Lithium Americas Corp.

earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, again, press star and one. I would now like to turn the call over to Kelly O'Brien, Vice President of Investor Relations and ESG. You may begin.

Thank you, Bailey. I want to welcome everyone to our earnings conference call this morning. Joining me on the call today to discuss the second quarter results is Sam Pigott, President and CEO of Lithium Argentina. Alex Shogo, Vice President and CFO will also be available during the Q&A session. Before we begin, I would like to cover a few items. Our press release with second quarter 2024 results were issued last evening and the corresponding documents are available on our website. I remind you that some of the statements made during this call, including any production guidance, expected company performance, Gomfeng's strategic investment in Plastos Grandes, the timing of our projects and market conditions, may be considered forward-looking statements. Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements in our MD&A and news release that was filed last night. I will now turn the call over to Sam.

Thank you, Kelly, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Since our last earnings call, we have remained focused on our strategic efforts, supporting a successful ramp-up at Kachari Oloraz, ensuring that the company remains sufficiently capitalized, and advancing our long-term growth plans with our partner, Genseng. I'll begin with an update on the ramp-up at Kachari Oloraz. As mentioned in the earnings release last night, we are very pleased with the progress being made and remain on track to achieve 2024 guidance. During the second quarter, production volumes reached approximately 5,600 tons of lithium carbonate, an increase of 24% compared to the first quarter of this year. And we have achieved monthly production records in each of the past three months. Production is now being sustained at around 70% of design capacity, and we have been able to surpass these production levels, achieving close to design capacity for limited periods of time. The focus is now on maintaining these higher production levels near design capacity. Last night, we also provided further insights into our current pricing formula for the sale of lithium carbonate from Kachari-Oloraz and additional financial information on the project. We are working to find the right balance between increased disclosure to the market as we manage the variability typical in a new operation undergoing a ramp up. We realize periodic or backward looking information during a ramp up may not always give an accurate picture with significant changes often month over month or within a quarter. Once the operation reaches commercial production, expected later this year, we intend to provide increased disclosure and additional financial metrics on the project. While the current market conditions remain challenging, Kachari Olaroz remains well-positioned, with minimal capital requirements ongoing and positive operating cash flow adjusted for working capital tied to the ramp-up of production. Even in the current pricing environment, we expect to remain operating cash flow positive, with costs continuing to decline and better realized pricing as quality continues to improve. At the close of the second quarter, Lithium Argentina had $96 million in cash before completing the $70 million Pasos Grandes transaction, which is expected to close imminently following receipt of Chinese regulatory approvals. Proceeds from this transaction are expected to strengthen Lithium Argentina's balance sheet, including using a portion of the proceeds to reduce debt at the project level. Along those same lines, in May, working with Ganfeng, we successfully secured an $80 million bank credit facility for the project to replace existing short-term debt with more flexible long-term financing. Finally, we continue to carefully advance our regional development plans for Pasos Grandes Basin and Stage 2 expansion at Kachari, Focus today remains on completing the ramp-up, but we remain cautiously optimistic following the recently passed RIGI incentive bill in Argentina that includes an attractive investment framework and important clarity on FX regulations to support our longer-term growth plans. I have officially been part of the Lithium Argentina team for five months now, and while there is still a long road ahead, I am increasingly confident in the ramp-up of Kachari Old Road, supported by the right team in Argentina and partnership with Genseng. As the project reaches steady state, we see Kachari Oleras providing a powerful platform for long-term growth in Argentina. With that, I'll now open the floor to questions. Thank you.