NexGen Energy Ltd.

Morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the NextGen Energy year-end and Q4 2023 conference call. Note that 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 at the end. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star then number one on your telephone keypad. And if you would like to withdraw from the question queue, simply press star then the number two. Also note that this call is being recorded. Mr. Lee Currier, CEO and Director for NextGen Energy, you may begin your conference.

Thank you, Sylvie, and thank you, everyone, for joining NextGen Year End and Q4 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. I'm Lee Currier, Chief Executive Officer of NextGen Energy, with Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer, and Benjamin Salter, Chief Financial Officer, who are joining me on today's call. I'll provide an update on the exciting progress made this quarter, And we reiterate the key accomplishments from the past year regarding the uranium market, permitting, project development, financing, and for those who have seen the news release this morning, a very exciting discovery of new intense mineralisation in a greenfield discovery only 3.5 kilometres from Arrow. After that, we'll move into the Q&A portion of the call. We will make forward-looking statements throughout the call, so please visit our website for the relevant disclaimers. As we collectively navigate the global energy transition, nuclear power has emerged as a pivotal force. It presently accounts for approximately 10% of the global electricity mix, with targets set to elevate to 20% to 25% in the coming decades to meet three generational goals. The provision of power for an increasingly energy-intensive world, two, deparbonisation, and three, providing access to power to those who currently do not have it. The commitment to expanding global nuclear capacity was prevalent at COP28, where NextGen presented on the panel with the Premier of Saskatchewan regarding the province's commitment to sustainably producing uranium to meet the global nuclear requirement. This was further reflected at COP28, where a country is pledging to triple nuclear capacity by 2050, acknowledging its essential role in achieving carbon neutrality, ensuring energy reliability and enhancing national security. India recently announced it will be constructing an additional 18 civil nuclear reactors by 2032, aiming to boost its nuclear generation to 2.42 gigawatts, a triplet of its current capacity. Canada supports these efforts, evidenced as recently as two weeks ago with the issuance of its second green bond for nuclear development, raising $4 billion US, ensuring cost-effective financing to nuclear projects in Canada and reflecting widespread federal government support for nuclear energy in Canada and globally. Further, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the Government of Canada would expedite the approval processes of new nuclear projects domestically. Similarly, the EU has officially labelled nuclear power as strategic for its de-carbonisation agenda, acknowledging its cost competitiveness and potential to draw investment. In November 2023, EDF successfully raised €1 billion for nuclear energy through a green bond issuance. representing the first of its kind in Europe. Japan has also demonstrated the impact of its strategy with the restart of 12 nuclear reactors, and as a consequence, have reduced their dependence on fossil fuels by 15%, demonstrating nuclear energy's immediate positive impact. With the rise of technologies and the imperativeness for cleaner energy, The demand for uranium is projected to increase by 127% by 2030 and 200% by 2040. Yet, the supply side presents a stark contrast with its fragility due to the confluence of factors, primarily underinvestment in exploration development for over a decade, geopolitical tensions and supply chain challenges, challenging mine restart and overall resource depletion have all affected the current supply levels and the long-term forecasted ability of supply to come online. The potential ban on Russian uranium imports by the US Senate adds to this precarious situation, leaving many market participants reassessing future strategies and looking for sustainable use of their supplied primary uranium sources in sound jurisdictions. Given these infantry's scarcity, and the trend towards increased contracting, we anticipate continuous upward pressure on the spot and term prices for uranium for a long period of time. This underscores a critical juncture for the nuclear sector. While nuclear power is embraced as a strategic component in the global decarbonisation effort, ensuring a stable and sufficient uranium supply chain is paramount for fulfilling the growing energy need. We are facing a probable long-term supply deficit with an anticipated QE shortfall of over £1.5 billion expected through 2040, underscoring this significant role and the value that NextGen has in the global energy markets. There is an urgent need for more uranium, from technically, environmentally and jurisdictionally downed sources of supply, and that is the profile of NextGen's Look 1 project. We just passed the 10-year anniversary of Discovering Arrow, and the significance of the deposit and project cannot be overstated. Once operational, it will dramatically reshape the Western supply landscape. As per its NI43101 feasibility study of February 2021, it is forecasted to deliver up to 30 million pounds of uranium to the market annually. This represents over 20% of current uranium fuel production. and over 50% of late-term supply. This will not only re-establish Canada as a pre-eminent uranium producer in the globally recognised province of Saskatchewan, but will also emphasise NextGen's unique position to meet the world's increasing uranium requirements. Over the past 12 months, NextGen has successfully and safely executed the Strategy to Advance the Rookland Project. Our commitment to the company's values and dedication to excellence in everything we do has resulted in a world-class organisation leading positive, necessary change in the sector and new standards for sustainable, responsible resource development. This is highlighted through our industry ESG standards approach, historic benefits agreements and optimal permitting progress. From the outside set, we have been focused on innovation and peak performance to bring ROOC 1 into production this decade. As our actions and track record demonstrate, we are committed to playing our role successfully in delivering the fast benefits of nuclear to improve the quality of living globally. We are well on our way. In November, we secured the provincial environmental assessment approval for the ROOC 1 project. the first Iranian project in Canada to obtain this approval in over 20 years, and the first ever in Canada from a non-government organisation. In this approval, we have submitted the initial application for approvals of site earthworks, shaft sinking infrastructure, site water, mine waste management facilities, and associated ancillary infrastructure and services. The continuing communication with the applicable Saskatchewan ministry regarding these phases of development so we can continue the progress looked on site and be ready for full construction once all federal permits are in hand. Recently, on February 12th, we received the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission results of their thorough review of next-gen responses to the federal technical comments which read on the environmental impact statement. The team are developing responses few remaining technical review comments as a matter of priority, and once complete we'll be submitting these to the CNSC along with an updated Federal EIS. In collaboration with our Indigenous community partners, we look forward to securing a Commission hearing date with the CNSC in the near term to ensure the benefits of this generational project are realised as a priority for the region and its community. As mentioned earlier, we applaud the Federal Government of Canada's commitment to nuclear energy, evidenced by the Resource Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, announcing the focus to expedite the approval processes of new nuclear projects domestically. In 2023, NextGen made considerable progress on its site confirmation work, expecting completion by the end of this quarter. The site confirmation program has been highly successful in providing the data to validate and inform future design of the production shaft and exhaust shaft for the RIP1 project. This is on the critical path. In the meantime, we are finalising detailed engineering and are well underway in procuring long-lead items. And the awarding of the shaft sinking contract is imminent, signifying subject to federal approval the construction readiness of the project. While the company is focused on advancing the Roof 1 project, NextGen has also embarked on a bold exploration program on its highly prospective land package in the southwestern Athabasca Basin. Our 2024 30,000 metre exploration program follows up on last year's successful program, which identified highly anomalous areas to follow up as well as generate new target areas based on our previous drilling and geophysical surveys. All of this is focused on making new material discoveries over and above the Tier 1 Arrow deposit, adding value through the drill bit. And we are pleased to announce this morning the discovery of new Intense Uranium Mineralisation on our 100% owned SW2 property, Hook 1. approximately 3.5 kilometres east of NextGen's WorldFast Arrow deposit. These are one, as per the news release. The new mineralised account in RK24183 is located on a previously untested conductor segment of the Paterson Corridor East. Localised uranium mineralisation was intersected for 19.8 metres between 347 metres and 367.5 metres below surface, with peaks up to and greater than 61,000 counts per second. To put this intersect into context, the intersects are three metres or greater than 61,000 counts per second, which is significantly higher on all metrics than RK1421, the Arrow Discovery Loss. which only intersected less than 0.5 of a metre of greater than 9,999 cps. Exploration is predominantly open in all directions, including over 1.5 kilometres of strike in a setting incorporating members of the geological features standing in and around Arrow. This is two and three of today's news release. I'd like to take the opportunity to reiterate and acknowledge the fine, dedicated work of the NextGen Geological Team. Our understanding of the markers of mineralisation in the region improved with every drill hole and geophysical survey, and the NextGen exploration programs of the past years have been extremely valuable in contributing to today's results. A highly prospective land position in the southwestern section of the Athabasca Basin is still in its infancy and a significant amount of exploration is in front of us to fully define the extent of mineralisation at this location and on the balance of the Rook 1 SW2 property. Consequently, dwelling will continue to focus on this area and later this year, in parallel at SW1. As development progresses, community initiatives are at the forefront of our approach. and planning for the long-term success of the project. I'm proud to share that last year, in 2023, over 300 community members of the local priority area participated in our education, training and certification programs, of which 39% were Indigenous women, and we expect that number to grow to approximately 400 in 2024. We are contributing to building a strong and thriving local workforce which has always been an important aspect of our development and success. We will continue to expand these initiatives to contribute to the local economy while creating a highly qualified talent pool located within the local project area, and that will build onto our existing world-class team. Over the last year, we have been and continue to be highly engaged with investors, industry members and those who play a key role in the nuclear fuel cycle. Throughout those conversations, several things have emerged. First and foremost, there's a lot of interest in NextGen and the company has been elevated to a key supplier for global utilities as they seek to find fish and material sources of sustainable uranium. It is well understood and accepted that the project is vital to support the growing demand Our spot-contracting strategy is being well recognised as it provides transparency, price discovery and promotes the resiliency of uranium mining and the nuclear industry. To be clear, we will only produce uranium that is needed and that will optimise the market dynamics. We are taking a leadership role in this sector given the unparalleled flexibility scale and cost structure of the project. Due to the technical nature of the project and the natural hedge through the low all-in sustaining cost, approximately $10 US per pound as per the 43-101 feasibility study, our contract will be predominantly volume-based over the life of the project and linked directly to the stock prices at the time of delivery, fully re-engaging to the future uranium prices and capturing the economics. We acknowledge this approach will signify a transition from traditional practices, but one that has been seen in other value commodities worldwide, and one that is in the beneficial interest of all stakeholders in the industry, ensuring a sustainable and successful energy transition.

Further, growing interest