Evolution Mining Ltd

ASX:EVN

Earnings Call Transcript 2019-Q3

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Evolution Mining March 2019 Quarter Results Teleconference. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded today, Wednesday, April 17, 2019.I would now like to hand the conference over to your host today, Mr. Bryan O'Hara, General Manager, Investor Relations. Thank you, sir. Please go ahead.

[Bryan O'Hara, General Manager of Investor Relations]

Thanks, Sean. Good morning, and welcome to the Evolution Mining March 2019 Quarterly Conference Call. This morning on the call, we have Jake Klein, the Executive Chairman; Lawrie Conway, CFO and Finance Director; Bob Fulker, COO; Glen Masterman, VP Discovery and Business Development. And Glen is dialing in from on-site at Cowal this morning.The Australian gold mines have enjoyed a record-high gold price in the March quarter, with the Australian dollar gold price averaging AUD 1,831 per ounce. With all-in sustaining cost declining to AUD 925 or below USD 660 an ounce, Evolution experienced strong cash margin expansion during the quarter and remains one of the lowest-cost gold producers in the world.This morning's release of our Annual Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement also demonstrates that we continue to capture the exciting potential of Cowal as we work towards ramping up production to transform this asset into a 300,000 ounce per annum producer in the coming years.On the [ IR ] front, we're looking forward to catching up with investors over the coming months with marketing in Sydney post today's results, attending the Macquarie conference in Sydney in early May and the Bank of America global minerals and mining conference in Barcelona in mid-May.Thank you, and I'll hand you over to Jake.

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Thanks, Bryan, and thank you, everyone, for joining us.I thought it'd be useful to provide a few context-setting remarks before handing over to Bob, Glen and Lawrie who'll provide you with some more detail.Starting with this morning's release of our annual statement of resource and reserves, which is the foundation and determinant of the quality of any gold company, I'm very pleased that we have been able to add both resources and reserves even after accounting for depletion of 902,000 ounces in the 12 months to 31 December 2018.You will note that we continue to use a very conservative gold price of AUD 1,350 to calculate our reserves, which, alongside St. Barbara, is the lowest gold price assumption used by any ASX-listed gold company.Cowal is clearly proving to be a world-class asset. When we acquired this fantastic operation almost 4 years ago, Cowal had 1.6 million ounce in reserves and a mine life out to 2024. Mining was due to stop next year in 2020 and then processing low-grade stockpiles.Today, Cowal is almost 3.9 million ounces in reserves. That means we've added 2.3 million ounces to reserves after producing 942,000 ounces of low-cost gold. We are tracking well towards our target of making Cowal a 300,000-ounce-plus per annum producer, and Glen will also highlight that we continue to get some very exciting results outside of these newly defined resources pointing to significantly more upside at this asset.Recognizing the value that will be created by extending reserves and mine life at Ernest Henry, we're excited that later this year, Glencore will be drilling below the current reserves at this exceptional asset.At Mungari, we have a large resource base of 2.5 million ounces at 1.58 grams per tonne. We have consistently said that Mungari needs a higher grade source of feed, which we're exploring aggressively for, and I am pleased we have had some success at the drilling below the current Frog's Leg resource.In March, we also took the opportunity to acquire a 19.9% interest in Tribune Resources, which, along with Rand, the company which it has a controlling interest in, owns 49.9% of the East Kundana joint venture, which is an operation that has the highest-grade reserves in the area at around 6 grams per tonne and is situated alongside our Mungari mine.Operationally, at the end of the third quarter, we are where we planned to be, both from a production and cost perspective, a consistent quarter where we produced 175,000 ounces and generated net mine cash flow of $108 million. We've paid our 12th consecutive dividend in March, $0.035 fully franked.All operations performed in line or better than planned with the exception of Mungari that was slower than we anticipated of accessing higher grade from the Mist ore body. It's worth noting that Mt Carlton and Ernest Henry did exceptionally well at managing through significant flooding events and delivered outstanding results this quarter.We expect to end the year with a very strong June quarter, producing 190,000 to 195,000 ounces of very low-cost gold, which we expect will result in us again delivering to our full year cost and production guidance.With that, I'll hand over to Bob for some further detail.

[Robert Stanley Fulker, Chief Operating Officer]

Thanks, Jake, and good morning, everyone. I plan on speaking predominantly on an operational update as Glen will cover the MRR -- MROR release and the exceptional exploration success at Cowal.This quarter, we saw a slight increase in recordable injuries. All sites are sustaining their effort in implementing behavioral safety initiatives to improve in this area.The March quarter production was just under 176,000 ounces at a reducing all-in sustaining cost of $925 an ounce. Group mine operating cash flow was $168 million. Production was slightly lower than anticipated, but the full year guidance remained sound for both ounce and cost.Cowal delivered a sound quarter, producing 64,100 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,000 an ounce. And it also had processed 1.9 million tonnes. During the quarter, the plant achieved a record plant throughput rate of 1,100 tonnes per operating hour. The Float Tails Leach is now commissioned and delivering recovery improvements, 4.6% in the month of March. Cowal's operating mine cash flow increased to $51.8 million.Other highlights of Cowal for the quarter were the release of the December 2018 MROR, which has significantly increased the underground resources to 1.4 million ounces. This is in the GRE46 region and the exploration success story of Dalwhinnie. And lastly, the portal was cut for the exploration decline ahead of schedule, another building block on the pathway to 300,000.Mungari has been working through their underground issues. They delivered just shy of 25,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,521 an ounce and a mine operating cash flow of $10.4 million. The plant throughput was affected at the end of the quarter with an unplanned crusher bearing failure.The Frog's Leg Underground production from Mist is now back on track for a significantly higher contribution to the production in Q4. White Foil continues to deliver a reducing strip ratio as it enters the harvesting period of production. Mt Carlton delivered 26,000 ounces at a reduced all-in sustaining cost of $643 an ounce and a mine operating cash flow of $22.5 million.During the quarter, we experienced extreme weather, which affected our ability to both mine and treat at optimum rates. Our team controlled the site well during this period, resulting in minimal impact on production with a focus on the safety of our people. Guidance in the underground development both remain on track.Mt Rawdon produced 20,100 ounces at a reducing all-in sustaining cost of $1,316 an ounce and a mine operating cash flow of $9.8 million. Mt Rawdon remains on track to meet the FY '19 guidance with access to the high-grade ore in Stage 4 reestablished for the June quarter.Cracow produced 18,200 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,310 an ounce and a mine operating cash flow of $13.2 million. The quarter's ounces were -- sorry, the quarter's ounce production was affected by the slight reduction in grade due to scheduled mining blocks and an increase in dilution in a couple of stopes.Ernest Henry produced 22,400 ounces at a negative all-in sustaining cost of $510 an ounce. Mine operating cash flow continued to be very strong at $60.6 million. The mine and mill production were both affected by weather during the quarter but will remain in line with plan.In summary, the quarter's ounce production has set us up to deliver on full year guidance. We reduced our all-in sustaining cost due to cost control. The MROR, which Glen will speak about, is also another great result.Thank you for your time, and I'll hand over to Glen.

[Glenton J. Masterman]

Thank you, Bob, and good morning, everyone.Very pleasingly, in this morning's MROR update, we increased resources by 480,000 ounces to 14.7 million ounces, and reserves grew by 410,000 ounces to obtain a total aggregate of 7.5 million ounces in the proven and probable categories. We achieved this growth mainly due to drilling programs at Cowal, which led to the discovery of the Dalwhinnie mineralization and expansion of the GRE46 underground resource. Comparing year-over-year results on a like-for-like basis, the average grade of gold mineralization in the underground resource improved by 1.4 grams to 4.52 grams per tonne. The resources reported about a 3-gram cutoff grade. This information is outlined in the table at the bottom of Page 4 of this morning's MROR release.This year, we are reporting the underground resource at a 2-gram per tonne cutoff grade to reflect high confidence in our understanding of the geologic controls on gold distribution. As a result, we've added over 800,000 ounces of inferred resource to bring the total to 1.4 million ounces, grading 3.24 grams per tonne.The resource grade is a slight improvement on what we reported last year despite application of a lower cutoff grade in this year's results. The grade improvement reflects the strong contribution of high grade from the Dalwhinnie mineralization.Reserve grade was predominantly driven by Cowal where 830,000 ounces were converted to reserve following completion of studies on an In-Wall Ramp at E42 along with Banda open-pit conversions at E41, E46 and the Galway-Regal.Drilling results released this morning on page 10 of the quarterly report reinforce our belief in continuing to grow resources along the GRE46, Dalwhinnie corridor at Cowal. Results were received well after completion of our MROR update, and will further add to the resource story. We have initiated an aggressive drilling program, which will see another 2 diamond rigs added to the surface campaign over the next several weeks, bringing the total number of drill rigs to 4. Surface drilling will guide and complement the underground infill program, which we expect will get underway late in the June quarter.We also released results from hole 355, which encountered several well mineralized intervals below the east wall of the E42 pit. This is shown in figure 1 on page 11 of the quarterly report. We don't yet fully understand the significance of these results, but they illustrate the large size potential of the Cowal mineral system.Switching now to Mungari. Drilling below the Frog's Leg ore body from the Banjo decline has indicated that the structure is mineralized at depths 350 to 400 meters below the lowest development levels. Encouraging results outlined on page 13 at this morning's report highlight mineralization in 2 holes drilled approximately 200 meters apart. Further drilling is underway to determine if mineralization at these depths can develop into a target of sufficient size and grade to justify development to these depths.Drilling was completed at Scottish Archer during the quarter, and results indicated the zone of high grade has a limited strike length not more than 200 meters. We're currently modeling the resource with the outcome to inform what further work may be warranted. All in all, our MROR and the new drilling results reported this morning reflect the excellent work our technical teams are doing to identify unrealized opportunities across our sites. Pleasingly, our patient and disciplined investment are starting to be rewarded, with the discovery chain delivering into our organic growth aspirations. This is well and truly highlighted by discovery of the Dalwhinnie mineralization at Cowal.With that, I'll hand over to Lawrie.

[Lawrence John Conway, Finance Director, CFO & Director]

Thank you, Glen, and good morning, everyone.Today, I'll cover off of the financial performance for the March quarter and the summary of the financials on pages 8 and 9 of the report. The financial performance for the quarter was in line with expectation and sets itself well to finish the year. Our all-in sustaining cost reduced to $925 per ounce, which was down by $48 per ounce or 5% from the December quarter of $973 per ounce.We remain on track to finish the year around the top end of guidance of $900 per ounce. This would require our sites to deliver on both production and cost targets for the June quarter. However, the confidence is provided due to the performance in the month of March where our group all-in sustaining cost was $878 per ounce.Mine operating cash flow was strong at a $168 million. This was lower than the December quarter due mainly to the signing of sales. In the December quarter, we sold more than we produced, while in the March quarter, we produced more than we sold. Outside the 6,000 lower ounces production, the balance is timing. Offsetting this was higher metal prices.The operations maintained their consistency with our all net cash positive for the quarter, generating a $108 million of net mine cash flow. This was a real positive when you consider that some sites experienced difficult weather conditions, and others were investing heavily in major projects.It was pleasing to see the improved performance at Mt Rawdon with cash flow of over $6 million, while Ernest Henry delivered a record quarterly net mine cash flow of $59.5 million. Group cash flow for the quarter was $71 million. After paying the interim dividend of $59 million, repaying $25 million of debt and acquiring a 19.9% stake in Tribune for $41 million and final settlement of the Castle Hill transaction, our cash balance at the end of the quarter was $256 million. Our net debt at the end of March was $74 million, and we are on track to move to a net cash position in the current quarter.I'll now hand you back to Jake.

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Thanks, Lawrie. Sean, can you please open the lines for questions?

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Michael Slifirski from Crédit Suisse.

[Michael Slifirski, Managing Director]

I've got 3 questions if I may. First of all, the confidence about the June quarter, I want to understand the production side. So I think if I've heard you properly, you're expecting Rawdon back in grade, so it's stronger; Cowal Float Tails Leach, a full quarter contribution; Ernest Henry, no rain disruption; and Mungari, back in the Mist zone. So are they the key drivers of stronger production? And then I'm interested in what helps you on costs.

[Robert Stanley Fulker, Chief Operating Officer]

Yes, Michael, I think you've actually hit all the salient points. Mungari has actually got a couple of stopes fired in Mist already. So they are actually back on track. Even with the weather in Ernest Henry, they produced fairly nicely for the quarter, last quarter. And so we expect them to be back out of that. And the Float Tails Leach was up over 4% -- 4-point something percent in March, so we're expecting that to rise as well. So yes, you're pretty well spot on.

[Michael Slifirski, Managing Director]

And the cost side, so does the -- I haven't done the numbers. But does the production alone get you to your cost guidance? Or is there something else happening with cost?

[Robert Stanley Fulker, Chief Operating Officer]

So we've been concentrating on cost control through to the last quarter and just the normal discretionary spends and all of the rest of it. But we're aiming for both of them. Lawrie, did you want to add anything to the costs?

[Lawrence John Conway, Finance Director, CFO & Director]

Yes. I mean it's really -- firstly, Michael, the production changes in the last quarter and particularly when you take Cowal and Mungari, which will be grade- and recovery-driven, we will have, at a couple of sites, higher sustaining capital, but that will be offset by lower operating costs. So when you combine all of those, that's how we see what the fourth quarter, which is in that $820 to $830 an ounce all-in sustaining cost.

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

And just to add final remark, Michael, we are where we expected to be. So we're comfortable that the fourth quarter was always going to need to be a good quarter, and it is founded based on our plans. So there is no change to our plans that we're making. It was always going to be a very strong quarter coming home.

[Michael Slifirski, Managing Director]

Yes. Understood. And two for Glen, if I may. First of all, the Cowal underground stuff, if I look at that figure, figure 1, and look at the gray resource extent north -- south to north across the page, looks like that's sort of about just over a kilometer, if I look at the drilling, just over 2 kilometers. Why wouldn't I take your existing resource, double it and add a little bit for the potential?

[Glenton J. Masterman]

Michael, I think we'd prefer to drill it before we bank it. That's how -- I think what we can see there and what is quite pleasing about Dalwhinnie is that it gives us a -- it effectively doubles the strike length, giving us 2 targets to test that are running in parallel to each other. And what it actually does mean though is how our original drilling program that was contemplated from the underground is going to increase in order to be able to drill deeper and capture the opportunity that Dalwhinnie is presenting to us.

[Michael Slifirski, Managing Director]

Yes. So a subset to that question then is the Dalwhinnie contribution to the resource upgrade versus the other GRE46 stuff, how much more is there from Dalwhinnie for the same sort of strike extent that the -- I guess what I'm trying to understand is that grayed-out resource, if it was separated to 2 colors, the part that was Dalwhinnie and the part that was GRE46, what it might look like.

[Glenton J. Masterman]

The part that sort of the northern end there, if you like it, it's difficult to differentiate the 2 because they join into each other. But I think what -- the way in which we're assessing it at the moment is that if you look at the 3-gram per tonne cutoff grade that I spoke about earlier and the difference between the resource, which only included GRE46 last year, came out at about 3.17 grams. And with the inclusion of Dalwhinnie this year at the same cutoff grade, we're looking at 4.52. So that gives you a bit of an illustration of the contribution. But in terms of separating the Dalwhinnie mineralization in the model, that's another level of interrogation that we're currently working on.

[Michael Slifirski, Managing Director]

Okay. And then the other question, with respect to Frog's Leg, the -- it's sort of seemingly -- I guess Figure 4, that's seemingly a barren zone of 300 or 400 meters, 350 to 400 meters. Is that indeed barren? Or does it need more drilling? I'm just trying to understand the potential for -- between those 2 deeper drill holes, whether it follows some sort of model where you would expect maybe the grade to disappear for that horizon between the existing resource and sort of nothingness.

[Glenton J. Masterman]

Yes. So what -- we do have some drilling in the gap between those 2 intercepts. And what we observed on the mineralized structure is that it steepens in that -- underneath the main Frog's Leg resource, immediately under it. And what happens when the structure steepens is that in this type of geological environment, the structure actually narrows. So what we were stepping out to achieve was really to understand whether or not there would be another flatter zone developed at those depths, which is why we wanted to get sort of a fair way under the lowest levels of development to see whether or not that structure starts to lift again. And if that's the case, then we do have the potential opportunity to sort of open the structure and fill up with a more widely developed vein. So that's the concept at which we're currently testing.

[Michael Slifirski, Managing Director]

Great. Again, I might just sneak in another quick one if I may. What have you seen within the core with respect to stress given that you had those challenges in the Mist zone anyway? And you'd seem to be getting quite a lot deeper, you -- what are you seeing in the core? And how manageable do you think that might be?

[Glenton J. Masterman]

Well, I think seismic -- the seismicity is going to be an issue that we're going to need to manage no matter what if we're out of Mungari. But in terms of what we're seeing in the core in those mineralized intervals, we're not seeing any stress developed such as disking in the core. That would lead us to believe that we are focusing stress at a point where we're seeing the mineralization.

[Operator]

Your next question comes from the line of Sophie Spartalis from Merrill Lynch.

[Sophie Spartalis, Vice President and Senior Resources Analyst]

My question is also for Glen and just following on from what Michael was asking in regards to Frog's Leg and Mungari. Understand short-term things are likely to improve given high grades, but can we maybe just look 1 to 2 years out? Obviously, costs are still really high at that asset. Where do you think that it's feasible to get the costs down come FY '20, '21, providing that the ore is there?

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Thanks, Sophie. I think that's probably a question best answered by Bob, so I'm going to hand over to him. He's well and truly focused on that at the moment.

[Robert Stanley Fulker, Chief Operating Officer]

Yes. Our target, Sophie, are obviously well below where the current operating costs are. I don't want to guide you on where we can get to, I guess. But the actual costs that we're aiming are below it or near. I'm struggling because I don't want to give you an exact number because it's a little bit influx depending on the amount of ounces we can get and the amount of tonnes that we find, et cetera, et cetera. And that all depends on the exploration success and at the geography that it's spread over.

[Sophie Spartalis, Vice President and Senior Resources Analyst]

Yes. I get that it's -- you're a little bit hesitant. But I guess just given where it's sitting in terms of the overall portfolio, it seems to be the problems are old, have been for some time. I know in previous conversations, I think Jake, you sort of said just give us a couple of years, and we can try and sum up the exploration story. We're now probably 12 months into that. Doesn't look like we're seeing too much happening on that front. Absolutely still got the potential there, granted. But I guess how long does it stay in the portfolio at sort of -- I guess there's got to be a time when you kind of got to look at the asset and say, right, how much can we possibly do to bring the cost down, and what is an acceptable level where you want to bring that cost down to?

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Well, I think we're working on a few things there, Sophie. Obviously, we took the strategic stake in Tribune, which is a very high grade -- or the highest-grade reserves in the area that the ore currently trucks past our mill and then goes another 60 kilometers down to Kanowna Belle, so that was obviously a strategic move. We are drilling. And as Glen always reminds me, we're one drill hole away from finding a big, high-grade deposit there. But we are starting to get some success. Yes, Scottish Archer, while no one's calling a stunning success, it is high-grade ore, and we want to have a look at it as to see what it can be. We are drilling below Frog's Leg. And Bob and the team on sites have taken the challenge of saying, well, how do we change the operational cost profile, so that it does reduce its -- or improve its position in our portfolio. Now that said, you correctly say that we're 12 months into a 24-month program. I'd ask you for -- to give us that next 12 months before making a judgment of -- as to where Mungari sits.

[Operator]

Your next question comes from the line of Daniel Morgan from UBS.

[Daniel Morgan, Director and Analyst]

Probably more for Jake. Just back on Mungari and I guess the stake in Tribune. Can you talk at all more about what your plan is with that stake? How do you maximize value by having a passive stake in Tribune? Is there -- is this part of a consolidation play with your neighbors? Is there an ore treatment or trucking deal? I mean you were just talking about -- that the ore gets trucked 60 kilometers away. Is there a deal to be done there? And can you talk about what you're trying to do to maximize value with your passive stake?

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

I think, Daniel, the only things I can really say on that is that we've had a number of discussions with directors of Tribune. They've been friendly and engaged. We have a very good relationship with the joint venture partner, Northern Star. And it was an opportunistic stake that became available. And clearly, we're not -- we see it as an important stake in the highest-grade reserves in the area. I don't think I can comment beyond that.

[Operator]

Your next question comes from the line of Jim Pollock from Surbiton and Associates.

[Jim Pollock]

Jake, after last quarter's conference call, I began thinking about your policy of using $1,358 an ounce for your ore reserves calculation, which is considerably below $1,800 an ounce, the current price. Are you mining to the economic limit of the ore bodies on each side?

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Jim, I'm sorry, you're going to have to explain that just a little further. I'm not sure what you -- I understand economic limit.

[Jim Pollock]

Well, the economic limit is where if you mine this bit of mineralization, you make a profit. If you mine the next bit of mineralization, which is slightly lower grade, you make a loss. Therefore, that additional material cannot be regarded as ore. So are you mining everything? Are you mining all of the ore, ore being defined by that material which -- on which you can make a profit? Are you mining to the limit of ore at each site?

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Our mine plans are based on the $1,350 reserves. If we are going through an area with low grade in it, we take it out and we stockpile it. But we believe margin is much more important than volume.

[Jim Pollock]

Right. So essentially then you're probably high-grading in some of your ore bodies?

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

We're not high-grading. If our reserves are based on $1,350, and we mine to $1,350. We mine our reserves.

[Jim Pollock]

Yes. If the economic limit is $1,800 an ounce and you're not mining, say, ore at $1,700 -- worth $1,700 an ounce, you must be mining at higher grade than the overall grade of the ore body.

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Not in the reserves because the reserves are based on $1,350. Our resources are limited to $1,800 an ounce.

[Jim Pollock]

I'll think about that and get back to you later.

[Operator]

Your next question comes from the line of Matthew Frydman from Goldman Sachs.

[Matthew Frydman, Research Analyst]

Since we're talking about reserves, maybe you can talk a bit about the reserve growth at Cowal that you've demonstrated with the update today. I mean the infill ramp itself gives you probably another 2 years post your existing plan for Stage H, plus with the satellite ore bodies there, you've probably got maybe another year or 2 of ore from E41 and E46. So I guess the question is how do you see your options now towards the back end of Stage H or towards the back end of the open pit life at Cowal. And how does that tie into your thinking around your next permitting modification?

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Thanks, Matthew. I'm pleased that someone's focusing on the reserve growth at Cowal, which we think is pretty exceptional. But I'm going that hand over to Bob.

[Robert Stanley Fulker, Chief Operating Officer]

Yes. Sorry, Matt. Just -- the question is about the current reserve or the future potential.

[Matthew Frydman, Research Analyst]

Bob, just seeing your update today, obviously, you've now included the In-Wall Ramp at E42 and then the satellite ore bodies at E41 and E46. So I guess the question is that each of those probably gives you another couple of years at the back end of your existing plans at Stage H. So how do you factor that into your next permitting modification given your mine plan is permitted out to 2032 as well as I suppose your options around how you stage those additional reserves in line with obviously the growth of the underground as well?

[Robert Stanley Fulker, Chief Operating Officer]

Yes, I think I understand the question. If I don't answer it, just pull me up. The addition of the additional pits, we've included them in the reserve this year because we believe there's reasonable ground that we can actually get the approvals. They are long dated. They're not actually within the next couple of years because we believe that we're going to need significant time to actually do the studies and have the conversations with all the stakeholders. So they're actually not in the next couple of years, but as you say, they are towards the back end of the life. The In-Wall Ramp for E42 is at the end of the life of the E42 pit. And that would come in prior to some of the other resources being converted over. The reason for the In-Wall Ramp is because it's basically the last cut that we can take out of that E42 pit before we actually move on to the next best option. The Banda and all the rest of the environmental issues that we have at Cowal, that's what we're working through at the moment. And that's what we believe that we've got a plan and a pathway to work through. There's obviously a lot of work there to do. And we're allowing ourselves a good period of time to actually get that work completed.

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

But Matthew, we were on Cowal -- at Cowal yesterday, so up to speed with this as well. The underground resources are not included in reserves at this point in time. Now clearly, as Glen highlighted, the 3-gram per tonne cutoff, there's a 4.5-gram per tonne grade over there. So getting some of those underground resources convert into reserves, which will come through this exploration decline, getting an underground mine permitted, which we believe is a much more expeditious process, is going to replace or potentially supplement the open-pit material. So you could see -- we could see ourselves having a high-grade feed much sooner from the underground, which will complement the open-pit grade.

[Robert Stanley Fulker, Chief Operating Officer]

And drilling will start along that decline within the next 1 to 2 quarters.

[Matthew Frydman, Research Analyst]

Sure. Appreciate the detail. Maybe boiling that down to a sort of simplistic one-liner. I mean your current modification allows a mine life out to 2032. It seems that with the inclusion of these open-pit reserves alone, you could probably now push that out a couple more years. Is that the base case for your next permitting modification?

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

No. The next permitting modification will be probably an underground mine. And we expect to be progressing permits -- various permits for this mine right through its mine life just given the very rich endowment that we're finding.

[Operator]

There are no further questions at this time. I will now hand back to the speakers.

[Jacob Klein, Executive Chairman]

Thanks, Sean. Thanks, everyone. Wishing you all a good Easter. Very happy where Evolution's finished this third quarter and looking forward to talking to you about a very strong fourth quarter as we bring it home for FY 2019. Thanks very much. Cheers.

[Operator]

That does conclude the conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may all disconnect.