ioneer Ltd (INR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hi, ladies and gentlemen. My name is James Calaway. As ioneer's Chairman, I'd like to welcome you to the 2021 ioneer Annual General Meeting. It is really hard for me to believe that another year has passed, and I'm speaking to you over Zoom again this year on my home in Houston, I really hope that I'll be able to speak with you in person by the time the next shareholder meeting comes around. Despite the disruption in the world, 2021 has been quite a year for ioneer, and I am confident the year ahead will be successful. So let me then go straight to the business at hand. As we have a quorum, I now declare the meeting open. Today's meeting is being held online via Lumi platform. This allows shareholders, proxy holders and guests to attend the meeting virtually. All attendees can watch a live webcast of the meeting. In addition, shareholders and proxy holders have the ability to ask questions and submit votes. Online attendees can submit questions at any time. [Operator Instructions]. Due to the time constraints, we may run out of time to answer all your questions. If this happens, we will answer them in due course via e-mail or by posting responses on our website. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business. [Operator Instructions] I now declare voting open on all items of business. The voting tab will soon appear. Please submit your votes at any time. I'll give you warning before I move to close voting. The agenda for today is on the screen. We will have a number of presentations before undertaking the formal business of the meeting. Time will provide -- will be provided during the meeting for questions. Before the presentation, I would like to introduce your Board: Bernard Rowe, your Managing Director; Rose McKinney-James, Non-Executive Director; Margaret Walker, Non-Executive Director; Julian Babarczy, Non-Executive Director; Alan Davies, Non-Executive Director. Also on this call is our Company Secretary, Ian Bucknell; and Scott Nichols, the company's audit partner from EY. So with that being done, I'd like to make my introductory comments. Over the last 12 months, we have delivered on our promises: one, securing our initial binding lithium offtake agreement; two, securing the equity to build the project; three, driving engineering to ensure we are ready for construction concurrent with receiving the final federal permit; four, working with the state of Nevada, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Bureau of Land Management to secure necessary permits and building our operational team and systems in Reno, Nevada to support the upcoming construction commissioning of operations at Rhyolite Ridge. As I noted in last year's address to you, we were confident that being patient with offtakes for our lithium material would pay off for our shareholders. We were confident that market conditions will materially improve and the buyer's mark would become a seller's market. I must say that while we're confident that patience would be beneficial to our efforts. We are delighted with the strength of the lithium market and the pronounced shift to a firm seller's market. I've been asked by many people what I think about the lithium market? In general, I believe we have a much more robust market than in prior cycles that is well positioned for an extended period of opportunity for suppliers. This is driven by two factors. Firstly, I believe a great deal of the best projects are already in the current supply mix. And second, many of the projects that are being included as future supply are less than certain, and in many instances dependent upon unproven technology or untested flow sheets. This is my third lithium boom since I've been doing this for 14 years, and I see a tendency for capital markets to fund and reward projects that are not rigorously understood. There are so few quality projects at DFS level or beyond. High boom time capitalizations has not historically meant that high-quality projects have been funded. So I think this time the supply response will be disappointing. I also think there's a growing risk that without rapid acceleration of good new projects and the expansion of existing projects, we are heading for a serious supply shortage. This supply challenge is happening at the very time demand is exploding. And this boom is backstopped by massive global investments in battery production, not just aspirational promises. A supply/demand mismatch could not only increase pricing, but could, if not addressed now, impede the ability of OEMs to deliver enough volume to meet burgeoning demand across the globe. And let us not forget that in the next year, the mix of offerings of electric and hybrid cars will greatly expand. We will see excellent offerings across price points and styles of cars, and yes being in Texas, even pick up trucks. After completing our initial lithium offtake with EcoPro, one of the top cathode makers in the world for 7,000 tonnes per year, our sales team has been overloaded with requests to discuss off-pace arrangements for our remaining capacity. This interest is global. And our primary question for any potential offtake partner are: one, who do you -- who do we most wish to work with that are aligned with our strategy; and two, who offers terms that optimize economics for ioneer shareholders? For ioneer, our highest priority is that our material will be a part of the North American supply chain. Fortunately, most of the large OEMs across the world have decided to build U.S.-based integrated capacity from materials to cathodes to cells to battery packs for car supply chains. These offtake partners will be -- will not necessarily be American companies, but they will have clear plans to build plants in the United States dedicated to U.S. electric car production. With our project being the most advanced of all U.S. lithium projects and given the quality and quantity of our future production, we're in the enviable position to be an important part of an alliance that both serves our shareholders' interest and supports the electrification of U.S. transportation fleet through domestic production. We anticipate finalizing our last lithium offtake contracts by the end of Q1 calendar year 2022. On the project financing front, our focus was to obtain committed project equity via simple structure with a strategic partner that shares our passion for doing things right and a devotion to helping us save the planet. This process took time. We work with Goldman Sachs to evaluate the alternatives and the terms involved. And while our work to secure partner by its nature will remain confidential, we can categorically state that the outcome met our goals. Sibanye Stillwater is an ideal partner for us, and the structure of the agreement provides ample equity capital to build our project. They have a clearly articulated long-term battery material strategy and have considerable expertise that truly adds to our management team and increases the likelihood of a positive outcome for all ioneer stakeholders. We are already working together to bring their skills to a project to maximize the quality of our construction, commissioning and operational planning. And while the debt component of our work has received less public attention, we are well advanced on this work stream. Our approach has been to evaluate the range of alternatives to determine the outcome that is lowest cost with sufficient tenor and acceptable terms and conditions. Once again, we are looking to keep the capital structure as simple as possible. With the equity in place, we are now confident that prior to FID, we will not be able -- we will be able to secure favorable project debt. We have often noted that Rhyolite Ridge is the only U.S. lithium project that has delivered DFS. We also note that we reached DFS level engineering over 1.5 years ago. Since then, we have moved from the 30% engineering complete at the DFS to over 60% complete today. We now have the engineering needed to commence construction essentially in hand. I'm very proud of our internal technical team and the array of excellent partners like Fluor that have been fully engaged with us to make our project a model initiative for how to develop a large de novo lithium project. Lithium development, I have quite a bit of experience in this experiences. Lithium development requires rigorous science from robust pilot development and research to very detailed engineering -- design and engineering, and of course, plans for construction, commissioning and operational readiness. Guiding all of this work is the need to internalize and build a culture that is committed to best ESG practices. Our project has been developed with the support of the leading U.S. and European technology providers to demonstrate this commitment. Our project is highly efficient, closed loop where possible and with minimum discharge. We recycle significant water in our process over 50%, in fact, with de minimis risk to water contamination. Our missions made rigorous U.S. air standards with low CO2 emissions per ton of lithium produced, and we will have labor standards that ensure competitive wages and benefits that offer high-quality opportunities for our people. And most importantly, at the core, our purpose is to produce the materials necessary to ensure a sustainable world. This means we must take all steps to minimize our impact on the environment while producing these critical materials. I can say with confidence that we will be fully ready to build our project as soon as we receive the federal permit to proceed. I will let our Managing Director, Bernard Rowe, discuss the permitting in his presentation. But I can say that we have been working hard to collaborate with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the BLM to study team and determine the best path forward. Team exists at only 10 acres at the west -- on the western edge of our deposit. It's rarity and vulnerability to climate change puts it at extreme risk. We have assumed and supported the listing of the plant. We are highly confident that with avoidance and science-based conservation, we can build our project and at the same time, provide the constant support needed to maximize the survival and uplift of Tiehm's buckwheat. This coexistence has always, and I restate always been at the heart of our plan. We currently anticipate the notice of debt will be published in the near term to initiate public scoping and have the expectation. The final record of decision will be issued in the second half of 2022 to allow for construction to commence immediately. Let me now make a few comments on the development climate in the United States. First, America is a challenging place to build new mines. The regulatory environment is rigorous and lengthy. The NGO community is large and well funded and populated by certain extreme groups opposed to development in general. The legal process requires diligence and patience. All lithium projects in the United States have and should assume strong resistance from those opposed to development. At ioneer, we have taken a methodical approach. We are leading with strong science and well-considered plans. It has taken longer than we hoped, but we believe that the Tiehm's buckwheat matter is now well understood and that a solution is at hand. Second, while the U.S. has a fast-growing demand for electric cars and now trucks, it also has a very underdeveloped battery supply chain. Cathode factories and cell factories must be built soon to provide the capacity and security of supply, consistent with the Biden administration plans is clear to all that a supply of lithium chemicals cannot be exclusively outsourced to other nations, particularly to China. Finally, most global carmakers, both domestic and foreign, are making concrete commitments to build integrated domestic supply chains. We anticipate the Build Back Better Bill will soon pass Congress and be enacted into law. This proposed bill has over $500 billion in federal investment in the clean energy economy with massive commitments to charging infrastructure and increasing subsidies for electric car purchases. This commitment is further accelerating lithium demand and helping underpin the construction of a U.S. integrated supply chain. Ioneer's production is critical and our timing to commence domestic delivery to these integrated supply chains is ideal. Looking ahead, our focus is on completing the federal permitting process. We will also shift considerable attentions in the coming year to building out our team and systems at our operational center in Reno, Nevada, to ensure smooth project execution. We also continue to advance towards a U.S. listing, which we anticipate completing early next calendar year. As U.S. capital markets increasingly support electrification of the transportation sector, this step will allow North American investors a more efficient way to invest in our company. As we make the final turn to delivering the most important American lithium project at the bottom of the global cost curve, I would be utterly remiss to not thank our fearless leader, Bernard Rowe, who has weathered almost 2 years. So Quester on the other side of the earth running a growing business located in U.S. He and our CFO, Ian Bucknell, have made sacrifices to work all hours and all days to make this happen. On the U.S. front, our Engineering and Operations Chief, Matt Weaver has maintained strong momentum despite COVID and has taken on more than one could ask. Chad Yeftich, our Head of Business Development, has also taken the lead on numerous challenging projects, all done with a plum. And the team as a whole has delivered for shareholders and has maintained a laser focus on continuing to do so. I am truly honored to work with such a humble but determined leaders. And finally, our Board of Directors continues to shine. We made several changes sadly as a result of health issues and the passing of the much missed John Hofmeister. But against this tragic loss, we have also secured new members to our Board that strengthen our commitment to diversity and who bring much needed expertise in ESG and engineering and construction risk management. I know I speak on their behalf and thanking you for your patience as we take the big steps to allow our company to truly deliver enduring value to our shareholders. I would now like to turn the meeting over to my friend and our leader, Bernard Rowe. Following his presentation, we'll both take your questions. Bernard?

Thank you very much, James, and good morning and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, shareholders. Wonderful opportunity to meet with you, albeit virtual this time and to run through a brief presentation on our developments and achievements during the last 12 months. As James has mentioned, the purpose of ioneer is very clear set from our direction from our Board and that is to provide the materials necessary for a sustainable planet. And more specifically, in our case, given the location and strategic nature of our deposit, we aim by the middle of this decade to be the major supplier of lithium chemicals into the U.S. battery supply chain that will allow the electrification of the second largest motor vehicle fleet in the world. It's very clear mission, very clear purpose and aims for ioneer, and we're delivering on that. The last 12 months has been an incredible period for us with multiple achievements towards reaching those goals and aims. I'll just ask if the next slide could be brought up, please. Just a brief disclaimer there, please read that before making your new investment decisions. Next slide, please. So if I look at the milestones achieved during the past year -- and remember, this was also the foundation of 2019 and the first half of 2020, which were difficult years in the lithium sector. But we and our team built on what we'd already achieved through that tough period. We were well funded. We completed a very detailed, I believe one of the most detailed definitive feasibility studies that's been done in the lithium sector. We ran a full simulation pilot plant. And with all of that work during those sort of tough times within the lithium sector of 2019, 2020, that set us with very good foundation to achieve what we've managed to achieve in the past 12 months. So just running through them briefly. A lithium offtake agreement signed -- a binding lithium offtake agreement signed with EcoPro Innovation, one of the world's leading lithium ion battery cathode manufacturers, a Korean based, but the cathodes end up in most of the major vehicle brands in the United States and in Europe. We've been working diligently on our permitting process in Nevada, where our project is on public lands, but we have a series of permits that are required, both state and federal. We -- there are 3 of them that are critical to commence construction. We've obtained 2 of them. This -- during the last 12 months, the air permit and the water pollution control permit. The third one, the federal and final permit for us to obtain is through a process known as a Plan of Operation and a need for Process of Assessment, and we submitted that to the federal government earlier this year. There has been some delays on that, but we think that's being resolved now, and that will be moving ahead in the very near future. On the engineering front, James mentioned that we just now 1.5 years ago since we finished our -- sorry, our definitive feasibility study. And we haven't been parked the engineering during that time, whilst we were focused on partnering and offtaking and permitting, we actually continued advancing our engineering. We now currently have major work packages under negotiation, representing somewhere between USD 120 million and USD 150 million. We're continuing to work in detailed engineering design at the time of the feasibility study, which is April of last year. We were around 30% complete on that design engineering around the middle of this year, which this number reflects was around 50%. And as James mentioned, it's now around 60% complete. On the funding side, we announced a strategic partner with -- a partnership rather with Sibanye Stillwater for 50% of the Rhyolite Ridge project in return for USD 490 million commitment from Sibanye, which represents about 60% of the required DFS CapEx to build the project. We've continued to advance our debt discussions .The other key part of -- that we need to put in place before we can commence construction in the second half of next year. Next slide, please. So what sets ioneer apart from our peers in the lithium sector. I think this slide summarizes that pretty well. We have a project that is fully funded to final investment decision. So the work that we have to do between now and our final investment decision in permitting and commencement of construction, all of that engineering work that I was talking about, that's already fully funded. Ioneer has a very strong cash balance and is funding all of that. We are the most advanced lithium project in the United States. We measure that by way of completion of a definitive feasibility study and a running of a full simulation pilot plant and obviously, the funding aspects as well that we've already put in place. So we're in mining friendly in Nevada. And we're well and truly on the way to being able and ready to commence construction, both from an engineering and a financing perspective, by second half of next year. We're expecting to be the lowest cost lithium producer in the world, and that's an easy statement to make. But again, with everything we do, there's a lot of engineering and science and hard work behind these statements. $125 million spent on the project, much of which has been on engineering and flow sheet development piloting. And it's the courtesy of all of that work that makes us confident to make that statement. And ultimately, it's a reflection of a unique deposit that has revenue from 2 streams, lithium and boron that make that such -- will make this such a low-cost lithium producer. A commitment to sustainability, we say our purpose is to produce these materials, but we want to do it in a way that reflects a strong commitment to the environment and sustainability. So we're designing a project in a plant that has very low emissions, a very low energy user, no connection to the grid. no gas or any other sort of external sources of energy. We're a very low water user. About 50% of our water gets recycled through the process. And so overall, a very small environmental footprint. The deposit itself, we have 26 years in the DFS based on our reserves that there's more than double that already in the resource category, and the deposit is still open. So it has a significant potential to grow both in terms of annual throughput, but longevity as well. And we've built the right team from the Board down through our senior execs and our very dedicated team in Reno to deliver this project. Next slide, please. So just a word on funding through to final investment decision and beyond. So the -- just briefly the bars on this chart show that the DFS CapEx was USD 795 million to build the project. We put in place funding to allow us to continue that engineering work up until FID. So that's the pre-FID work that we're doing through 2020 and 2021. It's around about USD 55 million of expenditures. And that's all funded with existing cash reserves that ioneer has. If we look at the bar on the right, what we show here is this is an indicative funding stack based on the Sibanye input transaction of USD 490 million. So that represents about 60% of the CapEx required. However, we think that the project can sustain around about 50% debt equity ratio. So hence, you have a bar that's more reflecting that with about $900 million in total versus the $800-odd -- sub $800 million CapEx from the DFS. Next slide, please. So why Sibanye Stillwater? We had a lot of people ask us this. I think it surprised people when we partnered with Sibanye and perhaps even we were surprised as we went through that process as well ourselves as we learn more about new potential partners where and what their goals and objectives were. And what we saw ultimately in Sibanye was someone who was very, very aligned with the goals and purpose of ioneer and have made them a very, very comfortable and logical partner for us. In addition to that, though, they are a major -- an operator of major mining operations, production operations in several continents. They're producing platinum group metals in Montana in the United States. So they're a very experienced operator on that front. They've got very strong ESG credentials. And they've got a strong commitment to diversify their business into the green metals and the new energy sector. So they made a very, very and will make a very, very suitable partner, a fully aligned partner with ioneer. Transaction highlights. I've really spoken about this already, so I won't dwell on it, but it's a USD 490 million investment into a joint venture company that will hold the project. In addition to that, Sibanye will also contribute and has contributed already USD 70 million to become a shareholder in ioneer. So we were very pleased to have them come on our register as well. And there's an option on our North Basin project to contribute a further $50 million should they elect to exercise an option. So the joint venture and the $400 million -- $490 million investment because once we are fully permitted and the Board of ioneer has made the final investment decision. In terms of economics, these are numbers lifted straight out of the feasibility study. So they are now 18 months old. They are using prices of $710 for boric acid, an average price of $13,000 for lithium. But we're talking about a project that will have an -- or has an NPV of around USD 1.3 billion, unlevered internal rate of return of 21% based on production of 22,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate because we can do either and 174,000 tonnes of boric acid, the revenue numbers, $400-plus million will split 70-30 between lithium and boron for an annual EBITDA of just under $300 million. Next slide, please. So on the cost curve, sitting down around $2,500, I'll very briefly explain how we get there. For every tonne of lithium, we produce 9 tonnes of boric acid and 9 tonnes of boric acid at $700 a tonne. When you deduct that from our operating costs, It brings your cost of producing lithium down to $2,500 a tonne. So another way to look at that is that the boric acid pays for about 70% of our operating costs and that boric acid is real. We have an under binding offtake agreement. We have got an incredible sales and marketing team with decades of experience around boring acid. It's a real revenue stream here and accounts for about $100 million of revenue a year. And it's through that offset, if you like, from the boric acid that we end up with cost of production of around $2,500 a tonne and at the very bottom of the global lithium cost curve. Next slide, please. Just a word on commitment to sustainability and the environmental credentials of the project, low emissions, we generate all of our power to run the entire operation by our sulfuric acid plant. So that's actually waste heat that gets recovered. Next slide, please, sorry. With -- sorry, I think I was just falling behind a little bit on the slides. Next slide, please. Yes. Thank you. So all of the power energy required for this project comes by waste heat that's recovered from the sulfuric acid plant. That means we're not connected to the grid. We use no external power. And we have very -- because of that, we're talking about zero CO2 emissions from that energy generation. We're a very low water usage, particularly when you compare it to other lithium operations. We don't do any evaporation in ponds. Its everything is mechanical. So any water that's driven off through an evaporation process is captured, condensed and reused. That's about 50% of the water that we use get to recirculated. That means we don't have evaporation ponds. We don't have tailings dams, and we have a very, very small footprint for a major producing operation. We're looking at automation with our partner, Caterpillar, to further -- to add both safety, but also efficiency around the mobile fleet as well. And with a strong commitment to sustainability, we've completed 2 years of baseline studies. There's about 14 of them that we're done now more than a year ago, a couple of years ago and our ongoing commitment to the protection and conservation of Tiehm's buckwheat that James has talked about. The next slide, please. The deposit itself is -- and the DFS rather is based on 64 million tonne reserve, but the deposit has already been drilled in past and has a resource of 146 million tonnes. So there's about another 70 million tonnes sitting outside the reserve that's in the resource category. The green line there outlines the sedimentary basin that host this mineralization. So you can see the black dots and the drill hole. So you can see we've drilled about 1/3 of the total basin. And we don't know exactly thickness and grade in those other areas. But what we do know is particularly down the southern and southeastern end of the deposit that we're getting the highest grades of any drill holes. We're still getting 20-meter thick intersections. So that mineralization is very much open and a very attractive target for future growth. So there's many opportunities here to both increase the longevity of the operation, but also the throughput, the annual throughput as well as demand for lithium ramps up. A word on the domestic supply chain in the United States as it currently stands and where it's going to have to get to by the middle of this decade and certainly by the end of the decade. Current U.S. production of lithium is around about 5,000 tonnes a year, and that comes from the Silver Peak brine operation of Albemarle's, which is also located in Nevada. It's estimated by the middle of this decade, the United States is probably going to consume somewhere between 100 and 120 -- sorry, next slide, please. Probably going to consume somewhere between 100,000 and 120,000 tonnes of lithium chemicals per year. And by the end of the decade, that's anticipated to be somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000 tonnes. And that's likely to be even higher because of the aggressive targets that the car companies are continuously updating the market with. So a tremendous amount of material is going to be required this decade. And ioneer is in ideal position to become the major supplier, and it's one of the few projects that could be in production by the middle of the decade and supplying directly into the U.S. supply chain. Word on our partners, a fantastic group that's working alongside us and has been now for some years led by our EPCM manager Fluor. But the other names, there are very well-known names in the space. Next slide, please. I'm sorry, I forget that it's not an automatic slide, James. Yes, some very recognizable names there that are partnered with ioneer in this incredible project and will be involved as we bringing it to construction and through into the first production. I just want to also just finish with a thank you to the team from James' leadership, which is absolutely invaluable with his depth of experience in the lithium world is unparallel throughout the industry, being someone who is working now on this building his second project. And this is very -- this is rarity. And the rest of the Board and the support that they provide is tremendous and the guidance and knowledge, the wisdom is very much greatly acknowledged and appreciated. And the fantastic management team, there's some pictures here of the people I'm talking about, but I'm really referring to the entire team, all the way down to everyone, Reno office, other site, a wonderful group of people, incredibly dedicated, committed, and that's why we've been able to achieve what we have through an incredibly trying time when we've had everybody separated and spread around the world, an amazing accomplishment from a tremendous team, and I thank them deeply for that. And I'll just finish on this, and then we can get back into the rest of the meeting. What does the future look like for ioneer, short term, medium term? So the second half of this year, obviously, there's only a couple of months of that left, but we're expecting to continue awarding the contracts that we've been awarding and bringing in top-class partners into the project to work with us. We're advancing those lithium offtakes with a focus on strategic offtake into the U.S. supply chain. We're working with ECA, export credit agencies and other debt providers. And we're also continuing to work and advance our U.S. listing, which we would anticipate, as James has mentioned, into the first quarter of next year. Next year is going to be a busy time as well, focused on engineering and permitting. We're expecting to have all of those things in place by the second half of next year. Record of decision would allow us to commence construction. And then we would be looking at a 2-year build time being in first production in the second half of 2024 and perfectly timed for the ramp-up in demand that's going to happen in the U.S. market. Thank you, James. I'll hand it back to you.

Thank you, Bernard, very much. I remind all shareholders and policy -- proxy holders that you have the ability to ask questions via the Lumi platform. We will hold questions specific to the resolutions to the formal part of the meeting. Ian, are there any questions in regard to my address, Bernard's presentation or more generally, to the management of the company?

Yes, Mr. Chairman, we have a number of questions here. The first is from [ Andrew Tolhurst ]. Is there a more firm time line for an outcome on dual listing with an expected month and early next year for announcement on the outcome?

Well, thank you for the question. I think the answer is we feel pretty good about the first quarter as being the time -- it's not so much a technical question. It's more of the optimum time frame, taking all things into consideration. But I don't think we would be in a position to give more specific guidance than that. And thanks for the question.

And a second question, I don't have a name. I have a company name, [ Everyday Holiday Pty Ltd. ] Does the DFS estimate for CapEx remain accurate in today's terms?

Bernard, why don't you take that one?

Yes, sure, James. Yes. I mean we continue to monitor that, obviously, very closely. And there has been a lot of -- we're in unusual circumstances, particularly during the past 12 months with COVID and affecting supply chains around the world. But what we've seen is we're not to -- in issuing the contracts that we've been issuing that I mentioned. But they are pretty close, and some of them have been a little bit above and some have been a little bit below. So we don't think we're too far away from, based on what we've seen to date, from the estimate in the feasibility study.

And there's another question here from [ Thirdy Kao ]. I've been a shareholder dating back to the pre-lithium [indiscernible] gold mine days and would first like to go on record to thank CEO Bernard and the Board for steering the company to this exciting stage. I would like to ask you to elaborate on the prospects of the boron price and supply, which is critical to the credit offsets on the lithium cost of production.

Let me take that first, and then I'm going to turn it over to you, Bernard. So one of the things that I think many investors haven't given enough attention to is the very question you're raising. One of the most important things about our project is that this boron -- the boric acid business is a very low volatility business. The share price -- I mean the price per tonne of boric acid moves in a fairly tight band and has for many, many years. It's one of the lowest volatility materials out there. Part of that has to do with the fact that it's used in so many different applications that even if one might be drifting off, there are others that are coming up. And so the good news about this material is it creates a great amount of stability to our revenue stream. Lithium has obviously been a much more volatile material in terms of price. But having that base revenue from the boric acid is a tremendous advantage to our shareholders and to our company. Bernard?

Yes, yes, I totally agree with what you've said, James. And I would just add that like most commodities, we're seeing very strong boric acid prices at the moment. There's no question about that. We used an average of $710 in our feasibility study, which we thought is a conservative long-term average price. And it's actually the average price, I think, over the last decade. Are we in a higher pricing environment at the moment? Absolutely, we are. But we're not going to change our models just yet with those higher prices. This -- the wonderful thing about this project is you don't need higher prices to make this thing work. You're just going to make a lot more money when the prices are higher. So at $700 boric acid price, we produce lithium for $2,500 a tonne. And if the boric acid price is higher, it's just going to drive that cost of production of lithium even lower. So it's a tremendous thing to have. But the boric acid market is certainly getting tighter. There is limited expansion potential in some of the other large deposits out there. There's very few other large deposits anyway, and they've got limited expansion potential. There's strong demand for boric acid, particularly in Southeast Asia and the U.S., and we are perfectly located to supply into that market. So we're very positive about the outlook for the boric acid market and strong boric acid pricing.

Next question, Ian?

There are no further questions at this time, Mr. Chairman.

Okay. Thank you very much. So now we turn to the formal business of the meeting. The Notice of Meeting was lodged with ASX on 4 October 2021, has been sent to all members and can be found on the ioneer website. A supplementary notice clarifying information regarding the Notice of Meeting was lodged with the ASX on 18 October 2021, has been sent to all meetings (sic) [ members ] and can be found on the ioneer website. I will take the Notice of Meeting and supplementary notice as read. As noted at the beginning of the AGM, all voting today will be conducted by way of a poll. If you're eligible to vote at this meeting, click on the polling icon in the Lumi platform and select one of the voting options. Polling on the resolution is open -- resolutions is open. The Company Secretary will display the total number of valid proxy votes received in respect of each resolution. In accordance with the proxy form, which formed part of the AGM pack, I intend to vote all eligible undirected proxies in favor of Resolution 1 through 9 and against the conditional resolution, Resolution 10, should it be required. So we will now move to the first item of business as set out in the notice of meeting, to receive and consider the consolidated financial statements of the company and its controlled entities and the reports of the directors and auditors for the financial year ended 30 June 2021. The company's financial statements and reports are taken as tabled. Ian, are there any questions or comments on the company's financial statements and the reports or questions for the company's auditors?

Mr. Chairman, we have no questions.

There being no further questions, we move to the next order of business. Resolution number 2, Remuneration Report. The second resolution is consider, and if thought fit, pass "that the Remuneration Report for the year ended 30 June 2021 be adopted." The Remuneration Report is contained in the Annual Report. Note that your vote on this resolution is advisory only and does not bind the directors of the company. At the company's 2020 Annual General Meeting, approximately 51% of the votes cast on the resolution were against the adoption of the Remuneration Report. As such, as required by the Corporations Act, if at least 25% of the votes cast on Resolution 2 are against the adoption of the Remuneration Report, there must be a resolution put to members at that -- this meeting that, a, a Spill Meeting will be held within 30 -- 90 days. All the directors other than the management director cease to hold office immediately before the end of the Spill Meeting and resolutions to point persons to offices that will be vacated immediately before the end of the Spill Meeting will be put to the vote at the Spill Meeting. This conditional resolution is Resolution 10, which only -- will only be put to the meeting if at least 25% of the votes cast on Resolution 2 are against or it appears that at least 25% of the votes cast on Resolution 2 are against the adoption of the Remuneration Report. So the number of proxies received on this resolution is shown on the screen. The proxies currently show more than 25% of the vote cast against this resolution. Unless there is a significant swing in votes on the polling during the meeting, this will constitute a second strike for the company for the purposes of the Corporation Act 2021. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, we have no questions on this resolution.

Great. Resolution 3(a), reelection of James D. Calaway as director of the company. Given my personal interest in the next item, I now hand over to Bernard to take over the chair for this resolution. Bernard?

Thank you, James. Resolution -- the next item of business, Resolution 3(a) is to consider and, if thought fit, pass that James Calaway, who retires in accordance with Rule 6.4(a) of the company's constitution and being eligible, is reelected as a director. Proxies. The number of proxies received for this resolution are currently displayed on the screen. The directors, other than James, unanimously recommend this resolution. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Bernard, there are no questions or comments on this resolution.

Thank you. I'm going to hand back to James.

Thank you. Resolution 3(b), reelection of Rose McKinney-James as a director of the company. The next item of business resolution is to consider and, if thought fit, pass "that Rose McKinney-James, who retires in accordance with Rule 6.2(c) of the company's constitution and being eligible, is elected as a director." The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. The directors other than Rose unanimously recommend this resolution. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect to this -- of this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, there are no such questions or comments.

Thank you. Resolution 3(c). The next item of business, Resolution 3(c), is to consider and, if thought fit, pass that Margaret Walker, who retires in accordance with Rule 6.2(c) of the company's constitution and being eligible, is elected as a director. The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. The directors other than Margaret unanimously recommend this resolution. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, there are no questions or comments.

Thank you. Resolution 4(a), approval of the issue of performance rights to James Calaway in lieu of director fees. Given my current interest in the next item of business, I will again hand it over to Bernard to take over the chair of this resolution.

Resolution 4(a). The next item of business, Resolution 4(a), is to consider and, if thought fit, pass that for the purpose of listing Rule 10.11 and for all other purposes, shareholders approve and authorize the directors to issue performance rights to James Calaway or his nominee in lieu of directors' fees, on the terms and conditions set out in the Explanatory Memorandum. The proxy -- the number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Bernard, there are no questions or comments.

Thank you. I hand back to you, James.

Thank you. Resolution 4(b). The next item of business, Resolution 4(b), is to consider and, if thought fit, pass "that for the purpose of Listing Rule 10.11 and for all other purposes, shareholders approve and authorize the directors to issue performance rights to Julian Babarczy or his nominees in lieu of directors' fees on the terms and conditions set out in the Explanatory Memorandum." The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, there are no questions or comments on this resolution.

Thank you. Resolution 4(c). The next item of business, Resolution 4(c), is to consider and, if thought fit, pass that the purposes of Listing Rule 10.11 and for all other purposes, shareholders approve and authorize the directors to issue performance rights to Alan Davies or his nominee in lieu of directors' fees on terms and conditions set out in the Explanatory Memorandum. The numbers of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect to this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, there are no questions or comments on this resolution.

Resolution 4(d). The next item of business, Resolution 4(d), is to consider and, if thought fit, pass "that for the purposes of Listing Rule 10.11 or other purposes, shareholders approve and authorize the directors to issue performance rights to Rose McKinney-James or her nominees in lieu of directors' fees, on the terms and conditions set out in the Explanatory Memorandum." The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

No, Mr. Chairman, there are no questions or comments on this resolution.

Thank you. Resolution 4(e). The next item of business, Resolution 4(e), is to consider and, if thought fit, pass that for the purposes of Listing Rule 10.11 and for all other purposes, shareholders approve and authorize the directors to issue performance rights to Margaret Walker or a nominee in lieu of directors' fees, on the terms and conditions set out in the Explanatory Memorandum. The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

No, Mr. Chairman, no questions or comments on the resolution.

Resolution 5. The next item of business, Resolution 5, is to consider and, if thought fit, pass "that for the purposes of Listing Rule 10.14, and for all other purposes, shareholders approve and authorize the directors to grant 1,350,551 performance rights to Bernard Rowe and or his nominees on the terms outlined in the company's 2021 Annual Report and under the Equity Incentive Plan, on the terms and conditions set out in the Explanatory Memorandum." The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, there are no questions or comments on this resolution.

All right. Resolution 6, given my personal interest in the next item of business, I will again hand over to Bernard to take over the Chair for this resolution.

Thank you, James. The next item of business, Resolution 6, is to consider and, if thought fit, pass that for the purposes of Listing Rule 10.14, and for all other purposes, shareholders approve and authorize the directors to grant 1,262,740 performance rights to James Calaway or his nominee on the terms outlined in the company's 2021 Annual Report and under the Equity Incentive Plan, on the terms and conditions set out in the Explanatory Memorandum. The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of the resolution?

Bernard, there are no questions or comments on the resolution.

Back to you, James. Thank you.

Thank you. Resolution 7, approval of further issues of securities under the Equity Incentive Plan. The next item of business, Resolution 7, is to consider and, if thought fit, pass that issues of equity securities under the Equity Incentive Plan, as described in the Explanatory Memorandum, be approved as an exception to the ASX Listing Rule 7.1 pursuant to Exception 13(b) in ASX Rule 7.2 and for all other purposes. The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, there are no questions or comments in respect to this resolution.

Thank you. Resolution 8. The next item of business, Resolution 8, is to consider and, if thought fit, pass "that for the purposes of Section 200B and 200E of the Corporations Act, ASX Listing Rule 10.19, and for all other purposes, the giving of benefits under the Equity Incentive Plan to any current or future holder of a managerial or executive office in the company or a related body corporate, as defined in Section 200AA of the Corporations Act, in connection with that person ceasing to hold that office, on the terms and conditions set out in the explanatory memorandum." The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

There are no questions or comments in respect of this resolution, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Resolution 9. The next item of business, Resolution 9, is to consider and, if thought fit, pass as a special resolution, "that for the purposes of Section 648G and 136(2) of the Corporations Act, and for all other purposes, the existing proportional takeover approval provisions set out in Rule 13 of the company's constitution be renewed for a further 3 years, on and with effect from the date of the meeting." The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, there are no questions or comments on this resolution.

Thank you very much. That concludes the regular items of business on the agenda. In order to determine whether we need to put the conditional spill resolution to the meeting, we will soon temporarily adjourn the meeting for a few minutes whilst the votes are tallied. I, therefore, shortly close the voting system. If you have not done so already, please ensure that you cast your vote on all resolutions. [Voting]

I have been informed by our Company Secretary that more than 25% of the votes cast on Resolution 2 have been cast against the resolution. The next item of business, Resolution 10, is to consider and, if thought fit, pass a spill of the -- a spill. The -- I want everybody to know that I advised that the directed proxies held by the company will be voted against the spill resolution. So Resolution 2 is considered and, if thought fit, pass the subject -- that subject to the conditions of at least 25% of the vote cast on Resolution 2 being cast against the remuneration board report, a, an extraordinary general meeting of the company, the Spill Meeting, be held within 90 days of passing this resolution; b, all the directors other than the Managing Director who were in office when the resolution to approve the Directors' Report for the financial year ended June -- 30 June 2021 was passed, and he remain in office at the time of the Spill Meeting, cease to hold office immediately before the end of the Spill Meeting and resolutions to appoint persons to the office that will be vacated immediately before the end of the Spill Meeting we put to vote at the Spill Meeting. Again, I want to reemphasize that all directed proxies will be voted strongly against this spill resolution. So polling on this resolution is open. I give you a moment to pass your vote. [Voting]

All right. The number of proxies received for this resolution are displayed on the screen. Ian, are there any questions or comments in respect of this resolution?

Mr. Chairman, we have received no questions or comments on the resolution.

Thank you very much. That concludes the last item of the agenda and the formal business of this Annual General Meeting. I will shortly close the voting system. If you have not done so already, please ensure that you cast your vote on Resolution 10. [Voting]

Thank you for your attendance today. We look forward to working hard on your behalf to ensure the development of Rhyolite Ridge and the success of ioneer Ltd. Ian, voting is now closed. The results of these votes will be released to the ASX later today. And we all, from the ioneer team, thank you very much for attending this meeting. And I sincerely hope that next year, I will be able to be with you in person to meet with you and take your questions one human being to another. Thank you very much, and good day.