NexGen Energy Aktie

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to NexGen's inaugural Investor Day. Thank you for joining us. Before we begin, please note that today's webinar includes forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Please refer to the relevant disclaimers on our website for further information. I'll now turn it over to Leigh Curyer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

[Presentation]

Welcome to NexGen Energy's Investor Day. Everything you see in the video, the data centers, the cities, the factories, the AI needs power. We all agree the cleanest, densest most reliable form of that power runs on Uranium. To provide some context as to how much power Uranium generates, this tiny Uranium fuel pellet, well, just 3 of those can power a typical North American household for over an entire year. That's the equivalent to approximately 8.1 tons of coal and forgoing over 16.5 tons of carbon emissions. That's it. That's all it takes. Demand for Uranium is rising sharply, and it's accelerating from here.

Today, there is approximately 400 gigawatts of nuclear generating capacity globally, supplying just under 10% of the world's total electricity. As we speak, more than 88 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity is under construction, representing approximately 20% growth by 2032, and that's just the beginning. As of 2026, 38 countries pledged to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050. That would increase global nuclear generating capacity from approximately 400 gigawatts today to over 1,200 gigawatts over the next 25 years. That's a 3x from where we are today. Unprecedented heavy demand is underway for this key energy fuel.

Thus far, the Uranium supply response has struggled. Existing mines are depleting, which means the next generation of supply is under construction today. New Uranium mines take on average 15 to 20 years to progress from discovery through to production. As we move through the second half of this decade and into the next, legacy supply diminishes, creating an even greater supply gap. The industry faces a significant challenge. NexGen is part of the solution. Arrow's production is only replacing what is expected to come offline in the early 2030s. So stark is the reality. We won't see a meaningful supply response until the 2040s given the long time lines.

And as mentioned, these discoveries still need to happen. A decade ago, Uranium was only USD 17 a pound. Today, the long-term price has hit a record $97 a pound. That's a 5x in prices, and yet we're barely seeing a supply response. The demand and supply gap is getting greater. The deficit as we sit today, is approximately 60 million pounds per annum and growing. From here, the gap between what the world needs and what the world can produce only gets wider. The world requires substantially more Uranium. Let me show you what we're doing about it. At full production, NexGen will produce approximately 30 million pounds of Uranium annually, the equivalent of powering more than 46 million homes over the course of a year.

That is every single house in the top 5 populated states in the United States of America. In 4 short years, the length of an undergraduate degree, Rook I will be the Western world's #1 Uranium producer, incorporating elite top-of-class environmental performance and technological innovation, ensuring optimal safety standards for our valued team members. The next 40 minutes is a walk-through on exactly what we're constructing. The major milestones will be presented by team members responsible for the actual execution on the ground. You'll see the schedule.

You'll see the phased capital plan, you'll see the people building it. And you'll see why this asset at this moment with this team is the most important project under construction today. From discovery to production, we're already approximately 75% of the way through that journey. The next stage of construction is the final 25%, and this is where substantial value is unlocked. It's where a world-class discovery becomes a world-class mining operation. It's where NexGen becomes the #1 Western world Uranium producer and it's where one of the most strategic clean energy assets on the planet continues to deliver for shareholders, communities, governments and the globe.

Everything from this point is about execution. I'd like to introduce you to members of the NexGen construction team led by Chris Copley, whom have every single day of the next 48 months mapped out. Chris, over to you.

Thanks, Leigh. Let me take you through Rook I and show you exactly what we're building.

Hi. I'm Chris Copley, Project Director at NexGen Energy. At NexGen, I lead the integrated delivery of the Rook I project, bringing together our engineering, procurement, construction, project controls and contracts teams to ensure the project is delivered safely, efficiently and in alignment with our cost, schedule and quality objectives. The Rook I project is a conventional underground mine. And on average, 1,300 tons of ore is moved to surface each day. The ore itself is in stable hard rock conditions and the ore body is vertically stacked, allowing the use of gravity ore and waste passes. To put 1,300 tons per day into context, it's the equivalent volume of just double-decker bus of Uranium ore moved to surface each day. We've been successfully operating a camp at Rook I since 2013. Today, we have just under 490 hardwall beds and nearly 570 beds in total, including softwall accommodation. Our accommodation complex is expandable up to 700 beds total with an additional 200 beds nearby. We have year-round highway access, a 13-kilometer dual lane access road to site, and the first phase of the air strip is complete. Importantly, we've demonstrated our ability to execute through delivery of a $100 million early works program with material completion on time and on budget.

The major activities defining the critical path are: number one, preparation of the shaft pads; number two, sinking of the exhaust shaft; number three, commencement of underground development; and finally, number four, completion of the underground tailings management facility, or UGTMF, and the underground material handling systems. Here's a high-level view of the project time line and major activities. I'll break these down in more detail in the animation. In the video, you can see our access road and expanded accommodation facility.

The accommodation facility is commissioned, complete and occupied. We've also completed construction of a 3,000-foot exploration air strip, enabling the handling of propeller aircraft. The main focus during the second half of 2026 is site development earthworks to repair the site for shaft sinking. During this period, we will complete the following: construction of the waste management and construction facility pads and installation of temporary facilities and utilities, extension of the site runway from 3,000 feet to 5,840 feet to enable the landing of jet aircraft, construction of the effluent diffuser road and in-water pipeline for water management, construction of the production and exhaust shaft terraces, start of concrete foundations for the shaft head frames, hoist house and winch house and installation of the shaft freeze plants. In 2027, installation of the temporary shaft infrastructure continues and the freeze plants are activated in the first quarter. As spring arrives, work begins on expanding the site footprint with the construction of the mill terrace pads, access road, waste rock storage facility and site water management features, including runoff ponds, dewatering ponds and water treatment monitoring ponds. Development of these features continues through 2027, and they are completed prior to the winter months.

2027 also marks the construction of the temporary effluent treatment plant and environmental analytical laboratory, which will be used to treat processing groundwater recovered during main shaft sinking occurring in 2028. Pre-sinking for both shafts begins midyear and is completed by the fourth quarter, allowing the start of head frame and hoist house construction to begin. In parallel to shaft sinking, we began construction of the processing plant and its supporting ancillary buildings, including the operations effluent water treatment plant. By fall of 2028, the majority of surface buildings will be erected with the processing plant continuing to advance through the winter months.

In 2028, we start the main sink of both the exhaust and production shafts, reaching the basement rock interface in June and August of 2028 for the exhaust and production shafts, respectively. By the beginning of 2029, we hit shaft bottom of the exhaust shaft and commenced underground development. Underground mining is carried out through proven long-haul stoping and transverse stoping methods. Mining begins with the establishment of ore drives and crosscuts at regular intervals throughout the deposit. These workings are equipped with ventilation, services and ground support systems, providing safe and efficient access to the ore body.

Longhole drills create either parallel or fan-shaped drill patterns between sublevels. The drill holes are approximately 114 millimeters in diameter and range from 5 to 30 meters in length. Hole spacing is carefully designed to optimize fragmentation, minimize dilution and maximize ore recovery. The holes are charged with explosives and blasted. Following each blast, the mine's high-capacity ventilation system, delivering approximately 620 cubic meters of air per second, clears blasting gases in just 15 to 21 minutes, allowing mining activities to resume efficiently.

Following ventilation clearance, load haul dump units, or LHDs, collect the broken ore and load it into underground haul trucks. The haul trucks transport the ore to strategically located ore passes where it flows down to underground ore bins. There, remotely operated rock breakers reduce the material to approximately 300 millimeters in size before it is transferred on to the underground conveyor system. The conveyor network carries the ore to the shaft loading pocket, where is loaded onto the production shaft skip. Each skip has a capacity of 17 tons, hoisting the ore to surface for processing through the Rook I surface facilities.

This highly efficient mining and material handling system supports the operation's ability to achieve its planned production profile while maintaining industry-leading operating costs. By the third quarter of 2030, all surface and underground features are completed, and we deliver first ore for the start of commissioning and production. In just over 4 years, Rook I transitions from a construction project into the world's largest Uranium mining operations. We have built an integrated project team for the development of the Rook I project that is comprised of highly skilled professionals across underground mining, Uranium processing, radiation protection and project execution.

Every work stream has clear accountability, the right expertise is brought to the conversation early and decisions are made by the people closest to the work. That integrated ownership model is a key reason we've been able to advance the Rook I project with discipline, speed and alignment across all functions. I'll now pass it to Dylan, who will discuss training and labor.

I'm Dylan Smart, Vice President of Regional Development at NexGen Energy. At NexGen, my role is simple: ensure local communities are partners in our success. We work every day to maximize business opportunities, create meaningful careers and build long-term economic prosperity throughout the region. What makes this model especially powerful is how tightly it is aligned with execution. We are delivering training in lockstep with project development. That means people are gaining the right skills at the right time for opportunities that are coming. At the core of this project is a belief that goes well beyond development itself. We believe that the most meaningful and lasting impact we can create in Northern Saskatchewan is through people, through education, training and long-term career development. Since 2022, we've been taking that commitment directly into the communities.

We have delivered training programs on the ground in partnership with the local leaders. And today, nearly 700 participants have completed programs ranging from project readiness, radiation and environmental courses and skilled trades development to electrical, carpentry and pipe fitting initiatives. What's important here? It's not just the scale, it's the approach. We're not waiting for the project to drive workforce readiness. We are building that workforce in advance, and we are doing it with the communities, not around them. And we are continuing to build that momentum. In the summer of 2026 alone, we are training over 60 students across water management, heavy equipment operations and Pathways to the Future program, which is focused on preparing participants for careers in the mining sector.

Rook I is located in the most favorable geological settings in the Athabasca Basin, significantly reducing what is traditionally a dominating risk for underground operations. The next section will walk you through how the geological conditions are known and understood and the methods we have deployed to minimize risk associated with shaft sinking and underground development. I first want to give you a visual representation of the rock quality we have at Rook I. There is no better explanation of the geology than seeing it firsthand. First, we'll spray some water over these rocks, so you can see what happens when we add moisture. So from left to right, we have Athabasca sandstone. We have our host rock, which has been sampled from the pilot hole of the shafts. And we have our high-grade mineralization, which has been sampled, and that's why it's broken up. Moving to the sandstone.

You can see it just crumbles apart when squeeze. This is why sandstone settings are so challenging to develop. Ground conditions like this require constant ground freezing to hold it together. Now compare this to hard rock. This is the rock we're sinking the shaft into. As you can see, it's solid and technically competent, which gives us a high degree of certainty on development costs and rates. And finally, the ore itself. It's been spliced for sampling, but what's important here is that the mineralization sits within that same competent basement rock you just saw. So unlike deposits sitting at or above unconformity in the sandstone, we're mining in strong, stable ground from development right through to production.

We often get asked how Rook I compares to Jansen. The simple answer is they are completely different projects. Rook I is shallower with smaller shaft diameters and uses conventional shaft sinking methods. Jansen is a much deeper project in softer, more variable ground conditions requiring a deeper ground freeze and very different execution approach. While both projects involve shafts, the geology, engineering and construction methods are fundamentally different. We have assembled an experienced management team with deep shaft sinking and construction expertise that will be managing the full shaft contract.

Their involvement throughout the process has enabled informed decision-making during both the engineering phase and contractor selection process. To further derisk the project and inform the final design, we completed an extensive geotechnical and hydrogeological investigation drilling program. This included drilling of 60 holes along with a central pilot hole extending to approximately 950 meters depth. The objective was straightforward to understand the ground conditions, identify any potential water-bearing zones and validate the design assumptions. We encountered competent, stable ground conditions with no significant groundwater activity beyond the near surface environment.

A significant milestone in the shaft sinking program is reaching basement rock. We reached basement rock in both the exhaust and production shafts in mid-2028. Once basement rock is reached and the hydrostatic shaft liner is completed, the temporary ground freezing stops and hydrological and geotechnical risk is greatly reduced. Now let me show you how the shaft sinking process works. There are 3 distinct ground conditions the shafts will pass through. The first is approximately 50 to 80 meters of overburden, consisting of sediments and glacial till.

The second is unconsolidated rock extending to roughly 150 meters deep. And below that lies the competent basement rock at approximately 150 to 175 meters for the exhaust shaft and 200 to 225 meters for the production shaft. To safely pass through the overburden and unconsolidated rock, we will freeze the upper 150 to 200 meters surrounding the shafts. The freeze plant circulates chilled brine through a series of pipes, creating a frozen cylinder around the shaft and providing a stable environment for excavation. Freeze preparation begins in late 2026 with freezing commencing in early 2027. The initial freeze is 3.5 months before excavations begin. Presinking then begins the third quarter of 2027.

Through the overburden, we expect sink rates of approximately 1 meter per day, increasing to 1.5 meters per day through the unconsolidated rock. These rates are industry benchmarked for shafts sunk and frozen conditions. As shaft sinking progresses, we will continue to verify conditions using a pro pole drilling program. This allows the team to continually assess the ground below, identify and adapt accordingly as required. Once we reach competent basement rock in mid-2028 for both shafts, the hydrostatic liner is completed, temporary freeze turned off and the project risk greatly reduces from a geotechnical and hydrogeological perspective.

Sinking rates then accelerate to 2.5 to 2.9 meters per day and the shaft liner system transitions to a simple non-hydrostatic liner. Once shaft bottom is reached, conventional underground equipment is hoisted down the shaft to begin lateral development. Once we reach shaft bottom, underground development begins, maintaining the critical path. The focus now shifts to developing the stopes and key infrastructure. By mid-2029, we achieved breakthrough between the production shaft and the exhaust shaft, connecting the 2 shaft networks. This completes the full ventilation circuit and provides a second means of egress clearing a way for production ramp-up.

Hi, I'm Bryan Dyck, Lead Processing and Metallurgy at NexGen Energy. At NexGen, my role is to ensure that the Rook I process plant delivers exceptional performance, and efficiency right from the start. We are building a conventional mill processing ore with low impurity risks from deleterious elements such as arsenic. Plant is optimized for a maximum 5% head grade with an average grade of approximately 3%. The flow sheet is proven, conventional and designed for high recovery rates using established methods successfully implemented in the Athabasca Basin. The advantage we have today is the ability to build on decades of operational experience, learning from past challenges while integrating modern automation and safety systems. The milling process is well established, is designed with flexibility to mill the range of ore grades expected across the mine life.

There's opportunity to mill future ore sources and continue to utilize the full 30 million pound per year capacity of the mill. Ore arrives from underground into graded stockpiles and is blended by a loader to feed the grinding circuit. Ore is sized through a grizzly screen with the oversized material broken by a rock breaker. Ore passing through the screen is carried on the conveyor belt to feed the Semi-Autogenous Grinding mill. The ore is grounded by a combination of steel grinding balls and the ore itself, while it's mixed with water to create a slurry suitable for pumping and leaching. The Uranium is dissolved in the solution through a conventional leaching process using acid and peroxide. The Uranium-bearing solution is then washed and separated from the solids and collected for further processing.

The Uranium solution is purified, removing minor impurities and concentrated in the solvent extraction process. The remaining acid is neutralized and gypsum solids are washed and removed from the process. The Uranium is precipitated as yellowcake then thicken and washed. The yellow cake is dried and heated to produce a dense, stable Uranium concentrate product. The final product is packaged into sealed drums and prepared for shipment.

The flow sheet utilizes proven technologies that have been used successfully across the uranium industry for decades, simple, conventional and proven.

One of the most differentiated aspects of Rook I is how we manage processed ore known as tailings. Traditionally, the mining industry has relied on storing the majority of tailings on surface. Enabled by the hard rock conditions of the Arrow deposit, a purpose-built underground tailings facility or UGTMF, will be developed to allow 100% of the tailings to be deposited back underground. Tailings are transported underground through a dedicated borehole adjacent to the production shaft. They are placed into mined out chambers as well as paste backfilled into mined out stopes and fully stored underground as the mine develops. The facility itself is built progressively in alignment with the mine plan, allowing tailings management to become an integral part of the mine and not separate from it. And the result is simple, no surface tailings dam, none. Now let me hand it over to Neil, who will walk you through how we are integrating best-in-class technology across the site from day 1 of operations.

My name is Neil Chiles. I'm the Director of Information Technology at NexGen Energy. At NexGen, I lead the technology strategy for the Rook I project, designing a digitally native mine from the ground up. Automation, remote operations and real-time data built in from day 1 to make one of the world's most significant Uranium projects safer, faster and more efficient for decades. Most existing mines were not designed to be automated. They were retrofit. We have the rare advantage of designing automation from day 1, not first of a kind, best of class applied right from the get-go. We will have a remote operations center, 5G throughout and auto control vehicles from the surface with the goal of having as few people underground as possible. Let me show you what we will be implementing as part of the build. [Presentation]

We are designing the operations from inception around safety, efficiency, reliability and real-time decision-making and enabling the operations to be operated remotely. Now I will hand it back to Leigh and Travis.

12 months or 1 year of full production. That's all it takes for Rook I to pay back the CapEx using $90 spot price. Every dollar has been planned, scheduled and allocated with the same disciplined approach we apply across the project from engineering and procurement through to contractor selection and execution. The capital profile mirrors the risk profile. We invest heavily in the early years as we build the critical infrastructure and complete the shafts. From there, both capital intensity and execution variability steadily decline as the project advances towards first production. More than half of the capital is labor and materials, exactly what you'd expect in a mine build of this scale. This project will be built milestone by milestone in plain sight, and we invite you to hold us accountable every step of the way.

Depending on the scope of work, contracts are structured as fixed price, unit rate or risk-sharing arrangements. We use the model that best aligns incentives with optimal outcomes. Most importantly, these are teams that have done this before. And as major contracts are awarded, you will hear about them. As the project advances, you will see how capital is being efficiently deployed and how we are tracking against the schedule, scope and budget every quarter. Now I'll hand it back over to Leigh.

Uniquely, given the high grades in the initial life of mine, nameplate capacity only needs to run at approximately 60% capacity to produce 30 million pounds during the first 2 years of production. At the current spot price of approximately $85 a pound, Rook I generates approximately USD 1.3 billion in after-tax free cash flow. And at $150 per pound, the level where many ceilings have been reported in recent offtake contracts, that increases the cash flow at NexGen to approximately $2.3 billion annually after tax. That's the advantage of combining exceptional grade, hard rock conditions, conventional mining techniques and scale. Anything above $30 a pound Uranium takes this asset and NexGen into the top 10 mining companies globally based on after-tax net free cash flow whilst delivering exceptional environmental returns. Everything beyond $30 a pound increases the value, which will be captured by shareholders, communities, governments and the world.

The next decade in uranium won't be defined by demand. Demand is already here. The question is, who can deliver new supply? NexGen is building growth to support the current market and growing. In just 4 years, Rook I becomes the largest uranium producer in the Western world, entering production just as global supply continues to tighten. One of the unique advantages of a deposit like Arrow is its flexibility. It's an important distinction. We are optimizing the economic return on every single pound we produce. That's our responsibility to shareholders, the community, the government of Saskatchewan and Canada. In a market where replacement supply remains very fragile, NexGen's production certainty is its defining character.

As we conclude the session, let me summarize the opportunity in front of us. NexGen is in construction mode. The project is defined. The site preparation construction license is in hand. The financing is in hand. The construction team has been handpicked from the very best in the industry. Every milestone ahead of us is visible, measurable and creates substantial value on the path to becoming a top 10 world mining company. NexGen is delivering better, expect better. Thank you for joining the NexGen team today.

Please join us on all of our quarterly calls for up-to-the-minute updates throughout the construction period. We appreciate your time and interest in this world-leading opportunity.

This is a remarkable journey, a fantastic Canadian story about entrepreneurship cooperation and giving something back to the world. This is the future of AI all around the world. And we're right here at the cusp of it.

I met this junior exploration company called NexGen. And it wasn't normal for these companies to come engage with our community. It was like, really, you want to talk to us. We were kind of taken back -- they actually came to the table and said, this is what we're doing. This is what we're about. We want to engage. This was well before they even discovered something. And they really wanted to help our community like this is such a positive thing for our people. And I'm very proud because it not only brings hope and opportunity, it brings prosperity and it brings careers.

What you've seen,

And how NexGen has played a role in this region and the commitment the leaders have put to be able to make it happen. It's tremendous. I look at it and I smile.

This project right here, beneath our feet, the work that has gone into this project over the course of the last decade and the work that remains represents Saskatchewan's ability to provide that energy security and ultimately, that sovereignty to so many nations, including our own.

Rook I is one of the most significant resource projects our province has seen in decades. Rook I is slated to support over 1,000 jobs generate tens of billions in economic activity and strengthen Canada's role as a global leader in uranium production at a time when the world is looking for clean, reliable nuclear energy.

Welcome back. Let's take a look at where some agricultural commodities are trading at the moment. Wheat futures seeing a noticeable mid-summer rebound, but supply anxiety is starting to peak after Russia's August wheat exports hit a 16-year low and that, of course, is due to the ongoing war in Ukraine with some areas and waterways around there blocked. Corn also established a powerful mid-summer baseline. You can see it's 2% almost more than 2% at the moment. And soybean futures were headed forth day of gains, the longest winning streak since mid-May up almost 2%. Construction has officially started on what could become one of the world's largest uranium mines in Northern Saskatchewan. According to Vancouver-based energy company, NexGen Energy, which owns and operates the project, and this comes at a time when global demand for uranium continues to increase as the world looks for stable and reliable sources of low emissions energy to power the AI build-out. For more, let's bring in Leigh Curyer, CEO of NexGen Energy. It's great to have you join us. Thanks for taking the time.

Thank you for having me.

So let's start, obviously, this mine in Saskatchewan. What gives you confidence that this project has the potential to become one of the world's largest and lowest cost uranium mines?

Yes. Well, it's one of the world's largest and highest-grade uranium deposits that currently exist. And as per our feasibility study, it certainly suggests that we have an incredible cost advantage on a cost per pound basis, but also incredible economics. The payback period for the project at the current uranium price of $88 a pound, which has been rising is a little under 12 months. So its potential is there. But now with the project fully permitted, as of the 5th of March 2026, full-scale construction is underway. And once in production, it will be delivering around 20% of the world's mine supply, returning Canada as the clear leader in the provision of uranium worldwide.

Let's go back to 2014 for a moment when you drilled that first hole and hit mineralization. Like at the time, did you have any sense of just how significant that discovery could become?

With the first drill hole, we knew we had a very broad discovery, but at that time, it was in the low-grade part of the deposit. It was really hole 30 when we drilled that one in the summer of 2014 that at the time, it was around the fourth best exploration hole from surface ever drilled anywhere in the world. That hole now no longer is in the top 20 holes drilled from surface in exploration as a great hole. So Arrow hosts 20 of the best holes in the world ever drilled from surface. And it was in the summer of 2014 that we knew we're on to something significant. Just how big? Well, it was March of 2016 when we issued our first maiden resource statement. And then in a short 12 months thereafter, the deposit had expanded by 50% to over 300 million pounds.

At the moment, it's just under 350 million pounds globally. And we have mineralization below the current grade shell that we've intersected over 500 meters. So the deposit at Arrow is still yet to be fully defined, and we expect to do that once we see the underground engineering and start exploring from depth at Arrow Deeps in a few short years from now. And then when you consider that, that was our 21st drill hole back in February of 2014 on the property only. We weren't -- look, we did a fantastic job geologically, but the endowment of the area for future discovery is very, very high. And then 2 years ago, we discovered the Patterson Corridor East project, only 3.5 kilometers from Arrow, and you can see the drill rigs from the production pad at Arrow. The area is incredibly well endowed for future discoveries.

You're looking at $2.2 billion in capital spending over 4 years to build that mine. So how do you plan to finance that investment? And what role do you expect maybe the government support to play?

Yes. We have $1 billion in the bank. We have a delta of $1.5 billion, which will conclude in the next 9 months. And that's a combination of debt, equity, prepayments that we've been running for the past 2 years. And it may be a combination of all of those avenues. But suffice to say, look, we're being offered enormous amounts of financing on a weekly basis. The task here is to conclude the best structure of that remaining finance, and we'll be doing so within the next 9 months.

And the process of developing a new mine, that obviously takes time. So like what needs to go right between now and 2030 for you to reach commercial production on schedule?

Yes. It's a short 4-year build process. It's actually physically a very tiny mine. It's only 1,300 tonnes a day that we're building for. And so to put that in perspective, it's an ore volume of about the size of double decker bus. So whilst it's 20% of the world's mine supply, it's actually physically a very tiny mine. And the aspect of a long permitting process of approximately 7 years is that it's given us plenty of time to plan and prepare for the construction period. And I've assembled the very best team available with respect to hard rock mining and uranium milling process. And the experience of the team collectively is a little over 3,000 years.

So when you consider -- we were the ones that discovered this project, ran every feasibility study across it, own that information, and we've had 7 years to interrogate it and put it together. We are incredibly well prepared for the next 4 years. We have people in place that know what they're doing over every single day of that 4-year period. And we look forward to bringing it to the province of Saskatchewan, Canada and the world.

Have you had discussions or received support from Indigenous communities whose territories are maybe near the project?

Yes, we have four Indigenous communities within the vicinity of the project. We concluded all of our Impact Benefit Agreements prior to receiving Saskatchewan approval back in November of 2023. And one of the aspects of the groundbreaking ceremony last Thursday was the incredible support from local Indigenous leaders with respect to the approach that NexGen had implemented way before we drilled even our very first exploration hole.

So that is a function of a relationship which reflects the actions of NexGen over the journey since 2012 and every day since then. And it's a really great success story in Canada where local communities, governments and a committed company can achieve great things by working collaboratively together and the respect that's been -- and the trust that's been issued to NexGen is sincerely respected.

Obviously, we know just lastly, Cameco, the dominant player in Canada's uranium industry. So what have you learned from Cameco and other like established global producers that you maybe will think about bringing to this project?

Look, Cameco has been a company that's led the Western world in the provision of mined uranium supply over the last 3 decades. As I said, we've got experience right across the hard rock mining, milling processing aspects of the mine. And we've looked not just within the industry, but we've looked outside of the industry to bring another level of innovation to mining in Canada, and the Rook I project will be the -- one of the most technologically safe and environmentally elite mines in the world. And that's been a function of looking in the mining sector, but also outside the mining sector. And it's going to set a new standard with respect to the environmentally elite safe mining operations anywhere in the world.

Okay. We've got to leave it there. Leigh Curyer, CEO of NexGen Energy. I appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

Good day, and thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Before we begin today, we encourage anyone joining by telephone to also access the live webcast where NextGen will be showing current site construction photos and video at the Rook I project. Access for the webcast details can be found in today's news release.

Welcome to the NextGen Energy Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] The conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Leigh Curyer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer and Director with NextGen Energy Limited. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Chris. Good morning, and thank you for joining NextGen's Q2 2026 Financial Results and Investor Call. Joining me today are Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer; Ryan Podrasky, who recently joined in Q2 from Elk Valley Resources as Chief Financial Officer. Ryan brings more than 25 years of project development and operational finance leadership in operating $10 billion revenue business with over 5,000 employees and overseeing capital projects in excess of $5 billion. and Chris Copley, our Director of Engineering.

During today's call, I'll provide an update on our construction, exploration and commercial activities during the second quarter of 2026. At the conclusion of this presentation, we'll move to a short slide show and then move into Q&A portion of the call, where you'll have the opportunity to ask myself, Travis, Ryan and Chris, any questions you would like. We'll be making forward-looking statements throughout the call today, so please visit our website for all the relevant disclaimers.

The broader environment. I'd like to commence by acknowledging the broader nuclear energy environment in which NextGen is advancing Rook 1. As a Canadian company developing the world's largest and most strategic energy project in Saskatchewan, we are seeing Canada's policy environment turn highly constructive towards the country's future leadership across the nuclear landscape. from small modular reactors and large-scale reactor deployments to reestablishing Canada as the world's leading supplier of uranium through our Rook I project.

The confluence of this support global -- the confluence of this supportive global policy and NextGen's timing to production is perfectly aligned. As NextGen brings the Rook 1 project into operation just 4 short years from now, the world's largest current production centers will be nearing the end of their lives, meaning NextGen's output will effectively only replace that declining material. This underscores the importance of our ongoing exploration efforts at Patterson Corridor East, PCE, and the district scale package we hold to support this incredible nuclear future.

The world is changing rapidly and governments everywhere have arrived at the same conclusion. Economic and national security now depend on energy sovereignty. Ongoing geopolitical conflict has reinforced supply chain diversification as a key strategic priority, creating an opportunity for Canada to become the leading supplier of critical energy resources. The facts are striking. While 70% of nuclear demand comes from OECD nations, just 25% of fuel supply comes from those same nations. Add to that, the fact that over 90% of OECD uranium production is already contracted and therefore, unavailable for future sale, NextGen's timing with the Rook 1 project is perfectly aligned.

We're seeing this translate into policy. The Building Canada Act marks a significant shift in support for major energy infrastructure projects and Canada's newly released nuclear energy strategy sets out clear ambitions, including a doubling of uranium exports by 2035. NextGen is fundamental to Canada in delivering on this vision. In this context, NextGen's offtake sales strategy has been proven correct in optimizing the economic return on every single pound to be produced, providing investors with world-leading leverage to the future price of uranium.

Simply, NextGen has orders of magnitude more pounds to sell than any other Western world supplier. And we retain full upside on every single pound, truly untapped leverage to the future uranium market. That market spot consolidated during the quarter in the mid-80s, while the term market continued to trade steadily higher, reaching $97 per pound as reported by Trade Tech. That's above the $95 high of the 2007 cycle. The 5-year forward price now sits at $105 per pound. This trend clearly shows where the market is heading and validates NextGen's strategy of maximizing our leverage and exposure to the future price at the time of delivery.

While prices keep moving higher, there has still been no meaningful supply response to date. When we zoom out, this becomes obvious. Uranium prices have increased 500% over the last decade, while supply has only grown 14% over the same period. The past 12 months have only reinforced how little new supply is available to come online and how increasingly challenging it is to keep existing producing sources running. On uranium sales contracts, we continue to advance and in some cases, execute sales agreements with customers. We recently executed during the quarter a term sheet to sell another 1.3 million pounds to a U.S. utility customer at market prices at the time of delivery. This again validates another end user confirming NextGen's offtake strategy, which is beneficial for our utility customers as well as for NextGen.

We continue to advance a number of additional sales agreements with global utilities covering in addition to the U.S., Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Our objective remains consistent to secure high-quality long-term partnerships whilst preserving the exposure to future prices that will maximize profitability per pound and ultimately, value for our shareholders. This is also a responsibility by NextGen to ensure royalties to the Saskatchewan government, which are based off realized price for uranium is maximized.

Royalty revenue, which funds health, education and social commitments, which reflects our appreciation of the Saskatchewan government's long-standing support for the initiatives NextGen has delivered. With 96% of our reserve base available for future sale, we have the highest leverage in the uranium universe to where uranium prices go from here. When we analyze the potential future sources of uranium, the cost profiles and time lines, it is not hard to see how constructive the backdrop is, given the structural nature of the supply deficit. We are, therefore, concluding and expecting prices to continue to strengthen materially from these current levels.

With respect to construction and milestones during the quarter, we have completed all planned key construction milestones to scope and budget and schedule. At conclusion of this commentary, we'll provide a short slide update of construction at the Rook I project during the quarter. You will see a lot has been accomplished in a short space of time. In detail, we've completed our 3,000-foot air strip. Our accommodation complex is fully commissioned, complete and occupied and capable of 700 persons. The team at the Rook 1 site now currently numbers approximately 300 people and is growing weekly as construction activities gain pace.

We are well advanced on major earthworks and surface infrastructure. Construction of the laydown facilities, the effluent diffuser road, the in-water works and the site road networks are all on schedule. Earthworks will dominate site activities for the remainder of 2026 in preparation for shaft sinking, which commenced in Q1 2027. Pads for the production exhaust shaft mine terraces will complete in Q3. In Q4, we will begin concrete foundations for the shaft head frames, hoist house and winch house, install the temporary freezing plant and erect the primary batch plant.

December 2026, the full 5,840-foot air strip will be complete. The latest construction progress photos will be posted on the homepage of our website. Further, we will host our Investor Day webinar on Tuesday, September 1, where we will provide a comprehensive update on each phase of the Rook 1 construction pathway. During the webinar, you'll hear directly from our highly experienced project team whose expertise spans hard rock mining, engineering and construction with extensive experience in large-scale copper and gold projects complemented by deep uranium milling and processing expertise. We have also recently awarded major contracts during the quarter, the final major engineering procurement contract and the shaft sinking contract structured to fully incentivize and align outcomes with the shaft sink itself. Further, the mine hoist equipment among the most critical components in the shaft operated underground mines commenced back in mid-2005 and is advancing on schedule. We'll be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony next week on August 13 at Rook 1 with global investors, customers, partners, indigenous nations and the government of Saskatchewan. This will be a major moment for Canada, signifying officially the critically important role NextGen will play in delivering Canada's energy commitment.

The team we've assembled at NextGen is high caliber, proven and holds itself and others to elite standards. Together, we provide the experience, capability and expertise required to successfully deliver the world's most important uranium project. Combined, this team has delivered over $20 billion of capital projects and brings more than 2,100 years of relevant experience. On the exploration front, Patterson Corridor East is one of the most exciting exploration discoveries in the Athabasca Basin, and we continue to be highly encouraged by results.

With approximately 50% of our planned 42,000-meter drilling program now complete, our focus remains on expanding the overall mineralized footprint and the growing high-grade shears within the system. Every meter drilled improves our understanding of the scale and potential of this latest discovery. Importantly, exploration success complements the value being created across NextGen. As construction advances towards production, continued success at PCE, together with opportunities across the company's dominant land position in the Southwestern Athabasca Basin, all will continue to drive growth for decades to come and create unparalleled shareholder value. Results from the drilling at PC will be issued in the coming months.

Balance sheet and funding. Our balance sheet is very strong with a liquidity position of over CAD 970 million at the end of Q2. Given the backdrop I've outlined, NextGen's positioning within it and our unique exposure to the future upside in uranium prices, the company has significant accretive options for funding. These include project finance, strategic corporate or asset level financings and prepayments of future uranium deliveries. The liquidity on hand validates we can evaluate optimally all of these options. NextGen remains a one of one in the uranium sector. The facts, we are in construction of what is considered by many analysts to be the world's most important uranium project. We have the largest quantity of uranium in the industry available for sale, and we have the most leverage to a rising uranium price. In addition, we see a future in which supply remains in long-term deficit and demand for reliable baseload nuclear power continues to accelerate higher, just as NextGen commences production at Rook 1.

In closing, safety, disciplined execution and community advancement remain at the core of everything we do. On the latter, we recently conducted the groundbreaking ceremony for the La Loche Hotel, which we have financially guaranteed and have brought the CRDN and the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan Northern Region 2 as partners. This is another example of how we at NexGen believe everyone should expect better from the mining industry, and we are proud to be redefining and leading this new era of successful resource development. We look forward to updating you on our continued progress throughout the year as we deliver key construction milestones and advance Rook 1 towards first production.

I'll now provide a brief slide show of construction -- pictures of construction during the second quarter and then open the call to questions. Just one moment.

[Presentation] On the front slide there, for those who are on the video webcast, that is the air strip that was commissioned last week. It's currently 3,000 feet in length and is up and running. This is a wider view across the site. Confirmation drill holes to a depth of 250 meters ring the production and the exhaust shafts. The freeze plant installation is currently underway. And up the top there is the location of the future mill terrace. The pilot hole, which I'll show you now, has been drilled down to 950 meters. You can see on those pictures just the level of competency that the ground conditions exhibit. We know every single millimeter of the rock that we're about to excavate with the thinking of the production and the exhaust shafts. Moving to the camp. This is the total camp that we have at site, accommodation available for up to 770 people successfully installed, commissioned and operating to schedule. So the project is completely underway in construction as we speak.

The next slide is an indication of the level of crushed aggregate stockpiles that we have in place. We've been crushing aggregate for many, many months now with a CRDN Clearwater River Dene Nation partnered business, and we have 575,000 tonnes of gravel successfully crushed to date and ahead of schedule, employing up to 50 local residents, and that's been going around the clock and during the winter months. And so we have a huge stockpile of crushed gravel. We need a lot of crush gravel, but that signifies that we've gotten ahead in order to ensure that the successful construction of the project is occurring. So everything that we do with this construction, on any given day, if the design is finalized, we have ordered the equipment. Even if we need it in 3 to 4 years from now, if we have finalized the design, we have already ordered it. And that is just astute to ensure that we are not subject to any unforeseen delays.

This is the apron at the southwestern end of the runway with fully contained air strip with very, very clear lines between the vegetation and the air strip. The next photo is that this 3,000-foot air strip is already underway, being extended to 5,840 feet, which will be completed by December 2026, a little over 5 months from now. Here, the road installation of the diffuser road from the Rook 1 production pad down to the lake. And you can see there the diffuse installation site, which commenced this month in August. Here, we have the turbidity containment with the installation of the diffuser, the underwater diving unit, all equipment and supplies and people in place constructing.

Here, we've also excavated, as I mentioned in the call, a lot of the capital works that have been conducted during Q2 and for the balance of this year. Earthworks is a very heavy component of it, preparing the ground for all of the foundations that will be constructed thereafter. Here, we have the drill rigs, a short 3.5 kilometers. You can actually see these drill rigs from the production and resource pads from the Arrow Deposit, 3.5 kilometers away, currently halfway through the 42,000-meter PCE exploration program. As discussed during the call, we'll be having results released continuously over the course of the coming months.

And in order to house the additional core and also for 2027 and 2028 drilling, we are extending the core yard storage as we speak in order to house the additional core that we see coming from PCE over the next couple of years at a minimum. Here, we're just about to press play on a video, which gives you more of a panoramic view of the Rook I project. Could you please press play? Thank you. So there, we have the -- we're just going over the exhaust shaft here. And to the left there is another gravel pit that we are accessing aggregate. Also the aggregate coming up from the 2 shafts will be used for surface aggregate. Here is the air strip during the month of early July in the final stages of completing. Here, as I mentioned before, is the diffuse installation. All equipment in place. Construction is happening every day. And you'll see this is the road that heads up towards the production shaft of Arrow. As you can see, very clear lines between what is impacted and what is not and successfully installed.

That's a view of one of our gravel crushing operations. As I said, approximately 575,000 tonnes has been pre-crushed and is in stockpile ready for construction. And the camp to the left is the core sheds. That's over 400,000 meters of core. As I said, we're extending that facility to accommodate drilling core from PCE for the balance of this year and then '27, '28 as well, which really does signify our confidence in the PCE drilling. And yes, with respect to the camp, it can accommodate up to 770 people, look, for myself having stepped on the ground back in 2012, and we started exploration with just 2-man tents and to see what has transpired and is in action and ready for this construction phase. It does represent the NextGen team's dedication and commitment to excellence. And everyone who visits the camp from outside the operation is -- everyone walks away saying that is the best they've seen. And for the people coming up to the groundbreaking ceremony this coming Thursday, it's our absolute privilege to host. And whilst it's an incredible milestone, everyone is focused on construction and the -- everything has been conducted incredibly safely as it has always been the case at NextGen.

And with that, I'll hand over the call to any questions that the audience may have.

[Operator Instructions] And today's first question comes from George Eadie with UBS.

Can I just ask about the term sheet at the start, the 1.3 million pounds, is that total? And what is the period of delivery? And then secondly, can I ask why so few pounds? I'm guessing there was a lot of interest or there is. Why don't you go more sort of 5 million pounds or higher?

Yes. Look, it's 1.3 million pounds over a very short duration to a U.S. utility, totally leveraged to the spot price at the time of delivery. These contracts that we're doing at the moment are really introductory type contracts to establish a longer-term relationship. We currently have contracts under negotiation for up to GBP 20 million as we speak. And that is coming from not only the U.S. but also Asia and Europe. So I wouldn't take this as our template other than the element that we are seeking shorter duration ones than what has traditionally been done over the last couple of decades.

And the key component, which we're identified by is total leverage to the price at the time of delivery. And so I wouldn't look into the volume as any real indicator of what's actually happening. But the indicator is good because there hasn't been a lot of contracts signed over the Northern Hemisphere summer and yet we're extremely busy as a company. And so we are now up to 11.3 million pounds contracted and exposed to -- fully exposed to the spot price at the time of delivery in the future. And you'll see added contracts layered on in the future when they make sense and in line with our whole identity of being the world's most levered company to the future price of uranium.

Yes, sure. That's very helpful. And this sort of news we keep seeing with the U.S. government that's clearly more supportive, like what do you see as sort of the next leg to drop, I guess, in the next 12 to 18 months in the uranium market besides potential price indications, like what do you think is sort of the next thing to spur prices higher and getting that contract price sort of sustainably above $100 a pound?

Yes. Well, it's not only us reporting it, but there's -- I've listened to the other calls and all the market commentary is that the prices are now well into the low hundreds. You can see the 3- and the 5-year price is at -- or the 5-year price is at $105. I would like to explain everyone when contracts are being drafted, there's not one of those prices that stands out all alone. It is a combination if you want to look at more like floors and ceilings. The pricing is really determined by a number of factors, but it's the spot price, the 3-year price and the 5-year price kind of provides the base for a contract which is structured with a floor and a ceiling. As I said before, the one that we've just signed is fully exposed to spot at the time of delivery. But it's very exciting. We're seeing the spot price has stabilized at $85 a pound. I think everyone can consider that like a -- or reasonably consider that as a new floor for pricing. And yet we're seeing that 3-year and 5-year price hit record highs and exceeding past the previous historic high of in 2007.

So I think you're going to see particularly coming into the seasonal period of an increase in contracting post the WNA in London in early September, right through the winter months. I think you're going to see a real uptick in contracting being announced. From a U.S. government perspective, well, the demand and the policy setting is matching that of the Canadian government, both Canada and the U.S. heavily supporting nuclear energy on not only the construction of reactors, but also the fuel supply fabrication, but also the U308, the uranium mining. And we've been down to the White House a number of times. it's -- the demand is clearly evident, and you'll see that continue to play out. I think people should take the 1.3 million pounds that we have signed just recently is a very good indication of what is historically or seasonally a very, very quiet period. So it's looking extremely positive going forward.

The next question is from Orest Wowkodaw with UBS.

I'm actually from Scotiabank. Question, just as you're getting the project off the ground in terms of construction, ordering equipment, and I like the fact that you're ordering long lead time items here as soon as the design is finalized. But I'm just curious, your last official capital number for the project is from 2024. Now that you're getting going here, can you give us any sense of what you're seeing with respect to capital cost inflation, just given the industry pressures out there?

Yes. No, absolutely. And look, the pressures are well documented by many other mining projects. We have just signed during the quarter, the shaft sink in underground engineering. Now that component of the project is over 50% of the overall build. And that number has come out right in line with our August 2024 number. Now what did that validate? It validated that we're ultra conservative in that guidance in August 2024. The labor component of the underground engineering is a material percentage of the overall cost. Now wages will go up and there are cost pressures. We're actually not seeing the cost pressures on the same scale as what's been reported in other parts of the world with respect to resources projects.

But our project -- or that contract, which makes up a very large component of the CAD 2.2 billion has a very transparent cost structure that we can manage. And the development rate on the shaft sinking is a risk or a reward or a gain or pain type contract where they're rewarded for meeting development rates and not so rewarded when they don't achieve it. Those development rates as well are conservative in nature as we were with our financial estimate in August of 2024. So to answer your question, in addition to that, Orest, we, to date, have not seen anything material in that move in that $2.2 billion guidance that we made in August 2024. And as I said, that validates that we have been a healthy dose of conservatism in our financial estimates.

And our next question is from Ralph Profiti with Stifel Financial.

You gave a little bit of detail on some of the project milestones between now and, say, Q1 '27. I'd like a little bit more detail, if possible, on the ground freeze plan. Is 200 meters still the optimal depth given some of the ongoing geotechnical work? And when will freeze establishment begin?

Yes. So I'll start with the answer and then hand over to Chris Copey, the Director of Engineering and Project Construction. The -- it's the same plan as what we've had -- we've previously guided. I would also encourage everyone to watch the webinar that we will have the week prior to WNA in the first week of September. It goes through a very comprehensive transparent analysis of the total construction process underground but also at surface in the mill, which explains everything, and it will be a reference point for everyone to go back on and track how we are progressing with the construction.

So the plan is still the same. Nothing is going to change geotechnically between now and the actual thinking of the shafts, as I showed in that pilot hole. We know every single millimeter for 950 meters. Those holes are being drilled through the center of both the production and exhaust shafts. So we are expecting very little variability once we get into the basement rock, and we hit that basement rock between 100 and 120 meters from surface and then the freezing once the hydrostatic liner is in place will be removed permanently from that process. Chris?

Yes. Thanks, Leigh. Some of the more specific things we'll be doing through the balance of the year as we head up to freeze relate to establishing the foundations at the head frames. So in the photos that you saw earlier through the slide show, the construction facilities pad was shown. And there, we've got a pad being prepared for the batch plant. We've got 2 batch plants that will be coming to site, a dry mix plant, which is already staged in Alberta and a wet mix plant, which is currently being manufactured overseas and will be ready to start shipping in September. So once the dry mix plant is on site, which will happen shortly, we will complete our trial batching and start installation of those foundations. which enable us to then tie in the freeze plants, which as previously reported, are also staged in Alberta and ready for mobilization to site.

The freeze comes on in early 2027. There's no change in our plan there. You saw the shaft pads themselves have started development. The earthworks on those will continue to progress into Q3 and into the early parts of Q4 to enable the mobilization of the shaft sinker themselves to establish their temporary facilities and the temporary power that's required to run the freeze plants. So those are some of the key activities that will enable that freeze to come on in early '27. As Leigh mentioned, no change geotechnically. The confirmation holes allowed us to validate the freeze assumptions, but they really haven't changed from previous understanding, but just added more information and more certainty to the exact freezing time lines. So with all that, that will allow us to start the pre-sinking by the middle of 2027 and start taking some meters.

Those that are on the -- thanks, Chris. Those on the webcast, I have a picture there just highlighted that is the core. Those ground conditions are exceptionally competent. that you can see in those core photos. And again, that is the pilot test hole that's gone through the middle of the production shaft, and we also have a corresponding one with the exhaust shaft as well. We can't -- all the testing has been done and dusted, and there's no project that I'm aware of in the world that has had this level of testing prior to the commencement of construction.

Thanks for that great detail. I really appreciate it. Leigh, you had talked about prepayments as a financing alternative. Is the market strong enough that you think you can enter into that type of a transaction and maintain leverage to the price, say, at the time of delivery, some of your comments around floors and ceilings. And I'm just wondering about the trade-off in a prepayments deal between sort of capital and price discovery.

Yes. To answer your question, so prepayments is one of 5 main areas that we are focusing on with respect to the delta of construction financing. Our discussions to date around prepayments are very positive. And let's put it into context here, GBP 10 million is at today's spot price is USD 850 million, which is -- I think it leaves only about USD 300 million to complete construction. 10 million pounds is 1 or 4 months production over the initial 10 years of our reserve life. And now that -- and to qualify that, that the resource is actually significantly larger than that. And we have an initial mining license for 23 years. I -- every discussion we've had has meant that the prepayment would have a floating price to a degree with respect to that prepayment would be absorbed through the delivery of pounds. And if the uranium price was higher, you would deliver less pounds. If the uranium price was lower, you'd deliver more pounds.

So whilst we are still in the negotiation of that prepayment, we are having that discussion with multiple parties as we speak. And it's something which ultimately, why are we going after it? Well, it's the ideal financing, no dilution and maintaining leverage to the future price of uranium. As I said, in context, even if it was fixed at $85 a pound, I want to be crystal clear here. That we're not fixing it at $85 a pound, but I'm trying to give you the goalpost here. 10 million pounds is USD 850 million. it's 4 months of the first year's production. It's -- even if it was to be fixed to a degree, it still does not change our world-leading leverage to the future price of uranium for the project. Travis, anything to add?

Yes. I would just also reiterate that, but it also ties back to one of the original questions on the call around the volumes and stuff. And it's what we've been really focused on with respect to our commercial contracts negotiations is kind of funneling that interest into these prepayment structures. And to Leigh's point, there's absolutely no shortage of interest there. So the direct question to your -- or the direct answer to your question, Ralph, is yes, the market is definitely strong enough in NextGen's case anyways to facilitate prepayments.

And our next question is from Alexander Pearce with BMO.

So my question builds a little on the first question around contracting and some of the comments you made. So you flagged that you were looking for shorter-term contracts for now versus perhaps what the utility was asking. Is that -- is it fair to say that that's where the greatest variability or the -- I guess, the spread between what you're looking for versus, say, the average utility? And then the second part of that question is, is that likely to form a key part of your general contracting plan going forward even when you're in production? Is that where you're aiming to get more of the flexibility in terms of your plans? Do you have a greater number of those shorter-term contracts versus perhaps what we've seen by some of your peers in the past?

Yes. Thanks for the question, Alex. Look, I -- the key component is the pricing, which is fully exposed to the future price at the time of delivery, which is heavily tied to the spot price. Even the floor and ceiling contracts are heavily tied to the spot price at the time of delivery or influenced by the spot price or referenced to the spot price at the time of delivery. So spot price is a driver. This volume is 1.3 million pounds. I wouldn't take that as though this is the standard contract that NextGen wants to do for all utilities. Not all utility -- every utility has a very specific preference for a certain type of contract. Some want spot, some want floors and ceilings, some want larger quantities, others want smaller quantities. This is of now 5 contracts that we have in place.

And it shouldn't signal a trend in terms of volume and duration, but it should with respect to the pricing mechanism. That we will always be heavily tied to spot price at the time of delivery in order to deliver the world-leading leverage to the future price of uranium. So I want to be very clear, whilst this one seems in volume to be a little smaller, people should take -- should not be assuming that this is the standard contract for all of NextGen's contracts. As I said in the call or one of my earlier answers, we currently have one under negotiation for 20 million pounds. So completely different region, completely different utility to the one that we've just signed it with. So the key driver exposure to spot at the time of delivery.

Okay. That's good color. Maybe I can ask a second question. Is there any update in terms of the level of production that you want to have under contract by the time you get into production versus uncontracted?

No, no change in terms of. . .whatsoever. Yes, we've been very, very clear that our breakeven point is around 3.7 million pounds per annum. We're more than halfway there on that. And even at 3.7 million pounds per annum, we have another 26 3 million pounds available for contracting and exposed to the future price of uranium. So we don't have a fixed percentage as to what we want under contract. We are keeping our production profile completely levered to the future price of uranium.

Yes. And I might just add quickly. The -- given the reactors currently under construction and the reactors that will be online that are currently under construction by the time Rook 1 comes online, add another over 30 million pounds to market demand. So that's just reactors under construction today that will be completed in 2030 that will require another arrow worth of new production to just build those ones, let alone the deficit that we already faced today.

Our next question comes from Andrew Wong with RBC Capital Markets.

I was wondering if can you talk more about the potential for U.S. or Canadian government funding to help on the construction costs. I would appreciate any details you can share on your conversations, which government bodies, the magnitude that you're talking or discussing and maybe any time lines around some news around that?

TravIs?

Yes. I mean the short answer, Andrew, is yes. Interest across both as well as other kind of governments to support this, but certainly and most predominantly those 2 naturally, given the importance. I won't get into the specifics in terms of who, but they are for more than we need to complete the project in terms of quantums and on extremely accretive terms and structures. So yes, lots of interest there. We're very interested in it. Those are 2 of the top priorities of all of the very good options we have at hand and more to come in the very near future on those.

Okay. Appreciate that. And then maybe one for Ryan. Given your extensive experience with other large CapEx projects, I was just curious to hear your thoughts on how Rook I compares with other projects that you've been involved in and maybe just what learnings that you can bring to this project.

Yes. Thank you for the question. I've been here a couple of months now and taken a look and NextGen is set up quite well when you look at their plans that are in place and the team that has been planning for the construction for a while. A lot of companies rush into construction. NextGen is not rushing into construction. And we have set plans and milestones in place, as you can see from the presentation today as well. Commercial terms are being negotiated, and we're creating that flexibility to ensure we're successful for construction and execution from my perspective, we've got the right people at the right time in the right seats. We've got an experienced project team and Chris' team that's in place, well set up with a lot of experience.

The culture at NextGen, very nimble, well set up with key points of accountability and ownership that is well aligned and the responsibility to deliver the construction project across the enterprise, very well set up from that perspective as well. And when you look at the characteristics and the team makeup at NextGen, it really is top class, well aligned with exceptional looks like the execution is successful, construction project on time and budget. From my perspective, and what I'm reinforcing and the experience I'm bringing, I'm going to be focusing on disciplined capital allocation, maintaining a strong balance sheet, obviously focusing rigorous cost control, transparent communications with investors and just applying that operational finance experience that I've gained managing large-scale mining business to help deliver Rook I successfully.

And the next question is from Craig Hutchinson with TD Cowen.

Thanks for the update on the construction progress. I was just wondering if you could give us a sense of what the budget is over the next sort of 12 months or so, particularly through the end of this year? And are we now in a period where any spending on [ Aero ] is effectively a deduction to the original estimate of $2.2 billion?

Yes, I'll start with that. So we have CAD 970 million as we speak in terms of working capital. We -- whilst we've got a lot of activity going on leading into December, the heavy spending doesn't really start until February and March of 2027. So we have flexibility to Ryan's earlier point, this has been incredibly well planned from a long way up. That's actually the benefit of a long permitting process. And we know exactly what we're doing on a daily basis over the next 4 years. We are clearly working on the delta of the financing for the construction capital, and we will provide guidance on that in due course. But yes, as from today, well, actually even during Q2, as you can see by that work, that amount is coming off the $2.2 billion, anything that's been spent in the last month or so.

Okay. Great. And just maybe on PCE, you guys mentioned in your opening comments. Can you remind us what the plans are for the balance of this year in terms of exploration meters? And what should we expect in terms of time lines around assay results going forward?

Yes. So we've got about 20,000 meters to go on that program. We will be doing a little bit on SW3 as well because we've done all the geophysical studies on there, and there's a number of targets that we'll also test. But yes, approximately 20,000 meters for the balance of this calendar year. And as I said, we're expanding the core land to house exploration drilling on a similar frame through the end of '28. So that's running in parallel. The geology department runs kind of -- is completely independent of the focus on the construction of Rook 1. So there's no impairment in that sense. And we'll have scintillometer results shortly for the recent round of drilling at PCE, and we'll continue to release the scintillometer results in a batched manner when we can provide ssome critical guidance on what has actually occurred in the drilling because it's a combination of expanding the footprint, but also look, the high-grade subdomains within the area of mineralization can change the whole perception in terms of quantity and grade very quickly.

So we've got to be -- we've got to release those results in a way which is informative and so given the nature of it, they will be in batches. Assays come when they are received from the lab accordingly. But you can get a lot of guidance from the scintillometer results, and there's only one independent lab in Saskatchewan that process or does assays for all the cores right throughout the Athabasca Basin. And so we're a little subject to their ability to process the assays. But the scintillometer results are very, very informative for everyone to see.

The next question is from Mohamed Sidibe with National Bank.

Maybe a question for Travis. Could you provide us with any color on what you're seeing in terms of contracting for floor and ceiling? Do you continue to see upward pressure on those 2 metrics there?

Yes. Thanks, Mohamed. I would just reiterate like it's not really the discussions that we're having directly because that's not our approach. But obviously, pricing does come up. And I would say, yes, they continue to move up, notwithstanding the fact, again, we're not -- that's not what we're seeking or signing to the point made earlier on the call about the contract we signed in the quarter. But yes, short answer is yes. Prices across the board, as Leigh mentioned, whether you're talking about the spot price, the 5-year, the long-term price, floors and ceilings, I assume base escalated prices, all going up. And that's really the important metric. I think investors obviously look at the spot price at times and the spot price is extremely relevant. But as you see over time in these charts, sometimes the spot price goes up and then the long-term prices all move up, and we're in that period where they've adjusted up and then you have the spot price move up and then the long-term prices adjust based on that. So it's kind of the step function up. And that's definitely what we're seeing.

[Operator Instructions] And the next question comes from Brian MacArthur with Raymond James.

Sorry, most of my questions have been answered. But just can I -- I mean, it's a bit of a technicality. When you say you're keeping exposure to the spot price, I've heard spot price, I heard uranium price. Are you technically making the reference in these contracts to the spot price or to the long-term price back to the point you're just talking about, Travis?

It is reference to the spot price, and I want to be very, very clear that even a contract with a floor and ceiling references the spot price at the time of delivery. Our contracts, as Travis said earlier, we are very focused on, and we will only do contracts that give us the strong exposure to the spot price at the time of delivery. Now some of these contracts reference a rolling average of 3-month spot price leading into the delivery of a quantity of U308 as well. So there's not sort of one metric for all. These contracts are very individualized. But the takeaway with respect to the contracts that NextGen is signing are that they reference the spot price or effectively the market price for uranium at the time of delivery, which has a very significant weighting to the spot price, either at the time or over, say, a rolling 3-month period leading into that delivery or it could also reference the 3-year price and the 5-year price at the time as well.

These contracts are very different. Like I said, no utility has the same contract. No utility buys all their uranium from the one mine and no mine sells all their uranium to the one utility. They are very bespoke depending on the individual needs, and that changes from utility to utility and utilities and between countries and the utilities in countries. So I want to be really clear that spot price exposure is the big driver with the way we're going to -- the way we are structuring and going to structure the contracts going forward.

Great. That's just -- I just heard a lot of different things. So I just wanted to clarify that. And the second thing is just on PCE. There used to be discussion that there might be a resource or something later next year or results. Is that still the plan for PCE? Or has anything changed there?

Yes. Well, I've always been very clear. It's dependent on drilling with respect to the results. So yes, it's just -- I hate saying wait and see, but the drilling to date hasn't provided us a conclusion as to what PCE is. The footprint is expanding and so is the high-grade subdomains within the footprint of mineralization. So as it continues to get bigger or we feel like there's still more work to do to define, to actually provide some guidance as to what it is, that dictates the timing of a resource statement.

And this does conclude our question-and-answer session for today. I would now like to turn the conference back over to Leigh Curyer for any closing remarks.

Yes. Thank you, Chris, and thank you, everyone, for your attendance and excellent questions from those that called in. Again, it's incredible time for the company to see construction get off to such a flying start is an incredible reflection on the dedication and commitment of the NextGen team that's been planning this for over 7 years. We very much look forward to the webinar that we will be releasing in the first week of September leading into the WNA. I encourage you all to watch that where you'll meet the team that is building this magnificent project and the disciplines we have in place and very transparently showcasing all the aspects of construction. So you can determine yourself as to how NextGen is tracking.

This is an incredible story in resources worldwide, not just from an economic mineralization perspective, but from a development perspective, which incorporates all stakeholders and providing outcomes for all stakeholders. I really do encourage you to watch this space very, very clearly because we are the most exciting story in the nuclear fuel space and will be for many decades to come.

So with that, thank you. Thank you to the team, the NextGen team, and we look forward to hosting our next call in Q3. Thank you.

This brings to a close today's conference call. As a reminder, for those who were unable to join the webcast today, we encourage you to access the presentation and webcast replay on the company's website. Thank you for participating today, and you may now disconnect your lines.

Good afternoon. My name is Ludy, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the NexGen Energy Limited Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. [Operator Instructions]

Mr. McFadden, you may begin your conference.

Thank you very much. The meeting will now come to order. Good afternoon. My name is Christopher McFadden, I am a Director and Chairman of the Board of NextGen Energy. I'm pleased to welcome you to the Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders of NexGen Energy. I will act as Chair of this meeting and I shall ask Ryan Podrasky, CFO of NextGen Energy, to act as the Secretary of this meeting.

With the consent of this meeting, I appoint Mita Garcia of Computershare Investor Services as scrutineer of this meeting. The Secretary has tabled for inspection by any shareholder or proxy holder a declaration that the notice calling this Annual General and Special Meeting was mailed to shareholders in accordance with applicable law. I will dispense with calling for a reading of the notice of meeting and direct that a copy of the declaration be kept by the secretary with the records of the meeting.

The scrutineer has submitted a report on attendance to the Secretary. The Secretary will now read the scrutineer's report.

Thanks, Chris. The scrutineer's report reads as follows: there's 148 shareholders present in person or by proxy representing approximately 459 million shares. The total issued and outstanding shares as of the record date is 661,909,421. The percentage of outstanding shares represented at the meeting is 69.34%.

Thank you. I adopt the scrutineer's report and declare subject to the special rights and restrictions attached to the shares of any class or series of shares. The quorum for the transaction of business at a meeting of shareholders is 2 persons who are or represent by proxy shareholders holding in aggregate at least 5% of the issued shares entitled to be voted at the meeting.

Proper notice having been given and a quorum present, I declare this meeting to be properly constituted for the transaction of business. As a matter of procedure, I ask that shareholders present in person and wishing to speak at the meeting please identify themselves by name and indicate that they are a registered shareholder, or if a proxy holder identify themselves and the name of the registered shareholder they represent by proxy.

The last annual general and special meeting of NextGen Energy Limited was held on June 17, 2025. The Secretary has the minutes of the last meeting of shareholders of the corporation, which can be made available upon request and confirm that the minutes taken to be verified as correct. I will dispense with the reading of the minutes of such meeting.

Voting today will be by a show of hands unless either a ballot is requested or more than 5% of the votes eligible to be cast by proxies are voted against the resolution. Closing for the elect directors will proceed by way of ballot. The corporation's articles under Section 11.15 provide that as Chairman, I may propose a motion and that no motions need to be seconded. In the interest of expediting the business of the meeting, I will proceed on that basis.

The financial statements of the corporation for the year ended December 31, 2025, and the report of the auditors were delivered to the shareholders prior to this meeting and are available on SEDAR+ and EDGAR, and I hereby place them before the meeting. Now in order to determine the number of seats on the Board of Directors, I ask the Secretary to read the proposed motion.

Be it resolved that the number of seats on the Board of Directors of the corporation be set at 9.

Is there any discussion on this motion? All those in favor of this motion, please signify by raising your right hand?

[Voting]

Against?

[Voting]

I declare this motion duly carried. We will proceed with the election of directors. The number of directors for the corporation has been set and it is anticipated that 9 directors will be elected.

In accordance with the corporation's advanced notice policy contained in Section 26.1 of the corporation's articles, June 1, 2026, was the deadline for nominations for directors for this meeting. No nominations have been received by the corporation prior to the deadline other than those submitted by management. Accordingly, no further nominations for directors for the ensuing year will be accepted.

I now ask the Secretary to read the names of the persons nominated by management.

The names of the persons nominated for directors for the ensuing year are: Mr. Leigh Curyer; Mr. Christopher McFadden; Mr. Richard Patricio; Ms. Sharon Birkett, Mr. Warren Gilman, Ms. Sybil Veenman; Ms. Karri Howlett, Mr. Bradley Wall; and Mr. Ivan Mullani.

I declare the nominations closed and call for a motion to elect the directors. I now ask the Secretary to read the proposed motion.

The Management Information Circular contains a list and biographical profile of the 9 nominees recommended for election to serve as the directors of the corporation to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting or until their successors are duly elected or appointed in accordance with the articles and bylaws of the corporation.

Shareholders are entitled to vote in favor of or withheld from voting separately for each director nominee. As it is necessary to ensure that the number of shares voted in favor of or withheld from voting for each individual director is recorded, I direct that a poll will be taken.

The scrutineers have distributed ballots at the beginning of the meeting, if you are a registered shareholder or a proxy holder and you do not have a ballot, would you please raise your hand. Please mark an X in the appropriate spaces on the ballots before turning them to the scrutineer. With respect to the motion to elect the director nominees, I am advised that a majority of the votes have been cast in favor of the election of each of the directors nominated.

As a result, I declare that Leigh Curyer; Christopher McFadden; Richard Patricio; Sharon Birkett, Warren Gilman, Sybil Veenman; Karri Howlett, Bradley Wall; and Ivan Mullani be elected as Directors of the corporation to hold office into the close of business of the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the corporation or until their successors are elected or appointed. The copy of the final scrutineers' report on this motion will be kept by the Secretary along with the recorded minutes of this meeting.

We will now proceed with the appointment of auditors. I now ask the Secretary to read the proposed motion.

Be it resolved that PricewaterhouseCoopers be appointed as the auditors of the corporate at a fee to be fixed by the directors to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting of the corporation.

Is there any discussion on this motion? All those in favor, please signify by raising your right hand?

[Voting]

Against?

[Voting]

I declare this motion duly carried. The last item of business is related to the continuation of the Shareholder Rights Plan. I now ask the Secretary to read the proposed motion.

Be it resolved that the continuation, amendment and the restatement of the corporation Shareholder Rights Plan with the full text of the resolution being set forth on Page 60 of the Management Information Circular.

The Board believes that the Rights Plan is in the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders. The Rights Plan is intended to ensure that all shareholders are treated fairly in connection with any takeover bid and to provide the Board with sufficient time to evaluate and respond to any proposal that may arise.

The Rights Plan is not being proposed in response to or in anticipation of any specific transaction, and is not intended to prevent a takeover of the corporation. Rather, it is designed to protect shareholder interest by promoting the fair treatment of all shareholders.

All those in favor, please signify by raising your right hand?

[Voting]

Against?

[Voting]

Accordingly, I declare that the resolution is carried, that the corporation's shareholder rights plan be amended and restated and we continued for a further term of 3 years. A copy of the resolution and the final scrutineers' report on this motion will be kept by the secretary along with the recorded minutes of this meeting.

I now propose a motion concluding the formal portion of the meeting. Is there any discussion on this motion? All those in favor of this motion, please signify by raising your right hand.

[Voting]

Against?

[Voting]

I declare this resolution duly carried and the formal meeting is to be concluded.

I'd now like to open the meeting to questions from shareholders. Please identify yourself by name and if you are a proxy holder, please indicate the shareholder you represent.

[ Susan Pierce ]. I'm a shareholder. Just curious as to what's the benefit are to NexGen to have sponsors?

Yes. The biggest one is on -- this is Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer. They're really designed to support us in getting our approval, ultimately. So some people have said, post getting our approval like, how do you have such vote? Because in the second part of the hearing, I don't know if you had a chance to watch it, but it was public. And so you got to see the very long-standing support that we have from all of the indigenous stations in the local area, like they were -- it's unprecedented in the support that we've had from them in the trust built.

That's not done with just words. That's something with action. And so like we use the [ Kunuks ] as an example. We take 20 kids every year. They come down to Vancouver, they get mentored by the whole organization. It's not really about hockey, it's about mentorship. So showing them food and beverage service, showing them hockey operations, showing them marketing, all that is a 2-day thing. That might seem like an innocuous simple thing, but for a lot of those kids they've never even left Northern Saskatchewan before. So that's just one example.

And then the Kunuks go up into the wash into the community and run these various programs up there with a lot of Kunuks. You see the inspiration that it creates and it creates something that actually trends in just those 2 days or 3 days a year, where the kids that got to go on it, and they're chosen based on not just academic performance or kind of leadership qualities they show in their communities and how involved they are in being young leaders in the community. Those kids come back, explain what an amazing event it was and everything, the experience, then you get all these other kids wanting to get on the trip next year. So it creates this kind of flywheel effect really that happens. So yes, that's pretty much why we do a lot of those things. Just got some rough riders this year.

My name is [ Bob Pecan ]. I'm a retail shareholder. I'm just curious if the activities are happening in [indiscernible] schedule will be presented?

Yes. So it's under construction as we speak now.

Such as?

Well, like the camp just got commissioned. So we've got about 800 beds up there now, road upgrade, the airstrip will be completed in the next couple of weeks. And then there's a lot of civil and earthworks. So really everything preparing for the shafts to be sunk to commence sinking. And in terms of more details around the plan and schedule and all that, we have obviously disclosed that, but we're going to do in the next few weeks, put on an investor webinar and will go through it in a lot more detail what we're doing, how it's going to be done, who's going to be doing what, and you'll be able to meet a lot of the team because we've built the best team in the business.

But not everyone got to see them all the time. We get to see them all the time but not everyone gets to seem them as because they're busy doing what they need to be doing. So yes.

Like the construction period as I said, well, approximately 48 months.

4 years ago.

When has day 1 started? It just started?

No. Yes, it started. Exactly.

One final question. Construction, when do you start the temporary freezing of the 2 shafts?

It's in about 12 months from now.

I know you have the equipment.

We have the equipment, yes.

But when do they start the actual process?

Yes. So basically, we have to start excavating all of the area near the shafts building the area where the temporary freeze plant will go and hooking it all up and then commencing the freezing. So there's a bit of work that needs to be done to do all of that. But you're exactly right. And it's true for all of our procurement, where we haven't waited to get permitted to basically say, okay, now we'll start buying equipment and signing contracts and everything because we're confident we're going to get approved.

We just didn't know exactly when, obviously, but we knew we were approved. So the shafts -- sorry, the freeze plant is a classic example of that where we're we got way ahead of that. That's obviously a critical piece of equipment. We have to have that to start the shaft-sinking process. And so we just got off the critical path by buying it a lot earlier than we otherwise would have. It's about -- we freeze down to about 200 meters. It's about 100 meters of overburden that we need to get through, but then you get into the basin rock, and then you key into that. Yes.

Just one more.

Yes. [ John Birrenbach ]. The processing plant, do you plan to first have you guys going to put up the plant? I think the plant has not been transported elsewhere? Or is it going to be used [indiscernible]?

Yes. So our plan is to build our own processing facility on site. And yes, to be determined whether there's total agreements in the future or whatever, but we're designing and building our own processing plant for the Arrow deposits and potentially in the future.

Any more questions?

What progress are you making on financing?

Short answer, a lot of good progress. We've got $1 billion in the balance sheet. So we did that raise in October of last year to really -- part of it was to enable us to run a lot of these processes for the balance of funding through with the right level of patience and be able to do it the right way because there's a number of revenues, some of which are just where you're more of a price or like you go in the market and you raise money like you option the conditions that are in the market at a time, but there's only so much you can do and those can be acted very quickly.

But a lot of the ones that we're working on are more strategic in nature where you're negotiating bilateral agreements with a counterparty that in a lot of cases, you need to have a lot of confidence on, you need to do your own new diligence, it's going to be a good partner. Are they going to deliver what they say they're going to do? Are they going to -- do they understand what the big picture is here and all that sort of stuff? So that's the kind of avenue that we're in now. But over the next 12 months, we will finalize the balance of funding because we have about 18 months' worth of all of the construction spending on the balance sheet today.

But since the approval of March 5th, there's really been nothing relating to Arrows which I think the market is waiting for?

Well, that's what this investor webinar will do. It's all on Arrow. It's all on the detailed plan around exactly...

When is the webinar?

It's going to be in the next couple of weeks, maybe some final tweaks to a lot of the animations and everything. But yes, it will be over the next couple of weeks, but there'll be an announcement on when the date of it will, soon. Yes.

Okay. Any more questions, anybody? Okay. Thank you, operator.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you for your attendance.

This concludes today's meeting. You may now disconnect.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the NextGen Energy First Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. The conference is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Leigh Curyer, Chief Executive Officer and Director with NextGen Energy Limited. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Betsy. Good morning, and thank you for joining NextGen's Q1 2026 Financial Results and Investor Conference Call. My name is Leigh Curyer, and I am the Chief Executive Officer. Today, I'm joined by Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer; Ben Salter, Chief Financial Officer; and introducing to our quarterly calls, considering we are now entering into construction of this globally significant Rook 1 project, Chris Cochley, NextGen's Project Director, Engineering and Construction.

During the call, I will highlight NextGen's milestone achievements over the first quarter of 2026, including the final federal approval for the Rook 1 project, provide an update on the 2025 site construction program, upcoming plans for the construction phase, as we have already made the final investment decision, provide an update on some incredible drilling results released just this morning at our exciting PCE discovery and speak to the NextGen strategy as we optimally advance towards production. At the conclusion of this presentation, we'll move to the Q&A portion of the call, where you'll have the opportunity to ask Travis, Ben, Chris and myself any questions you may have. Throughout the course of today's call, we'll be making forward-looking statements. So please visit our website for all the relevant disclaimers.

Just the first few months of 2026 has already proved to be a defining period for NexGen, marked by significant milestones, none bigger than the optimal final approval of the Rook 1 project for construction. Following NextGen's successful completion of the 2-part Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission hearings on March 5, 2026, the CNSC then issued NextGen its license to prepare site and construct Rook I project, 14 business days after the conclusion of the Part 2 hearing. The approval process and response feed was a testament to the strength of the technical submission, NextGen's early and transparent communication with regulators and the deep genuine relationships established with local indigenous nations and stakeholders over the past 13 years. This approval represents one of the most comprehensive regulatory processes undertaken for a resource project globally and is a result of an unrelenting focus since 2013.

I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate Denison Mines and CEO, David Cates, in the approval of their Phoenix project. We, NextGen, have moved with purpose and clarity to deliver a new standard for resources development, one where we encourage all stakeholders to expect better. NextGen's culture of innovation, open-mindedness and continuous improvement have cultivated significantly better outcomes across the board for all stakeholders, and this will continue as we optimally progress through construction and into operation where we will be the most significant new entrant into the mining sector in the generation.

Nearly two months into the Middle East disruption, the global energy system is not just absorbing a supply shock, it's being structurally reshaped by it. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed how vulnerable and interconnected the global energy system truly is, highlighting the risk of overreliance on hydrocarbons, particularly in geopolitically vulnerable regions. And so energy security is no longer being defined by access alone, but by resilience, the ability to withstand disruption. That means nuclear, domestic generation growth and capacity and critically reducing exposure to geopolitical choke points. Nations have been forced to reassess their energy strategies in real time, which has ultimately accelerated a focus on nuclear power as a reliable sovereign energy source.

This is particularly true given the massive demand growth for power anticipated from electrification of transportation and industrial systems as well as data centers. These are new parts of the industrial landscape that are building new power generation for material electrical needs that are choosing systems that provide highly efficient, high output, reliable nuclear energy. Historically, oil shocks have acted as catalysts for structural change in energy policy, and this recent conflict is already being described as the most significant energy shock in modern history.

With oil and gas still accounting for approximately 60% of global primary energy supply, a policy response prioritizing security, stability and diversification is inevitable and has been transitioning following the impacts of energy supply chains due to the Ukraine war. The direction is clearer than ever. Nuclear energy is not optional in the energy mix. It is essential to delivering long-term energy security and with the betterment of industry and civilization. There are currently 79 reactors under construction with operating capacity established within the next 5 years will total an additional 18% to the global nuclear electrical grid. This global shift is occurring at a time when highly quality scalable uranium supply is scarce and depleting rapidly, placing a premium on projects with the jurisdiction, geology and technical capability to deliver, positioning Rook I's project as the most valuable and strategic resource globally.

The reality is current mine supply is under stress in maintaining current production levels, let alone growing current production. Further, the economic consequence is that the current production is becoming increasingly higher in cost as mines head into the latter years of their useful lives. To underpin this reality, one just needs to review the last 10 years. Uranium prices have risen from $17 a pound to $100 a pound, and there has effectively been no new material supply response. That's because there isn't purely a uranium price challenge. It's far broader incorporating discovery challenge, permitting challenge, CapEx challenge. It requires significantly elevated uranium prices over a significant amount of time to begin to solve this challenge.

For NextGen, the supply-demand backdrop and limited market buffer continues to reinforce our marketing strategy, one that can be summarized as maximizing the value of every pound produced by maximizing the leverage to future uranium prices. Our strategy is being received by the market well as it undeniably benefits all participants by ensuring a more transparent and liquid market is developed and that both suppliers and consumers are able to respond to market changes with certainty to underpin the billions of dollars currently being deployed on a scale never witnessed before into nuclear energy infrastructure.

As the company most exposed to the future prices of uranium globally, NexGen will be able to maximize value in this highly constructive backdrop of structural supply deficits. Our strategy and structuring of offtake agreements to optimize the return on every pound produced has not been commonplace amongst producers over the past years and decades, but it's pleasing to see this next-gen approach is now being reflected more broadly amongst industry participants and can only act in the best interest of all participants for a sustainable and successful industry.

With respect to our contracting activities, we continue to advance multiple offtake discussions with utilities across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. We expect to formalize additional agreements through 2026 with an unrelenting commitment to maintaining our leverage to future uranium prices whilst providing customers access to an incredibly strategic supply source. As the structural supply deficit widens, the window to make meaningful new discoveries is now and our unparalleled ability to deliver new high-quality supply will play a critical role in meeting the world's future energy needs.

Our winter drill program at Patterson Corridor East, PCE, continues to deliver highly encouraging results, further highlighting both the scale and growth potential of PCE. We have increased the vertical extent of the high-grade subdomain by 33% to 550 meters vertical with a growing strike length of over 200 meters, reinforcing the size of the system. Recent drilling continues to demonstrate strong continuity of high-grade mineralization across multiple holes with wide intercepts and clear extension at depth. And importantly, the system remains open for further expansion.

In parallel, we are also seeing early indications of a separate parallel trend, highlighting the potential for multiple zones of mineralization within the broader PCE system. With only 30% of the 42,000-meter drilling program completed for 2026, a significant summer drilling program is about to commence in late May, and we see substantial opportunity for further growth of the system. Advancing this drill program methodically and responsibly today is how we ensure we are ready to be a reliable Western supplier for many decades to come. As construction activity for the Rook I project commences, our exploration team remains laser-focused on further defining and expanding this exciting discovery as well as the peripheral work on the 190,000 hectares of prime land position with an additional 3,500 meter program at SW3 and geophysics on SW1 to identify new opportunities for growth.

On construction, with approvals now secured, the company is set to commence full-scale construction of the Rook 1 project this coming Northern Hemisphere summer, advancing long-term economic benefits, skilled employment, sustainable regional growth and reinforcing Canada's leadership in nuclear energy. It's great to see our Rook 1 project being recognized as a key pillar in the federal government's nuclear objectives for Canada. The team, procurement, engineering, vendors, contractors and capital are all in place. This readiness is underpinned by the deliberate assembly of a highly experienced team with deep expertise in hard rock mining aligned with the unique base marc setting of the deposit and complemented by strong uranium processing capability and experience in the Athabasca Basin.

Since founding the company in 2021, NextGen has built around elite standards, elite standards in planning, discipline, accountability, and it is these ingrained standards combined with a highly experienced project team representing more than 2,900 years of combined global experience across underground mining, uranium milling and major project execution that positions NextGen to deliver construction with the same consistency and rigor that has defined NextGen to date. We have advanced Rook 1 with a clear focus on disciplined execution, drilling over 400,000 meters safely at an industry-leading cost efficiency while investing approximately $748 million to date at Rook 1.

Throughout this period, we have consistently delivered meeting our commitments, maintaining strict cost control and meeting key milestones. That track record is the standard we carry into construction. Importantly, construction readiness is well advanced. Key elements are in place, including capital path procurement activities for the initial 2 years, including the shaft sinking contractor secured and engaged and the freeze plant ready for delivery to site. Our $100 million exploration site infrastructure program initiated in 2025, inclusive of accommodation expansion to over 600 beds, road upgrades to enable more safe and efficient traffic flow and the a strip is on budget, schedule and fully meeting the scope. This is a direct reflection of how we execute over the next 4 years. $2.2 billion in CapEx spend to build our project is made up of a number of $5 million to $100 million scopes, and we are executing the next phase successfully and early.

Our approach is highly structured with clear accountability and daily oversight across every aspect of the build with a view on operational efficiency. We will be hosting an investor update call in the near future to transparently present each phase of construction pathway with registration details to follow in May. We have strong financial flexibility, supported by a cash position of over $1 billion at the end of Q1. We continue to access a range of highly accretive financing options and are assessing these with discipline, ensuring we select the optimal path while preserving our current strength and flexibility. The world is changing fast, and the role of energy is being redefined in real time. What was once a transition led by climate ambition is now driven by security, reliability and execution. The Middle East disruption has reinforced this shift, exposing the fragility of global energy systems and accelerating the move towards stable, domestically controlled nuclear power.

At the same time, electrification, AI and industrial growth are driving unprecedented demand for reliable baseload energy, positioning nuclear at the center of the next phase of global development. As a result, uranium is no longer a cyclical commodity. It is a strategically critical resource and the market is approaching a tipping point where sustained demand and constrained supply will define the years ahead. NextGen's industry-leading leverage to future uranium prices optimized by our contracting strategy, combined with our uncontracted uranium resource, which totals currently 340 million pounds, makes NextGen the best positioned company in the uranium sector to maximize returns and value for our investors. Thank you, and I look forward to updating you on our progress throughout this transformative year. Now I'll open the call to questions.

[Operator Instructions] The first question today comes from Anthony Taglilieri with Canaccord.

Maybe just on long-term contracting. You guys have mentioned wanting to remain flexible. What is the right level of contracting look like then for NextGen? And are the pricing terms you're seeing out there currently in terms of floors and ceilings attractive enough to incentivize you guys to layer in materially more contracts? Or would you rather see -- or do you think you'll see better pricing terms moving forward?

Yes. I'll start the question there, Anthony, and then hand over to Travis. This is developing very, very quickly the market and recent market commentary by another industry participant was very clear with respect to the way pricing is heading well above $100 a pound, and they're seeing that now in their negotiations. That's very similar to our experience as well, one which we kicked off over 18 months ago.

And with respect to NextGen, our overriding principle is to maintain absolute exposure to future prices at the time of delivery. Now future prices at the time of delivery are often a combination of spot, floors and ceilings. I also like to make the point that it's not a uniform approach. It's horses for courses. So various utilities have different preferences for structures of contracts. Some are happy for all spots, some are happy for floors and ceilings, and they are in -- the floors are -- you can typically think of them as at or near spot with the ceiling approximately double that of what the floor is and escalated. Some are happy with no floor and a very high ceiling. And we have a combination of all of those with the 4 contracts that we currently have. It's to the tune of GBP 10 million in total over the first 5 years.

And we currently have 28 million pounds uncontracted per year going forward over those 5 years and then GBP 30 million thereafter. Now we will take a very staged approach. We're not going to have an approach where we fix where we want a certain percentage in under contract and a certain percentage available for realization at that particular point in time. So I guess to answer your question the best is, yes, we are -- we do have contracts in place. We are negotiating further contracts, which will be a combination of those structures. The overall principle, though, we'll maintain our industry-leading position of realizing the optimal pricing achievable at the time of delivery, which is very heavily tied to prices at the time of delivery.

And it's just common sense when you've got a project in a premium jurisdiction and let's face it, Athabasca Basin is the best jurisdiction globally for a uranium project with very high certainty of production and a very low economic cost per pound. It's our job to maximize return to shareholders, and you do that by having a perspective of optimizing the return on every single pound produced. I can't predict where the price is going to be precisely by a certain date. I am extremely confident that the price is going well above $100 a pound in the short term. And I don't see any material production coming online globally. And I want to make the point, NextGen will -- 30 million pounds will only be replacing what's coming or what is forecasted to come offline between now and 2030.

And so our view is, which is based on technical and financial fact is that the uranium price is going significantly higher. And we had that perspective 5 years ago. We've proven to be right. We didn't lock in contracts that may have seemed attractive at the time, but are now underwater relative to the spot price today. And it's proven to be right, and that's our view going forward. And so I can't give you a precise percentage of under contract or -- and then still available to sell. But the important takeaway is we will maintain our position as being the world's most levered uranium company to the future price of uranium. Travis, have I missed anything there?

No, I'd just really emphasize exactly that patience has paid NextGen in this market, and we don't see that slowing down. So being patient while still when contracts make sense for us to sign, we'll sign them with aligned counterparties. But we're not in a rush and there's no necessity to do any more contracts by a certain date or a certain percent by a certain date. So patience continues to pay us, and we'll continue to recognize what we have, how scarce it is and particularly going forward so that we can absolutely maximize the returns for everyone involved.

Great. That's very clear. Maybe just as a follow-up on project financing. So I'm sure there's a lot of things happening in the background. Obviously, with a strong treasury, you aren't necessarily hard-pressed to come to a conclusion there. But maybe some color would be great. How things progressed, structures that maybe you guys have looked at and maybe when we could see something finalized there?

Travis?

Sure. Yes. Thanks, Leigh. Yes, I mean, again, going back to the quality of what we're talking about here and all the points Leigh made, I mean, there's a lot of options for us and very attractive accretive options. As you point out, with over $1 billion, that's kind of half of the CapEx on the balance sheet as we speak. So there is no rush or urgency and the market is developing quickly, and we have a lot of key milestones upcoming, including obviously commencing construction, but also a lot of exciting events along the path. So we're not in a rush.

In terms of options, I'd say nothing's materially changed from what we've previously discussed. So prepayments on product, that's obviously a big focus. And then all the project finance and convertibles and all the other things that we've talked about are obviously options for us. But -- we have very -- what do you want to call it, champagne problems, I guess, in the sense we have so many options, all of which are very, very attractive. And so we're still evaluating and going through doing our due diligence and counterparties involved and structures involved, making sure that we capture where the market is going and NextGen's place in it because if we lock in a financing that's reflective of what's going on today, it's not going to look great in a few years' time. So we have to also maintain our exposure to the future.

Yes. And we won't be cute about it. We'll do it with -- well ahead of time. And -- and at a time that makes sense, well, it's worked so far that we could have secured financing 2 years ago for the CapEx, but it would have been at a lower spot price at the time and not a sound turn. So as I said, we -- our positions at the spot price is rising. A higher spot price means the cost of capital comes down, and that's our responsibility to shareholders. And we're not going to run the treasury to 0. And we've always proven a very strong track record in raising funds optimally in the market at the time and in the least dilutive fashion. So that's going to continue, and you'll see news of that in due course.

The next question comes from Ralph Profiti with Stifel.

Leigh, of the 29,000 meters this summer, what does the pipeline look like? Because it's going to be significantly bigger than the winter program. Where are you prioritizing between the high-grade subdomain, some of these parallel structures? Is there any discussion to changing the strategy as the picture evolves? And where are the earliest results going to come from?

Yes, great question, which is always evolving. You can think of those meters as 3/4 of them are focused purely on PCE looking for extensions but not just in the footprint at PCE, but those high-grade subdomains. And they are still materializing. As I speak with PCE, there's no project other than Arrow or no deposit other than Arrow that demonstrates such strong continuity, high-grade broadness in competent basement rock in the basement other than Arrow. Like PCE is replicating all of those amazing features of Arrow, but it's still forming, and we're still trying to get an understanding of its entire extent, both the footprint, but also those high-grade subdomains within it. Given that, the majority of those meters are going to be directed at those 2 objectives.

The third is looking for those parallel zones of mineralization to PCE. Now, those who are very familiar with the story and our exploration history know that we're incredibly structured around our exploration. We don't spray holes anywhere. Every hole has to have an enormous amount of merit. It goes through a very rigorous process of evaluation before it's drilled right up towards myself and the Board. And so as you get results, it can change the weighting to, all right, we're going to put some emphasis in understanding the high-grade subdomain within the area of mineralization because if you hit one of those high-grade holes, it's incredibly material to the overall resource calculation.

But similar to what Trevor said around the financing, it is a fantastic challenge to have as to where do you put those holes. Every hole though, I can tell you, is going to be very, very productive in advancing our understanding of PCE. I think at a minimum, whilst we don't have a resource estimate on it officially, but given the economics at Arrow and once you've sunk all the capital at Arrow, these PCE pounds would be classed, I believe it's reasonable to say, are most likely economic and improving by the day.

So playing Devil's advocate, if we didn't even have Arrow when we made this discovery, it would be the hottest news on the planet in the uranium space as we speak. I think Arrow is a bit unfair to PCE because it exists only 3.5 kilometers away and it's probably taken a bit of its limelight. But I'd just encourage everyone to really -- and we released results today and -- we've got more assays coming in another 29,000 meters. This is an incredibly exciting story in resources full stop and right alongside the construction of what is currently the world's most globally significant uranium resource going into production in 4 years from now.

Yes. I appreciate that. As a follow-up, Leigh, without front running the larger scheduling update that's coming, I do appreciate having Chris on the call. What's the latest thinking around the schedule and the timing around the surface freezing strategy, right? How does that look like in the early stages of construction starting in those next -- those first few months?

Yes, I can give a high level and then hand over to Chris. And look, I'd remind everyone, we're going to have details imminently around a very detailed webinar around the construction. We're going to be introducing the team right up to Ivan Marlaney, who is our Director with enormous amount of world-class mining project construction experience and go through the stages of construction and be very transparent around what that looks like so people can make their own assessment of progress. And I'm very much looking forward to myself and the team presenting that most likely sometime in June.

But holistically, from the moment we start construction officially -- there's -- and you start the freezing process, there's around 6 months of freezing whilst you're adding to the surface infrastructure in order to commence thinking. Thinking through the overburden will be 6 to 9 months until you're into the basement rock. Once you're in the basement rock, and I don't want to take too much of the profile away from this webinar we're about to do, but I'll give you a preview.

Once you're into that basement rock, which will have occurred 6 to 9 months after the commencement of shaft preparation. And the cost -- the risk around cost and schedule variability goes down to near on 0 due to the competency of the rock. So everyone is going to have -- like it's not going to be a 4-year risk assessment. That -- the most riskiest part is the overburden, and it's going to be determined before the end of year 2 and once we're in the basement rock. And everyone should very much dial in on that aspect of it. Now having said that, whilst I say it's the most risky part of the construction, the overall risk profile of our project is very, very low risk for a mining project. We've been planning this for over 7 years. We have the team in place. We've been reviewing those plans for 7 years.

We know exactly what each member of the team and of our contractor team is doing on every single day over the next 4 years. And we have a management system in place, which gives us real-time assessment of any variable and allows us to take action accordingly. So it's -- as I said, I very much look forward to this presentation, which you'll hear a lot more from Chris in June, and everyone will have a very transparent analysis of what that construction program looks like, what's entailed and the way we're approaching it. And it's an incredibly exciting time for everyone involved. Chris, would you like to -- anything you'd like to add that I may have overlooked?

No, I think you've covered it, Leigh. Like the freezing is obviously a key element of achieving the sync and a focus of the team right now. insofar as starting the site development this summer and preparing for ground freezing by early next year. Participants are reminded that the freeze plants themselves have already been ordered and are stored offsite ready to be deployed as well as the sinker being engaged and active in the project. So we are well on our way to achieving the schedule that will be laid out further in the June call.

The next question comes from George Eadie with UBS.

Just back to PCE, do we still think about this as likely accessed underground via Arrow and going up the rook shafted infrastructure? And I guess, secondly there, what is the permitting status for PCE? Can you just remind me and talk through the steps given it's different ore but potentially using the other infrastructure?

Yes. George, as we speak, I would say that is a very real possibility based on what we know of all the technical facts. PCE is contained in the same basement rock as Arrow, only 3.5 kilometers away. Conceptually, you would run a tunnel from the underground engineering workings of Arrow over to PCE. -- and access it. And it -- the ore would come up through the same production shaft as what you see as designed for Arrow. Having said that, PCE is outside the boundary for the approved license and construction of the Rook 1 project.

Now having said that, everything we've seen to date is that it's the same mineralization. It's the same ore body. There's been an incredible mineralizing event on Rook 1. And I don't think we've remotely discovered or defined the true extent of uranium mineralization. For those who have been on the story for -- since 2013, we'll know that we found Arrow with only the 21st drill hole on the property, but the very first drill hole within a 4.5-kilometer radius. We are discovering mineralization way better than the odds are in mineral exploration. It's -- we've clearly got an incredibly good approach to exploration, but are we that good that we find the world's best with the first drill hole within a 4.5-kilometer radius in the middle of nowhere. I don't think we are that good. To say there's additional mineralization there, I think, is anyone who's looked at the geological setting, everyone would concur there's a lot more yet to be discovered and defined.

So if you're thinking about a scenario of increasing the production at PCE, that would be subject to an amendment in the permitting with respect to the exploitation of PCE. But having said that, given it's the same mineralization, it's only 3.5 kilometers away. The mineralization at Pon Lake South is we suspect based on all the facts that have been reported on, it's the same mineralizing event as well, and that's 7.5 kilometers away. It wouldn't be the same process as what NextGen went through right from the beginning. All of that environmental data analysis over a 10-year period is still incredibly valid and will be valid during our operations. And so I would say the process of getting access or approval, and this is a forward-looking statement, would be relatively certain. But again, subject to the rigorous oversight of the CNSC and the Ministry of Environment in Saskatchewan, which we fully embrace.

Yes. Okay. No, that makes a lot of sense. And just last one, sorry. Just thinking time lines for the rest of the year. So we've got the webinar probably in June, as you said. And I think in the past, you said more contracts will be released by year-end -- or sorry, by '26 year. Is that right? Or is the financing package more of a 2027 story given commentary before?

Yes. No, I think it's either going to be in 2026 or early '27. -- the financing package, additional contracts, they will be released as we secure them on the terms that we're happy with and that of the utility as well. We have the official commencement of construction this summer. We're just coordinating a number of VIP attendances who have expressed very strong interest in attending the opening ribbon cutting ceremony that involves government community chiefs, community leaders, shareholders, industry representatives as well.

And you're going to see a lot of activity at site. It's going to be an absolute hive of activity. And with the air strip, we'll be also facilitating a number of site visits as well. And with the air strip, the logistics of entry and exit to the site safely has been significantly elevated. So yes, an incredibly busy year, one that we've been preparing for, for over 7 years now. So keep watching this space and all along with PCE results, which they haven't disappointed yet. They've been incredible. And every indication is that, that is going to continue.

The next question comes from Orest Wowkodaw with Scotiabank.

Leigh and Travis, I was hoping you could give us some color on how you're thinking in terms of potentially flexing material with respect to volume at the mine. I mean this -- your asset will be the single largest or could be the single largest producer in the world. There's a lot of material to come on in the early years. Can you remind us of sort of how you're thinking about your philosophy with respect to volume versus price here and whether we could see the Arrow run at lower rates if there's a negative price reaction in the market?

I'll start, Orest, and then hand over to Travis. Very simply, the project is capable of 30 million pounds per annum produced at 1,300 tons per day. That's one of the world's tiny underground mines, hard rock underground mines. Hence, we have a very low cost of -- if we were to produce 30 million pounds, it's basically an expense of $350 million a year. Now we would produce and store if we were not satisfied that we were getting a fair price for our production. And we can do that because we have a very low cost base of producing 30 million pounds per annum as opposed to dialing back production and having to terminate a number of staff. We're not going to do that.

So every -- first of all, every market indicator we have seen, and as I said, we're very technically and financially fact-based and we've been proven to be correct as to where this uranium price is going. On top of that, the amount of inbound calls that we have with respect to the volumes that we have under negotiation for offtake. I am certain we'll be producing at 30 million pounds per annum from the very first year of production. We will continue that. And as I said, it's not really a question as to whether the market is there. If it is not at a price that we deem appropriate, we will produce and store.

And I want to be very clear on that because I think there's been some other market participants that have insinuated that 30 million pounds would just be hitting the spot market. We've never said that. It's completely incorrect. And I've been very, very clear with our approach. And I'd just encourage everyone to focus on what we are saying because everything we've said since 2011, we have done. And going into construction and production, we will continue to do everything we said we will do and be very transparent about it. There's no tricks. Nothing.

This industry is very simple. You need to be able to produce uranium at X and sell it for a price well beyond X. And that gap needs to be able to pay back the CapEx. Our gap between X and the current price of $85 is paying back the entire CapEx within 11 months. So a very simple economic equation at NextGen. We're becoming a top 10 world mining company based on after-tax cash flow at GBP 30 million per year at the current spot price. And that is our strategy, and we actually feel that the spot price is going to be significantly higher when we are actually in production. So -- and we're seeing the level of demand certainly supporting that. So that is our approach on it. It will always be our approach, and we look forward to executing it.

The next question comes from Craig Hutchison with TD Cowen.

I just wanted to circle back on the shaft question there. I think you mentioned, Leigh, in your opening remarks, you guys have awarded the shaft contract. Can you just confirm if that's correct? And then if you have, is that contract based on a fixed price? Or are you guys managing yourself?

Yes, we have awarded that contract, and I'll hand over to Travis as the Chief Commercial Officer, who has been the quarterback on that contract structure.

Yes. Thanks, Leigh, and thanks for the question, Craig. Yes, the short answer is no. The contract will not be a fixed price contract. Realistically, that's not really a model that actually makes sense for a contract like a shaft sink. But what we've done without getting into obviously commercial details, but we've aligned the risk of shaft sinking, which again, to Leigh's earlier point, in our case, is actually quite low, but there are obviously some uncertainties there. And so what we've done is kind of a risk -- paying game model. So there's bonuses and incentives for safety, performance schedule and budget as well as pain in the event that those things don't go accordingly.

And so in that sense, ourselves and our shaft sinking partner as well as the important, I think, nuance here is that we have essentially a self-performed shaft sinking team in-house at NextGen. That's not only been across, obviously, the technical requirements and our own assessment of what it will take to successfully complete the shaft sink, both in terms of scope, schedule and budget, but also in terms of what are the best models for aligning incentives because really, that's all we need to do. And so it's a -- so again, the short answer is it's a pain game contract with a lot of great synergies between the shaft sink ourselves and the broader team. So we're extremely excited about who we've got partnering with us, our own team's assessment and the model in terms of the contractual model that we've employed here.

Okay. Perfect. And maybe just -- I know you guys...

Sorry. And Craig, with respect to the cost and the feasibility study, the contract that we have in place, there's very strong alignment, which shows to the actual cost as what was presented in the August feasibility study, which shows that our feasibility studies have always been very conservative in nature. So -- and they're always done on the basis that NextGen was building this ourselves and operating the project as well. So these were always -- even from the very first scoping study through to the definitive feasibility study, the whole principle of these studies have been to inform us on the design and cost as NextGen being the builder and the operator of the mine. And so there's really good evidence there with -- that Travis has outlined with respect to the shaft thinking and the underground engineering of very close synergy between what's been presented and now what's being executed.

Okay. Perfect. That was essentially my next question. I know with the construction update in June, I was just wondering if you guys were planning to have a CapEx update with that number? Or it sounds like you guys are pretty comfortable with the number you already have given the market.

Yes. We've seen nothing to date. obviously, labor changes, the impact on the price of diesel would have an impact. But as I said, we were -- we have -- the conservative nature of the $2.2 billion was clearly evident in August of 2024. Everything we've done to date, we are still in that $2.2 billion range. Now if that changes materially and changes our ability to finance the project, we'll be the first to be transparently informed the market of that. But as I said, what we've seen to date, everything is intact from a materiality perspective.

Okay. Perfect. And just my last question, just back on PCE. You guys mentioned it's probably getting lost in the limelight of Arrow. Just any thoughts around the timing for a maiden resource to just put more focus on that project?

I don't see one as we speak in 2026. We're doing an internal assessment around that at the moment, Craig. If that is to change, again, we'll be first to inform the market. But I think that's reasonably expected sometime in 2027. Obviously, heavily subject to the next 29,000 meters over the summer period.

The next question comes from Alexander Pearce with BMO.

So just building on the PCE questions you've had so far. Obviously, you've had great success with the exploration for that deposit. And it's based on your -- the comments you just made, it's probably reasonable to assume you're going to be drilling out and working on this thing for the next couple of years. Is it possible to give us an idea of how much you expect to spend, let's say, over the next sort of 12 to 24 months, given what you know about the project so far?

So PCE, another 30,000 meters or 29,000, approximately $10 million and price of diesel would impact that maybe a little higher from a drilling cost. So yes, it's a very -- it's a sizable program in the Athabasca Basin for 2026. And I'd just like to make the point, Alex. Our geological team operates independently from the construction team. So there would be -- there's no distraction whatsoever on the construction as a result of the exciting results coming from PCE. But yes, from this moment on for the balance of 2026, about $10 million will be -- is budgeted for the remaining PCE drilling.

The next question comes from Brian MacArthur with Raymond James.

It relates to PCE as well and a lot of my questions have been answered. But maybe philosophically, an even bigger question for PCE and how strategic this may be going forward. When you talk to utilities about signing contracts, do you think they're willing to give you value for it yet? And it really goes to this. I mean, you've got, as Orest said, a bunch of 5 years of very high production. You've talked about extending it. But say, we got into an environment like 15 years ago when people want to sign 10- or 20-year contracts, someone might say to you, you don't have that long reserve life. Is there anyone out there who is willing to sort of pay for that yet? And can you use that in your negotiating tactics going forward?

I might start the answer and hand over to Travis. First of all, I don't think there's another project out there with a longer resource life than NextGen as we speak. And I can't see that changing anytime soon, particularly with PC. So I don't really see us being limited, Brian, if I've understood your question with respect to the demand for longevity of reliable supply. There's a lot of the current producers whose mines are going to be extended in the 2030 decade, early in the 2030 decade. And we've seen from Kaza prom they've been very, very clear with their production profile come 2029, 2030, it significantly reduces quickly.

So I don't actually see the -- any inhibitor on demand from a utility looking for a secure long-life offtake contract. We are really front and center if that is their requirement. And I would also say not so much PCE, but I think with -- I'd put it down to receiving the permit, which took everyone by a very pleasant surprise being 14 days after the conclusion of the Part 2 hearing. The amount of inbounds have come up since the granting of the permit. So I think that's been also a factor as well with the utility demand. Travis?

Yes. I would just reiterate similar points, like we're not having any issue with demand. We're just not executing ones over the quarter, but that's why NextGen is choosing. So there's tons of demand. So we don't really need any like -- there's no outstanding questions from utilities around should we try to get contracts from NextGen, like everyone wants contracts with NextGen. It's really our determination as to whether they make sense for us at this point in time. And yes, to Leigh's point, like there's not once has it come up in any contract negotiation or discussion or otherwise about the reserve life or resource life of Arrow. Like everyone understands what we're talking about, which is a generational projects coming online at a time where everything else is basically coming offline. So yes.

And I would also suspect Dennison would be in a similar position with the approval of their project as well that the number of inbound calls to Denison would have increased as well because NextGen can't solve all the utilities supply requirements on its own. And that's even if the current producers were able to maintain current production levels, which I would say is less likely than more likely. We don't wish anyone any year will, but there's evidence right across the globe around production issues, sulfuric acid supply issues into Kazakhstan, the list goes on. So there's -- to Travis' point, there's no shortage of demand and anyone who's taking a project into production that has a healthy resource life fully exposed to the future price of uranium are in the leading positions with respect to economic returns of the future.

Maybe I would just ask you back to the other question then because that's sort of where I'm going with this is the big shortfall out in the future. Do people start to think you're going to expand above 30 million pounds plus post -- in your negotiations post 2030?

I would say that at the moment, we couldn't commit to that because we will only commit to what we are certain we can deliver. And as we speak, we are permitted for 30 million pounds we're permitted to construct a project that will be capable of 30 million pounds per annum once in operation. So that is always managing as we speak, if PCE materializes and we commence the amendment to the permit or the addition to the existing permit to facilitate that. That's a whole new exercise, which is going to take a lot of time to conclude. And we are not going to do it at any expense to getting Rook 1 into production at 30 million pounds per annum for the time being.

Great. Very clear. And just -- sorry, I just want to check, talking about 29,000 meters of drilling at PC in January, I believe you announced 42,000 and then another 3,500 to SW3. Has anything changed? Or what's the difference?

No, that's correct. No, you're exactly right, Brian. We did about 10,200 meters in the winter before we had to stop given the thaw and the ground conditions. So we -- the program for 2026 was at 42,000 meters. We've done 10,200 of it or thereabouts, and the balance of the 42,000 meters, including the 3,500 meters will occur prior to the end of 2026.

And sorry, my last question. Given how strategic and interesting this could be, is there any reason why you wouldn't advance this faster? I mean I take your focus on -- the focus has got to be on Aero, but is there any reason why you can't go a little faster, just constrained by drills and stuff at the moment?

Yes. I'd say it's a combination of those things, Brian. We've got a history of doing what we do well. We're very foundational, like bottom-up conservative, I guess, to a certain degree -- well, conservative around execution. We are very driven to deliver what we said we would before elevating further. Look, I think I love the question. I love the perspective about where PCE is heading. I just -- I only like to comment on things I can be conclusive about. Everything looks great at PCE.

I think the optionality that it gives NextGen is incredible, but we're just not advanced enough yet to be more conclusive about it. If all of a sudden, we hit some zingers at PCE, additional zingers similar to what happened at Arrow, it changes the whole equation, and we will adjust accordingly. But as I speak, we are very, very focused on constructing safely 2 scope to cost and schedule Rook 1 at 30 million pounds per annum and watching PCE develop in parallel to it. And I think 4 rigs and everything, given our resources and our focus is a really good balance. It is one of the biggest programs in the Athabasca Basin on its own at PCE. So in context, everyone is incredibly busy at NextGen. So yes, that's our position on it as it currently stands, Brian.

The next question comes from Dave [indiscernible] with Investments.

Yes. This is D. Osborne. Major oil companies, the reserve is not forever. Why wouldn't those companies be interested in stepping in here and having this as the next step in their business because their business is not forever. And I'm amazed that you haven't had some discussions with major oil companies to do exactly that.

Excellent question. Yes. I think all I could really say there is watch this space. I think you're completely on it. And I think there is realization by the oil companies as to where this is heading. And I think you'll see that materialize in due course. it's about as transparent as I could be around that question. But what you are doing is recognizing the importance of nuclear energy and the aspects of the hydrocarbons, there is problematic hydrocarbons given the centralization of production, yet the global usage of oil.

You've got a similar situation in uranium as we speak, the current majority of production worldwide is very centralized in Kazakhstan and/or countries that have what is considered very substantial sovereign risk. Any uranium producer or company going into production in the near term with an asset in Canada, the U.S. or Australia has a tremendous advantage because it's the Western world, which are the largest consumers of nuclear energy currently. And so there has been that mismatch. NextGen, Dennison have the opportunity to help return Canada to be the world's leader in the production of nuclear fuel. And that's going to materialize over the world. And it's energy, which oil is as well. And those big energy companies, they don't want to close down.

I think you're going to see that. And you actually saw that in the 1980s, go through the historical ownership records of uranium deposits in the U.S.A. in the '80s, and a lot of them were by the oil companies. So we may see the day where that returns.

If I were a Chief Executive of a major oil company, I would be looking down the road for the future. And this is the way to do it. is to put this in reserve for when the time comes that the energy is declined, the source has declined. It would be -- if a major company took a look at this and got serious about it, I think it would be the most productive and forward thinking that any company could do.

Yes, I agree. I think it's very astute observation. I actually -- and I agree with you totally. I think the hyperscale's might be a little more nimble and a little more proactive with respect to that actual aspect that you mentioned. Makes perfect sense for an oil company to do, but I think my prediction is that you'll see the hyperscalers get ahead of the oil companies in the first instance because they are building billions of dollars worth of data centers. They are contracting power rates at multiples of what it currently costs to ensure that the power is coming from nuclear energy. So I think they're actually leading the charge in that respect. But no, very astute question.

The next question comes from Graham Tanaka with Tanaka Capital Management.

Congratulations on your progress so far. I'm very curious, you mentioned that PCE could be accessed from Arrow. Is that correct with a horizontal shaft? Is that correct?

That's correct.

Okay. And so with that kind of scenario, which is new to me, what -- could this speed up the development of PCE should it be deemed to be commercially attractive? How much faster could you bring PCE on or when could you bring PCE on if demand does, in fact, become one of almost perhaps a hyper shortage of uranium in the industry. How fast could you bring PCE on? And would it be at a lower cost per pound than Arrow was de novo?

Yes, Graham, I'll start then hand over to Travis. And thanks for the question. Again, conceptually, based on what we know, I think that perspective that the ore at PCE could be accessed from the underground workings at Arrow. But I want to be -- I don't want to look like -- I'm very respectful of the regulatory process. And so I want to caveat everything that it is subject to a substantial amount of future drilling, engineering study, environmental study, that is an absolute given.

But conceptually, the answer to your question is correct, it could be. But I have no economic cost data as we speak. I think it's reasonable to conclude at a similar cost to what Arrow is without operating costs to Arrow, but without the CapEx apart from the tunnel going from the underground workings at Arrow 3.5 kilometers to PCE. But the cost of that would be immaterial relative to the overall economics. So whilst I don't have the precise cost per pound incorporating the parameters of a technical study, I think conceptually, yes, I believe that is possible. And I think it's reasonable that you would consider it at or near similar economic operating cost to the Arrow deposit. But that's as much as I could -- we're in a position to convey without further study and regulatory approvals.

Yes. I might just add to Graham, just that you raised a good point actually, which is back to the earlier question on the oil companies and hyperscalers and all of that. Mining is a very long-term business. And to your question around speeding things up, the reality is there's only so much you can do to speed up once you make a discovery to speed things up. There's obviously some regulatory efficiencies that the government of Canada and other policymakers have tried to address. But the bulk majority of -- like look at NextGen, as an example, 2014 discovery 4 years from now to 2030 in production, that's 16 years. We didn't waste a minute of a day. And the vast majority of that time line is actually not regulatorily. It's actually just advancing the project, doing all the drilling, engineering studies, all the other things you need to do.

And so PCE, while there, to Leigh's point, likely be significant efficiencies and synergies between the fact that we have the world's best asset built and operating 3.5 kilometers away, there is still just a length of time that it takes. And that speaks to why our contracting strategy and our certainty around where this market is going is based off the fact that we don't have enough supply today. And even when you look out at, okay, well, when could things get into production, like look at PCE, you're talking many years from now. You can't really speed things up is the point. You can speed them up a little bit, but you can't materially speed them up. So yes, I just wanted to make that point.

Yes. Okay. So relative to that, and investors trying to determine the sort of the net present value of that asset, how large do you think PCE could be based on this preliminary drilling that you've done to date? How large could that prospect be relative to Arrow? And what is the possibility that Arrow itself could have significantly more addition to not only resources but annual production as one of the other analysts was asking about. It seems to me that if there is a shortage scenario that could be a really serious one for the industry, NextGen might really almost have a responsibility to be able to have some upside flexibility in adding to pounds per year. So I'm just wondering how those -- the dynamics of those 2 assets, the sizes and at what point you could expand production in total by NextGen?

Yes. Thanks, Grant. I can't give any guidance on respective sizes of what PCE relative to Arrow is. We've been very transparent with all of the technical fact and measurements in our news releases and relative to Arrow, that's as conclusive as we can be at this stage. But just maybe just take a moment to also highlight that Arrow itself isn't closed off. We've drilled 3 holes under the grade shell of Arrow, and that grade shell goes down to 920 meters. And we intersected mineralization in 3 holes over a distance of 500 meters. There's very clear expansion at Arrow before we even went to PCE. But obviously, subject to additional drilling, delineation and regulatory approval.

In that scenario you outlined, Graham, yes, we would have a responsibility alongside with the Canadian government. We would work in lockstep with the Canadian government to then execute a development and production profile that got as much uranium processed as possible from the mineralization within the Rook 1 project whilst respecting all of the -- and meeting all of the regulatory and social aspects that we would do. So Graham, yes, we would. Would we meet the challenge? Absolutely, we would subject to doing things which involve all the relevant stakeholders and their agreement to it.

The next question comes from Mohamed Sidbi with National Bank.

So most of my questions on PCE and the CapEx have been answered. So maybe a question for Ben. On the balance sheet, could you maybe help us think about the convertible debt that you currently have on the book? Should we expect that to run their course? Has there been any indication or willingness for an early convert on those I believe they're in the money, frankly.

I'll hand over to Travis as the Chief Commercial Officer, but those converts are well in the post conversion zone at the end of the third year anniversary. Yes. Over to you, Travis.

Yes. Well, exactly. I mean that summarizes it. So yes, they're in the money. And on or after the third anniversary of those converts, we can convert them at our discretion. So that is the likely scenario. The first year coming up in September of this year and then the next tranche is May of '27. So we've done that in every case that we've had since we've started these converts back in 2016. We've always done that. And so it's reasonable to assume that we would continue to do that, all things being equal.

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Leigh Curyer for any closing remarks.

Yes. Thank you, Betsy, and thank you, everyone, who attended today's call, and thank you very much for all the questions we received. And thank you to my team of Travis, Ben and Chris. As I said, we look forward to providing the date and time of our webinar around the construction phase and introducing the broader team. And very exciting time at NextGen and keep watching this space. There's a plethora of exciting developments, and we appreciate your interest and support to what is a fantastic good news story in resources in Canada and for the globe. And with ourselves, Dennison, we're going to be bringing back Canada as the world leaders in the production of this key fuel for the globe. And we're very proud of our position in….

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the NexGen Energy Fourth Quarter 2025 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] The conference is being recorded. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Leigh Curyer, Chief Executive Officer and Director with NexGen Energy Limited. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, [ Rafa ]. Good morning and thank you for joining NexGen's Year-End and Q4 2025 Financial Results and Investor Conference Call. My name is Leigh Curyer and I am the Chief Executive Officer.

Today, I'm joined by Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer; Ben Salter, Chief Financial Officer; and Stacey Golokin, Manager, Investor Resources, Australasia. During the call, I will highlight NexGen's milestone achievements over the fourth quarter of 2025, provide an update on recent milestones, exploration development activities and speak to the strategy and future plans for NexGen Energy. At the conclusion of this presentation, we'll move to the Q&A portion of the call, where you have the opportunity to ask Travis, Ben and myself any questions you may have.

Throughout the course of today's call, we will be making forward-looking statements, so please visit our website for all the relevant disclaimers. Before we begin, I would like to thank our investors, community partners and all stakeholders for their long-standing support for NexGen's unique and fit-for-purpose approach to resource development, which is setting a new standard. 2025 was a defining year for NexGen, marked by significant infrastructure investments at site, regulatory advancements, commercial offtake agreements, exploration success at PCE, approximately $1 billion equity raise and team expansion, all highlighting NexGen's unparalleled leverage to the future price of uranium, balance sheet optimization and exploration milestones that further solidify our leadership in the global clean energy landscape. Our progress reflects disciplined execution, continuous improvement and an unwavering commitment from our team to our core values of honesty, respect, resilience and accountability.

Stepping back, for the first time in many decades, we are witnessing a genuine and structural shift in global energy demand that materially benefits the nuclear energy industry. Previous years were defined by ambitious pledges and isolated demand. However, what we are seeing now is assertive and immediate action and implementation. Public policy and capital are now fully aligned to support nuclear growth for existing baseload requirements as well as AI and other high-growth technology advancements. In the United States of America, we're seeing reform to advance nuclear in a manner which hasn't been seen in the West in all of history. We are witnessing both the acknowledgment of the fragility of the supply chain as well as the actions to support and encourage activation of allied sources of nuclear fuel. This includes the recently proposed multibillion-dollar Project Vault reserve aimed at securing critical minerals and uranium supply.

Importantly, these policies are designed to accelerate downstream, midstream and upstream activities. This is critical as the down and midstream build-out as it relates to nuclear fuel is significantly less of a challenge to solve. It takes money and permitting, both of which are in the control of the governments. Upstream activities, though, take regulatory support but also significant investment over a significant time. And although this is more of a focus of policy in the industry, it is going to take a significant time to solve and trigger a new Western world diversified multisource of uranium supply. In fact, it is likely that it will take decades for mined uranium supply to meet existing demand, let alone the significant growth anticipated. The U.S. alone is anticipating electrical growth of between 8% to 10% through to 2030. This is partly in response to China over the last 10 years, increasing its electrical production by more than half of the rest of the world combined.

China now has doubled the electrical power capacity at half the kilowatt price of the U.S.A., a fact largely driven through the adoption of nuclear energy. Governments and industry are being tested on their ability to expand and restart facilities, advance fuel cycle initiatives and increase uranium production to meet accelerating demand. As an example, Canada just delivered the Darlington Refurbishment Project ahead of schedule and under budget. AI is rapidly becoming a material contributor to the global electricity growth and subsequently a new major structural driver of demand. The clear focus of the hyperscalers and big tech to nuclear is producing meaningful support for the expansion of the nuclear ecosystem.

The U.S. Department of Energy has allocated $2.7 billion to nuclear fuel companies such as Centrus, while states like Iowa are forming nuclear power task forces to accelerate development. At the same time, large technology companies are aggressively securing long-term power supply amid intensifying competition in AI. Big Tech is increasingly underwriting new nuclear capacity. Meta, for example, signed a multi-gigawatt deal with Oklo, TerraPower and Vistra to power its AI data centers. While we acknowledge the benefits to the sector from increased hyperscaler activity, strategic critical mineral initiatives in the U.S. and continued capital flows into the uranium sector, it is important to stress that the prior underlying market fundamentals stand on their own. Even without these very persistent tailwinds, the uranium market remains structurally undersupplied with the deficit widening every year for the forecast periods out to 2050 and beyond.

Despite uranium prices moving from $17 a pound in 2017 to $90 a pound today, there has been no material supply response. The past 12 months alone have delivered several downgrades in production levels. Legacy operators are facing execution challenges and key uranium mining jurisdictions remain constrained. Utilities globally are beginning to acknowledge there simply isn't enough supply available. Demand clearly supports significant contracting. The fragility of supply is even more evident in the spot market, which has had a strong start to the year in 2026. In 2025, approximately 56 million pounds traded on spot, representing approximately 40% of mine supply and 27% of total consumption. Far from a peripheral value, it is the market's true price discoverer and is what underpins the pricing in every contract signed or under negotiation. That dynamic is increasingly felt by utilities themselves. Spot purchases by utilities have surged 85% year-over-year, accounting for 1/4 of all spot volumes.

The reality is, direct purchases on the spot market were made by utilities in 2025. The majority of the rest of the spot market activity is still ultimately bought and consumed by utilities through traders and other intermediaries in the market. Meanwhile, producers are selling less into spot market. Uranium producers sold just 4.6 million pounds on the spot in 2025, down sharply from 10.9 million pounds in 2022. The reason is structural. Producers are at capacity, cautious about future output and heavily committed on forward sales for the next 7-plus years. There is very little buffer in the system in the form of inventories held by utilities and producers or new supply to market. Consequently, these factors, together with the technical simplicity and low economic cost of future production [ requirements ] have informed and will continue to design our marketing strategy to offtake contracts whereby pricing will be heavily dependent on market prices at the time of delivery, hence, optimizing NexGen's status as the world's most levered company to the future price of uranium.

The fundamentals remain increasingly compelling. As the structural supply deficit widens, the window to make meaningful new discoveries is now and NexGen is operating in the most valuable post code in uranium globally. While the jurisdiction of Saskatchewan, Canada is world class, our results are a function of extremely favorable geology, a disciplined strategy, combined with proven technical capability and steadfast persistence. Every drill campaign reinforces the potential for another Tier 1 discovery within our land position in the Southwest Athabasca Basin. Our basement [indiscernible] Patterson Corridor East discovery continued to deliver highly encouraging results throughout 2025. Multiple high-grade assay results, including the company's highest grade discovery phase in the state to date, inclusive of those discovered during the development of Arrow. And the mineralized system continues to expand at PCE with each exploration program driving exciting results that continue to validate PCE and demonstrate the substantial exploration potential beyond the Arrow deposit.

On permitting, NexGen has now completed the 2-part Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission hearings on November 19, 2025 and February 9 to 12, 2026, marking the completion of the final stage of the federal approvals process. The depth, capability and professionalism of our team were evident throughout, with CSE staff acknowledging the exceptional quality and rigor of our submission. Indigenous community support was both strong and unequivocal with positive intervenors emphasizing the importance of a timely approval. We are extremely proud to have the formal and public support of our 4 indigenous nations within the local priority area who have continuously advocated for the project and NexGen's stewardship of the Rook I Project. The province of Saskatchewan continues to champion Rook I as a priority project and the CNSC staff have formally recommended approval of the project to the CNSC commission.

This alignment across indigenous and community partners, provincial leadership to federal regulators is a testament to the strength and the authenticity of our partnership-driven development model and reflects more than a decade of disciplined technical work, meaningful indigenous and community engagement and a rigorous regulatory process. Our world-class team stays ready -- stands ready to seamlessly advance development into construction upon receipt of final federal approval. I would like to also take the opportunity to commend Denison Mines led by David Cates on the recently received approval for the Wheeler River project. NexGen and Denison represent the future of uranium mining in Canada with both advancing world-class projects. It is time for Canada to take center stage in the supply of critical nuclear fuel and to do it in a way that stewards the industry successfully into the future.

We've continued to strengthen and scale our organization. NexGen is fortunate to have exceptional talent across every level of the business with over 50% of the team residents of the north of Saskatchewan. We are building on that foundation as we prepare for the next phase of growth. We have had over 4,000 applicants across 65 advertised roles over the last year and 586 applicants for 13 roles advertised in just the last month. This is an endorsement of the culture we have built, the quality of our team and the magnitude of the opportunity that lies ahead. With regard to our contracting activities, multiple offtake negotiations are progressing with utilities across the world, including the U.S., Europe and Asia. We expect to announce additional contracts in 2026, optimizing the value of each and every pound we produce. At the same time, we've deliberately maintained full strategic optionality with a strong cash position of over $1.1 billion at year-end. We have access to multiple highly accretive financing alternatives.

As always, we will optimize these alternatives with discipline and with the current cash on hand, we'll continue to evaluate. Our production flexibility profile, combined with the technical setting of our project are designed to maximize the value of every pound we produce. We will always optimize our exposure to uranium prices at the time of delivery and any funding structure we pursue will incorporate that optionality. Following our successful CAD 950 million capital raise, including $600 million from Australian investors, NexGen was officially included on the S&P/ASX 200 Index on December 22, 2025. This transaction materially increased our market capitalization, liquidity, Australian institutional ownership and free float, enabling us to meet the ASX 200 eligibility. This inclusion is reflective of the strength of investor confidence in NexGen and represents an important step in broadening our capital market presence and increasing liquidity as we advance through construction and into operation.

Turning to site activities. Since 2013, NexGen has safely and successfully advanced Rook I across exploration, engineering, procurement, development and supporting infrastructure, representing a cumulative investment of approximately $786 million in Saskatchewan. During Q4, site exploration programs progressed on schedule and on budget. We will be significantly expanding on-site capacity to support exploration at scale, increasing camp accommodation from approximately 220 beds to just under 600, while nearing completion of the temporary exploration of the strip and existing site access road improvements.

On the project side, detailed engineering is progressing in line with the project schedule and procurement is advancing with 28 packages having gone to RFP in 2025, critical path items have been secured to allow immediate mobilization following final federal approval. The convergence of government policy, Big Tech demand, grid reliability challenges and accelerating global nuclear deployment continues to underpin uranium as one of the most critical pillars of the future energy system, setting the stage for sustained demand growth. In 2026, NexGen is positioned to capture this next phase of value creation, underpinned by a derisked development pathway, robust market fundamentals and growing global recognition of nuclear energy's role in the energy security and decarbonization initiative. We are not positioning to meet short-term market tightness. We are developing a platform capable of addressing structural global supply deficits for decades to come. This is our differentiator.

Through the disciplined advancement of the Rook I and continued exploration success, we are building both immediate and material production capacity as well as longer-term growth. Our immediate focus is to transition efficiently into construction of Rook I following the final federal approval. We will execute with the same discipline and integrity that has defined our approach to date, upholding the elite standards NexGen is known for, while creating enduring value for our indigenous partners, governments of Saskatchewan and Canada, shareholders and the global clean energy future. We are prepared with the team, the asset and the timing and the capital to execute our next phase.

Thank you and I look forward to updating you on our progress throughout this transformative year in 2026. Now I'll open the call to questions.

[Operator Instructions] And our first question today comes from Ralph Profiti with Stifel Financial.

Leigh, I wanted to come back to your comments about the 65 roles and the 13 roles about sort of human resources procurement. And just wondering if I can get your comments on construction readiness of the team in those highly and technically skilled labor and that senior construction management, how you're feeling about those 2 aspects, both from an external contractors and internal management. It seems to be an issue that keeps being brought up by your competitors. Just wondering what your thoughts are, please.

Yes. Thanks, Ralph. Look, I can tell you just what we're experiencing. I hear labor shortages is bandied around a lot in the industry and for reasons of production delays and project delays. They are our stats. We have had an enormous amount of interest in joining the company. Those stats are reflective of that. And I would say, why is that? Well, we've been planning this project since 2014. We knew immediately on discovery that we had a world-class project. And since that time and particularly since the engineering studies that the first one was released in 2017, we've been preparing for this moment. That has also led to training initiatives in the local project area that we've had in place since 2022. And we are in a region of Northern Saskatchewan, where a lot of the labor is actually working in other parts of the province and in Alberta. And the desire to come back to the local community is extremely high.

And so I think it's a combination of not only our planning, our careful planning from many, many years out because I also made the point, you won't be seeing us making a final investment decision. That decision has already been made many, many years ago, subject to permitting and financing. So we have been preparing for this all along. And we are in the position where we've identified all the roles through to the end of construction. And we know exactly what we're doing, what we're building, who we're using and what is required every single day of the 48-month construction period. And the planning around that as a consequence, started many years ago and we are not experiencing a shortage of interest in any role.

With respect to the senior positions in the project development team, we've got a very detailed HR plan around that. We are currently ahead of that and we'll continue to expand that in a systematic manner as we approach construction and during construction. And I'll just make the point about the profile of that experience in the team. We deliberately took operating experience and worked back to inform the design of the project. So I just want to be very clear with everyone. We've been in this position for over 10 years knowing that we're going to be building this mine.

We've been planning for it for over 10 years and we are now approaching the conclusion of final approval and we'll seamlessly head into construction on receipt of that final approval. And those stats, which I mentioned in my call, are very clear evidence that, that planning from a long way out has materialized as we had hoped and planned for. And it's very exciting for the local community, for Reds, or people who fly in, fly out, or have been working in another province for many years at the prospect of coming back to the area where they were born and raised and having fulfilling sustainable employment.

That's helpful. As a follow-up, I'd like to just ask about your important comments about policy and capital alignment and how that may influence some of the financing alternatives. I'm just wondering if there's been a change in prioritization while keeping this maximum flexibility on, say, new entrants or versus traditional buckets and specifically address, do you think there's still a need for a strategic sell-down as an option, right, on the project itself? I wonder if that's come up in the pecking order or if it's changed at all.

Yes. No, it hasn't changed. Or I would say the change has been there's been added entrants into our environment who are looking to fund the balance of finance that we require in order to construct the project. And I would also say the amenability of interested parties have recognized our project and our approach to contracting and it's resonated very, very strongly. And we will be concluding that process following permitting. Now we have $1.1 billion in the bank. The first 12 months of construction is approximately $300 million. So we have a decent runway in order to conclude the final financing component of the project.

But I would say, as a general comment that the number of interested parties has increased and the amenability towards the way we'd like to finance the remaining ask is extremely positive for the project in the sense that it will maintain exposure to the uranium price at the time of delivery of the offtake. And I think that's one of the most important aspects to take away with respect to NexGen is that our strategy is to be the most levered company in the world to the future price of uranium, we currently are and we will maintain that in every stage of our development and financing execution.

And our next question today comes from Andrew Wong at RBC Capital Markets.

So if we were to fast forward, like let's say, 6 months from now, 12 months from now, assuming you're going to get the approval for the CNSC and the work started at Rook I, what do you expect will have been accomplished within that time period? Like what should we look for?

Well, the first component is earthworks and preparation for the sinking of both the production and exhaust shafts. There's a lot of surface preparation before the freezing and the drilling and blasting commences. But we have the freeze plant in a warehouse in Saskatoon ready to be deployed to site. So I would say relative to other construction starts for mining projects, you're going to see an immediate acceleration of activity at site over the first 6 months because the site is construction ready. And with those RFP packages already in place, we are ready to execute subject to receipt of that final federal approval. And it's going to be an incredibly exciting time for the company. So the first 6 months, as I said, earthworks and preparation for the drilling and blasting of the shafts.

Okay. Great. And then just the initial CapEx number for Rook I, I think the last update you had was about 2 years ago now. How comfortable are you still with that $2.2-ish billion figure?

Yes, it's CAD 2.2 billion. Obviously, it's been subject to inflation. But with the advancement of the engineering, we have seen no material movement in that number with respect to the overall capital requirement. I want to be clear, people ask me in terms of construction, what's the most complicated component of the construction. I want to be clear, this, in a mining sense, has very strong technical characteristics. It's incredibly high-grade project and in competent basement rock. So from a mining perspective, it's one of relatively simpler constructions that we will undertake. The other aspect, too, is we've been planning for over 10 years. We've revised and reviewed everything we're doing. We know exactly what we're doing day in, day out. For those who want to look at the risk within that, the first 100 meters of sinking the shafts is where the ground is most variable.

Once we're in the basement rock, the cost and schedule variability of the overall capital cost goes down pretty close to 0. And -- but having said that, we have over 400,000 meters of drilling where we know every inch of those ground conditions in the first 100 meters and down to 900 meters. So I just want to convey or give the opportunity to explain that we have a very strong awareness of the ground conditions. We know exactly what we're doing every day of that 48-month process, who's doing it, who's responsible for it within NexGen. And as I said, once we're in that basement rock, the highest risk around cost and schedule has been mitigated. And that will be happening in the first period of the whole construction of the Rook I project.

Great. And just a quick one on just some of the infrastructure and logistics details for the initial construction. What's the plan for power availability for construction? I know the final mine plan is LNG. Is that also being used for construction? And then just on road access, like with Highway 955, like are there any upgrades that are required? And how about that -- the access road to Rook I, like what's the status of that upgrade there?

Yes. It's -- it will be LNG during construction as well. Highway 955 provincial highway, we work very closely with the Saskatchewan highways department in terms of ensuring that, that road is maintained in terms of servicing the project. Premier Moe has made an absolute undertaking to ensure that, that road is maintained in a manner which facilitates the increase in traffic as a result of construction activities. So look, we've been working in the area since 2013. We know the logistics of movements in and out of the project and what is scheduled on it on a daily basis throughout that 48-month project. And we've been working with the Saskatchewan highways department all along. And it will be -- that won't be an issue when it comes to the construction of the project given the planning and the commitment from both NexGen and the government of Saskatchewan.

And our next question today comes from Graham Tanaka with Tanaka Capital Management.

Congratulations on your progress so far. I'm wondering, as you layer on some more offtake contracting agreements, will you be possibly taking on multiyear orders or contracts with hyperscalers, AI hyperscalers, sovereign nations or other large entities that could -- and what percentage of your production anticipated in the first 5 years would you be willing to sign up before you start production actually? And then I have some questions about exploration in PCE, Patterson Corridor East.

Sure, Graham. And so with respect to -- we currently have 2 million pounds contracted over the -- per year over the first 5 years. We break even at 3.5 million pounds. So the requirement to offtake substantial quantities between now and during construction leading to production is almost completely mitigated even as I speak today. But look, we saw 2 transactions in the last 2 weeks with India, a large offtake -- 10-year offtake agreement with Kazakhstan and then we saw Cameco do a 10-year agreement with India as well. It's fair to say the demand coming from the Asian region for offtake is very, very strong and is typically spanning a 10-year period with respect to what they are seeking. We are right at the cusp of that and very well aware of that demand and navigating it accordingly in line with our offtake strategy, which I mentioned during the call and mentioned consistently when asked about it.

So to answer your question, we are -- we have a number of offtakes under advanced negotiation. You will see additional contracts in 2026 but the requirement to have them in place prior to going into construction or prior to into production has been completely mitigated already. With respect to PCE, we have 4 rigs drilling in and around that area as we speak. It's a 42,000-meter program. And that is a combination aimed at expanding the footprint and also the high-grade heart within the area of mineralization at PCE. We also will be testing a parallel structure alongside of PCE throughout the course of this year as well and then also a target on our SW3 land package which is to the east of Rook I. As mentioned, it's an embarrassment of exploration riches that we have ahead of us. And I like the size of that program as we currently speak, which is occurring in parallel to all of the development activities at NexGen. So it to be multifaceted is a great position to be in.

Okay. So given the fact that it's taken over 10 years to get Rook I in place and to be receiving approval to proceed, when do you need to start in earnest with negotiations of environmental applications, regulatory applications, et cetera, for a Patterson Corridor East, would it take as many as 10 years so that the second mine will take 10 years to bring on? Or could that come on faster?

Look, it would all be subject to permitting approval. But I think in principle, given that we -- the PCE is the same mineralizing event as what is Arrow. Obviously, clearly, something very significant mineralizing event occurred in the area. It is the same mineralization. Conceptually, you'd run a drift from the underground workings at Arrow to access PCE. You'd be bringing it up through the same production shaft as Rook I and going through the same mill. So conceptually, I -- my view is that, yes, that is a most likely development path. When? As I said, it would be subject to permitting. We will probably do a study on it in either -- most likely in 2027, '28 as we're up and running in construction to see what it looks like. And after we've established a maiden resource for PCE.

So look, it provides tremendous optionality and long-term growth for NexGen. And we'll do that once we are in a position to do so and without compromising the construction time line of Rook I and getting that into production. So first things first, we'll focus on Rook I. And as PCE materializes and we've defined a resource, we'll then look at the economics of those type of development scenarios. I don't -- the infrastructure all being up and running at Arrow and the fact that it's the same mineralization, et cetera, I think, in principle, provides maybe a shorter pathway. But I don't think we will have -- we've got enormous amount of ore to extract out of Arrow before we branch out elsewhere. And so it's a -- we'll navigate it accordingly in light of the market at the time as well.

My concern is that a few years down the road, we may see such a very, very tight market for uranium. Prices could be a lot higher. And I'm wondering what would be your flexibility to be able to accelerate a second mine if, say, prices got to, I don't know, somebody -- you please -- you choose a figure, $200. I don't know, $150, what would...

Graham, you throw out $200. Well, the previous high for uranium was $136 in the mid-2000. That's over USD 200 a pound in today's terms. I think that's very -- that -- the likelihood of that occurring is very real in the coming years. We've been very, very clear on that. We think that, that pricing scenario is a very likely consequence of the demand and supply worldwide for uranium and the current fragility around mine production. We are on it. We need to define the resource first at PCE -- having -- going forward, 4 to 5 years from now, we're up and running and in production, yes, we would look at those scenarios. I think it, in principle, will be a far more shorter time frame, a far shorter time frame than starting from scratch as what we've done since 2014 at Arrow. So the good news is, it's not a concern. It's a opportunity for us and one that we are well aware of. And I think your scenario that you're outlining is potentially a very real outcome in the future.

And our next question comes from [indiscernible], retail investor.

All right. And I do apologize. We'll move on to our next question. It comes from [indiscernible], another private investor.

All right. I do apologize. It looks like we're having some issues with their audio there. So we'll move on to our next question, which comes from Mohamed Sidibe with National Bank.

So I just wanted to ask, on the first 12 months of construction, you noted about an estimate of $300 million and I think you're well cashed up at this point in time. So in terms of your financing needs for the remainder of the project, is there a certain time line that we should be looking for? Is this something that you expect to have in place prior to start of construction? Or given the flexibility that you have is something that could go into 2027?

Yes, very good question. I might start with the question and then hand over to Travis. Yes. Look, we have $1.1 billion in the bank. So -- and that first 12 months construction spend is only less than 1/3 of it. So we do have time on our hands. We have been working on concluding this final financing component of the CapEx for quite some time now. And so I think the easiest or the best way to explain the timing around us concluding that will be anywhere from now to 18 months from now. And that's about as simple as I can answer that. And so the -- what I would say and can say at this point in time, the interest is vast and in line with our expectations around maintaining absolute leverage to the future price of uranium at the time of delivery.

So we've always been -- Mohamed, we've always been very conservative with our financing and when we do raise money well ahead of time. And I think this component will be -- will also match that characteristic of ours, which we demonstrated since 2013. So we won't be running that $1.1 billion down to 0 before we make a decision. But these are highly complex negotiations and they do take time. But we have been working on for a substantial period of time now. And I think -- just watch this space, anytime between now and 18 months from now, we'll have that package finalized.

And just second question on the construction readiness and ahead of the potential start of construction. I think you noted that the freezing equipment and the shaft sinking materials are -- the freeze holes are in place. But are there any other critical path contracts or items that we should be keeping an eye out on over the next 6 to 12 months in order to get you ready for the shaft sinking process?

Yes. I'd just like to clarify, the -- it's the freeze plant that is in a warehouse in Saskatoon ready to be deployed to site. The holes that have been drilled around the circumference, proposed circumference of both the production and exhaust shaft were holes to geotechnically inform the sinking of the shafts. We do not have the freeze holes in place that would define it as construction. And to your second question, I'll defer to Travis around those packages and our preparedness for the first 12 months of construction.

Yes. Thanks, Leigh. As Leigh mentioned, the first 12 months is really defined by site prep and the pre-sinking activities. So in terms of major packages, the shaft sinking package is a big one. And then on the procurement side, temporary water and temporary power are the 2 ones this year that are the major procurement activities, which are obviously, as Leigh mentioned, well advanced and kind of in their contract negotiation, final contract negotiation stage on the last 2 and the shaft sinking one is effectively in hand as we speak.

And I'll just make the point that once we have approval, we will be putting out a very clear detailed construction time line, which highlights all the milestones along the way. Obviously, we're very respectful of the CNSC process. And once that's concluded and we have construction approval, that's when we'll announce and be very transparent with all investors with respect to key milestones within that construction schedule over that 48-month period.

And that concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Leigh Curyer for any closing remarks.

Yes. Thanks, [ Rafa ] and thank you for everyone who's listening today. Look, incredibly exciting time at NexGen. We have an incredible project, an incredible team highlighted through -- for those who watched the commission hearing. It really did showcase the depth and breadth of experience of the team. And we've been planning this for many, many years. And so we're coming up to an incredible milestone for the company but one which its immediate focus is on construction execution. This is what we've been working for since 2014 and our preparedness for it is clearly evident. So I'd like to thank you all. Look forward to speaking to you again at the Q1 2026 conference call. And please don't hesitate to contact anyone of the team if you have any other questions from today's call. Thank you.

Thank you. That brings to a close today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the NexGen Energy Third Quarter 2025 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] The conference is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Leigh Curyer, Chief Executive Officer and Director with NextGen Energy Limited. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Gaileen. Good morning, and thank you for joining NexGen's Q3 2025 Financial Results and Investor Conference Call. My name is Leigh Curyer, and I am Chief Executive Officer of NexGen Energy. I'm joined today by Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer; and Benjamin Salter, Chief Financial Officer.

During today's Q3 update, I'll provide the latest uranium market dynamics, which is simply unfolding faster than most industry observers anticipated, driven by unprecedented huge uptake of nuclear energy across the globe and the strategic execution of NexGen's offtake marketing strategy. Further, progress as we prepare for our first of 2 commission hearings on the federal approval of Rook I in a 13 days from now. In addition, all the Rook I site activities and preparations updates to execute on this generational project that will set a new benchmark in the economic, environmental and social stewardship for the sector.

At the conclusion of this presentation, we'll move to the Q&A portion of the call, where you are invited to ask Travis, Ben and myself any questions. Throughout the course of today's call, we will be making forward-looking statements. Please visit our website for all the relevant disclaimers.

In recent months, we've seen an unprecedented alignment of policy, capital and geopolitical priorities in support of nuclear energy and a growing understanding of the constraints impacting uranium supply. As recently as last week, the Nuclear Energy Institute, NEI, held its Annual International Uranium Fuel Seminar in Charleston, South Carolina, welcoming industry executives from across the globe. The clear message from utilities was industry developments are advancing so rapidly, forecasts of electrical demand have increased over tenfold from as recently as those 3 years ago.

There is crystal clear unprecedented nuclear energy uptake momentum behind restart efforts at a number of the currently idled U.S. nuclear facilities with additional negotiations underway on the other idled sites, driven by additional layer demand by the major tech companies. The full nuclear energy chain is undergoing rapid acceleration with utilities pursuing reactor upgrades, extended life cycles subsequent license renewals, all whilst evaluating [ SAMR ] deployment with major tech partners. This very simply is forecasting uranium demand at an accelerating speed.

Just this last week, the U.S. government announced an USD 80 billion investment with Westinghouse to build new commercial reactors and have provided additional commitments to restart current idle reactors. But note, whilst recent mainstream headlines focus on the power generation component of this generational opportunity, in the United States, the government through the 2024 ADVANCE Act has accelerated modernization within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and shortened key licensing time lines. While Energy Secretary, Chris Wright's call to expand the strategic uranium reserve reinforforces Washington's focus on fuel security and long-term nuclear capacity, including from allied sources such as Canada.

Adding to this momentum, the U.S. and Australian governments recently signed a landmark critical minerals framework to strengthen cooperation across mining, processing and supply chain security. This agreement demonstrates a shared strategy among allied nations to ensure the stability and accessibility of key raw materials is necessary for geopolitical security. The only way to achieve the goals of all allied nations in this regard is cooperation, and we anticipate more announcements to follow demonstrating this approach.

JPMorgan, one of the syndicated banks in our recent North American $400 million financing, which I'll discuss shortly, is the latest major institution to announce a USD 1.5 trillion 10-year plan to facilitate finance and invest in industries critical to economic security and resiliency to assist companies in boosting their growth, innovation and accelerating strategic manufacturing, a move serving as a concrete signal of finance backing nuclear and uranium, the key fuel in the value chain.

Further, Morgan Stanley released its National Security Index, which included NexGen among the constituents, again reinforcing NexGen's unique role as a go-to solution provider to Allied Nations needs for uranium supply. Specifically to the uranium market over the third quarter, spot prices rose 16% to USD 83.25 a pound, driven by an increase in the liquidity to the market over August and September. This highlights how fast the market prices react when demand enters the spot market. NexGen recognizes as demand hits the spot market, price discovery begins to emerge that efficiently signals true incentive pricing, which is in the interest of sellers and buyers. The increased liquidity in the spot market coincided with more supply disruptions over the third quarter.

We witnessed widespread production guidance cuts around the globe, including the current producers at Kazatomprom and Cameco, where production issues have persisted, simply reflecting late in-life mine challenges are present. Prior years, healthy inventories of on-hand levels are being rapidly exhausted and borrowed inventory levels are skyrocketing to meet post offtake commitments at lower than current spot prices. These dynamics are reinforcing the need for a sustained higher price environment, a trend already materializing with the term price rising to USD 86 per pound, its highest level since May 2008. The shift toward a higher for longer market is here, arriving at a pivotal time for advanced build-ready projects like NexGen's Rook I.

The work NexGen has done over the last 12 years is aligning with all of the market dynamics. But note, Rook I cannot service this gap alone. The forecast demand supply deficit into 2030 requires multiple Rook-Is to come online, and they simply do not exist. Substantially higher prices in the future will be the consequence and all our advanced development company cohorts in Canada, the U.S. and Australia are incredibly well leveraged to forecasted high uranium prices of the future.

In September, the scale and speed of this structural shift taking place in our industry was the key highlight from the World Nuclear Association Symposium in London. Attendance reached a record 1,300 participants, up from 800 a year earlier, and the biannual fuel report upgraded all 3 global nuclear growth scenarios upward. Over the next 15 years, the upper case projects annual uranium demand reaching 530 million pounds per year, while the base case projects 391 million pounds. Today, demand is just under 180 million pounds. In 2024, primary supply was estimated to be 150 million pounds with the deficit made up of continued inventory drawdowns, which only prolong and exacerbate the challenges facing primary uranium supply growth.

With demand far outpacing supply and global mine supply at the same level as it was 10 years ago, one can see the need for both significantly higher uranium prices as well as policy support to address regulatory time lines and their impact on capital formation. Notably, the WNA Symposium and in their report, the rising engagement from the technology sector was observed with Microsoft formally joining the WNA, reflecting the growing nexus between AI-driven power demand and nuclear energy's key role as a clean baseload generation to reliably power this insatiable demand. As the uranium market enters its seasonally strong contracting period, we expect to see continued strength in uranium prices. And against this favorable backdrop, NexGen remains uniquely positioned with the world's most advanced, high-grade build-ready uranium project to deliver a new secure supply the world is depending on.

With respect to contracting, negotiations with many utilities across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia continue to progress. Utility activity has intensified markedly with counterparties actively seeking to secure long-term supply beginning in 2030 and beyond, a clear reflection of a tightening market fundamental and growing recognition that future supply will be challenging. Negotiations are advancing on offtake where these forward-looking utilities are seeking to finance NexGen into production. We expect multiple agreements to be finalized in the coming quarters as utilities move to lock in future delivery schedules. A consistent theme across these discussions is the strategic emphasis on supply diversification, and this is where NexGen is truly unique.

NexGen is the most material source of supply globally that truly provides material derisked diversification in terms of both technical, given its competent ground setting and sovereign being located in Canada. Utilities are increasingly looking to reduce reliance on state-sponsored producers whilst also addressing the reality that legacy mines are depleting and encountering consistent late in mine life production issues. The first -- with the first commission hearing only 13 days from now on November 19 in Ottawa and the second scheduled for a single day between February 9 to 13 in 2026, NexGen is excited to transition from advanced development to building the greatest natural resources project in recent memory immediately upon receipt of federal approval.

This milestone represents the culmination of over a decade of rigorous technical work, community indigenous engagement and regulatory process and the curated expert team we have developed are construction ready. The support we've received has been significant. All 4 indigenous nations located in the local priority area are legally supportive and publicly advocated of the immediate approval of the project, including the province of Saskatchewan, which continues to champion as a priority project. The CNSC staff have recommended approval in their technical assessments and the Canadian government has increasingly recognized the critical role of clean, reliable nuclear energy in meeting climate and energy security objectives. That alignment across regulators, government and communities reinforces our unique and genuine approach to resource development. This is a story that Canadians are very proud of as it is redefining multiple ways how resource projects can be and are now being developed both technically, environmentally and socially.

We'd like to thank our investors for their support in our highly successful global equity offering this past month. With the close of our AUD 1 billion raise, NexGen has further strengthened its financial position to advance the development of the Rook I project immediately upon final federal approval. Interestingly, the vast majority of capital was raised from outside of Canada, predominantly in Australia, where our registry is reflecting an ever-increasing Australasian profile, demonstrating NexGen's unique ability to attract hundreds of millions of investment dollars into Canada, capital that will directly benefit local communities, the province of Saskatchewan and the broader Canadian economy. Proceeds will support the balance of detailed engineering, preconstruction activities and general corporate purposes, positioning the company to deliver on its next phase of execution and growth.

The Australian raise has also positioned NexGen to meet the market capitalization and liquidity thresholds for the ASX 200 Index eligibility, the preeminent equity index in the Australian market. Our current cash balance stands at approximately CAD 1.2 billion, with funding to complete the 2025 site program and initiate development for the first 18 months post-approval engineering, procurement, training and construction. We have purposely maintained full strategic optionality with a strong cash position and active negotiations with strategic investors and utilities, amongst others, resulting in a variety of highly accretive financing alternatives.

As we always have, we will optimize the financing alternatives in maintaining our patience with respect to the market, which continues to be recognized. Our production flexibility, which combined will maximize the value of each pound of uranium we produce and sell, becoming the most leveraged company in the world to rising higher uranium prices. To our site activities. Since 2013, NexGen has successfully safely delivered Rook I site activities covering all aspects of exploration, engineering, development and supporting infrastructure totaling CAD 706 million.

During Q3 2026, construction of the exploration, accommodation and infrastructure, including the exploration air strip, dualway access road upgrades and the expanded exploration camp facilities has been a terrific opportunity for NexGen to once again validate its planning, management and construction execution skills, incorporating NexGen's elite safety performance. This $98 million program is meeting precise design scope with an approved budgeted cost and schedule with completion for early Q2 2026, all whilst maximizing local indigenous sustainable commerce and employment. There is simply no better preparation for after federal approval construction, and the NexGen team is in place and ready to expand the same disciplined, safe on budget and schedule execution in the construction of Rook I.

On the procurement front, upcoming critical path items are being secured and ready for deployment immediately following federal approval. We are also seeing exceptional interest in participation in many of our training programs and joining the NexGen team. We recently had over 1,300 applicants for only 20 open positions, a clear signal that the highly experienced team we've assembled is attracting professionals that want to be part of NexGen's unique elite standards culture. Turning to our exciting exploration program. Drilling at our basement-hosted Patterson Corridor East PCE discovery continues to deliver. Reported results validate the continuity of our high-grade subdomains and confirm that the system remains open for expansion in multiple directions. The profile emerging at PCE is incredibly exciting and speaks to the exploration potential for additional Arrow type discoveries on our dominant land position.

Assay and Scintillation results are scheduled in coming months as they are received. This exploration, the largest reported in the Athabasca Basin for 2025 is strategic and forward-looking. With a typical discovery to production time line of 15 to 20 years, identifying and advancing high-quality and technically superior deposits today is essential to sustaining long-term production optionality alongside Arrow. This is essential to sustaining the nuclear industry and the key role NexGen will play in stabilizing energy infrastructure globally. We are undertaking to meet global demand supply deficits for the next 50 years, not just the next 5 years, which is NexGen's differentiator to the current uranium producers, and we are delivering it through the development of Rook I into production post approval and in parallel through the drill bit at PCE.

As we move into the next phase, our priorities are clear: receive final federal approvals and mobilize to build the most strategic and significant new mining project globally. We're approaching this in the same way as we always have with accountability, honesty, a continuous improvement mentality and the confidence to do things the right way. Our indigenous community and our partners, the environment, regulators, Canada and the world population, all our shareholders in a most efficient, highly accretive manner. Through years of dedicated effort, the NexGen team has transformed an underexplored ground into a national champion and a strategic asset of global significance. The macro backdrop has never been stronger. The rise of AI, the push toward energy security and the need for economic growth through natural resource development have positioned NexGen as the epitome of the solution. The size of the prize has never been bigger. And upon final federal approval, we are approximately [ T ] minus 4 years to after-tax cash flows that will take us into the top 10 of global mining companies.

The government of Canada recognizes the urgency and is taking meaningful steps forward with the passing of Bill C-5 the Building Canada Act. This act aims to prioritize projects of national interest in order to advance Canada's economic resilience and independence and leverage its unique position as the critical minerals deposit of the world. The success of this ethos relies on translating verbal commitments into accelerated execution, and we're focused on doing our part. Canada has the opportunity to lead the world in critical minerals exports and with the commitments made in Ottawa to support accountability and timeliness, the economic and social growth that will come will benefit Canadians for generations to come.

The outlook is unprecedented in terms of actioning such a positive generational opportunity for NexGen and all those advanced development companies in the sector that have been developing their projects to meet the unsatiable demand. The nuclear industry environment is changing rapidly. Evolving market -- uranium market fundamentals are set to provide unprecedented upside. Those companies that will succeed have recognized the changing environment, have exhibited the courage to embrace it and lead it, looking to tomorrow in the next 50 years as opposed to looking backwards, relying on historical and outdoubted practices for comfort. The best way to deliver in the future is to create it. And that's exactly what NexGen has been doing since 2011 when a group of committed industry professionals went to the overlooked, never explored against popular geological invention at the time, opposite side of the Athabasca Basin and discovered what is now widely recognized as the world's best uranium project. From a geological perspective, NexGen has rewritten what is possible and still writing that story with PCE and beyond at Rook I.

From an environmental and social perspective, set new standards in what can be achieved through genuine innovation and consultation. And from a shareholder return perspective, is poised to deliver returns on a per dollar spent basis that sets a new watermark for the sector. Thank you to everyone on the team committed to this company. We're full of good energy.

Now we'll open the call to questions.

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from Ralph Profiti with Stifel Financial.

Leigh, firstly, there's been some commentary by a competitor on the prudence of certain contracting strategies as it pertains to the ability to deliver pounds and that it's a risk being brought forward by the utility themselves at a growing rate. I'm just wondering what's been your experience in dealing with utilities and building sort of a mutual confidence in delivery of targets?

Yes. Look, we -- thanks, Ralph, for the question. We are experienced in -- like we are incredibly busy on the contracting side, multiple negotiations with utilities in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East. And the key thing that is coming through is a diversified primary mine supply. And they see NexGen as being a real leader in meeting a more diversified supply chain fuel cycle for their needs. Look, we've signed 4 contracts already. We've got another 6 under negotiation. We've accrued pricing terms that are higher than what's been reported in the market. And we're averaging 2 million pounds over the first 5 years. Now our breakeven is 3.5 million pounds at Arrow. And I guess that criticism that has been commented or put out there really reflects that we leverage to this changing environment, and we're acting on it.

And whatever that means for them, I'll let them deal with that. But we are simply leveraging our project to the demand and in a manner that is beneficial to the stakeholders at NexGen and whilst meeting the key technical and sovereign risks for the utilities. So yes, that we're going forward on that strategy. It's very simple. It's very clear. And it's gaining a tremendous amount of traction with major utilities in the U.S. and across the globe.

I think it's an important answer. Also, I'd like to ask a follow-up on your experience on procurement of sort of that technically skilled labor and the experienced upper tier construction management that NexGen is going to have in-house? And are there any important hiring gaps that still concern you?

Yes. We have -- our philosophy is that there's a NexGen team member that's responsible for each key aspect of our operations, both when it comes to mining, exploration and also the nontechnical aspects, be it finance, legal, communications, any of it. We have a person within NexGen who is responsible for that. And basically, what you're seeing is like an expansion of the teams of the teams reporting to those key executives that we already have in place. We are experiencing huge demand in terms of coming to NexGen and wanting to join the team. We put out for 20 open positions in September and had over 1,300 applicants. That, coupled with our training programs up in the local project area, it is a key aspect, but one that we are ahead of.

And I think the project itself plus the company's culture is attracting the right type of people to our organization. And we've done an enormous amount of planning around that, and we're currently ahead of it. And look, I think labor availability sometimes gets unfairly used as an excuse for a number of mining projects around the world. We've been planning this for 7 years since we submitted the project description. We have a very simple project, a very simple mine and in a great location. And so attracting people to this project, which is a generational project, we're not experiencing some of the same labor challenges as what other companies in the sector are. So on the risk registry, I'm very, very comfortable with our current position and our forecasted position as we progress into construction and production.

The next question is from Katie Lachapelle with Canaccord Genuity.

During the prepared remarks, you noted that you've got forward-looking utilities that are looking to finance NexGen into production. Can you expand a little bit on what you mean by that? Is that through the traditional term contract negotiations you're discussing right now or potentially prepayments for offtakes? And then as it pertains to term contracts, obviously, we've seen the base escalated price go higher over the last couple of months. So how are you seeing a change in terms under your negotiations? If you could comment on any floors or ceiling?

Sure. I'll just hand over to Travis for that one, Katie?

Yes. Thanks, Leigh, and thanks, Katie, for the question. With respect to financing and as it relates to the utilities, yes, I would say that we're negotiating and exploring all options with respect to financing. So that includes prepayment. It includes interest in the project itself. And I think importantly, to Leigh's earlier point, it reflects this growing understanding of where the market is going and the supply gap that exists today and that come 2030 becomes very, very challenging for them. So there's a clear understanding from our perspective that you can't sit there and wait around. You need to be proactive, and they are being proactive with us.

And then with respect to offtake contract terms and discussions, obviously, confidential in nature. But what I can say is that, again, all of our contracting is on the basis of where the market is going to be in 2030 and beyond when it's relevant for us, not what the price is today or tomorrow. And so when we're having discussions with the utility, it's on that basis. And so the pricing and all the other terms reflect that world. And again, very much getting significant buy-in from around the world from our counterparties that we're discussing this with. And so it is -- again, we're extremely busy on this front. And I would say that there is this growing understanding of where the market is actually going and these utilities want to get in front of it and want that diversification and want to secure new supply.

Understood. And then maybe just one quick follow-up. You mentioned a breakeven amount of 3.5 million pounds in the prepared remarks. Do you guys have a targeted amount of contracts or targeted percentage of coverage that you would like to have before making a final construction decision? Or do you feel comfortable commencing construction and then during the build layering additional contracts?

Categorically, 100%, we are very comfortable with starting construction with just the contracts that we have in place today. As I said, we're almost at breakeven. And then we -- on top of that, we have another 26.5 million pounds fully exposed to the future price of uranium. Now there will be contracts that we sign offtake negotiations or contracts that we signed that will be very heavily tied to the market price at the time of delivery. But we're not -- that is the key principle driving our contracting strategy. We don't have a fixed component with respect to that. We are merely taking advantage of our extremely low cost per pound and the technical certainty around our production volumes. We can ramp production up to 30 million pounds from 3.5 million pounds breakeven very simply without additional sunk CapEx. So our contracting strategy merely reflects the technical and sovereign profile of the mine, which all companies' contracting strategies should reflect. We just happen to have a project that has incredibly strong technical competency and very high economics.

The next question is from Andrew Wong with RBC Capital Markets.

So just maybe on the longer-term implications on contracting again. the Rook I project, obviously, is large and has implications for that longer-term S&D outlook. And given that the approvals are getting there, but not quite approved yet, are the utilities waiting to see how Rook 1 timing plays out before they make decisions on contracting? Like just in general, like how does that potential timing of the project -- how do you see that affecting the utility behavior overall?

Yes. Travis, go ahead.

Yes. Thanks, Andrew. No, the timing, I wouldn't say is in terms of permit approvals and stuff isn't relevant for the discussions that we're having with the utilities because all of our contracts are based on the commencement of commercial production in the contract. So it is subject to starting with an understanding that there is, I would say, increasingly less uncertainty around the precise time line of producing uranium given the advanced stage of the permitting process. But an understanding that, yes, we're developing a new mine. And so it is -- delivery is subject to the commencement of commercial production.

And again, that just speaks to the fact that utilities are understanding of where the market is going and wanting to secure uranium from this new mine.

We'll probably experience an uptick from some utilities that we're not currently in negotiations with. That's certainly possible, Andrew. But to Travis' point, that hasn't been a determinative factor in the offtakes that we've signed to date or the ones that we have under negotiation.

Okay. Understood. And then just on the TCE results, they continue to look pretty promising. So if after resource is reported and maybe doesn't get fully reflected in the shares, would you consider some sort of spin out?

Yes. Look, it's possible, very much so. And if we feel that it's not getting its fair value, that would be something that we would definitely consider. But time will tell. I think the way PCE is progressing, where there's still so much more drilling to do before we truly understand its nature. And once we do understand its nature, I think that could be a possibility if we don't feel that it's truly getting valued as it should be. So yes, that's something -- yes, to answer your question, Andrew, that is something that is possible. But if that was the case, we would ensure that PCE has a right subject to additional approval to be extracted through the production -- proposed production exhaust Shafts at NexGen and any corporate structure would not inhibit the optimization of the exploitation of that deposit.

The next question is from Craig Hutchison with TD Cowen.

You mentioned in your opening remarks Bill C-5 and the potential benefits to NexGen. And I just was kind of wondering, given the time lines, your permits are pretty well defined here, how could Bill C-5 actually benefit NexGen? And maybe more broadly, have you had direct discussions with the federal government? And how do you see them benefiting you guys and helping you guys in the future?

To clarify my point with respect to Bill C-5, Craig, was that it reflects the Canadian government's commitment to nuclear energy and expediting key projects. I agree with you. I think our project is so advanced through the existing regulatory process that any Bill C-5 will have minimal impact on Rook 1 itself. But what is exciting for our cohort of advanced development uranium companies is that I think the intent of Bill C-5 is extremely encouraging for them.

So anyone with a project in an advanced development project in Canada, I think that is very exciting in terms of the Canadian government really recognizing the need to expedite approvals. And we are in parallel, very strong advocates of that. We think congratulations goes to the federal Canadian government for recognizing it and immediately taking action. He's only been in office since May. He has Prime Minister [ Karni ], but he's already on to it. So whilst not specifically impacting NexGen, I think it's a very clear signal for not just only uranium mining, but also the development of small modular reactors in Canada and more broader nuclear programs. So it's a general comment that it's great for nuclear, which NexGen is a part of that value chain.

Okay. Great. Maybe just a follow-up. On your last call, you guys said you're pretty well advanced on long lead critical path items, procurement, et cetera. Can you just give us a sense of where you're at -- where you're at now and whether there's any more to kind of go there a of your permits next year?

Yes. So we have a very detailed execution schedule, obviously, dependent on receiving final federal approval. And where it's possible, we've put our orders in for the long lead time procurement items such as the freeze plant for the temporary shaft sinking for the first 100 meters. That's in a warehouse currently already to be shipped up to site on final approval. Other aspects with respect to the hoist house, et cetera. Look, we know what we'll be doing every single day of the construction period, and we have interrogated it multiple times. The benefit of a long permitting process, it gives you an enormous amount of time to plan, revise and prepare. And that's what we have done. So we've got also an additional $1 billion in our treasury. So that process will continue and will exist right throughout the entire construction execution period, but we're well ahead of that as we speak.

The next question is from Mohamed Sidibe with National Bank Capital Markets.

Could you please give us some color on where detailed engineering is currently sitting for the project and where you expect to be by the time you FID?

Yes. So detailed engineering is progressing. The -- I would say, detailed engineering on the -- well, in summary, detailed engineering on the first items for the first 18 months of construction is complete and detailed engineering will continue throughout the next 18 months and is moving into more of the surface infrastructure and the mill. So yes, it depends on what aspect of the construction that you're speaking about. But the first 18 months and all those items is fully engineered. I want to be clear, we have already made our final investment decision. We made that back in 2017 when undoubtedly, we knew we had a world-class project on our hands, and it was approved subject to financing and regulatory approval. So there's not going to be a pause or anything post the final federal approval whilst we make a final investment decision that has already been made.

So as it relates to the, I guess, shaft sinking process, that detailed engineering process is already completed, if I understand correctly.

That is correct. Yes.

Great. And given the...

And note though, just to be clear, actual -- if your definition of shaft sinking, our definition is from the moment we prepare the foundations, have all the hoists in place, et cetera, and commence underground shaft sinking, there's quite a bit of work prior to the actual boring of the shafts. So -- but for all intents and purposes, the first 18 months of construction items is fully engineered.

And so just moving on to your balance sheet. Given the strengthening of the balance sheet post quarter there, can you maybe remind us of the financing mix you expect for the remainder of the funds to bring the project forward? I think Travis mentioned everything is on the table in terms of potential interest at the project level or debt or any of the mix. So any color on that would be appreciated.

Sure. Travis?

Yes. Thanks, Lee. Yes, I mean, everything is on the table, and we have tremendous interest -- and it should be unsurprising. I mean it is a world-class project, a world-class company. So we have tremendous interest from around the world in a number of forms. We've spoken about them before, but everything from strategic project level interest, strategic equity, project finance, converts, prepayments, et cetera. And the positive thing is that, that interest continues to grow. Those discussions are really in kind of like advanced negotiation stages as we speak. And what the $1 billion did is enable us to be under any time pressure with respect to determining the optimal mix with all of these great options at hand.

So we're in a very privileged position to have so much interest from around the world in so many great forms. And now our job over the next 6 to 8 months is to systematically evaluate and finalize that mix in line with the things that are most important to us, which are really around maintaining our leverage to future uranium prices and our ability to leverage our unique production flexibility optionality. So yes, we would target finalizing that sometime next year and probably in the -- around the midyear point of time.

The next question is from Grace Symes with Energy Intelligence.

The 30 million pounds per year production target, you've noted it's quite flexible. I'm just curious if there's any plan to sort of raise and lower that production to match uranium prices or match contracting or like to store produced pounds dependent on prices so as not to flood the spot market?

Yes. Firstly, the mine has incredible flexibility, a breakeven point of 3.5 million pounds and a capability to seamlessly reach 30 million pounds per annum nameplate production. We will produce in line with the market conditions at the time and optimize the return on every single pound produced. The fact is the most simplest mine plan and removing the least amount of dirt from underground, given the deposit results in a 30 million pound per annum output from moving just a mere 1,300 tonnes per day.

Having said that, I see no scenario where we won't be at maximum production levels from 2030 onwards given the clear current demand, and that's just current demand, little only it increasing, which is going to and also the very fragile mine supply amongst the current producers. We're looking at a forecast for 2025 of around 135 million pounds for the year and consumption is at a touch over 200 million pounds. And historical inventory levels have been drawn down rapidly, and you're seeing producers even borrowing pounds to meet current contract commitments. So I personally don't see a scenario where we are not at maximum capacity from 2030 onwards. So -- but we have the flexibility to go right down to 3.5 million pounds and still make money. So we're just leveraging that technical and economic profile of the mine.

And then just one follow-up. There's been some speculation in the uranium market next hoping for a buyout before enters production. I'm just wondering if you can comment on that at all.

Well, with respect, those comments in the market are absurd. This project is stewarded by a team of committed individuals that have been in place for over 10 years now. Permitting -- when you look back even when in production, permitting was always going to be the largest risk because of the number of diverse interest groups that are involved. We have, over the last 10 years, brought all of those interest groups together.

The advocacy for the project from all those groups is incredibly strong, in fact, at an absolute level. And we can't wait to get into construction because then everything is in our hands. And that's what we like at NexGen. And these projects, this is a generational project. They don't come along very often. We have the expertise in-house. We have the financing capability, and we are taking a very technically simple mine in a mining context into construction and production. And everything we've done to date, we have set a new standard in the sector, that is going to be maintained through construction and production. And I don't think there's a group that has demonstrated a more efficient use of capital along the development path and has not wasted a day.

Under NexGen stewardship, this project will be in production the soonest, meeting preplanned scope. and doing it in a manner which genuinely incorporates the various stakeholder engagement. So yes, there's absolutely no intention from the NexGen Board or the executive or the team. We'll be bored, frankly, within the space of about 2 days if we sold this company. So we're the best for it for our shareholders, really to make the most with respect to their investment, that is very clearly keep it independent within NexGen and enjoying full leverage to the future price of uranium as opposed to getting locked in to historical offtake practices.

The next question is from Graham Tanaka with Tanaka Capital Management.

Congratulations with your progress so far. I'm curious about your plans on exploring the many of the -- I think I believe it's 7 quarters additional acreage and whether you might be -- what you might need to accelerate exploration development of a second -- basically a second or third or fourth one. What are the dynamics of what will make you accelerate or keep the current pace of exploration? And if you could also just touch a little bit on how you're doing on the Patterson Quarter East.

Yes. Thanks, Graham, and also for your very long support from right from the beginning. As I mentioned, we are exploring to solve this challenge for the globe for the next 50 years, not for just the next 5. As you're aware, we found Arrow with the very first -- or the 21st drill hole, but the very first drill hole within a 4.5-kilometer radius of its location and PCE is 3.5 kilometers from Arrow. A very significant mineralizing event has occurred in the area and not just on our project at Arrow and PCE, but we have multiple occurrences along the Patterson Corridor. And we still -- as you pointed out, we still have another 7 corridors yet to explore. We haven't even finished exploring on the Patterson Corridor where Arrow and PCE is even though PCE is on a separate conductor, it is still recognized as being in the Patterson Corridor.

So we've got an enormous amount of drilling yet still to do. And as a base case, though, we have Arrow, which will be around 23% of global mine supply. It's quite incredible when you think in context, nuclear fuel is becoming the go-to energy source amongst the developed nations and emerging nations. And you've got Saudi Arabia, who's the world's most dominant oil producer at 9% of oil supply. So people have referred like whether Saudi Arabia of uranium out of the Rook I project. And I think the mineralization is suggesting we've got an enormous amount yet to discover. I don't think we were that good that we found the very best deposit on the very first drill hole within a 4.5-kilometer radius or the 21st drill hole on the property altogether.

We have another 2 land packages as well adjacent to Rook I into SW1 and SW3. That's why we built an expanded accommodation camp for exploration. We could have 20 drill rigs for 20 years and still not complete the full geological evaluation. But we know we'll be producing around 23% of the world's mine supply from Arrow post approve -- 4 years post approval. And we've already got a backup forming at PC. It looks very analogous to Arrow in every respect. And when you consider the mineralization outside of our -- like also at Patterson Lake South, which I think there's enough evidence to suggest it's the same mineralizing event, something incredibly significant occurred in the area with respect to uranium mineralization, and I feel that we're just scratching the surface, frankly, and our results are evident of that. PCE, we've got some assays coming imminently, followed by more scintillometer results as the program concludes for 2025. It will be back up and running with a similar sized program in 2026. And that really does speak to -- we've got a lot of work to do before we fully just have a basic understanding of PCE as well.

I'm just wondering what -- if there is a path towards deciding what will trigger an acceleration of the development of a second Arrow at PCE or elsewhere, if what kind of pricing might accelerate your development process of another Arrow?

Look, we're very focused on doing what we do well. The exploration team as we go into construction are kind of like a division within NexGen all on their own. But I feel 4 rigs at PCE is a decent program. It was the largest program in the Athabasca Basin for 2025. And at a base case, you'll see that continue in 2026. Look, as we speak, Graham, yes, you'll see a similar program to 2025 in 2026. But if results can change everything in a heartbeat, frankly. So I guess all I can say is watch that space is all I can say. We want to execute well.

Yes. I just -- I'm just sort of curious if pricing and interest from utilities, et cetera, would suggest the need for another Arrow, how fast -- how early could you bring on the PCE or any other prospect? Are we talking 10 to 12 years?

Yes. So look, PCE, look, I'll -- without preempting anything, conceptually I think there's enough evidence to suggest if you were to develop PCE, it would go -- it would come out through the same production shaft as what's proposed at Arrow. That would be subject to additional permitting. But given our permit has been done on a basis of like recognizing an area of influence, it wouldn't be starting from scratch at all. But I think first things first, we get Arrow into production, operating at the level that it is capable of.

And then we'll determine that will be the first step. And then we'll make decisions based on the market conditions at the time. But I concur with yourself, Graham, I actually think there's going to be enormous demand beyond 30 million pounds a year at Arrow, we can't fill the gap that currently exists on an annual basis. So yes, maybe the C-5 will be very advantageous to NexGen when it comes to PCE to Craig Hutchison's earlier point. So yes, it's very much on the radar, but first things first, we want to execute very, very well on Arrow and Rook I and getting that into construction and subsequent production.

The next question is from Alain with [indiscernible]

So are you hearing me?

Yes, I can hear you.

Okay. Last week, we saw the creation challenge Saskatchewan approval of Denison Mine Willow River uranium project, citing inadequate consultation on Treaty 10, right? So I have 2 questions. Are your mine is on third territory? And secondly, do you see things like that similar thing can happen to you? And can it postpone the opening of the mine?

Well, I can't speak to -- out of respect for Denison. I won't comment on that particular situation because I haven't been involved with the consultation and engagement with respect to that project. With respect to our project, it's very clear that the 4 identified communities in the local project area identified by the federal government and also the government of Saskatchewan is very clear with respect to our 4 communities. We have undergone study agreements in 2019, which set the foundation for collecting all of the cultural studies and appreciations, and we took that and incorporated into the design of the project, respecting all of those cultural sensitivities.

Further, we then executed legally binding impact benefit agreements with those 4 communities in the project area that covers the entire life of the project and closure with respect to environmental, commerce, employment and community programs. So I believe we have met and exceeded the requirements and have the full support of those communities that are identified in our project area. And so yes, I'm very, very confident with respect to our position and the conclusion of the approval process from that perspective.

This brings to a close the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Leigh Curyer for any closing remarks.

Yes. Thank you, Gaileen. I'd like to thank everyone for their participation today and the excellent questions. It's an incredibly exciting time for the company. Well, it always is, frankly, with what is unfolding at NexGen. And I certainly welcome any additional questions that you may have.

Please contact Monica, Paula and Stacy or Travis and myself, and we'll be more than happy to answer them. But no, we sincerely appreciate everyone's support. Very much looking forward to this fourth quarter and 2026 in what is going to be an incredibly exciting time, not only for the market, but for the company as well. So thank you, everyone.

This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating, and have a pleasant day.