - Analyst [78] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [79] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And we have no further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the call back over to Jacques Perron. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacques Perron, Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. - President, CEO, and Director [80] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you. Well, thank you, everyone, for listening and asking your all good, very good questions, during the call. As we mentioned earlier, we're monitoring the metal prices carefully, and at the same time focusing our efforts on the continued improvement at Mount Milligan. We expect to experience a good third quarter, better than the second quarter, and we'll be very happy to report our results next time we talk with you guys. So, have a very good weekend, and be safe. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operator [81] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.
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