PMET Resources Inc. (PMET) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Mr. Chair, my name is Natacha Garoute, I'm a shareholder of the corporation. And I move that the previous issuance of 11,484,099 shares to investor under the Hard Placement be ratified.

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

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

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

No, we have not.

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

The next item of business is the ratification of the issuance of 1,365,631 shares to the North American lead agents under an over-allotment option [indiscernible] in connection with the Hard Placement. The over-allotment option was partially exercised at an initial price of [ $5.36 ] per share for gross proceeds of approximately $7.730 million. I ask for a motion that such previous issuance of shares be ratified.

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

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

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

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

No, we have not received any question.

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

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

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

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

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

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

No, we have not.

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

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

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

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

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

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

No, we've not received any questions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

No, we have not received any question.

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

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

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

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

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

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

No questions online.

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

As mentioned at the start of the meeting, the detailed report on voting results will be available under the corporation's profile on SEDAR+ and on asx.com.au. As we have now dealt all business items on the agenda, I declare voting on all matters closed. I understand that the scrutineers have a preliminary tabulation of votes cast in respect of each item of business submitted in today's meeting. Scrutineers' report indicates that 6 nominee directors have been elected as directors of the corporation holding office until the close the next Annual General Meeting. The scrutineers' report also indicates that the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors has been approved. And accordingly, declare that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has been appointed auditors and that directors are authorized to fix their remuneration. The scrutineers' report indicates that the resolution pertaining to the company's Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan has been approved. The scrutineers' report indicates that the issue of shares to Azimut Exploration in partial consideration for the Pikwa property acquisition has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the issue of shares to SOQUEM in partial consideration for the Pikwa acquisition has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the issue of 89,125 shares to Volkswagen has been ratified. The scrutineers' report also indicates that the previous issuance of 6,992,255 flow-through shares to PearTree Securities has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the previous issuance of 11,484,099 shares to investors under the Hard Placement has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the previous issuance of 1,365,631 shares under the over-allotment option has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the previous issuance of 2,095,745 shares to Volkswagen has been ratified. The scrutineers' report indicates that the issuance of up to $500,000 worth of RSUs and up to $500,000 worth of PSUs to Ken Brinsden for the 2027 financial year has been approved. The scrutineers' report indicates that the issuance of $150,000 worth of DSUs to the Chair of the Board has been approved. The scrutineers' report indicates the issuance of DSUs to nonexecutive directors for 2027 financial year has been approved. This concludes the formal business of this Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. I will now ask Natacha Garoute to move the motion to conclude the formal part of the meeting.

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

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

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

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

Thank you, Pierre, and a pleasure to be with you [indiscernible] welcome to shareholders attending. We really appreciate your involvement. I'm trusting that I'm coming through loud and clear from Perth in Western Australia. And I'm sorry that I can't be with you there in Montreal this morning. In terms of presentation materials, a quick highlight with respect to the point of distinction that exists in our Shaakichiuwaanaan project, information about just how far we've come in the development and progress of the project down the development pipeline, some things to look forward to in both the near future and the medium term. And of course, the Annual General Meeting is a great opportunity to [ afford a vote ] of thanks to everybody involved in the company. So thank you very much for your attention and participation. Really appreciate it. And I'm going to work out -- no. Sorry, I just lost you there for a second. Hopefully, that's coming back up now. And at Shaakichiuwaanaan, we, as in the team, working on the project, I think, consider ourselves both lucky and very happy to be working on a really unique project. It's not your average hard-rock lithium project. It has an incredible suite of geology that hosts not just lithium, but another 2 key critical minerals and strategic metals in the form of cesium and tantalum, all hosted within the same geology, the same rocks that would be coming out of the ground for the purpose of the future lithium mine. And it's fair to say that with the inclusion of cesium and tantalum, we see a great opportunity to continue to support stronger economics around the development of our project. Being a project based in Quebec, North Central Quebec, we find ourselves adjacent to complementary infrastructure. And really, the discovery is remarkable for its proximity to existing infrastructure. Because of Hydro-Quebec, we have the [ La Gran 4 ] power station massive renewable power-generating asset as part of the overall Hydro-Quebec scheme. And it's only 45 kilometers away. That's pretty remarkable when you see the applicability of that infrastructure to the future development of our project. In addition, roads, airports, interconnected facilities to rail and, ultimately, to port should the product end up making its way into other jurisdictions. That's all really supportive to the future development of our project. In Quebec, well, I've been there for about 3 years now. And even more so, I've come to appreciate its strengths. The diversity in mining, experience, the mining history, the strength in the regulatory system and the support afforded through First Nations engagement, but especially in the James Bay region, that's something I'll come back to a little bit later in the presentation, is absolutely first class. Given our discovery was only made in -- or the first drill hole we made in November 2021, it's conceivable that we'll have a mine ready for construction in approximately 6 years. There's just not that many places around the world where you can do that today. And on the face of it, Quebec is one of them. That's another reason that we're so happy to be working in the area. What we have is scale and grade in those key or 3 key critical minerals: lithium, cesium and tantalum,each with scale and grade in their own right. A significant and large reserve in lithium, the largest in the Americas. We're breaking the record books in the cesium-rich [ palucite ] category, with a discovery that's already approximately 2.4 million [ tonnes ], but with an expectation that, that has every chance to grow as we keep drilling. And in tantalum contained in the [ mineral tantalite], we are one of what we imagine is top 5 resources globally. And I think most people understand the story in lithium and the growth that's going on in that sector, but we see similar opportunities in cesium and tantalum. Given new sources of demand that emerges as the world electrifies, that is a key driver to demand, in fact, in both subsets of those minerals in tantalum and in cesium. And at the moment, it's causing a significant spike in pricing, actually in both, in cesium and tantalum. The combination of those things means that we believe we have a very, very solid future in the development of Shaakichiuwaanaan down the track. They are relatively simply recovered, [ spodumene ] containing lithium, [ palucite ] containing cesium, and tantalite containing tantalum. They are just physical processes at site to recover each of those concentrates, methodology that's deployed widely globally in the mining game. There is nothing new. There is no rocket science in amongst all that. It's relatively straightforward. That is the backdrop. It creates an easier environment to construct, commission and ramp up the mine. And we would suggest in each of those 3 concentrate categories, spodumene, [ palucite ] and tantalite. As always, and you've seen evidence of it during the course of the last 12 months, we've sought to ensure that we are well funded. And that's absolutely the case today with approximately CAD 176 million in the bank. The benefit in having those monies in the bank is the ability to continue to move the project forward about as reasonably quickly as we possibly can, being well funded, fundamentally supports progress inside the project. And we believe that there's been plenty of that in the last 12 months, with more to come. But what are we doing? Well, the first focus is the lithium. The lithium at [ AV5 ], which was the subject of prior feasibility studies. Right now, we're in the process of finalizing an updated feasibility study at [ CV5], and it's being updated for several reasons. I'll come back to a few of them in more detail. But one of the big ones is for the inclusion of tantalum within the mining model such that the feasibility is updated with a new economic plan that facilitates the recovery of both spodumene concentrate and tantalite concentrate for lithium and tantalum, respectively. And in so doing, we believe that we'll continue to strengthen the project development imperative at CV5. Down the track, we fully expect to be able to recover cesium in palucite concentrate. And in so doing, further enhance the economics around the entire project. It just so happens that the first rounds of cesium exist in our CV13 deposit. And in the process of updating our studies, we'll include the economic merit before we head into the end of this year. In a little bit more detail, the work that we have underway is really value adding. We're updating the previous CV5 feasibility study. There are several things going on. The first I mentioned was the inclusion of tantalite recovery, again, another simple physical concentrate for the purpose of extracting value in the tantalum. So that's important. But elsewhere, the team has been doing a fantastic job further value-adding inside the project. And one of the bigger elements there is targeting the underground mine first. That's a reversal of previous expectations in the prior feasibility study. The team has done significant work to ensure that we can target the underground mine first, but especially the high-grade [ Novo ] zone. And that is incredible. One of the key points of distinction in our Shaakichiuwaanaan Project is the Novo zone at CV5 because it is such a high-grade reserve. There's over 12 million [ tonnes ] mined at approximately 2% or higher lithia, contained lithia. That's after mining dilution. So clearly, it's a key target to enhance the economics around the project, and that's exactly what we're targeting in the updated feasibility study. The updated feasibility study also includes some further updates in processing parameters, other mining parameters, each with a view to continuing to add value to the overall CV5 project. The next cab off the rank, an updated project-wide PEA. That includes CV5 and the newer discovery in CV13, where there is very, very high-grade lithium, cesium and tantalum. So with the inclusion of CV13, we'll be able to demonstrate the first round of economics for the inclusion of a cesium product in the form of palucite concentrate. And we're very much looking forward to that future and how the rest of the Shaakichiuwaanaan Project can unfold. It really is special. When you have a special project, you attract great partners and great relationships. Now in this deck, the inclusion of Albemarle, Volkswagen Group, the battery company Powerco, Coke Industries, Primero in Australia for engineering support, and Mitsui, one of the larger Japanese trading houses, you have a premium deck. I don't think that there is really any other lithium company that can present such a complete picture in respect of the combination of key relationships and for that matter, shareholdings in their company. And the reason that happens is because it's an outstanding project. An outstanding project carries with it or brings with it the potential and fantastic relationships. And I'm firmly of the view that the team is doing an amazing job continuing to build on that momentum. As a result, we'd expect a broader consortium to emerge around the development of our project and especially as we head into what we imagine is the final investment decision at Shaakichiuwaanaan for the CV5 project at the end of next year. This really is the premium end of the pack. And I think you'd struggle to find as solid a relationship as that PMET has on display. We've made fantastic progress with the Cree, the First Nations in the James Bay region, but of course, in our project area. And we're really proud of the relationship that's emerging there. We're both pleased and happy to be continuing to partner and work with the Cree. It manifests itself in many different ways. Of course, lots of community engagement and time spent in and with the community as we describe the future that could unfold around the Shaakichiuwaanaan Project. And to the extent it's possible, direct involvement from the Cree. That manifests itself in indirect employment for which we typically, in the last couple of years, averaged over 20% direct Cree employment, with by far the majority of that coming out of our local community [indiscernible]. And I can assure you that is industry-leading in Quebec and in the James Bay region. And I'm really happy with the work that the team has put in there. It also manifests itself in direct spend through core businesses, and that's another area where we have intense focus. So approximately 20% to 30% of our spend in the last couple of years has been directly aligned with Cree business and some of that also coming out of -- directly out of the [indiscernible] community. This is a key area of focus and culminated in the signing of a Letter of Intent with the community in [ Chesacity ], that was approximately 3 months ago now. We're very pleased to have that outline the underlying nature of our relationship and the pathway as we work towards further information sharing, working groups and key project areas that will align our project development with the objectives of the Chesacity community and the Cree Nation as a whole. When you think about the amount of work that's underway, it's easy to get lost in just how much has been done. As I said, the discovery was only made in November 2021. But in that period of time, we've obviously done a lot of drilling, created an incredible resource in lithium, cesium and tantalum. We submitted our ESIA documentation, and we're now in the mechanics of both ESIAs at a provincial level through the [ Comex ] and [ Comet ] process and at the federal level, and a reasonable expectation that that can culminate in the mine authorization in the latter part of next year. So all of that's happened in approximately 4 years. And as I alluded to earlier in the presentation, we've not -- we don't believe an unreasonable expectation that the project will be ready for construction within 6 years. Again, there's just not that many places around the world where you can get that sort of work done. We're deep into the process now for the progress of our mine authorization that's resulted in consultation with communities, of course, but also federally for Q&A and soon to emerge at a provincial level as well. So a lot of work's already been done. Still more work to be done, but nonetheless, there's light at the end of the tunnel for the final mine authorization. Lastly, but definitely not least, the AGM is a fantastic opportunity to afford a vote of thanks I'm really proud to be working with our key executive team. As a whole, a diverse group with wide ranges of experience, but even better than that, fun to work with and great people in their own right. I consider myself really lucky to be part of that team. And I think shareholders can be confident that the skills on display amongst the team are, in fact, those that are going to get us to commissioning 2 production ramp-up leading into the end of this decade. That, of course, stretches to the Board where I offer another vote of thanks to be working with, again, another suite of fantastic people with the key experience that ultimately contributes to a project and company development like that, that ours represents that encompasses international experience, but also importantly, Quebec or direct Quebec experience and including my development community engagement, financing, the list goes on. All those things are ultimately what contributed to a fantastic company. And then there's the broader team within PMET, a bunch of great people, people that I'm sure each of us, whether it's as a member of the Board or as part of the key executive team, that we are also really happy to be working with. It's such a pleasure and I really want to afford shareholders a chance to have heard that from the horse's mouth. They are great people. And that's one of the reasons why the Sakata project has come as far as it has in a relatively short period of time. Pierre, that's all I had in the way of presentation materials, but it's possible that there are some questions out there and welcome the chance to answer them.

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

No. We haven't received any question yet.

A couple of seconds here just to make sure. But Ken, I assume your presentation was so clear that nobody has any questions.

My pleasure, Pierre.

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