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Q3 2008 Breakwater Resources Ltd. Earnings Conference Call - Final.

Article Excerpt
OPERATOR: Hello, this is the Chorus Call operator. Welcome to the Breakwater Resources conference call and web cast to present the Company's third quarter 2008 results to shareholders. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. (OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS) At this time I'd like to turn the conference over to Ann Wilkinson, Vice President Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

ANN WILKINSON, VP IR, BREAKWATER RESOURCES: Good morning and thank you for joining us. This analysts' conference call is being web cast on a live listen only basis. Our news release detailing the financial and operating results was issued yesterday after the market closed, and can be found on our website at www.breakwater.ca. Joining me are members of Breakwater's senior management team. After opening remarks and a discussion of our operating results by our President and Chief Executive Officer, George Pirie, Dave Langille, Breakwater's Vice President of Finance, and Chief Financial Officer, will discuss our financial results. Steve Hayes, our Chief Commercial Officer, will then update you on zinc market conditions. Also available to answer questions later on are a number of other senior Breakwater officials.

We have a few housekeeping items to dispense with before starting. First, we are including news media and members of the public on this web cast on a live listen only basis. Second, you will hear our executives use forward-looking language to discuss our operations. This language includes estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives and goals, including words that indicate management expects the stated conditions or result to occur. We have included a cautionary note on such forward-looking statements in our news release, and direct our listeners to read this note in order to understand the limitations of such forward-looking information.

Third, and final, all dollar amounts are in Canadian currency unless otherwise stated. I will now pass the call over to George Pirie.

GEORGE PIRIE, PRESIDENT/CEO, BREAKWATER RESOURCES: Thank you Ann, good morning everyone. First of all, let me begin by expressing my regrets to the employees, community, and stakeholders, for the recent announcement of temporary closure at Myra Falls and Langlois. These are unprecedented times in the markets globally, and the temporary closures are not attributable to any failures at the operations level.

I know these are difficult times for the families involved. Unfortunately these actions mask what has been tremendously good performance at these sites as production and cost targets were being achieved and exceeded. Up until September both were generating positive cash flow from operations, and it was only unscheduled mill maintenance at Langlois and required environmental projects at Myra that caused cost increase in September. At Myra we expect the focus on end mine expiration will result in the replacement of the reserves mined this year and October will be the best month of production to date at Langlois, with over 70,000 tonnes through the mill while significantly exceeding our targeted head grades.

These results were achieved safely, an achievement for which I want to thank all employees listening to this call. Despite these successes, the global events of recent weeks have overtaken us, and we must preserve our assets for what will undoubtedly be better times ahead. We expect that rational and logical forces will come to bear on markets sooner rather than later, not only in our commodity sector, but more importantly, in global financial markets. The freeze in short-term credit has resulted in a freeze in consumer spending, which is rapidly being transmitted to the metals markets. All consumers are in a temporary holding pattern, which will end when the short-term credit markets begin to function normally again.

There are indications that these markets are starting to loosen as the [tech] spread is falling, and other important...

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