Core Lithium Aktie

Hello, and welcome to the Core Lithium September Quarter Investor Call. Our presenter today is Paul Brown, the Managing Director. Paul will give a brief presentation followed by a Q&A session at the end. [Operator Instructions] You'll find a copy of today's presentation on the ASX and also the Core Lithium website. With that, over to you, Paul.

Thanks very much, and good morning, everyone. I'm also joined with James Virgo and Chelsea Bates. So we'd be happy to take any questions at the end of the presentation. But look, again, thanks for joining us. We had a really busy quarter. Really happy and proud to be able to put our results out today and certainly talk to everyone in a bit more detail.

A quick reminder of some of the key features of our project. We have a long life. We're fully funded. We have established infrastructure, and we have multiple sources of growth optionality. The operating plan targets of 1.2 million tonnes of throughput and a nameplate production of around about 250,000 -- 257,000 tonnes of SC5 concentrate. We also switched it up since our last presentation. So we're actually reporting an SC5 rather than an SC6 equivalent, which you'll see in the green highlight there.

As I mentioned, we are fully funded. I think that's important. We spoke about that on several occasions. And obviously, with the current market conditions, it just highlights the initiative we had in last year when we were going through our funding process. We always wanted to be fully funded. So I'm pleased to be able to say that we've achieved that, and we're head down, bum up, and into the project. So we had $244 million of available sources and $157 million of restart capital spend. Spend remaining with free cash flow also to come out of Grants when we start shipping. The stage restart combines near-term production from Grants where we develop BP33 with Carlton deposit in reserves and exploration potential, which we'll talk about with Blackbeard.

So we're executing both -- across both operations and the development of BP33. This quarter marked a significant milestone in our transition to operations with plant commissioning underway and first spodumene concentrate produced, and we're obviously on track to deliver our next major milestone, which is shipping in the December quarter.

BP33 underground development and surface infrastructure continue to advance with first development ore on track for mid-calendar year '27. We finished the quarter, as I said, with $244 million in available funding, including cash receivables and Tranche 2 of our senior secured with remaining restart capital of $157 million, leaving a significant liquidity buffer, which is pleasing.

Our restart plan is unchanged since FID. So the scheduled production plan and capital assumptions remain unchanged. We've delivered on all of our key early milestones, including funding, FID announcement, contract award, commencement of mining, commencement of development and our first concentrate production. The next immediate milestone for the first shipment of Grants in the December quarter. And obviously, we're focused on the ongoing underground development and of course, our exploration that's happening currently out of Blackbeard. BP33 development remains on track for first development ore in mid-calendar year '27, followed by steady-state production in mid-calendar year '28.

I think there's some really good images here. The images demonstrate the physical progress achieved at Grants since FID in late March. And again, we mobilized NRW in May. So we had considerable advancements at Grants. The progress reflects the rapid mobilization and the focus of the team. So really pleased with the results at Grants.

I think another great picture here. I think we had our board and some investors on site when we actually first crushed our first ore a few months ago. But you'll see the picture there, we're well advanced from Grants ROM delivery and obviously crush material. But I think this image demonstrates the physical progress that we have achieved. And again, really pleased that we're executing on plan there.

Just moving to the DMS plant. Obviously, there's been a lot of action in and around this in the lead up to our first concentrate. And just like to shout out to the team there around a very safe, well-executed upgrade. You also see the middle image there, which is the last piece of plant that we'll install later next year. It's the long lead item for the capture of the tails. But again, the plant itself holistically, apart from the reflux classifier, has all been upgraded, and we're well into commissioning.

So another couple of good images here. These are actually images we took on site last month, but you'll see that spodumene is being produced. It looks fantastic. I mean from the moment we turn the plant on, the plant performed really well post upgrades. You'll see the picture with the spodumene in the hand there. It's lovely, clean, lovely, glowing green, clean spodumene. So again, really pleased with how the plant is performing and importantly, looking forward to the September quarter -- sorry, the December quarter when we do ship our first concentrate.

So just moving to BP33. Again, you'll see the aerial image there. And again, just a shout out to the team that is developing BP33. So we have Develop Global in there, Beament's crowd. I mean we couldn't be happier with the progress that's being made there. It was certainly one of the bigger decisions we made as we moved into FID and beyond. We're thrilled that the team has mobilized rapidly, safely, cut our first portal, and obviously, the development and the decline is tracking on schedule. So we're really pleased with the quality of people that have turned up there. I think we talk a lot about the difficulties of inflation and skills in the market. And pleasingly for us, Beament's got -- has a ready-made fantastic team. He has multiple operations that he can source skills from and equipment, and we're really enjoying the relationship that we've created there. Again, couldn't be happier with that area and the development.

Some photos, obviously, of the site as well. We've obviously advanced infrastructure quite considerably. You'll see offices, workshops. We've also got [indiscernible] on site doing the vent raises. So again, associated infrastructure matching the development. I'm really pleased with the progress in these areas as well.

So look, just we did put out a result from an exploration perspective at BP33. So again, we're really pleased with the program, albeit only released one hole, but the assumption there was there could be some additional mineralization at the depth we've drilled there. And certainly, we intercepted around about 34 meters at 2.09% lithium oxide and a further 3.43 meters at 2.44%. So at depth, considerable high grade that we've established there. And certainly, the results reinforce the confidence in the quality and the continuity of the mineralization beyond the 10.5 million tonnes of resource that we have.

Three additional holes are still targeted. We obviously haven't completed them yet. They are deep holes, but obviously, the holes are designed to target the extension down dip and along strike, supporting potential for future mineral resource growth or potential upgrade.

So just moving to Blackbeard. We have around about a 12,000-meter program planned at Blackbeard due to the, I guess, the extensive wet we did get in there a little bit later than we would have liked, but the program remains on track. And as I said, we're drilling around about 12,000 meters. The purpose of this really was to understand what might be below the ground. Obviously, previously, we've had an exploration target of around about 7 million to 10 million tonnes at a reasonable grade, 1.5% to 1.7%. We've only drilled this area to around about 200 meters. So obviously, this program is designed to go a fair bit deeper and also, we've only used RC. So we're doing a combination of RC and also some diamond drilling.

I think strategically, this remains a very interesting growth optionality for us. It is within 20 kilometers of our existing infrastructure. And as we said, we have a reasonable expectation here with the exploration target we put out previously. So we are continuing to drill. We'll drill right up until the wet. And obviously, we are planning on putting out some results in the near future. So we look forward to updating everyone when they become available.

I'll just hand over to James. He can talk us through the quarter and cash flows and give us a bit more flavor on how you're thinking about our funding stack.

Thanks, Paul. Turning to cash flow. We finished the September quarter with $200 million in cash, up from $182 million at the end of June. During the quarter, we received $98 million in funds net of costs, comprising $62 million from convertible notes and $36 million from the senior debt facility. On the uses side, we invested $51 million in capital expenditure, primarily relating to BP33 underground development, associated infrastructure and upgrades to the processing plant. We also invested $30 million in site operating costs as Grants mining and processing activities ramped up ahead of first shipment in the December quarter. This alongside corporate costs, exploration expenditure and transaction costs associated with the funding package.

Looking forward, we have $244 million in available funding, including undrawn debt and expected receivables. Importantly, our September quarter cash flow does not yet include any revenue from near-term production at Grants of approximately 134,000 tonnes of SC product with first shipment on track for the December quarter. Together, this provides a strong funding position to support our development program through to steady-state production in 2028. I'll hand back to Paul.

Thanks, James. Look, I think I love this slide. It was really good to be able to kick off the quarter. And as you'll see, we're executing to our plan. As James mentioned, the funding package, we're really pleased with getting that away. And obviously, the cost of those structures are highly, highly competitive. And we've certainly got a great, very supportive consortium-led funding package with Glencore, InfraVia and Nebari. So look, the -- as I mentioned, the funding package, major contracts, logistics chain, portal cut, initial plant upgrades and first concentrate production have all been delivered. And again, we -- this has been our aim. We want to get market confidence and do what we say we're going to do.

Current activity is focused on Grants mining, plant optimization, BP33 development, infrastructure construction, offtake and exploration program. We're also looking at expansion studies as well, which will include plant upgrade or potential plant upgrades, Carlton and obviously, BP33. The restart schedule, production plan and capital assumptions remain unchanged since FID, which again is really pleasing in a pretty challenging market with first shipment, the next major milestone, followed by first ore from BP33 in mid-calendar '27. And of course, steady-state production is aimed, still on track for mid-calendar year '28 of BP33.

Look, we really want to thank everyone for their time. I think, again, a massive thanks to the Core Lithium team and contracting partners. We have had a massive quarter. I was driving in this morning thinking to myself this time last year, our market cap was about $120-odd million, and we're looking for funding. So we've really got after this. We haven't sat still through what was a pretty challenging lithium winter. We've secured great funding, great partners. And certainly, from an execution perspective, thrilled with our contracting partners, with Develop, and everybody else that's contributed. So again, really pleased with the quarter and happy to open it up to questions.

Thanks, Paul. [Operator Instructions] It looks like we've got no questions. So I'll just hand back to Paul to wrap up.

Yes. Again, thanks, everyone, for the time. We'll certainly be in touch with a few analysts in the coming days. And again, thanks for everyone's support.

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Core Lithium June 2026 quarterly webcast. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Paul Brown, CEO and Managing Director. Please go ahead.

Thanks, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm also joined today with James Virgo, Chief Financial Officer; Chelsea Bates, our General Manager of Investor Relations. For the June quarter marked an important milestone for us following FID decision and securing funding in March, our focus has certainly shifted from planning to execution. I'm pleased to say that we have delivered significant progress across the business. Today, I'll take you through our key achievements for the quarter and how we're tracking against our restart plan and what investors can expect over the coming months. At the conclusion of the presentation, James, Chelsea and I will be happy to take any questions.

So our June quarter highlights. Firstly, we have transitioned from planning into execution across the Finniss restart. Secondly, we've awarded all of our major mining and development contracts required for the restart. Thirdly, we have commenced mining at Grants, started underground development at BP33 and continue progressing our plant upgrades. Finally, we've maintained a strong -- a very strong funding position while successfully commissioning our logistics chain while shipping our stockpiled material left over from when we were previously operating. Importantly, every major milestone we committed to following FID has either been delivered or remains firmly on track.

So I think this slide really highlights why we chose to restart the operation. We're restarting an existing operation with established infrastructure, existing permits, and a processing plan already in place. Obviously, this significantly reduces both capital intensity and our execution risk. The project is fully funded through the steady-state production as a competitive long-term operating cost profile and provides a long life supported by BP33 and Carlton. Importantly, Finniss also provides multiple future growth opportunities without requiring significant new infrastructure, which I'll talk about later in the deck. And this isn't a greenfields development. We're restarting and improving the existing operation.

So you'll see this slide really highlights where we've -- where our focus has been. But really, we're really laser-focused on the restart. But just to take us back a step. Back in March, we outlined a clear road map for the restart. Today, we're demonstrating that we've delivered the early milestones we committed to, which was funding, the secured major mining contracts were awarded. Mining has commenced at Grants, and the underground development has commenced at BP33. Our focus now shifts towards plant recommissioning in the September quarter, followed by a concentrate production and our first shipment of the newly produced ore during the December quarter. So the business is now firmly in execution mode.

We'll see the Grants open pit. So this provides initial production platform for the restart. And the pace of the progress has been significant. As you'll see in a very short time period, the team has successfully bought the open pit back to operation and position the asset to return to production. So I think importantly, our Grants role is to generate early production and cash flows for BP33 underground development progresses. Mining commenced in the quarter, and we're continuing to expose the ore in line with the mine plan. One of the major advantages of Grants is that it leverages our existing processing infrastructure, allowing us to move into production relatively quickly while maintaining flexibility around processing and shipment timing depending on market conditions. Overall, Grants is doing exactly what we expected it to do as part of the restart strategy.

Just moving to our processing plant upgrades. It's been another major focus during the quarter and has -- and preparing the processing plant for recommissioning has been a key focus. The work being undertaken isn't simply about restarting the plant. It's about restarting a better plant. We are completing the targeted brownfield upgrades designed to increase our throughput, improve recovery and enhanced operational performance while leveraging the plant that has already demonstrated successful operating performance. I look forward to recommissioning the plant in the December quarter, and we'll note that the team up there is doing an outstanding job getting the plant knocked into shape.

So moving to BP33. I think the pictures really speak for themselves. And again, I think the advantage that we do have with the infrastructure that was previously in place is quite undersold. But hopefully, you'll see the photos and the progress that we've made really draws out the previous strength and certainly the speed of which we've been able to remobilize. But look, BP33 remains the cornerstone of our long-term Finniss operation. During the quarter, we successfully progressed dewatering remediation works and portal development before commencing the underground development with Develop Global An important milestone was the contract award to Develop. The contract obviously validates both our restart capital estimates and certainly the long-term mining cost assumptions. BP33 will become the long-life, low-cost production base that underpins Finniss for many years to come. So we're particularly excited about the progress we've made and certainly looks forward to to reporting in the months to come.

So just moving to talk about funding. So I think it's important just to spend a minute or 2 on a couple of questions that we've sort of had over the period. But look, we're in a really strong position. At the end of June, we ended up with $182 million in cash together with committed funding and additional available facilities, providing approximately $320 million of available funding. This supports our restart capital requirements through to steady-state production while maintaining a healthy liquidity buffer. Importantly, these funding sources exclude any future cash flows generated from grants production, which provides additional upside to our liquidity. I think that's an important point I really wanted to make. When you look at the funding deck that we put out post FID, you look at the sources and uses and one of the things that I've spoken about many times is about we wanted to be fully funded, but certainly, in today's prices Grants provides significant early cash flow and an even greater stronger liquidity buffer. The funding is no longer our primary focus. Our attention is now on safely and efficiently executing the restart.

So the next couple of slides, we'll just talk about exploration growth. I think, again, we're really excited about the Blackbeard prospect. It's something that we're going to get underway and pleasingly to report that we have drilled spinning. There is a decent program that's planned and now underway. And just to remind everyone that this prospect, it could be quite significant. We've obviously reported an exploration target. And now we're happy to be drilling. We look forward to reporting those results in the coming months. But obviously, while our immediate priority remains executing the restart, we're also continuing to invest in the future growth opportunities. The Blackbeard drilling program, again, has been started successfully. We have a team that's been with us for a long time that manages these programs. And I think combined with Carlton and our broader tenement package, Finniss provides multiple opportunities to expand production over time using our -- obviously, already 100% owned infrastructure. Obviously, growth remains important, but we'll continue to be disciplined and capital-efficient.

Look, I'll finish on here, just like to leave with 5 key messages. Firstly, we've successfully transitioned from planning to execution. All major mining and development contracts are now in place. Mining and underground development are underway. The project remains fully funded through to steady-state production. And finally, we continue to see significant opportunities for future resource and production growth beyond our current restart plan. So the June quarter represents an important milestone for us. As I said, 3 months ago, our focus was on funding and mobilization. Today, we're mining. We're developing BP 33, our plant upgrades are advancing as per our plan, and we've demonstrated our logistics capability. There's obviously still plenty of work ahead, but we're pleased with the progress we've made and certainly maintain our focus on our disciplined execution, certainly, as we move towards our first concentrate production later this year.

So thanks for that. That's the presentation. We're now happy to take any questions.

[Operator Instructions]

Your first question today comes from Hayden Bairstow from Argonaut.

Just a question on the mining rate of the pit. And obviously, you've got to manage whenever the wet season turns up, then maybe it won't as bad this year. But just interested to know what sort of volume you think you'll have on the ROM pad by, say, I don't know, early December to get you through those couple of months of the wet season. And then first ore for BP33, now looking like it's about probably midyear or something next year. So you'll be well ahead of still processing the pit by the time you get into it. Is that a fair way to think about it?

Yes. So the intent of the NRW contracts, so was to mine as fast as we can. And you rightly pointed out, I mean, it's something we don't need to do is mine through the wet season. So if you remember, when we had our site visit post our May Restart study, you remember, there's significant ROM capacity. So the intent there, obviously, we're in that sort of initial development phase. We've got about a 5:1 strip ratio. So we're mining as fast as we can. And the intent is to mine up until the wet season. There's no point mining through because we're going to have significant stocks on the ROM leading into the wet season. And then certainly, the intent will be for NRW to return and mine out the remainder, including a potential good buy cut. So that's the plan. We've got plenty of stockpiles space. As I said, once you think about the next couple of weeks, we're through the majority of -- sorry, the next couple of months, we're through the majority of the waste and we're only ever north. So we're comfortable with the plan. And certainly, the workforce has been rightsized for commissioning and for the mine material that will come out to Grants. So we are planning on having significant stockpiles available to us, which will obviously give us the ability to either flex up or flex down. But the intent is not to have an ore gap. As you said, BP33, it's on track. It will deliver first or mid-calendar year '27. So that's the -- obviously, the plan at the moment, we don't see any reason for that not to be executed on.

Okay, beautiful. And just timing on drilling results at Blackbeard?

Yes. Look, as soon as we can is a short answer. So we've drilled several hundred meters of the 12,000, 13,000 meter program. So we are planning on doing all of that this side of the wet season. So look, as soon as they're available, the intent is to get them out. We'll give you a bit more color in the coming weeks on what that -- what all that sort of looks like. But drilling is going well. We haven't seen any issues, obviously, we got in there and mobilized really well. And as I said, the program is already seeing some meters into -- in the ground and some results will be in the lab shortly.

[Operator Instructions] Your next question comes from Andrew Harrington from Petra Capital.

Paul, well done, getting everything in line and running to your schedule. The question is around offtake and the kind of volumes you're talking about and the parties that you might be talking about or what kind of time line you're looking at to complete those?

Thanks, Andrew, and nice to talk mate. Look, I think it's an under sold advantage that we had. And when you think about post May last year, there was a deliberate strategy from us to be completely unencumbered with offtake because as we see through cycles, there is significant advantage if you can place yourself in those positions to exploit offtake. So look, we're out to market now. We haven't really specifically given any particular time frame. But just to let you know, we are out to market. I mean, obviously, the funding process that we went through identified several parties that we're interested in providing offtake, offtake funding and various other structures. So obviously, we've got good solid existing relationships and those that were interested in the funding process are now talking to us about offtake. So look, from our perspective, obviously, we're very well funded. So I wouldn't say that offtake funding is potentially off the table. I think everything from our perspective is on the table, and we're excited to be in the market seeing what's out there. And as I've said to a few people over the last several weeks. I mean we're not needing to do anything from an offtake perspective that is unnecessary. We're well funded. We're delivering on the key milestones, we've got great liquidity buffer. So anything we do from an offtake perspective will be value add. But there's certainly plenty of interest from many jurisdictions. Obviously, the ones you'd expect. But as I said, when we were going through the funding, there was great support across Europe and various parts of Asia. So yes, we're excited to engage on offtake. And if anything meaningful comes up, we'll certainly keep the market abreast of it.

Okay. Remind us what's the sort of a relationship with Glencore what's the arrangement with Glencore in terms of their participation or their commission or however it works from the perspective of Glencore?

Yes. So look, I think one of the pleasing things with our funding consortium is the alignment we had around the skill sets. And obviously, we've got InfraVia, who are a sovereign wealth fund, highly credentialed, large, very supportive diverse fund. Pleasingly, we've had really good solid long-term relationships with Glencore. That was supportive initially when I joined the business, and we've obviously fostered that relationship through the execution of funding. So how I think about that, Andrew, is you've got one of the global leading marketers out in front doing the marketing for us, it's a marketing agreement. Obviously, there's no offtake associated with the Glencore agreement. So pleasingly, when we're out talking to groups, they're beside us and obviously, have decades of offtake experience. So yes, it's obviously, we're focused on executing the mine and the mine plan and getting tonnes on a boat. And they're out marketing our product and supporting us with offtake conversations.

All right. And lastly, is Tesla in the tent or in the room discussing offtake? Or are they completely out?

No, look, I think as time's gone on and groups have started to think about their requirements. I wouldn't say any of those have been discounted. So yes, we're talking to a lot of groups, and we're getting positive responses. Obviously, one of the key advantages that the group see is our fast restart and obviously, our competitive cost base. So when you think about what we've previously done, we've -- I think we've done a really good job of reevaluating the capital requirements. We've obviously managed to fund in a really challenging environment. We're obviously seeing a far better environment now from the spodumene cost perspective. And obviously, we have our ability to restart fast. So we have good interest across the globe, which is really positive.

There are no further phone questions at this time. I'll now hand the conference back over to Mr. Paul Brown.

Okay. Look, that's really it for us, thanks everyone, for taking the time. Obviously, we'll reach out to groups in the coming days for a bit more of a conversation, but really pleasing to provide the update today. I'd like to thank our shareholders and of course, the broader Core team, and we look forward to providing updates in the coming months. Thanks very much.

That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.