Patriot Battery Metals Aktie

Welcome to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of PMET Resources Inc. Please note that the meeting is recorded. I would like to introduce Mr. Pierre Boivin, Non-Executive Chair of the Board of Directors. Mr. Boivin, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Good morning in Montreal. Good evening in Australia. My name is Pierre Boivin, the Non-Executive Chair of PMET Resources. It's my great pleasure to welcome you to this Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. [Foreign Language] I'm accompanied by Ms. Natacha Garoute, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary; while Mr. Ken Brinsden, our President and Chief Executive Officer, is joining us from Perth, Australia, and also present today are directors and members of our executive team. I will preside as Chair of the meeting, while Ms. Garoute will act as Secretary.

I'm glad that we are able to connect with so many of you today through this hybrid meeting format. It's the best way to cater to our shareholders here in Canada, in Australia and around the world. Our goal is to ensure that our registered shareholders and proxy holders are able to fully participate in the meeting. As always, we welcome questions and comments from registered shareholders and proxy holders. If you're attending the meeting in person, you can ask questions at one of the microphones in the meeting room by first stating your name and tell us whether you are a registered shareholder or a proxy holder. If you're attending the meeting online, you may submit your questions via the TSX Trust platform by clicking on the message icon and typing your message in the chat box. We encourage you to submit your online questions as early as possible so that we may address them when we get to the particular motion to which they relate.

We will save general questions for the question-and-answer period following the formal business of the meeting. And as always, questions should relate to the business of the affairs of the corporation and not be of a personal nature. If you're a CDI holder, we wish to remind you that you should already have provided your voting instructions prior to the meeting and that you will not have the opportunity to vote in person today.

Finally, I would like to take the time to welcome those of you who are joining us as guests. Thank you for your interest in PMET. And please be reminded that only registered shareholders as at the record date and the proxy holders for the meeting are entitled to actively participate in the meeting, vote and ask questions.

Now, with regard to appointment of scrutineers, I now appoint Ms. Isabelle Vachon and Kassandra Vieira-Lopes, representatives of TSX Trust Company as scrutineers of this meeting.

Proxy holders attending the meeting online may vote on the online platform throughout the meeting. Once voting is opened, the resolutions and voting choices will be displayed. To vote, simply select the voting direction from the options shown on the screen. Voting will be open throughout the formal portion of this meeting. Your vote at any time until the last item of business has been put to a vote, and I declare the voting closed. If you're a shareholder who has submitted a form of proxy or voting instructions form prior to the applicable deadline, your vote has already been counted. Voting today during the meeting will have the effect of revoking any previous submitted proxy. If you do not wish to change your vote, you do not need to vote during the meeting.

The results of the votes held during today's meeting will be available under the corporation's profile on SEDAR+ and on asx.com.au. We will go through each item on the agenda in turn. In order to make the best use of our time, certain shareholders or proxy holders have been asked to move and second the motions of the agenda. I will call on them at the appropriate time. I've been advised that certain shareholders' completed form of proxy have been received after the cutoff time of 8 a.m. on September 25, 2026. I've decided to use my discretion as Chair to extend the cutoff time to 4:00 p.m. on September 25, 2026, and accept such completed form of proxy.

The first item of business is the presentation of the financial statements and the report of the auditors of the corporation for the financial year ended March 31, 2026. These financial statements have been reviewed and approved by the corporation's Board of Directors and were previously mailed and filed on SEDAR+. They are now officially placed before the meeting. I ask the Secretary to include a copy of these financial statements and the accompanying auditor's report in the records of the meeting. I now ask that online voting be open via the TSX Trust platform for the matters to be voted on at today's meeting.

We will now proceed with the election of directors. The number of directors to be elected at this meeting is six, and I confirm that all nominees are eligible for election. Management information circular contains the names and bios of the six individuals that have been nominated for election to hold office until the close of the next Annual General Meeting. I would ask Natacha Garoute to read the names of the nominees.

Thank you, Pierre. The following individuals named in the corporation's management information circular have been nominated for election as directors of the corporation until the close of the next Annual General Meeting: Pierre Boivin, Ken Brinsden, Aline Cote, Melissa Desrochers, Brian Jennings, Blair Way.

I now ask for a motion that each of the six individuals nominated for election as directors be elected as directors of the corporation until the close of the next Annual General Meeting.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that each of the six individuals nominated for election as directors be elected as directors of the corporation until the close of the next Annual General Meeting.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second this motion?

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you, Frederic. We will now address questions from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the election of directors. Are there any questions from shareholders or proxy holders present in the room? I see there are none. Are there any questions that we've received online?

It appears that there are no further questions on this item.

We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the election of each director on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the election of each director. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the appointment of the auditors. I ask for a motion that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP be appointed auditors and the directors be authorized to fix their remuneration.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP be appointed auditors to hold office until the next Annual General Meeting or until a successor is appointed and that the directors be authorized to fix their remuneration.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second this motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I am a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you, Frederic. We will now address questions from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the appointment of the auditors. Are there any questions from shareholders or proxy holders present in the room? I see no questions. Are there any questions from online?

No, we haven't received any questions.

We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the appointment of the auditors on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the appointment of the auditors. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the approval of unallocated awards under the company's Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan and approval to issue securities. I ask for a motion that such unallocated awards and issuance of securities be approved.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the unallocated awards under the company's Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan and issuance of securities be approved.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second this motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you, Frederic. We will now address questions from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the approval of the unallocated awards under the company's Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan and issuance of securities. Are there any questions from shareholders or proxy holders present in the room? I see that there are none. Have we received any questions through the online platform?

No, we haven't received any questions.

We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the ratification of the approval of the unallocated awards under the company's Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan and issuance of securities. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the approval of the unallocated awards under the company's Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan and issuance of securities. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the ratification of the issuance and allotment of 428,958 (sic) [ 420,958 ] shares on November 12, 2025 as partial consideration for the acquisition of the property. I ask for a motion that such previous issuance of shares be ratified.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the previous issuance of 420,958 shares to Azimut Exploration Inc. in partial consideration for the acquisition of the Pikwa property be ratified.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Langevin Mercier please second the motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you. We will now address questions from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Azimut Exploration in partial consideration for the acquisition of the Pikwa property. Are there any questions from shareholders or proxy holders present in this room? I see there are no questions. Have any questions come in through the online platform?

No, Mr. Chair, we haven't received any questions.

We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Azimut Exploration on the ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Azimut Exploration. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the ratification of the issuance and allotment of 428,958 (sic) [ 420,958 ] shares on November 28, 2025 to SOQUEM Inc. as partial consideration for the acquisition of the Pikwa property. I ask for a motion that such previous issuance of shares be ratified.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the previous issuance of 420,958 shares to SOQUEM Inc. in partial consideration for the acquisition of the Pikwa property be ratified.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second this motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you, Frederic. We will now address questions from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to SOQUEM in partial consideration for the acquisition of Pikwa. Are there questions from shareholders or proxy holders present in the room? I see that there are none. Have we received any questions from the online platform?

We haven't.

We will therefore have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to SOQUEM on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the ratification of previous issuance of shares to SOQUEM. Please cast your vote now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the ratification of the previous issuance of 89,125 fully paid shares on December 18, 2025, to Volkswagen Finance Luxemburg S.A. I ask for a motion that such previous issuance of shares to Volkswagen be ratified.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the previous issuance of 89,125 shares to Volkswagen Finance Luxemburg S.A. be ratified.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic please second the motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you. We will now address any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Volkswagen. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders present in the room? I see that there are none. Have any questions come in through the online platform?

No questions online.

Thank you. We'll have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Volkswagen on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Volkswagen. Please cast your vote now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the ratification of the previous issuance of 6,992,255 flow-through shares to PearTree Securities on December 9, 2026 (sic) [ February 9, 2026 ]. This was done as part of a successful private placement at an issue price of $9.30 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $65 million. I ask for a motion that such previous issuance of shares to PearTree be ratified.

Thank you, Pierre. My name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the previous issuance of 6,992,255 flow-through shares to PearTree Securities be ratified.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second this motion?

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Lange. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

We will now address any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the ratification of the previous issuance of flow-through shares to PearTree. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders present in the room? I see that there are none. Have we received any questions from the online platform?

We have not received any questions.

We will now have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of flow-through shares to PearTree on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the ratification of previous issuance of flow-through shares to PearTree. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the ratification of the issuance of 11,484,099 shares on February 19, 2026, to investors under the hard placement. This was done as part of a successful placement by way of a prospectus supplement at an issue price of $5.66 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $65 million. I ask for a motion that such previous issuance of shares be ratified.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the previous issuance of 11,484,099 shares to investors under the hard placement be ratified.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second this motion?

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

We will now address any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the ratification of previous issuance of shares under the hard dollar placement. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders in this room? I see that there are none. Have we received any questions from the online platform?

No, we have none.

Thank you. We will now have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares under the hard dollar placement on the ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use a voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the ratification of previous issuance of shares under the hard dollar placement. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the ratification of the issuance of 1,365,631 shares to the North American lead agents under an overallotment option granted in connection with the hard dollar placement. The overallotment option was partially exercised at an issue price of $5.66 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $7,730,000. I ask for a motion that such previous issuance of shares be ratified.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the previous issuance of 1,365,631 shares to the North American lead agents under an overallotment option be ratified.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second this motion?

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you. We will now address any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the ratification of previous issuance of shares under the overallotment option. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders present in the room? I see that there are none. Have we received any questions from the online platform?

No, we have not received any questions.

We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares under the overallotment option on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares under the overallotment option. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the ratification of the previous issuance of 2,095,745 fully paid shares on May 21, 2026, to Volkswagen Finance Luxemburg S.A. I ask for a motion that such previous issuance of shares to Volkswagen be ratified.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the previous issuance of 2,095,745 shares to Volkswagen Finance Luxemburg S.A. be ratified.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second the motion?

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you, Frederic. We will now address any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Volkswagen. Are there any questions or comments from shareholders or proxy holders present in this room? I see that there are none. Have any questions come through the online platform?

No, we haven't.

Thank you. We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Volkswagen on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the ratification of the previous issuance of shares to Volkswagen. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the approval to issue up to $500,000 worth of RSUs and $500,000 worth of PSUs for the 2027 financial year to Mr. Ken Brinsden. I ask for a motion that the issuance of RSUs and PSUs to Mr. Brinsden for the 2027 financial year be approved.

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the issue of up to $500,000 of RSUs and up to $500,000 of PSUs to Mr. Brinsden for the 2027 fiscal year be approved.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second the motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you, Frederic. We will now address questions from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the approval of the issuance of RSUs and PSUs to Mr. Brinsden for the 2027 financial year. Are there any questions from shareholders or proxy holders present in the room? I see that there are none. Have any questions come through the online platform?

No, we've not received any questions.

Thank you. We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their votes in respect of the approval of the issuance of RSUs and PSUs to Mr. Brinsden for the 2027 financial year on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect of the approval of the issuance of RSUs and PSUs to Mr. Brinsden for the 2027 financial year. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the approval to issue $150,000 worth of DSUs to the Chair of the Board. I ask for a motion that such issuance of DSUs be approved.

Thank you, Pierre. My name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the issue of $150,000 worth of DSUs to the Chair of the Board be approved.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second the motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you. We will now address questions from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the approval of the issue of DSUs to the Chair of the Board. Are there any questions from shareholders or proxy holders present in this room? I see that there are none. Any questions come through the online platform?

No, we have not received any questions.

We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their vote in respect of the approval of the issue of DSUs to the Chair of the Board on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her vote in respect to the approval of the issue of DSUs to the Chair of the Board. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

The next item of business is the approval to issue up to $100,000 of DSUs to each non-executive director of PMET, excluding the Chair of the Board. These directors are Aline Cote, Melissa Desrochers, Brian Jennings and Blair Way. I ask for a motion that the issuance of such DSUs to each non-executive director be approved.

Thank you, Pierre. My name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the issuance of up to $100,000 worth of DSUs to non-executive directors with the exception of the Chair of the Board for the 2027 financial year be approved.

Thank you. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second the motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you, Frederic. We will now address questions from shareholders or proxy holders that are directly related to the approval of the issuance of DSUs to non-executive directors for the 2027 financial year. Are there questions from shareholders or proxy holders present in this room? I see that there are none. Have we received any questions from the online platform?

No questions online.

We will have a vote on this matter. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending in person should mark their votes in respect of the approval of the issuance of DSUs to non-executive directors on their ballot. Each shareholder or proxy holder attending online should use the voting tool on the online platform to record his or her votes in respect of the approval of the issuance of DSUs to non-executive directors. Please cast your votes now.

[Voting]

As mentioned at the start of the meeting, the detailed report on voting results will be available under the corporation's profile on SEDAR+ and on asx.com.au. As we have now dealt with all business items on the agenda, I declare voting on all matters closed. I understand that the scrutineers have a preliminary tabulation of votes cast in respect of each item of business submitted to today's meeting.

The scrutineers' report indicates that six nominee directors have been elected as directors of the corporation holding office until the close of the next Annual General Meeting. The scrutineers' report also indicates that the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors has been approved. And accordingly, I declare that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has been appointed auditors, that directors are authorized to fix their remuneration.

The scrutineers' report indicates that the resolution pertaining to the company's Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan has been approved. The scrutineers' report indicates that the issue of shares to Azimut Exploration in partial consideration for the acquisition has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the issue of shares to SOQUEM in partial consideration for the acquisition has been ratified.

The scrutineers' report indicates that the issue of 89,125 shares to Volkswagen has been ratified. The scrutineers' report also indicates that the previous issuance of 6,992,255 flow-through shares to PearTree Securities has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the previous issuance of 11,484,099 shares to investors under the hard placement has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the previous issuance of 1,365,631 shares under the overallotment option has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the previous issuance of 2,095,745 shares to Volkswagen has been ratified.

The scrutineers' report indicates that the issuance of up to $500,000 worth of RSUs and up to $500,000 worth of PSUs to Ken Brinsden for the 2027 financial year has been approved. The scrutineers' report indicates that the issuance of $150,000 worth of DSUs to the Chair of the Board has been approved. The scrutineers' report indicates the issuance of DSUs to non-executive directors for the 2027 financial year has been approved.

This concludes the formal business of this Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. I will now ask Natacha Garoute to move the motion to conclude the formal part of the meeting.

Thank you, Pierre. My name is Natacha Garoute. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I move that the formal part of the meeting be concluded.

Thank you, Natacha. Would Frederic Mercier-Langevin please second the motion.

Mr. Chair, my name is Frederic Mercier-Langevin. I'm a shareholder of the corporation, and I second the motion.

Thank you, Frederic. I therefore declare that the formal part of this meeting is closed. [Foreign Language] We will now continue with the discussion by management, and it's with great pleasure that I introduce to you our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kenneth Brinsden.

Thank you, Pierre, and a pleasure to be with you and the rest of the team. Welcome to shareholders attending. We really appreciate your involvement. I'm trusting that I'm coming through loud and clear from Perth in Western Australia, and I'm sorry that I can't be with you there in Montreal this morning.

In terms of presentation materials, a quick highlight with respect to the points of distinction that exist in our Shaakichiuwaanaan project, information about just how far we've come in the development and progress of the project down the development pipeline, some things to look forward to in both the near future and the medium term. And of course, the Annual General Meeting is a great opportunity to afford a vote of thanks to everybody involved in the company. So thank you very much for your attention and participation. Really appreciate it.

And I'm going to work out -- sorry -- I just lost you there for a second. Hopefully, that's coming back up now. And at Shaakichiuwaanaan, we -- as in the team working on the project, I think, consider ourselves both lucky and very happy to be working on a really unique project. It's not your average hard rock lithium project. It has an incredible suite of geology that hosts not just lithium, but another two key critical minerals and strategic metals in the form of caesium and tantalum, all hosted within the same geology, the same rocks that would be coming out of the ground for the purpose of the future lithium mine. And it's fair to say that with the inclusion of caesium and tantalum, we see a great opportunity to continue to support stronger economics around the development of our project.

Being a project based in Quebec -- North Central Quebec, we find ourselves adjacent to complementary infrastructure. And really, the discovery is remarkable for its proximity to existing infrastructure. Because of Hydro-Quebec, we have the La Grande-4 power station, massive renewable power generating asset as part of the overall Hydro-Quebec scheme, and it's only 45 kilometers away. That's pretty remarkable when you consider the applicability of that infrastructure to the future development of our project. In addition, roads, airports, interconnected facilities to rail and ultimately to port, should the product end up making its way into other jurisdictions. That's all really supportive to the future development of our project.

In Quebec, well, I've been there for about 3 years now. And even more so, I've come to appreciate its strengths. The diversity in mining experience, the mining history, the strength in the regulatory system and the support afforded through First Nations engagement, but especially in the James Bay region, that's something I'll come back to a little bit later in the presentation, is absolutely first class. Given our discovery was only made in -- well, the first drill hole we made in November 2021, it's conceivable that we'll have a mine ready for construction in approximately 6 years. There's just not that many places around the world where you can do that today. And on the face of it, Quebec is one of them. That's another reason that we're so happy to be working in the area.

What we have is scale and grade in those key -- or 3 key critical minerals, lithium, caesium and tantalum. Each with scale and grade in their own right. A significant and large reserve in lithium, the largest in the Americas. We're breaking the record books in the caesium-rich pollucite category with a discovery that's already approximately 2.4 million tonnes, but with an expectation that, that has every chance to grow as we keep drilling. And in tantalum contained in the minerals tantalite, we are one of what we imagine is top 5 resources globally. And I think most people understand the story in lithium and the growth that's going on in that sector.

But we see similar opportunities in caesium and tantalum, given new sources of demand that emerges as the world electrifies. That is a key driver to demand, in fact, in both subsets of those minerals in tantalum and in caesium. And at the moment, it's causing a spike -- a significant spike in pricing actually in both in caesium and tantalum. So the combination of those things means that we believe we have a very, very solid future in the development of Shaakichiuwaanaan down the track.

They are relatively simply recovered, spodumene containing lithium, pollucite containing caesium and tantalite containing tantalum. They are just physical processes at site to recover each of those concentrates. Methodology that's deployed widely globally in the mining game, there is nothing new. There is no rocket science in amongst all that. It's relatively straightforward. With that as a backdrop, it creates an easier environment to construct, commission and ramp up the mine, and we would suggest in each of those three concentrate categories, spodumene, pollucite and tantalite.

As always, and you've seen evidence of it during the course of the last 12 months, we've sought to ensure that we are well funded. And that's absolutely the case today with approximately CAD 176 million in the bank. And the benefit in having those monies in the bank is the ability to continue to move the project forward about as reasonably quickly as we possibly can. Being well funded fundamentally supports progress inside the project, and we believe that there's been plenty of that in the last 12 months with more to come.

So what are we doing? Well, the first focus is the lithium. The lithium at CV5, which was the subject of prior feasibility studies. Right now, we're in the process of finalizing an updated feasibility study at CV5. And it's being updated for several reasons. I'll come back to a few of them in more detail. But one of the big ones is for the inclusion of tantalum within the mining model such that the feasibility is updated with a new economic plan that facilitates the recovery of both spodumene concentrate and tantalite concentrate for lithium and tantalum, respectively. And in so doing, we believe that we'll continue to strengthen the project development imperative at CV5.

Down the track, we fully expect to be able to recover caesium in pollucite concentrate. And in so doing, further enhance the economics around the entire project. It just so happens that the first rounds of caesium exist at our CV13 deposit. And in the process of updating our studies, we'll include the economic merit before we head into the end of this year.

In a little bit more detail, the work that we have underway is really value adding. We're updating the previous CV5 feasibility study. There are several things going on. The first I mentioned was the inclusion of tantalite recovery, again, another simple physical concentrate for the purpose of extracting the value in the tantalum. So that's important. But elsewhere, the team has been doing a fantastic job further value adding inside the project. And one of the bigger elements there is targeting the underground mine first.

Now, that's a reversal of previous expectations in the prior feasibility study. The team has done significant work to ensure that we can target the underground mine first, but especially the high-grade Nova Zone. And that is incredible. One of the key points of distinction in our Shaakichiuwaanaan project is the Nova Zone at CV5 because it is such a high-grade reserve. There's over 12 million tonnes mined at approximately 2% or higher lithium -- contained lithium. That's after mining dilution. So clearly, it's a key target to enhance the economics around the project, and that's exactly what we're targeting in the updated feasibility study.

The updated feasibility study also includes some further updates in processing parameters, other mining parameters, each with a view to continuing to add value to the overall CV5 project. The next cab off the rank, an updated project-wide PEA. That includes CV5 and the newer discovery in CV13, where there is very, very high-grade lithium, caesium and tantalum. So with the inclusion of CV13, we'll be able to demonstrate the first round of economics for the inclusion of a caesium product in the form of pollucite concentrate. And we're very much looking forward to that future and how the rest of the Shaakichiuwaanaan project can unfold. It really is special.

When you have a special project, you attract great partners and great relationships. Now, in this deck, the inclusion of Albemarle; Volkswagen Group, their battery company, PowerCo; Koch Industries; Primero in Australia for engineering support; and Mitsui, one of the larger Japanese trading houses, you have a premium deck. I don't think that there is really any other lithium company that can present such a complete picture in respect of the combination of key relationships and for that matter, shareholdings in their company. And the reason that happens is because it's an outstanding project, an outstanding project carries with it or brings with it the potential in fantastic relationships. And I'm firmly of the view that the team is doing an amazing job continuing to build on that momentum.

As a result, we'd expect a broader consortium to emerge around the development of our project and especially as we head into what we imagine is the final investment decision at Shaakichiuwaanaan for the CV5 project at the end of next year. This really is the premium end of the pack. And I think you'd struggle to find as solid relationships as that, that PMET has on display.

We've made fantastic progress with the Cree, the First Nations in the James Bay region, but of course, in our project area. And we're really proud of the relationship that's emerging there. We're both pleased and happy to be continuing to partner and work with the Cree. It manifests itself in many different ways.

Of course, lots of community engagement and time spent in and with the community as we describe the future that could unfold around the Shaakichiuwaanaan project. And to the extent it's possible, direct involvement from the Cree that manifests itself in direct employment for which we've typically, in the last couple of years, averaged over 20% direct Cree employment with by far the majority of that coming out of our local community being Chisasibi. And I can assure you that is industry-leading in Quebec and in the James Bay region. I'm really happy with the work that the team has put in there.

It also manifests itself in direct spend through Cree businesses, and that's another area where we have intense focus. So approximately 20% to 30% of our spend in the last couple of years has been directly aligned with Cree business and some of that also coming out of -- directly out of the Chisasibi community. This is a key area of focus and culminated in the signing of a letter of intent with the community in Chisasibi. That was approximately 3 months ago now, and we're very pleased to have that outline the underlying nature of our relationship and the pathway as we work towards further information sharing, working groups and key project areas that will align our project development with the objectives of the Chisasibi community and the Cree Nation as a whole.

When you think about the amount of work that's underway, it's easy to get lost in just how much has been done. As I said, the discovery was only made in November 2021. But in that period of time, we've obviously done a lot of drilling, created an incredible resource in lithium, caesium and tantalum. We submitted our ESIA documentation, and we're now in the mechanics of both ESIAs at a provincial level through the COMEX and COMEV process and at the federal level. And a reasonable expectation that, that can culminate in the mine authorization in the latter part of next year.

So all of that's happened in approximately 4 years. And as I alluded to earlier in the presentation, we've not -- we don't believe an unreasonable expectation that the project would be ready for construction within 6 years. Again, there's just not that many places around the world where you can get that sort of work done.

We're deep into the process now for the progress of our mine authorization. That's resulted in consultation with communities, of course, but also federally for Q&A and soon to emerge at a provincial level as well. So a lot of work has already been done. Still more work to be done, but nonetheless, there's light at the end of the tunnel for the final mine authorization.

Lastly, but definitely not least. The AGM is a fantastic opportunity to afford a vote of thanks. I'm really proud to be working with our key executive team. As a whole, a diverse group with wide ranges of experience, but even better than that, fun to work with and great people in their own right. I consider myself really lucky to be part of that team. And I think shareholders can be confident that the skills on display amongst the team are, in fact, those that are going to get us to commissioning and to production ramp-up leading into the end of this decade.

That, of course, stretches to the Board where I offer another vote of thanks to be working with, again, another suite of fantastic people with the key experience that ultimately contributes to a project and company development like that, that ours represents that encompasses international experience, but also importantly, Quebec or direct Quebec experience and including mine development, community engagement, financing, the list goes on. All those things are ultimately what contribute to a fantastic company.

And then there's the broader team within PMET, a bunch of great people, people that I'm sure each of us, whether it's as a member of the Board or as part of the key executive team that we're also really happy to be working with. It's such a pleasure. And I really want to afford shareholders a chance to have heard that from the horse's mouth. They are great people, and that's one of the reasons why the Shaakichiuwaanaan project has come as far as it has in a relatively short period of time.

Pierre, that's all I had in the way of presentation materials, but it's possible that there are some questions out there and welcome the chance to answer them.

Thank you very much. So we'll open the floor for questions. Any questions from anybody in the room? I don't see hand up. Natacha, online platform, have we received any questions?

No. We haven't received any questions yet.

[indiscernible] Wait for a couple of seconds just to be sure. But I assume your presentation is so clear that nobody has any questions.

My pleasure, Pierre.

All right. So I would now like to thank you for participating in this meeting and for your ongoing commitment to PMET. I look forward to seeing you again next year at our Annual Shareholders Meeting. In the meantime, have a very nice day. [Foreign Language]