Q2 2026 Igo Ltd Earnings Call

January 29, 2026

Speaker #1: Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the IGO December 2025 quarterly activities report. All participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session.

Speaker #1: If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Ivan Vella, Managing Director and CEO.

Speaker #1: Please go

Speaker #1: ahead.

Speaker #2: Great. Thank

Ivan Vella: Great. Thank you. Good morning. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I know it's a super busy day. Lots and lots of quarterlies for the market, see you running around. So appreciate you dialing in, taking the time to catch up with our results. I won't spend too long as usual, just trying to hit the highlights, Catherine will pick up the financials as we get further through, and then we can dive into some Q&A. Just to sort of touch the headlines first, before I run through a few areas in more depth. I think safety, again, continued improvement. I've talked about this since I started the role two years ago, and I'm really pleased that we're making steady improvement every quarter. Team's working really hard at it.

Speaker #2: Good morning. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I know it's a super busy day—lots and lots of quarterlies for the market—so you're running around.

Speaker #2: So I appreciate you dialing in, taking the time to catch up with our results. I won't spend too long, as usual—just trying to hit the highlights, catch up, pick up the financials as we get further through, and then we can dive into some Q&A. Just to sort of touch the headlines first before I run through a few areas in more depth.

Speaker #2: I think safety, again, continued improvement. I've talked about this since I started in the role two years ago, and I'm really pleased that we're making steady improvement every quarter.

Q2 2026 Igo Ltd Earnings Call

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Q2 2026 Igo Ltd Earnings Call

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Thursday, January 29th, 2026 at 1:00 AM

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Speaker #2: Teams are working really hard at it. They absolutely treat this as their first priority. And the results are flowing through, which we're really pleased about.

Ivan Vella: They absolutely treat this as their first priority, and the results are flowing through, which we're really pleased about. Naturally, it's never done. That focus on a good mature gold chart is something that we'll keep working at. But I think it ties back into performance in the mine as well. Obviously, these results are largely focused around Nova. You'll see, you know, the results from Nova were really, really strong through the last quarter. Production, cost, team's doing a great job, and I've reinforced, obviously, a few quarters now, how difficult it is when you get to the end of an ore body like this, but you're approaching the end of mine life. It is challenging.

They absolutely treat this as their first priority, and the results are flowing through, which we're really pleased about. Naturally, it's never done. That focus on a good mature gold chart is something that we'll keep working at. But I think it ties back into performance in the mine as well. Obviously, these results are largely focused around Nova. You'll see, you know, the results from Nova were really, really strong through the last quarter. Production, cost, team's doing a great job, and I've reinforced, obviously, a few quarters now, how difficult it is when you get to the end of an ore body like this, but you're approaching the end of mine life. It is challenging.

Speaker #2: Naturally, it’s never done. That focus on a good, mature culture is something that we’ll keep working at. But I think it ties back into performance in the mine as well.

Speaker #2: And obviously, these results are largely focused around Nova. And you'll see the results from Nova have been really, really strong through the last quarter. Production, cost—the team's doing a great job.

Speaker #2: And I've reinforced, obviously, a few quarterlies now how difficult it is when you get to the end of an orebody like this, but you're approaching the end of the mine life.

Speaker #2: It is challenging. Teams are dealing with that extremely well. And we are starting to see where a focus on good safety, good productivity, and good discipline in our operations all tie together.

Ivan Vella: team is dealing with that extremely well, and, you know, we start to see where focus on good safety, good productivity, good discipline in our operations all tie together. We're also driving out great cost outcomes as well. I do recognize, of course, the benefit of the byproduct credits from copper, which is nice. It's another piece of the pie, and obviously, a lifting nickel market's, you know, fantastic for the last 12 months of this mine. But as you can see, it all, you know, starts with what we control, and those basics are running well. For Greenbushes, look, you know, obviously a better quarter than the first quarter of this financial year, which was impacted by rain and some grades. We've seen that grade improve.

team is dealing with that extremely well, and, you know, we start to see where focus on good safety, good productivity, good discipline in our operations all tie together. We're also driving out great cost outcomes as well. I do recognize, of course, the benefit of the byproduct credits from copper, which is nice. It's another piece of the pie, and obviously, a lifting nickel market's, you know, fantastic for the last 12 months of this mine. But as you can see, it all, you know, starts with what we control, and those basics are running well. For Greenbushes, look, you know, obviously a better quarter than the first quarter of this financial year, which was impacted by rain and some grades. We've seen that grade improve.

Speaker #2: And we're also driving those great cost outcomes as well. I do recognize, of course, the benefit of the by-product credits from copper, which is nice.

Speaker #2: It's another piece of the pie, and obviously, lifting nickel markets—fantastic for the last 12 months at this mine. But as you can see, it starts with what we control, and those basics are running well.

Speaker #2: For Greenbushes, look, obviously a better quarter than the first quarter of this financial year, which was impacted by rain and some breaks. We've seen that greatly improve.

Ivan Vella: That, that's continuing to flow through, and we'll see that lift through the second half of the financial year. But, improved production, sales volume, which is just shipment, which, to be honest, is, with a very rapidly rising lithium market, not the end of the world. We're not just seeing some improved financials on the back of that. And, you know, a lot of work that's happening to get CGP up and going to CGP3, at least. That's, as we've announced already, its first ore and a reduced first concentrate this March. There is a huge focus on that ramp up, and I'll talk more on that in due course. Kwinana, look, another quarter that's sort of in line with prior quarters.

That, that's continuing to flow through, and we'll see that lift through the second half of the financial year. But, improved production, sales volume, which is just shipment, which, to be honest, is, with a very rapidly rising lithium market, not the end of the world. We're not just seeing some improved financials on the back of that. And, you know, a lot of work that's happening to get CGP up and going to CGP3, at least. That's, as we've announced already, its first ore and a reduced first concentrate this March. There is a huge focus on that ramp up, and I'll talk more on that in due course. Kwinana, look, another quarter that's sort of in line with prior quarters.

Speaker #2: That's continuing to flow through, and we'll see that lift through the second half of this financial year. But some improved production sales off, which is just the shipment—which, to be honest, with a very rapidly rising skin market, is not the end of the world.

Speaker #2: We are not just seeing some improved financials on the back of that. And a lot of work is happening to get GDP up and going—GDP 3, at least.

Speaker #2: As we've announced already, his first dore and a reduced first concentrate this month. There is a huge focus on that ramp-up, and I'll talk more to that in due course.

Speaker #2: Kwinana, look, another quarter that's sort of in line with the prior quarters. I think, really, did call out it was impacted by a shutdown that took out some of the available days for

Ivan Vella: I think really did call out and was impacted by a shutdown that took out some of the available days of production. The team did finish the last month at about 50%, which is sort of the best that we've seen from a refinery for any same period. And you know, I guess we, much as looking at prices up, we continue to take the view that this has got a very challenged future. So that's, I think, the quick highlights. Our financials, capital being included further, but necessary that we've generated positive free cash and continue to maintain a very strong balance sheet. If I drop down a little bit further into Nova, and I've touched on them in these points, I mean, a really good operational quarter, delivering, delivering cash to the business.

I think really did call out and was impacted by a shutdown that took out some of the available days of production. The team did finish the last month at about 50%, which is sort of the best that we've seen from a refinery for any same period. And you know, I guess we, much as looking at prices up, we continue to take the view that this has got a very challenged future. So that's, I think, the quick highlights. Our financials, capital being included further, but necessary that we've generated positive free cash and continue to maintain a very strong balance sheet. If I drop down a little bit further into Nova, and I've touched on them in these points, I mean, a really good operational quarter, delivering, delivering cash to the business.

Speaker #1: Of action . They did . The team did finish . The last month at about 50% , which is sort of the we've seen from best that the refinery for any sustained period .

Speaker #1: And and which is sort of the best that seen we've refinery from the for a sustained period . And , you know , I guess much of the lithium prices are continue to take the view that this has got a very challenged future .

Speaker #1: So that's I think the quick highlights , our financials capital into it further . But as you can see generated that we've some free positive cash and continue to maintain a very strong balance sheet I .

Speaker #1: If I drop down a bit further into Nova and touch on—I’ve hit on a number of these points—I mean, a really good operational quarter delivering, delivering cash to the business. I talked about ASO misfiring in Q1, which has been addressed and mitigated.

Ivan Vella: I talked about a slight misfire in Q1, which has been addressed and mitigated, and again, that's the sort of thing that the team naturally doesn't want to happen, had to work really hard to deal with it safely. They've done that, and it's now in the rearview mirror, looking forward. With the mine at this point, so close to closure, we don't have the ability to flex our schedule, and so we have to deal with these things very, very attentively. Sales a bit lower, just in line with shipping plans, so one less ship a quarter that'll roll through. There's nothing really materially in that. And overall, tracking really well against our end-of-life mine guidance. As I said, the performance from production was really good, and they continue to lead through this quarter. So we're up.

I talked about a slight misfire in Q1, which has been addressed and mitigated, and again, that's the sort of thing that the team naturally doesn't want to happen, had to work really hard to deal with it safely. They've done that, and it's now in the rearview mirror, looking forward. With the mine at this point, so close to closure, we don't have the ability to flex our schedule, and so we have to deal with these things very, very attentively. Sales a bit lower, just in line with shipping plans, so one less ship a quarter that'll roll through. There's nothing really materially in that. And overall, tracking really well against our end-of-life mine guidance. As I said, the performance from production was really good, and they continue to lead through this quarter. So we're up.

Speaker #1: Again, that's the sort of thing that the team naturally doesn't want to happen. They had to work really hard to deal with it safely.

Speaker #1: They've done that and it's now in the rearview mirror looking forward with the with the mine . this At point , so close to closure , we ability don't have the .

Speaker #1: And so we have to deal with these things very, very effectively. Sales get lower, just in line with shipping plans. So one less quarter that'll roll through.

Speaker #1: There's nothing really material in that . And overall tracking really against well our end of life . Mine guidance . As I said , the performance from production .

Ivan Vella: We've got some strong confidence there and right through to the end of this calendar year. Of course, costs are a function of that performance. All that said, the team are working really hard to manage our costs as this mine ramps down. We're certainly not looking to carry anything that we don't need to as we move towards closure in 2027. I've put Kwinana next, just to touch on it quickly, but then we can talk a bit more on Greenbushes. As I said, 35% nameplate a quarter, 2.1 kiloton. We're tracking, you know, pretty much in line with our guidance as we've set out for the financial year. The costs are up and, you know, that's a function of the production through the quarter.

We've got some strong confidence there and right through to the end of this calendar year. Of course, costs are a function of that performance. All that said, the team are working really hard to manage our costs as this mine ramps down. We're certainly not looking to carry anything that we don't need to as we move towards closure in 2027. I've put Kwinana next, just to touch on it quickly, but then we can talk a bit more on Greenbushes. As I said, 35% nameplate a quarter, 2.1 kiloton. We're tracking, you know, pretty much in line with our guidance as we've set out for the financial year. The costs are up and, you know, that's a function of the production through the quarter.

Speaker #1: It really was good to live so and continue the quarter. They went through this with some confidence, and there, right through to the end of this calendar year.

Speaker #1: And of course costs are a of function that performance . All that all that said , the team are working really hard to manage our costs as this mine ramps down .

Speaker #1: We're certainly not looking to carry anything. We don't need to. As we move towards closure in 2027. I've put next Kwinana just to touch on it quickly, because we can talk then a bit more on Greenbushes.

Speaker #1: As I said , 35% of nameplates , a quarter , 2.1 . Kilotonne we're tracking , you know , pretty much in line with our guidance as we set out to the financial year .

Speaker #1: The costs are are up and , you know , that's a function of the the production through the quarter . We did a bit take out of the the maintenance shop that was done and some other modifications that were done to the plant .

Ivan Vella: We did take a bit out as the maintenance shut was done and some other modifications that were done to the plant. The next slide was dropping to Greenbushes. So look, you know, it's a good quarter, lift on Q1 in production. Costs are still running high, relative, and that's obviously largely production related. As the tons ramp up, we'll see that come back in. The realized price lifted to $850, which, you know, I think reflects this very close connection with the PRAs or the spot price in the market, and I'll talk more to that on the next slide. I think it's something that's very favorable, particularly in this lifting market, very buoyant market now.

We did take a bit out as the maintenance shut was done and some other modifications that were done to the plant. The next slide was dropping to Greenbushes. So look, you know, it's a good quarter, lift on Q1 in production. Costs are still running high, relative, and that's obviously largely production related. As the tons ramp up, we'll see that come back in. The realized price lifted to $850, which, you know, I think reflects this very close connection with the PRAs or the spot price in the market, and I'll talk more to that on the next slide. I think it's something that's very favorable, particularly in this lifting market, very buoyant market now.

Speaker #1: The the next know , it was a look , you into quarter Q1 lift on drop Greenbushes . slide in production costs are still high running relative .

Speaker #1: And that's obviously largely production related as the as the sons ramp up , we'll see that come back in the realized price lifted to 850 , which , you know , I think reflects this very close connection with the Pra's or the spot price in the market .

Ivan Vella: The big news was obviously getting first ore through CGP3 in late last year, just before Christmas. The team did find some issues as they started to run it up. We'll say they stopped and they fixed those early in January and then got back into it. As I said, we've just seen first concentrate starting to come through. So look, the asset's working. I think they took the time it was down to check a few more things, hopefully avoid any more surprises. The work in front of them now is to ramp that up, hopefully smoothly. We're gonna know more by our half year results in a few weeks' time or three weeks away.

The big news was obviously getting first ore through CGP3 in late last year, just before Christmas. The team did find some issues as they started to run it up. We'll say they stopped and they fixed those early in January and then got back into it. As I said, we've just seen first concentrate starting to come through. So look, the asset's working. I think they took the time it was down to check a few more things, hopefully avoid any more surprises. The work in front of them now is to ramp that up, hopefully smoothly. We're gonna know more by our half year results in a few weeks' time or three weeks away.

Speaker #1: And I'll talk more to that on the next slide. I think that's something that's very favorable, particularly in this lifting market, very buoyant market.

Speaker #1: Now . And the big news was obviously getting first of all through CDP three in late last year just Christmas before , the team did did find some issues as they they started to run it up .

Speaker #1: We'll say they've stopped, fixed those early in January, and then got back into it. As I said, we've just seen first concentrate starting to come through.

Speaker #1: So look asset's working . I think down the time when took the . they it was To check a few more check , things , hopefully avoid any more surprises and the work in front of them now is to ramp that up .

Ivan Vella: So I think that'll be a place where I can give you a more substantive update. At this point, it's a bit early really to say too much, until we see a few more results start to come through. I had a couple of extra slides on Greenbushes and wanted to start, as we talked about in the last quarter, to just feed in more information to the extent I can about both the life of mine optimization or the strategic review that we're doing and the focus on productivity. First thing I did want to touch on first, though, was just on the spot price growth, which I'm sure everybody's following closely in the market. It's certainly moving very, very quickly. I would say rather the expectation that I had, that's fine. It is what it is.

So I think that'll be a place where I can give you a more substantive update. At this point, it's a bit early really to say too much, until we see a few more results start to come through. I had a couple of extra slides on Greenbushes and wanted to start, as we talked about in the last quarter, to just feed in more information to the extent I can about both the life of mine optimization or the strategic review that we're doing and the focus on productivity. First thing I did want to touch on first, though, was just on the spot price growth, which I'm sure everybody's following closely in the market. It's certainly moving very, very quickly. I would say rather the expectation that I had, that's fine. It is what it is.

Speaker #1: smoothly Hopefully . We're going to know more by our results in a few weeks time , or about three weeks away . So I think that'll be a place where I can give you a more substantial update at this point , it's a bit early really , to say too much , so we see a few more results starting to come through .

Speaker #1: I had a couple of extra slides on Greenbushes and wanted to start. As we've talked about in the last quarter, to just feed in more information.

Speaker #1: To the extent I can, about both the life of mine optimization or the strategic review that we're doing, and the focus on productivity, the first thing I did want to touch on first was just on the spot price growth, which I'm sure everyone is following in the market.

Speaker #1: Closely in the, certainly moving very, very quickly. I would say relative to the expectations I had. That's fine. It is what it is.

Ivan Vella: I'm sure we're gonna have some ups and downs. We saw overnight that there was a bit of downshift with GFEX and others, and I think we certainly expect to see some of the catalog supply out there start to be reintroduced. And I think you may read this morning mentioned that they were looking at that. I'm sure we'll see more of that this month. Pay for it. But really, the takeaway from this slide is the way that translates for Greenbushes. And as you know, when we take the average of the PRAs one month prior to the sales, but it's pretty much a very close connection to the spot price that's out there, does give us a very good realized price as that flows through.

I'm sure we're gonna have some ups and downs. We saw overnight that there was a bit of downshift with GFEX and others, and I think we certainly expect to see some of the catalog supply out there start to be reintroduced. And I think you may read this morning mentioned that they were looking at that. I'm sure we'll see more of that this month. Pay for it. But really, the takeaway from this slide is the way that translates for Greenbushes. And as you know, when we take the average of the PRAs one month prior to the sales, but it's pretty much a very close connection to the spot price that's out there, does give us a very good realized price as that flows through.

Speaker #1: I'm sure we're going to have some ups and downs, and I saw overnight that there was a downshift with GFX and others, and I think we certainly expect to see some of the supply out there.

Speaker #1: Start to be reintroduced , reintroduced . And I think this morning mentioned they were looking at that . I suspect to see more of might pay that which for it , but really the takeaway from this slide is the the way that that translates for greenbushes .

Speaker #1: And as you know , when we take the average of the price to one month prior trials , but it's pretty much a very close connection to the to the spot price that's out there .

Ivan Vella: We don't have any of that lag or impact from contracts that you know might carry discounts or other frictions from a low end in the cycle. So I expect we're gonna see, obviously, some very attractive lifts in our realized price over the coming months. The next slide then, I guess, brings to life how that translates into margin, which is one of the things, again, I called out before. I think Greenbushes is one of those few mines of any kind in the world that generates extremely high margins. You know, I said 64% EBITDA for the last quarter, and I think the low end was just higher 60 at the absolute bottom of the cycle.

We don't have any of that lag or impact from contracts that you know might carry discounts or other frictions from a low end in the cycle. So I expect we're gonna see, obviously, some very attractive lifts in our realized price over the coming months. The next slide then, I guess, brings to life how that translates into margin, which is one of the things, again, I called out before. I think Greenbushes is one of those few mines of any kind in the world that generates extremely high margins. You know, I said 64% EBITDA for the last quarter, and I think the low end was just higher 60 at the absolute bottom of the cycle.

Speaker #1: Does give us a very good price at that flows through . We don't have any of that lag or impact from contracts that you know , from from a low in the in the other carry or frictions cycle .

Speaker #1: So I expect we're going to see, obviously, some very attractive lifts in our price over the coming months. The next slide then, I guess, brings to life how that translates into margin, which is one of the things.

Speaker #1: Again, I've called out before, I think Greenbushes is one of those few mines of any commodity in the world that generates extremely high margins.

Speaker #1: You know, we said 64% EBITDA for the last quarter, and I think the low end was just over 60 at the absolute bottom of the cycle.

Ivan Vella: But the thing that's really unique is it also drives fantastic cash conversion and translates it into returns that, that flow out of the business. They don't have to be reinvested to, to maintain production. And this chart brings to life what that looks like. If you take 1.5 million tons, so current production level, roughly, at 2,000 tons, and then with the lift in production that's coming through CGP3, you, you know, the sort of amount of cash, which is generated through that step up, just helps to, to visualize that. The next slide talks a bit to the optimization work that's ongoing. It's slides that I have referred to before.

But the thing that's really unique is it also drives fantastic cash conversion and translates it into returns that, that flow out of the business. They don't have to be reinvested to, to maintain production. And this chart brings to life what that looks like. If you take 1.5 million tons, so current production level, roughly, at 2,000 tons, and then with the lift in production that's coming through CGP3, you, you know, the sort of amount of cash, which is generated through that step up, just helps to, to visualize that. The next slide talks a bit to the optimization work that's ongoing. It's slides that I have referred to before.

Speaker #1: But the thing that's really unique is it also drives fantastic cash conversion and translates into returns that flow out of the business. They don't have to be reinvested to maintain production, and this chart just brings to life what that looks like.

Speaker #1: If take 1.5 million tonnes . So current 2000 tonne , lift roughly and production with the level then at in production that's coming through GP three , sort you know , the of amount of cash generated that step through up just helps to to visualize that the the next talks a slide bit to the optimization work that's going in slide that I have referred to before , just to reorient everyone .

Ivan Vella: Just to reorient everyone, we've got an overall review of the entire mine, which is, I guess, a life of mine optimization, and I'm gonna talk to one example of the kind of work that's happening there in a minute. That is significant. It's got a lot of expertise, external expertise, helping us with it. It basically goes right back to the ore body, assesses the ore characterization, the design of the mine, how we manage waste, tailings, our grades, et cetera, top to tail and reset that in the optimal way. And in doing so, obviously, unlock a lot of values. In parallel with that, we were also focused there with activity. Now, these things are naturally linked. Productivity work is happening now anyway, and that's focused across a number of different streams.

Just to reorient everyone, we've got an overall review of the entire mine, which is, I guess, a life of mine optimization, and I'm gonna talk to one example of the kind of work that's happening there in a minute. That is significant. It's got a lot of expertise, external expertise, helping us with it. It basically goes right back to the ore body, assesses the ore characterization, the design of the mine, how we manage waste, tailings, our grades, et cetera, top to tail and reset that in the optimal way. And in doing so, obviously, unlock a lot of values. In parallel with that, we were also focused there with activity. Now, these things are naturally linked. Productivity work is happening now anyway, and that's focused across a number of different streams.

Speaker #1: We've got an overall review of the entire mine, which is, I guess, like mine optimization. And I'm going to do one example talk of the kind of work that's happening there in a minute.

Speaker #1: That is significant . It's got a lot of expertise , external expertise , helping us with it is basically goes right back to the ore body , assesses the all characterization , the design of the mine , how we manage waste tailings , our grades , etc.

Speaker #1: Top to tail and resets that in much in the way, and in doing so, obviously unlocks a lot of value. In parallel with that, we were also focused heavily on activity.

Speaker #1: Now these things are naturally linked . Productivity work is happening now anyway , and that's focused across a number of different streams . All of that together brings us to , I guess , our goal , which is achieving the full potential of Greenbushes and , you know , Rob felt is the CEO .

Ivan Vella: All of that together brings us to, I guess, our goal, which is achieving the full potential of Greenbushes. And, you know, Rob Telford, who's the CEO there at Talison, is doing a great job. He's got a lot to work through, and the team he's put together are working through it. They are finding a whole range of issues, challenges, and changes they need to make, and that's part of the shift. But, I mean, we've seen Nova, in a short space of time, make this shift and this, you know, steady focus on production, stability, and safety. I don't share the safety results at Talison, but there is some challenges there as well.

All of that together brings us to, I guess, our goal, which is achieving the full potential of Greenbushes. And, you know, Rob Telford, who's the CEO there at Talison, is doing a great job. He's got a lot to work through, and the team he's put together are working through it. They are finding a whole range of issues, challenges, and changes they need to make, and that's part of the shift. But, I mean, we've seen Nova, in a short space of time, make this shift and this, you know, steady focus on production, stability, and safety. I don't share the safety results at Talison, but there is some challenges there as well.

Speaker #1: There at Attalus and is doing a great job . He got a lot to work through , and it's the saying he's put together a working through it .

Speaker #1: They are finding a whole range of issues, challenges, and changes they need to make, and that's part of the shift.

Speaker #1: But I mean , we've seen over in a short space of time make this shift and this , you know , steady focus on production , stability and safety .

Ivan Vella: I think these things are linked, and Rob's got a really good set of programs and changes in place, step by step, to support the team to shift that culture and focus on safety, on production, reliability, on stability, and ultimately, productivity. It will drive out, you know, more tons and obviously less costs as well. The example I want to refer to for the asset out of all asset review really looks at the pit wall slope. So steepening pit walls is something that naturally has risk or threat and opportunity, both ways. On the upside, it means a lot lower strip ratio, and in this case, you can see, and I'll talk to the line in a minute, it starts to expose more metal or more material, valuable material, that otherwise might not have been accessible.

I think these things are linked, and Rob's got a really good set of programs and changes in place, step by step, to support the team to shift that culture and focus on safety, on production, reliability, on stability, and ultimately, productivity. It will drive out, you know, more tons and obviously less costs as well. The example I want to refer to for the asset out of all asset review really looks at the pit wall slope. So steepening pit walls is something that naturally has risk or threat and opportunity, both ways. On the upside, it means a lot lower strip ratio, and in this case, you can see, and I'll talk to the line in a minute, it starts to expose more metal or more material, valuable material, that otherwise might not have been accessible.

Speaker #1: I don't share the safety results . Taliesin . But there is some challenges there as well . I think these things are linked and Rob Scott , a really good set of and changes in place step by step to support the team to shift that culture and focus on safety , on production , reliability and stability and ultimately productivity .

Speaker #1: It will drive out more tonnes, and obviously less costs as well. The example I wanted to refer to for the overall asset review really looks at the Pit Well site.

Speaker #1: So, steepening pit walls is something that naturally has risk, threat, and opportunity both ways. On the upside, it means a much lower strip ratio.

Speaker #1: And in this case, you and I—I'll talk to the lines in a minute. But it starts to expose more metal, or more material, valuable material that otherwise might not have been accessible.

Ivan Vella: On the downside, if you get it wrong, you have a geotechnical issue or a failure in the wall that can sterilize more. So it needs a lot of careful work and thought. The team have brought in experts to help them with that. They are maturing their geotechnical management processes and activities. They're doing all the right work to make sure that we control those risks, but ultimately unlock a lot of value. And if you look through this chart, you'll see some little dotted lines that run out into the gray patch on the right-hand side. And so that sort of pit shell, 2023 resource shell and 2021 resource shell, shows what the overall resource could be.

On the downside, if you get it wrong, you have a geotechnical issue or a failure in the wall that can sterilize more. So it needs a lot of careful work and thought. The team have brought in experts to help them with that. They are maturing their geotechnical management processes and activities. They're doing all the right work to make sure that we control those risks, but ultimately unlock a lot of value. And if you look through this chart, you'll see some little dotted lines that run out into the gray patch on the right-hand side. And so that sort of pit shell, 2023 resource shell and 2021 resource shell, shows what the overall resource could be.

Speaker #1: On the downside, if you get it wrong, you have a GT-X issue or a failure in wall that can sterilize more.

Speaker #1: So it needs a lot of careful work and thought. The team have brought in experts to—they are maturing their management processes and activities, and have brought in experts to help them with that.

Speaker #1: They're doing all the right work to make sure that we control those risks . But ultimately unlock a lot of value . And if you look through this chart , you'll see some little dotted lines that run out into the gray patch on the right hand side .

Speaker #1: And so that sort of pit shell , the 2023 resource shell and 21 Resource Shell shows what the overall resource would be . And you can imagine if you actually did all of that stripping huge , huge amount of work and the other point to note , though , is on top of that grey shaded area there on the left side of that slide sits our pumps .

Ivan Vella: And you can imagine, if you actually did all of that strip, it's a huge, huge amount of work and cost. The other point to note, though, is on top of that gray shaded area there on the left side of that slide, sits our plants. So it would require us moving a lot of the infrastructure and assets, which is extremely costly and painful. It's not to say you can't do it. I mean, that's the kind of work that other mines in the world have had to go through, but that's not very desirable. So the other way to tackle this is if you take those little dotted lines that run into the gray, and if you draw them straight up to the edge of the gray, and you steepen that wall significantly, you can start to access that high-grade core.

And you can imagine, if you actually did all of that strip, it's a huge, huge amount of work and cost. The other point to note, though, is on top of that gray shaded area there on the left side of that slide, sits our plants. So it would require us moving a lot of the infrastructure and assets, which is extremely costly and painful. It's not to say you can't do it. I mean, that's the kind of work that other mines in the world have had to go through, but that's not very desirable. So the other way to tackle this is if you take those little dotted lines that run into the gray, and if you draw them straight up to the edge of the gray, and you steepen that wall significantly, you can start to access that high-grade core.

Speaker #1: So it would require us moving a lot of infrastructure and assets, which should be extremely costly and painful. Not to say you can't do it.

Speaker #1: I mean, that's the kind of work that other mines in the world have had to go through, but it's not very desirable.

Speaker #1: So the other way to this is if tackle you take those little into the gray , and that run if you dotted lines if you draw them straight up to the edge gray , of the and you steepen that wall significantly , you can start to access that , that high grade for you can lower your strip ratio significantly .

Ivan Vella: You can lower your strip ratio significantly, so you expose more metal, lower strip, much lower cost, and ultimately, drive a monstrous amount of extra value out of the mine. That's the kind of example of work that's happening at the moment, and I wanted to do this to try and just illustrate it. So when you start to see more of the results and the information coming through, as we get through the decision and finalize our plans, and we can present that back to the market, you'll understand where that's come from. It just helps to give you a sense of the work that's happening. Equally, the care that we're taking to make sure that this is done properly. As many of you know, this mine is 135 months old.

You can lower your strip ratio significantly, so you expose more metal, lower strip, much lower cost, and ultimately, drive a monstrous amount of extra value out of the mine. That's the kind of example of work that's happening at the moment, and I wanted to do this to try and just illustrate it. So when you start to see more of the results and the information coming through, as we get through the decision and finalize our plans, and we can present that back to the market, you'll understand where that's come from. It just helps to give you a sense of the work that's happening. Equally, the care that we're taking to make sure that this is done properly. As many of you know, this mine is 135 months old.

Speaker #1: So you expose more metal, lower strip, much lower cost, and ultimately drive the amount of extra value out of the mine.

Speaker #1: That's the kind of example of work that's happening at the moment . I wanted to do this to try and just it . So when you illustrate start to see more of the and results the information coming through , as we get through this , decisions by our plans and we can present that back to the market , you'll understand where that's come from .

Speaker #1: It just helps to give you a sense of the work that's happening . Equally , the care that we're facing to make sure that this is done properly , as you know , this mine is many of 135 years old .

Ivan Vella: Even the pit we're working in is quite, quite mature, and any changes to that having international order done with due care and attention. The last slide then on Greenbushes, to speak to the productivity throughout the stream that I mentioned earlier. We put in the sort of major areas of focus, mining being naturally a big one early. And I've put a couple of little charts in there to just illustrate the lift in productivity from the mining fleet. And, you know, that takes us to what we believe is industry average. So we're not outperforming yet, but I want to give credit to the team to write out on these. Their mining team, they've made a lot of focus on this. They have hit a lot of issues and barriers.

Even the pit we're working in is quite, quite mature, and any changes to that having international order done with due care and attention. The last slide then on Greenbushes, to speak to the productivity throughout the stream that I mentioned earlier. We put in the sort of major areas of focus, mining being naturally a big one early. And I've put a couple of little charts in there to just illustrate the lift in productivity from the mining fleet. And, you know, that takes us to what we believe is industry average. So we're not outperforming yet, but I want to give credit to the team to write out on these. Their mining team, they've made a lot of focus on this. They have hit a lot of issues and barriers.

Speaker #1: Even if we're working in what is quite, quite mature, and any need to changes that we do need attention—make sure with, with.

Speaker #1: due care The the last on slide then Greenbushes to speak to the the productivity Australian that I mentioned earlier , we put in the sort of major areas of focus mining being naturally a big one early , and I've put a couple of little charts in there just illustrate the list in productivity from from the mining fleet that takes .

Speaker #1: So we're not outperforming yet. But I want to give credit to the team—to Rob, Adam, and their mining team. They've made a focus on a lot of this.

Ivan Vella: They're working through different challenges, but I think they're really starting to see some results come through now, and that will play out in our costs, obviously our waste movement. The second area I want to talk about is in this production and plant performance, and that's a mix of utilization through better asset management and reliability, so we get that throughput, but also recovery. So more stability will drive recovery and then work on to optimize recovery. As part of that, we're also looking at value and use, which means what is the grade that we're selling to our customers? Is that optimum for them? What level of impurities? How much are we throttling the assets, the processing plants to achieve that? And what's the cost of value trade-offs?

They're working through different challenges, but I think they're really starting to see some results come through now, and that will play out in our costs, obviously our waste movement. The second area I want to talk about is in this production and plant performance, and that's a mix of utilization through better asset management and reliability, so we get that throughput, but also recovery. So more stability will drive recovery and then work on to optimize recovery. As part of that, we're also looking at value and use, which means what is the grade that we're selling to our customers? Is that optimum for them? What level of impurities? How much are we throttling the assets, the processing plants to achieve that? And what's the cost of value trade-offs?

Speaker #1: A lot of issues and barriers that are working through different challenges, but I think they're starting really to see some results come through now.

Speaker #1: And that will play out in our costs. Obviously, our wages movement, and the second area I want to talk about is production and plant performance, and that's a mix of utilization through better asset management and reliability.

Speaker #1: So we've pointed, but had three also, recovery. So more stability will drive recoveries, and then work on to optimize recoveries as part of that.

Speaker #1: We're also looking at value use which means what are the what is the grade that we're selling to our customers . Is that optimum for them ?

Speaker #1: What level of impurities , how much are we throttling the the assets to the processing plants , to achieve that ? And what's the cost or value trade offs .

Ivan Vella: So we're asking those kind of questions as part of this, to make sure that we've really optimized this, recognizing the customer's interests and their costs, but equally, what's the best we can do with the plant? The business has run on producing SC6 and a fixed, you know, grade on impurities for a very long time, and we haven't really asked the question. And so we are, or at least testing it, and we'll see what makes sense. No decisions yet, but again, shows you the kind of work that's happening and the impact on productivity from these different streams is quite significant. So with that, that's a quick roundup on the operations, a bit more on Greenbushes.

So we're asking those kind of questions as part of this, to make sure that we've really optimized this, recognizing the customer's interests and their costs, but equally, what's the best we can do with the plant? The business has run on producing SC6 and a fixed, you know, grade on impurities for a very long time, and we haven't really asked the question. And so we are, or at least testing it, and we'll see what makes sense. No decisions yet, but again, shows you the kind of work that's happening and the impact on productivity from these different streams is quite significant. So with that, that's a quick roundup on the operations, a bit more on Greenbushes.

Speaker #1: So we're asking those kinds of questions as part of this to make sure that we really optimize this. Recognizing the customer's interest and their costs.

Speaker #1: But equally, what's the best we can do with the plant? The business has run producing for six and a fixed grade on impurities for a very long time.

Speaker #1: And we haven't really asked the question. And so we are literally testing it, and we'll see what makes sense. No decisions yet.

Speaker #1: But again, it shows you the kind of work that's happening. And the impacts on productivity from these strains is significant, these different.

Ivan Vella: We'll turn it over to Cath and, sort of touch on the highlights and the financials, and then we can get into some Q&A.

We'll turn it over to Cath and, sort of touch on the highlights and the financials, and then we can get into some Q&A.

Speaker #1: So look , quite that's that's a quick roundup on the operations . A bit more on Greenbushes . We'll turn it over to Kat and she'll touch on the highlights and the financials .

Kathleen Bozanic: Thanks, Ivan. Welcome. Hi, everybody. Sales review. Excuse me, sales review is AUD 82 million, as Ivan indicated; it was lower due to the shipment timing from Nova. Nova's EBITDA was up AUD 42 million, which included some value adjustments with the increase in price in the month of September. The share of net profit from GLA rounded to zero. Positive profit at Greenbushes has been offset by losses at Kwinana, and this includes our share of capital expenditures. We compare that at zero. I also wanted to call out again that we're in Q1 running from lag with pricing or sluggishly. The next quarter, we'll see the benefit of the higher pricing. Underlying EBITDA improved to AUD 30 million, and it was supported by Nova's result and some mark-to-market movement on the investments that we have.

Kath Bozanic: Thanks, Ivan. Welcome. Hi, everybody. Sales review. Excuse me, sales review is AUD 82 million, as Ivan indicated; it was lower due to the shipment timing from Nova. Nova's EBITDA was up AUD 42 million, which included some value adjustments with the increase in price in the month of September. The share of net profit from GLA rounded to zero. Positive profit at Greenbushes has been offset by losses at Kwinana, and this includes our share of capital expenditures. We compare that at zero. I also wanted to call out again that we're in Q1 running from lag with pricing or sluggishly. The next quarter, we'll see the benefit of the higher pricing. Underlying EBITDA improved to AUD 30 million, and it was supported by Nova's result and some mark-to-market movement on the investments that we have.

Speaker #1: And then we can get into some Q&A. Thanks, Ivan. Hi everybody.

Speaker #2: So you oh excuse me . So as Ivan indicated , it was always shipment timing from over Nova's EBITDA was up 42 million , which included some value adjustments for the increase in price in the month of December .

Speaker #2: The share of net profit from Greenbushes, rounded to zero positive profit, is being offset by losses at Niana. And this includes our share of capital expenditures.

Speaker #2: We set that to zero. I also wanted to call out a game that we're one month lag pricing, so next quarter we'll see the benefit of the higher pricing underlying. Improved any—that to our $30 million.

Kathleen Bozanic: We remain laser-focused on cost control, but you'll note that, or I'd like to note that cost this year had a one-off payment for, you know, our insurance in there as well. So that's inflation quarter. Free cash flow was positive at AUD 13 million, and our balance sheet continues to strengthen with the net cash increasing to AUD 299 million. So that's where it's placed to be. I think that summarizes that, and I'll hand it back to Ivan.

We remain laser-focused on cost control, but you'll note that, or I'd like to note that cost this year had a one-off payment for, you know, our insurance in there as well. So that's inflation quarter. Free cash flow was positive at AUD 13 million, and our balance sheet continues to strengthen with the net cash increasing to AUD 299 million. So that's where it's placed to be. I think that summarizes that, and I'll hand it back to Ivan.

Speaker #2: And supported by Noble's and some March result market movement on investments that we have. We remain laser focused on cost control. But you will note, or I'd like to note, that we had a one-off payment for our insurance in there as well.

Speaker #2: So that's inflation quarter . Great question . Positive at 13 now . And our balance sheet continues to strengthen with a net cash increasing 299 million .

Speaker #2: That's the debate, I think that summarizes that. That's on.

Ivan Vella: Thanks, Cath. Well, look, we'll turn it over to Q&A. I'm trying a different mic. Hopefully, the sound quality is better for you. But yeah, we can open up and start taking some questions.

Speaker #1: Thanks Kath . Well look we'll turn it over to Q&A . I'm trying a different mic . Hopefully the sound quality is better for you .

Operator: Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. And if you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. Your first question comes from Rahul Anand, from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Speaker #1: But yeah, we can open up and start taking some questions.

Speaker #3: Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad.

Speaker #3: If you wish to cancel your request, please press star two. And if you're on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question.

Speaker #3: Your first question comes from Rahul Anand from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Rahul Anand: Oh, hi, good morning. Thanks for the call. Just the first one for me is related to CGP3. Obviously, you started commissioning and ramp up there. What is the rough timeline of you achieving that nameplate, please, just so that we can test our numbers going forward on that one? And I'll come back with a second. Thanks.

Speaker #4: Oh , hi . Good morning . Thanks for the call . Just the first one from me is related to CP3 . Obviously , you've started commissioning and ramp up there .

Speaker #4: What is the rough timeline of you achieving that nameplate, please? Just so that we can test our numbers going forward on that one.

Ivan Vella: Yeah, it's about, in simple terms, 5 months, so the end of the calendar year.

Speaker #4: And I'll come back with a second. Thanks.

Rahul Anand: Got it. Okay, perfect. And then just on the pricing, we basically had you achieve the price during this quarter for, I guess, the months of September, October, and November. And even if I apply about a 5% discount, I'm still getting to a higher price. Now, obviously, I acknowledge that the shipment timings might have been a key impact here, but is that the right way to think about pricing? You know, September, October, November, and then based on when the ships basically are loaded and leave the port, basically you're selling, the timing is FOB basis. Is that right?

Speaker #1: fun Yeah . It's in simple terms , Bob . Months . So at the end of the calendar year .

Speaker #4: Got it . Okay . Perfect . And then just on the pricing basically , we had you achieved the price during this quarter for I guess the months of September , October and November and even if I apply about a discount , higher price 5% to a I'm still getting .

Speaker #4: Now, obviously, I acknowledge that the shipment timings might have been a key impact here, but is that the right way to think about pricing?

Speaker #4: September , You know , October , November , and then based on when the ships basically are loaded and leave the port , basically you're selling the timing is FOB basis .

Ivan Vella: Yeah, it is. We can double-check it and clarify. Yep, that's your, your, misunderstanding is absolutely correct.

Speaker #4: Is that right ?

Speaker #1: Yeah , it is . We can double check it and clarify . Yep . That's your your misunderstandings . Absolutely correct .

Rahul Anand: Yeah. Yeah, just 'cause, looking at our numbers for the price and also for consensus, the pricing was a tad bit weaker, so just wanted to understand if we're kind of modeling that correctly.

Speaker #4: Yeah, yeah. Just because looking at our numbers for the price and also for consensus, the pricing was a tad bit weaker.

Ivan Vella: Yeah, we'll double-check. I mean, we obviously do reconcile that, but we'll just make sure if there's something that's, you know, in there, whether or it's type of shipment, possibly. I'm not sure, but we'll get back to you to make sure we've got the right inputs for your model.

Speaker #4: So I just wanted to understand if we’re kind of modeling that correctly.

Speaker #1: We we'll double check . I mean we obviously do reconcile that , but we'll just make sure if there's something that's , you know , in there , whether it's tied to the shipment , possibly .

Rahul Anand: Excellent. If I can just slip in one more just around, so if Greenbushes going forward, obviously a strong lithium price environment, and you've got a, a, a downstream partner there at the mine as well. You've talked about the age of the mine, and then also you're ramping up CGP3. If I look at your sensitivity chart in terms of the sales volumes, you've obviously got about 2 million tons, which is what your current plans are. Have any conversations started as yet in terms of any future expansions at the mine and how they might look like in terms of underground, above ground? What type of hurdles do you guys need to cross in terms of thinking about further expansions? Anything related to growth, I guess, in the Greenbushes space?

Speaker #1: I'm not, but we're back to the—sure, we'll get, sure, make for your—you to model.

Speaker #4: Excellent . And if I can just slip in one more just around sort of greenbushes going forward , obviously , a strong lithium price environment .

Speaker #4: And you've got a downstream partner there at the mine as well. You've talked about the age of the mine, and then also you're ramping up CP3.

Speaker #4: And if I look at your sensitivity chart in terms of the sales volumes, you've obviously got about 2 million tonnes, which is what your plans are. Have any conversations started as yet in terms of any future expansions at the mine and how they might look like in terms of underground, above ground?

Speaker #4: What type of hurdles do you guys need to cross in terms of thinking about further expansions—anything related to growth? I guess in the Greenbushes space?

Ivan Vella: Yeah. Look, there's a lot going in there, but that's included in that broader life of mine optimization. The existing assets, so CGP 1 and 2, we believe can offer up a lot more productivity and throughput in production. So optimizing them naturally brings CGP3 up to its full potential as well. So that's using the existing suite of capital that we've deployed, the tailings retreatment facility. We're working through that study presently, so we know what to do there as well. So there is a lot happening in that space to recognize and drive growth from the existing capital base and make sure we've got the best from it. CGP4 is in the mix, you know?

Speaker #1: Yeah , there's a lot going on That's included that life and mine optimization . The broader in existing there . assets . So one and two , believe can we up offer a lot more productivity and throughput in production .

Speaker #1: So, then naturally, bringing and optimizing TGP three up to its full potential as well. So that's using the existing suite of capital that we've deployed.

Speaker #1: The tailings Retreatment facility . We're working through that study presently , so we know what to do there as well . So there is a lot happening in that space that to recognize and drive growth from the existing capital base and make sure we've got the best from it .

Ivan Vella: It's one of those things that sits in the schedule, and we've got to find where the optimum place for that is. We don't have that answer yet. It's, you know, there's a lot of moving parts in the review that we're doing. It's very significant, but, you know, as I get more detail, you know, step by step, we'll feed it out. I guess I'm just as eager as you are, of course, to have that finished because it gives us a really clear new baseline to work against. And Rob and the team are working really hard. I think we'll see some of that come through in the reserve resource update we do later in February. And, you know, you've mentioned underground, so we're certainly looking at where that fits.

It's one of those things that sits in the schedule, and we've got to find where the optimum place for that is. We don't have that answer yet. It's, you know, there's a lot of moving parts in the review that we're doing. It's very significant, but, you know, as I get more detail, you know, step by step, we'll feed it out. I guess I'm just as eager as you are, of course, to have that finished because it gives us a really clear new baseline to work against. And Rob and the team are working really hard. I think we'll see some of that come through in the reserve resource update we do later in February. And, you know, you've mentioned underground, so we're certainly looking at where that fits.

Speaker #1: Tdp43 is in the in the mix . You know , it's one of those things that sits in the in the schedule and we've got to find where the optimum place for that is .

Speaker #1: We don't have that answer yet . It's , you know , there's a lot of moving parts in the in the review that we're doing .

Speaker #1: It's very significant . But you know as I get more detail , you know , step by step , we will feed it out .

Speaker #1: I guess I'm just as eager as you are. Of course, to have that finished because it gives us a really clear view—baseline to work against.

Speaker #1: And Rob and the team are working really hard. I think we'll see some of that come through in the reserve resource update.

Speaker #1: We do later in February . And you know , you mentioned underground , so we're certainly looking at where that fits . And as we think about the overall resource , I've talked about , it was evening as one lever that , you know , obviously drives a lot of value .

Ivan Vella: As we think about the overall resource, I've talked about pit wall sequencing as one lever that, you know, obviously drives a lot of value, but equally understanding which part of the resource we want to target through the open pit versus underground, and then what the schedule and sequence of that is, is again, work that's underway currently.

As we think about the overall resource, I've talked about pit wall sequencing as one lever that, you know, obviously drives a lot of value, but equally understanding which part of the resource we want to target through the open pit versus underground, and then what the schedule and sequence of that is, is again, work that's underway currently.

Speaker #1: But equally, understanding which part of the resource we want to target through the open pit versus then what the schedule and sequence of that is.

Rahul Anand: Got it. That's very comprehensive. Thank you for that. Appreciate it.

Speaker #1: Again, work that's underway currently.

Operator: Thank you. Your next question comes from Levi Spry, from UBS. Please go ahead.

Speaker #4: Got it. That's very comprehensive. Thank you for that. Appreciate it.

Speaker #3: Thank you. Your next question comes from Levi Spry from UBS. Please go ahead.

Levi Spry: Yeah, good day. Thanks, Simon and team. Thanks for your time. So, so do we have an updated expected date for the life of mine optimization?

Speaker #5: Yeah . G'day . Thanks . Ivan and the team . Thanks for your time . So do we have an updated expected date for the life of mine optimization ?

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