NexGen Energy Ltd.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the NextGen Energy First Quarter 2025 Results Conference Call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then 1 on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star then zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Lee Currier, Chief Executive Officer and Director with NextGen Energy Limited. Please go ahead, sir.

I appreciate that, Elaine.

Thank you all for joining us today for NextGen's Q1 2025 Financial Results Conference Call. I am Lee Currier, Chief Executive Officer of NextGen Energy. and I'm joined today by my colleagues Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer, and Benjamin Salter, Chief Financial Officer. Over the course of today's call, I will provide a brief update on the global uranium market landscape, which has seen a continuation of historically unprecedented demand combined with sustained fragility of supply. Further, liquidity returning to the spot market in the latter part of the quarter, elevating spot 11%. I'll also provide an overview of our key accomplishments during the first quarter of 2025. This includes our continued advancement through the regulatory process for our ROOC 1 project as we prepare for the upcoming Canadian Youth for Safety Commission hearings later this year. In addition, an update on our exciting 2025 drilling program at Haddison Corridor East. The early results from our drilling program are simply excellent. including what is now recognised as the best ever discovery phase intersect in RK25232 on our land package as reported on March 24, 2025. It all adds up to NextGen's Rook Run project on the cusp of final federal permitting and on completion then immediately entering into construction, followed by production at the time the market for uranium is going to be intense for low-risk, stable production sources from sound jurisdictions. NextGen's ROOC1 project will return Canada back to being the world leader in the production of uranium, incorporating the most elite environmental, social and governance practices. In parallel throughout all of this, further drilling at PCE to find a mineralisation which is exhibiting all the famous and unique high-grade, solid technical setting attributes of its neighbour Arrow 3.5km to the west. At the conclusion of this presentation we will move to the Q&H portion of the call, which will provide you the opportunity to ask Travis, Ben and myself any questions you would like to ask. Throughout the course of today's call we will be making forward looking statements. I invite you to visit our website for all the relevant disclaimers. As we begin, it's important to acknowledge the pivotal inflection point we're at. The uranium investment thesis has evolved from promise to reality, with the key focus turning to execution and scarcity. What we have experienced in uranium equity since the start of the year is a real disconnect from the fundamentals. It's fair to say the noise around Paris has deflected attention of key uranium market fundamentals materialising. With over 30 countries committed to tripling their nuclear energy capacity by 2050, and more than 60 reactors currently under construction globally, the robustness and the sustainability of demand is at unprecedented levels for nuclear power. Canada has a leading role to play, particularly considering its southern neighbour, the United States of America, is realising its security of supply for this key fuel requires substantial investment, and projects required to come online now. The International Atomic Energy Agency's high-case scenario predicts cumulative uranium requirements of approximately 7 billion pounds through 2025. The vast majority of these requirements are currently undiscovered and unknown. A project like NextGen's Rook1 is unprecedented in terms of the volume capability, the technical, environmental, social and economic performance. Yet, our industry would need at least 10 of them over the next 25 years to meet the demand. The sheer scale of the structural deficit underscores the critical nature of the supply challenges facing the world and the scarce and strategic nature of NextGen's role. A telling market signal has emerged this quarter. Several producers have said current pricing levels are insufficient and consequently deferred contracting decisions, while others have delayed final investment decisions on development projects. It is encouraging to see the new generation of uranium developers and to-be producers joining NextGen and working collectively to ensure the sustainability of our industry through discipline and patience. This will lead to higher uranium prices sustained in the long term. incorporating the real costs of delivering ethically sourced uranium to ensure reliable, sustained supply. Pricing must strengthen significantly to incentivise the production growth across the globe, which is required to meet the current and future demand. Demand is resilient, and with the new tech players entering the pace, our industry is primed for better outcomes than before, which is in the interest of all participants delivering energy to populations. Stock prices currently sit at approximately $71 US a pound, having moved swiftly from the low 60s on relatively modest activity in an emerging carry trade opportunity, demonstrating the market's inherent sensitivity to even small changes in liquidity. Meanwhile, the term price has held firm, maintaining levels near $80 a pound US. This resilience in long-term pricing sends a strong signal and historically serves as a leading indicator the demand fundamentals remain exceptionally robust despite short-term volatility. For NextGen, these developments reflect and validate our strategy. Our initial sales contracts reflect fundamentals to supply a demand imbalance in the uranium market and importantly capture the economics in a rising price environment for our shareholders while providing unparalleled security and diversification of supply to our utility partners. NextGen remains extremely busy negotiating term deals with the industry, and this hasn't been impacted by elections, global trade tension, nor the illiquidity in the spot market. Its recognition of NextGen's role in this market in the near future is well understood, as evidenced by these ongoing contract negotiations. The policy landscape continues to evolve in favour of nuclear energy and secure supply chains. Particularly noteworthy is the anticipated executive order from the United States to expedite nuclear project development through the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. This initiative recognizes the convergence of national and energy security has been the same in today's electrified world. Baselow Power attracts business investment, supports industrial growth, and enables advanced technological developments. in critical areas like artificial intelligence. Similarly, Europe has recently announced plans to legislate the phase-out of Russian nuclear supply from its energy ecosystem beginning 2027. This decisive shift away from Russian dependency opens substantial opportunities for Western suppliers and reinforces the premium placed on ethical, environmentally responsible production from politically stable jurisdictions. Further, only yesterday, Germany has signalled a major positive shift back towards nuclear energy. This decision has major positive implications on EU energy policy. Together with Belgium, repealing nuclear phase-out laws, opening the door to new nuclear investment, and the list goes on of additional positive major macro news involving nuclear. It simply reflects the reality of power importance, not only the provision of power, but the reliable, environmentally centrally sourced to support populations and economies. NextGen's Look 1, with its industry-leading environmental profile, technical simplicity, long mine life and location in Saskatchewan, Canada, will benefit tremendously from this recalibration of the global supply chain. Q1 2025 has seen significant company milestones. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is scheduling our two-part public hearing days for the RUC1 project set for November 19, 2025 and February 9-13, 2026. And we are ready today to present Canada's largest uranium development project to the world. The Commission to finalise project approval for the benefit of our shareholders and Indigenous the province of Saskatchewan, Canada and the planet. These hearing dates provide clarity on the timeline and allow us to strategically optimise our construction schedule, advance procurement initiatives and detailed engineering work, and implement our construction hiring plan with precision, positioning us to maximise efficiency once we transition from permitting to construction execution. We're also monitoring Canada's evolving regulatory landscape with its increased focus on streamlining approvals for projects of national significance, and that have provincial approval. That is next-gen. Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Tania stated, one and done, which is extremely positive and recognises the opportunity Canada has, but also his willingness to sensibly streamline the rigorous approval process to actually deliver Canada's economic, trade and energy security interests. Turning the Paterson Corridor East, a region that continues to exceed and indeed redefine our expectations. In 2035, we launched our most extensive drill program at PCE to date. A 43,000-meat exploration campaign, one of the largest in the Asabasca Basin this year. The goal is clear, to follow up on the exceptional mineralisation encountered to date and better understand the scale and continuity of what is shaping up to be a significant discovery, which exhibits all of those unique attributes of the Mighty Arrow deposit. On March 24, 2025, we report what is now the best-ever discovery phase intercept across any next-gen property. Drill hole RK25232 intersected 3.9 metres of off-scale greater than 61,000 counts per second. Uranium mineralisation was in a broader 13.8 metre zone. Four additional holes, all at least 50 metres apart from this intercept, returned the same intense ultra-high grade mineralisation. The high grade zones have now doubled in size since our last update measuring 210 metres along stripes and 335 metres vertically, and it remains open in all directions. These are extraordinary results, particularly given that PCE is still in its discovery phase. For comparison, intercepts of this calibrated arrow didn't emerge until much later during the targeted resource definition phase. I'd like to remind everyone that NextGen holds the most significant land position. over 190 hectares in Saskatchewan's southwest Athabasca Basin, which is widely considered to be the future of uranium production in the west. PC is located just 3.5 kilometres east of the world-class Arrow deposit, which positions us to significantly expand our resource base in the coming years and positively impact the communities where we operate for many generations to come. NextGen is exceptionally well capitalised. We hold approximately 435 million Canadian in cash, enough to fund the start of construction activities for the next 12 to 18 months. In addition, we have over 1.6 billion US in expressions of interest from leading banks and export credit agencies to form the base of our project funding. Like any Tier 1 project, we are navigating many financial options to optimise the funding of this project. In terms of timing, we remain focused on year end 2025 for determining the best financing package that provides certainty of capital, enables us to maintain our marketing strategy of maximising exposure to the prevailing prices in the future, and enables us to maintain our production output flexibility. At the same time, demand for our future production has never been stronger. Off-take negotiations are continuous with a diverse group of counterparties all over the world. We expect to announce additional agreements this year, further bolstering our market position as we move into construction and production. With federal approval approaching, the integrated project team are in place. All procurement and detailed engineering is in place, ready to commence construction with a robust balance sheet. We are ready and exceptionally well positioned to advance into the next phase of development. With that, I would now like to open the floor to questions.