Kinross reports 2023 fourth-quarter and full-year results

Press Release

February 14, 2024

Delivers on 2023 guidance, strong 2024 outlook of 2.1 million Au eq. oz.
Tasiast and La Coipa projects completed driving significant free cash flow
Great Bear exceeds expectations and adds more than one million high-grade inferred ounces

TORONTO, Feb. 14, 2024 — Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC) (“Kinross” or the “Company”) today announced its results for the fourth-quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.

This news release contains forward-looking information about expected future events and financial and operating performance of the Company. We refer to the risks and assumptions set out in our Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information located on page 48 of this release. All dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

2023 full-year results and 2024 guidance:

	2023 guidance (+/- 5%)		Q4 2023 results	2023 full-year results		2024 guidance (attributable) 1 (+/- 5%)
Gold equivalent production 1 (ounces)	2.1 million		546,513	2.15 million		2.1 million
Production cost of sales 1, 2 ($ per Au eq. oz.)	$970		$976	$942		$1,020
All-in sustaining cost 1, 2, 3 ($ per Au eq. oz.)	$1,320		$1,353	$1,316		$1,360
Attributable 1 capital expenditures 4 (million)	$1,000 million		$298 million (Capital expenditures of $311 million4)	$1,055 million (Capital expenditures of $1,098 million4)		$1,050 million

• Attributable¹ production in 2024 is expected to be 2.1 million Au eq. oz. Kinross has forecasted stable production guidance of approximately 2.0 million attributable Au eq. oz. in each of 2025 and 2026.

Operational, development project and exploration highlights:

• Tasiast had record throughput in Q4 2023 and achieved record full-year production. It remains well-positioned to deliver another strong year in 2024.
• La Coipa achieved record quarterly production driven by strong throughput and grades.
• Paracatu delivered another year of steady production including record recovery in 2023.
• Tasiast, Paracatu and La Coipa represented nearly 70% of production and were the lowest cost mines in the portfolio, contributing significant free cash flow.
• Great Bear increased its year-over-year inferred resource estimate by 45%, adding more than one million ounces primarily driven by high-grade underground additions. Kinross has increased Great Bear’s mineral resource estimate to approximately 2.8 million Au oz. of measured and indicated mineral resources, and to approximately 3.3 million ounces of inferred mineral resources.
• At Manh Choh, mining activities are well underway including the commencement of ore mining and stockpiling. The project remains on budget and on schedule for initial production in the second half of 2024.
• At Round Mountain, mining of Phase S has commenced. Development of the Phase X exploration decline is approaching the target mineralization, with drilling activities having commenced in early 2024 and set to ramp up through the year.

2023 Q4 and full-year highlights:

• Production of 546,513 Au eq. oz. in Q4 2023, and 2,153,020 Au eq. oz. in 2023.
• Production cost of sales ² of $976 per Au eq. oz. in Q4 2023, and $942 per Au eq. oz. in 2023.
• All-in sustaining cost ³ of $1,353 per Au eq. oz. sold in Q4 2023, and $1,316 per Au eq. oz. sold in 2023.
• Margins ⁵ of $998 per Au eq. oz. sold in Q4 2023, and $1,003 for 2023.
• Operating cash flow ⁶ of $410.9 million in Q4 2023, and $1,605.3 million in 2023.
• Adjusted operating cash flow ³ was $407.4 million in Q4 2023, and $1,669.9 million in 2023.
• Attributable free cash flow ³ was $116.7 million in Q4 2023, and $559.7 million in 2023.
• Reported net earnings ⁷ of $65.4 million in Q4 2023, or $0.06 per share, and $416.3 million, or $0.34 per share, in 2023.
• Adjusted net earnings ^{3 , 8} of $140.0 million, or $0.11 per share in Q4 2023, and $539.8 million, or $0.44 per share, in 2023.
• Cash and cash equivalents of $352.4 million, and totalliquidity⁹ of $1.9 billion at December 31, 2023. The Company also continued to prioritize debt reduction, repaying the remaining balance on both its Tasiast loan and revolving credit facility in Q4 2023.
• Kinross’ Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per common share payable on March 21, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 6, 2024.

CEO Commentary:
J. Paul Rollinson, President and CEO, made the following comments in relation to 2023 fourth-quarter and year-end results:

“2023 was a great year at Kinross and I am proud of our global team who achieved the results that underpin our reputation as strong operators. We met our production, cost and capital guidance, and completed our projects at Tasiast and La Coipa. Our portfolio of mines produced solid results, we more than doubled free cash flow year-over-year while maintaining our investment grade balance sheet, and we are carrying this momentum into 2024.

“We expect to deliver another strong year in 2024, producing approximately 2.1 million gold equivalent ounces. Our development projects are progressing well and we look forward to first production from Manh Choh in the second half of the year. Great Bear continues to exceed expectations and we were excited to add more than one million ounces of higher-grade underground resource. We continue to successfully target extensions of the resource at depth, reinforcing our view that Great Bear has the potential to be a large, long-life, high-grade mining complex.

“Operating responsibly, delivering on our commitments and advancing our ESG strategy continue to be key principles of our day-to-day operations. Kinross was recently named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, reflecting our commitment to corporate citizenship as a core value and key strategic driver of our business. We expect to publish our 2023 Sustainability and ESG Report in May and some highlights from the year include:

• Completed construction of the solar power plant at Tasiast and are on track to achieve our goal of reducing emissions intensity by 30% by 2030 from our 2021 baseline;
• In Brazil, we published a book on the Cerrado biodiversity corridor, highlighting the importance of protecting this critical region and the strategic approach taken by our Paracatu site;
• Made approximately $10 million of monetary and in-kind contributions through site social investments; and
• Established the “Kinross Alaska Future Leaders” scholarship at the University of Alaska Fairbanks focused on advancing the inclusion of underrepresented people in the resource industry.”

Financial results

Summary of financial and operating results

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