BCI Minerals Limited ($BCI)

Good morning, everyone and welcome. I'm David Boshoff, and with me is our CFO, Steve Fewster. We're pleased to be joining you today for this March 2026 quarterly update. Before we get underway, I'd like to mention that today's presentation should be read in conjunction with our March quarterly report. This is available on the BCI website. [Operator Instructions] I also just want to start by -- before I move to the next slide, just talk a little bit about the images on your screen. These are taken from our first crystallizer. And as you can see on the left-hand side, that's the salt pavement already formed at the bottom of the crystallizer. And as of this morning, we had 9-millimeter thick of pavement. This is more than double what we were last week at the same time. So a very exciting time for BCI. We always begin with this slide because it reflects how we do things at BCI with our value guiding every decision we make. This quarter was no exception. We delivered consistent progress across operations, construction and financial performance, a clear demonstration of our values in action, particularly our -- we do what we say value. This has been the commission of our primary crystallizers with high density brine now from pond 9. As of today, we have brine in the first 2 crystallizers and as you saw from that picture, salt pavement is forming in those crystallizers. This milestone is a result of strong collaboration across our teams and contractors, while the sun has done its job in driving brine density, it's the preparation, coordination and commitment of our teams and contractors that enabled this system to perform and the brine to float. Mardie is now firmly established as a working salt operation. And that value-driven approach is exactly what underpins the business we're building at Mardie. Mardie is already Australia's largest solar salt operation and the third largest globally. Our focus is clear, delivering high-quality salt and associated minerals to our customers. With salt now in operation, we're focused on achieving a safe and efficient ramp-up as quickly and as efficiently as we can. We believe salt business represents a valuable opportunity to support additional product streams over time. And that's why Sulphate Of Potash trial is an important step towards proving as our next major revenue stream. With its scale, coastal location and integrated port infrastructure, Mardie is exceptionally well positioned to meet expected rising demand across Asia. The port provides us connectivity to our customers, along with additional upside through spare capacity, creating potential for third-party revenue and strategic partnerships over time. The March quarter marked a pivotal period for BCI, delivering outcomes that will shape the year ahead. In safety, we've continued to strengthen our key fatality prevention controls and maintained a focus on field leadership, completing over 380 leadership in the field safety interactions. Operationally, as mentioned earlier, we've commissioned our first 2 crystallizers along the brine channel and the first 2 lift stations, marking another important step forward for the operation. During the quarter, the Pilbara also experienced 2 tropical cyclones, and I'm pleased to share with you today that there was no material impact to our people, plant, equipment or infrastructure, and we had no loss of brine. Construction has now progressed to 81% complete with the salt wash plant advancing well and concrete installation works remaining on schedule. In relation to Sulphate Of Potash, the KTMS trial crystallizers have transitioned from batch testing to steady-state operations with performance in line with expectations. On the corporate front, construction remains within budget and BCI continues to maintain a strong financial position. During the quarter, we drew $50 million from our syndicated debt facility, taking total debt drawn at the end of March to $496 million. On the 11th of March 2026, we've reached a critical milestone. We've commenced flooding of our first 2 crystallizers with high density brine, as you can see on the screen. This represented a critical step in the salt production process, enabling the formation of salt pavement and marking a significant milestone on our path to first salt production. Strong asset reliability has continued to underpin our operational performance, supporting a safe and efficient movement of high pump volumes throughout the quarter. During the quarter, tropical cyclones, Mitchell and Narelle passed through the Mardie site with no material impact to our people, plant, equipment or infrastructure. And importantly, we had no loss of brine. Our cyclone preparedness and response plan was executed as designed, allowing us to safely restart operations in a phased and controlled way, by detailed inspections, asset validation and the progressive recommissioning of key infrastructure. The rainfall associated with tropical cyclone Narelle in March was significant. We had between 3 and 4x the March average. This level of rainfall reduced the ponds density levels as one can expect and delayed the crystallizer lining program. Brine density is strongly influenced by seasonal evaporation rates. During the peak summer periods, we get better evaporation and then, of course, during the cooler months, slower evaporation. The revised density profile, as you can see in blue on your screen, it's a blue shaded area, reflects this more gradual profile that you see during the cooler months with density expected to progress back into operational density range during the next 2 months. If you look on the screen, you can see the orange circle represents the pre-March density, and then we are closing back on that level as we progress towards the end of April. BCI is refining also Mardie salt production ramp-up profile based on our operational experience, the site performance and insight from BCI's digital twin. As indicated in prior updates, our first salt on ship timing remains weather dependent. We are assessing the effects of recent weather events on salt production ramp-up with a view of delivering first salt on ship in a timely and efficient manner. BCI's mining operation is located in the Pilbara, where for decades, salt has been produced. This chart that you can see on the screen is the annual export volumes from the Pilbara of salt for the last 20 years as published by the WA state government. We've overlaid on this chart the tropical cyclones that were either Category 4 or Category 5. As you can see from the historical data, that there's no suggestion that there's any correlation between tropical cyclones and the export volumes in Western Australia, as you can see from the established salt producers and the volumes that they produce each year. During Mardie's ramp up phase, however, tropical cyclones may disrupt our salt operations until the salt pavement matures, and we have got enough inventory on hand. And these are some of the pictures that I referred to earlier. The one on the left is a plate that you place in the bottom of the crystallizer. This plate gets pulled out and then we measure the thickness of the pavement with a vernier, the ability then to measure the 2 accurately to the millimeters. And as of this morning, the production report indicated that our pavement is now 9 millimeters thick, and that's double what thickness was of last Tuesday. So positively, since the end of the quarter, the operations have resumed, pump density has been increasing and salt is reforming in our crystallizers. This is a clear indication that the salt growth is on track and this is something we are now seeing the progress of every day. We're continuing to make good progress towards our construction milestones with cumulative capital expenditure now totaling $1.1 billion. While construction progress was interrupted during the quarter with cyclones Mitchell and Narelle, there was no material impact to our plant, equipment and infrastructure and post cyclone maintenance kicked off. During the quarter, lining of the first 2 crystallizer cells was also completed, enabling a safer and more predictable harvesting environment. Lining of cells 3 and 4 also resumed on the 12th of April. The remaining crystallizer cells will continue to be line progressively as we ramp up towards steady-state production. The design phase of the south wash plant also continued to advance, reaching 92% completion with major procurement items remaining on track for delivery in the June quarter. And construction is progressing alongside the commencement of concrete installation works. At the Port of Cape Preston West, construction of the marine package continued to advance with the contract awarded for the remaining detailed works, including navigation aids, berthing and mooring piles and the installation of catwalks. And importantly, with all key approvals secured and contractual arrangements in place, I'm pleased to share with you that as of yesterday, we officially commenced dredging our channel of our port. Steve will now take us through the financial highlights.

Yes. Thanks David. Total construction costs now stood at over $1.11 billion, having spent $67 million this quarter. The largest packages of work that remain include the dredging and you just saw a photo of that. The balance of the crystallized sealing, which will happen progressively and a salt wash plant. The progress being made on these 3 major construction areas continues to support our confidence of remaining on track and on budget. As mentioned earlier, we drew $50 million from our syndicated debt facility during the quarter. At the end of the quarter, BCI had available liquidity totaling $522 million. With construction costs at $1.11 billion and our pre-revenue operating expenditure at $259 million, BCI has invested almost $1.37 billion in salt operations. With approximately $333 million required to complete construction and available funding of $522 million, we remain fully funded to complete construction as well as meet our working capital requirements through ramp-up. To date, we have successfully completed 10 drawdowns totaling $496.8 million as at the end of March. The Port of Cape Preston West is a strategically valuable asset for BCI and for the region. This is a multi-user port designed to export around 20 million tonnes per annum of bulk commodities, including salt, SOP and potentially iron ore. At nameplate capacity, Mardie salt operation needs are around 5.5 million tonnes per annum, leaving approximately 14.5 million tonnes of surplus capacity. This presents a real opportunity to support other proponents in the West Pilbara who require access to this valuable port infrastructure. At the end of March, construction of the marine package had progressed to 94%. As David mentioned, we commenced dredging of the berth pocket and navigation channel this week. This is a critical step in enabling the loading of deep sea ocean-going vessels with industrial salt from the Mardie operation. I'll now hand back to David to talk about SOP.

Thank you, Steve. Sulphate Of Potash is a key byproduct of our salt operation, an important future revenue stream for BCI. SOP is a high-value premium fertilizer different from the more common myriad of potash. Unlike MOP, SOP contains sulfur as well as potassium, making it ideal for high-value crops such as fruits, vegetables and nuts. It plays a critical role in improving crop quality, yield and food security, particularly in regions with nutrient depleted soils. During the March quarter, the KTMS SOP crystallizers transitioned from batch operation to continuous operation in steady-state performance, marking a very important step in proving up the process at scale. We have also completed a structured technical and commercial assessment of submissions for the SOP pilot plant preliminary engineering design, and this is the Class IV capital agent. Following this process, 2 proponents have been selected to progress to the next phase with work now advancing in line with our expectations. Subject to final outcomes, the successful component will then be engaged to commence the FEED study, moving us one step closer to derisking and progressing the SOP pathway. While our focus remains on safely ramping up our operations and completing construction, we continue also to prioritize sustainability. This included quarterly monitoring of the Mangroves, Samphire, and Algal Mats, marine turtle monitoring and migratory shorebird surveys to name just a few. We have also continued to deepen our engagement with traditional owners, working closely with the Wirrawandi Aboriginal Corporation and its newly established commercial arm, Manarri Enterprises to progress initiatives that support sustainable economic participation. A key example of this is the development of a commercial partnership policy. This is designed to enable WAC members to establish viable low-risk service businesses aligned with on-country activities. This is already being brought to life in practice with Wirrawandi-owned businesses delivering an in-person cultural awareness training at our Perth head office here in February, facilitated by Yaburara and Mardudhunera Elders, and this program will now also be rolled out across Perth and the Mardie teams. We are also proud to extend our partnerships with Karratha Senior High School in 2026, reinforcing the ongoing commitment to local education, delivering long-term positive outcomes for our community. As we close out this quarter, we do so by consistently applying our values and doing what we said we would do. Our salt operation and production ramp-up is well progressed as we create sustainable multigenerational benefits for our shareholders, local communities as well as the broader Australian economy. This brings us to the end of the presentation, and we will now move to questions. If you haven't already, please submit your questions in the live Q&A tab on the right side of your screen. Thank you.

Thank you, David and Steve. We've got a couple of questions that have been lodged. The first one is, can you elaborate on the differences between the primary and secondary crystallizers and how the salt moves to the secondary if it falls out of suspension in the primary?

That's a great question. Thank you. The primary crystallizers is where our production happens. So some of those pictures that you saw on the screen was our primary crystallizers. That's where you harvest salt. When you've crystallized the majority of your salt in your brine, the brine then would flow through to your secondary crystallizers. The secondary crystallizer then used to drop out other chemical components before the brine water is then introduced into the KTMS crystallizers. That's the full circuit, of course, circuit. After the KTMS crystallizes, the brine is then returned to pond pit and that then recirculates back into pond 9 and then return back into crystallizers. The reason why that's designed in that way is to ensure that the maximum salt is extracted and of course, KTMS SOP is extracted from the brine. And that is then recirculated through the system until it's finally discharged into the ocean.

Thank you, David. Steve, we've got a question around what proportion of our cash flow do you expect SOP to provide?

Yes. SOP at the moment, our forecast is our salt-only business will deliver EBITDA of around $285 million, and that's a full nameplate capacity. When we get SOP up and running and if it achieves that 140,000 tonnes per annum of production that we anticipate it will, it's expected that will generate around about $100 million in EBITDA. But between now and when that EBITDA arrives, we need to complete the trial, the pilot program, which we feel confident will occur. And in all likelihood, an FID or final investment decision on the SOP plant is most likely going to happen towards the back end of next year after we run the trial for 12 months.

Excellent. Thank you, Steve. That concludes the questions that have been lodged.

Great. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today.

Thank you.