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.

Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now begin the question and answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then 1 on your telephone keypad. You'll hear a tone acknowledging your request. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your hand step before pressing any keys. To remove yourself from the question queue, please press star then 2. Our first question is from Ralph Scafidi in Steeple. Please go ahead.

Good day. Thanks, Operator.

Lee, I'd like to ask a question on more detailed progress towards procurement of equipment and along these items. Are you happy with where you are in the queue, and are your suppliers talking about general inflationary pressures or delivery schedules that may be at risk, or are these the conversations in line with expectations?

Yeah, thanks Ralph.

Look, we have a very detailed construction execution plan which is down to the day once we have approval and so one of the benefits of, roundabout benefit of the Commission hearing that's been set for November 2025 and February 2026 is that it does allow us to plan exceptionally well that procurement process with respect to the key inputs, particularly around the first 12 to 18 months of construction. As I speak, that is well in hand, and it is a significant focus of the executive team's time is on that execution plan, and as I speak, I'm very comfortable with that heading. In terms of pricing, Look, the industry broadly is always under pricing pressure. We're not excluded from that. But we are maintaining what we expect things to cost as were previously forecasted. And that's also been supported by due diligence by a number of the debt and equity providers that have been running The good thing about the Rukwa Narrow project is that the economics are extraordinarily robust, so if there is CPI pressure it won't be as material as you would see in a marginal project. further with the payback period being so short, approximately 13 months at current prices, the impact of any CPI increase on the financeability of the project will also be immaterial. So it's something you're quite right, Ralph. It is a an aspect we place a lot of attention on and planning, and it's... As we speak, we're in good shape, and I continue to be... You know, I wouldn't see any changes in that, either, going forward, considering the amount of, you know, detailed planning that's gone into the construction execution schedule.

Great. Thanks for that answer, Lee. A separate question, as radar attention turns to exploration, just wondering how you're balancing the desire to turn around the mineral resource estimates, inaugural one for PCE, and basically what the drills are telling you, which is, you know, the longer you take, the more potential is. Just wondering how you're balancing those two aspects of potential versus delivering an MRE.

Yeah, sure. So firstly, it's the exploration group, and so this doesn't in any way dilute the attention on the final federal permitting or the execution schedule. But with respect to the exploration group, I must stress, PC is still in a definition, like what are we dealing with stage. I don't see us turning to delineation resource definition drilling activities As we speak, at the earliest, that would be 2026. It's still open in every direction. It's looking better than what Arrow did at the same stage of drilling. And as we all know, Arrow expanded considerably once we tagged into the high-grade subdomain. So it's very, very early in the stages. We're under no... We don't see it as pressure. We have a very... well-thought-out exploration approach where we look to define what is the area of mineralisation first, where we tag into a high-grade subdomain. We then focus a little more weighting of the drill bit towards that because the consequence of intersecting that high-grade intense mineralisation does have an extremely material impact on the resource definition. Once we get a sense that we've got both of those understood, that's when we'll then shift that attention to, like, a measurement in terms of volume and grade, but not beforehand. And I don't see us being anywhere near that stage of that as we speak. And look, that's exciting news for everyone. It's way too early to determine just exactly what we're dealing with at PCE. because it's exhibiting just incredible, you know, similar characteristics to what Arrow is.

Thanks very much, Lee. I appreciate your answers. Thanks, Ralph.

The next question is from Julio Madragan with BML Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning, Rick, Julio here.

So, the first question is related to your plans for Route 1 development for this year. So, you know, the budget and potential activities, while you avoid the hearing dates later this year on early 2026.

Yes, if I've understood the question, Julio,

um yeah the hearing date we're ready right now as we speak if we had approvals um as we speak we'd be already in construction um we we've had a very clear definition around what we're building and how we're going to build it since 2017 and we've been refining it ever since so this project has had an extraordinary amount of time and focus on executing it well. When you add into that the fact that it's very simple technically relative to other mines around the world. It's an extremely competent placement rock. It's actually a very small physical footprint and a very small mine. We'll be removing about one and a half double decker buses of ore a day. That is tiny for a mine. And then we have the very clean metallurgy. So the processing plant itself in a relative sense is a more straightforward, simplified version of what we see in other parts of the world. That all goes well for once we have the approval to execute well. And from a company perspective and mindset, and as everyone knows, we're very, very diligent on risk analysis We are looking forward to construction because of the amount of time and energy that was put into it over the last, well, it's almost eight years. And we have the team in place and we have the execution scheduled down to the day. So we can't wait to be in that position and we expect so in early 2026 at the conclusion of the federal permitting process with the CNSCs.

Oh, thank you.

So just to, you know, just understand a little bit more in the near term, what will be your developing activities for 2025 and what will be the potential budget for these activities, if I may ask?

Yeah, so look, we're all, we are focused on exploration in 2026 and, sorry, in 2025. And we maintain that site on an exploration basis to support the regional drilling activities and maintaining that in an environmentally elite manner. So once we have 435 million Canadian in the treasury as we speak, we have also liquid assets of around another 300 million on top of that. Once we're in construction, that's when you'll see, you know, an acceleration of the budget. But as we speak, we're well funded, well into the back end of 2026 to meet all of our general and administrative expenses, maintaining the site in readiness for construction as well and supporting exploration activities.

Oh, perfect. Thank you very much. So, if I may ask one more question. How are your contracting discussions with utilities going at the moment? We've got half more detail on that. Thank you.

Sure, I might just hand over to Travis on that one.

Yeah, perfect. Travis here, and thanks for the question. Yeah, as we alluded to in his remarks at the beginning here, contracting discussions have been very, very robust, ongoing, lots of them, and you can expect to see more Contracts get signed and announced shortly and throughout the year. I think, you know, general context and color around it, there's definitely a growing awareness of the acute nature of the supply deficit, and particularly, you know, later this decade and into the 2030s when Arrow is going to be producing. People are very, utilities in particular, are very, very concerned about that period of time, and rightfully so. So that obviously positions NextGen well, and very uniquely. And the utilities are also understanding that not all uranium is created equal, and buying uranium from us represents a different value proposition to them than buying uranium from an incumbent producer, because An incumbent producer isn't offering them net new diversification and new supply sources, whereas support for our mine and all the other emerging developers offers them that. And so there's recognition of that, which is very supportive to ours and I'm sure other developers' initiatives. So, yeah, very, very good and robust and more to come on that front.

Perfect. Thank you very much, everyone. Thanks.

The next question is from Andrew Wong with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

All right. Thanks for taking my questions. Let me just start contacting again. Can you just talk about the terms of the contracts that are being discussed? So next term, I understand that you guys would prefer more spot-related, market exposure, and that, what we can expect to see in your upcoming contract settlements, are the utilities agreeing to that? And just any sense on if there are any scores or feelings that are being discussed, what's the problem there today?

Yeah, thanks, Andrew. Travis, again, we obviously can't talk about specific terms. What I would say is that what we disclosed in for those initial 5 million pounds of contracts, where we outlined kind of what the sensitivities look like and stuff. That's in line with what we're discussing going forward. And our focus on maximizing the exposure to the future prevailing price of uranium, bought price of uranium at the time we deliver uranium, it remains consistent and definitely sustainable. willingness of utilities and our standing of utilities generally speaking to our desire for that and how it benefits both us and them actually in the sense that our philosophy overall is not just one where it only benefits us, it benefits utilities and that you don't get into a post Fukushima world again where producers are oversupplying a market for way, way too long because they have floor prices that incentivize them to break even and contractually obligate them to continue to produce. Our philosophy and our strategy around marketing eliminates that because you shorten the duration of the contract and tie them to the price at the time. And therefore, you know, if something changes in the future, the industry can adjust or at least we can in these contracts. So that understanding is there and, yes, they're open to that.

Yeah, Andrew, I'll just add to the fact that utilities don't do the same contract with, as Travis's earlier point, utilities don't do the same contract for all producers or advanced developers. Contracts do reflect the unique nature of our respective projects. Now, our strategy merely reflects the technical aspects, economic aspects and environmental aspects of our projects. We're in confident basement rock. We can ramp production up, we can ramp production down, given market conditions. And that is to the benefit of the producers, but also the utilities who are procuring the off-taste. I know there's a bit of commentary out there that it only works this way and that's the way it's always worked, but this mine, there's never been a mine like this in terms of technical certainty, economics and environmental performance. And our contracting strategy merely reflects those attributes and that is what has been appreciated by the utilities that we have already contracted with and will contract with in the near term.

That's a lot of great comment. Thank you. With the federal election, I'm curious to acknowledge that impacted your discussions with the government on approvals. Have you had any discussions with the new government since the election, and is there any flex around those public hearing dates?

Look, the good thing about those dates is that they are now a bookend and we know and they're in place. Look, I've been incredibly encouraged by Mark Carney's comments with respect to one and done for major energy projects in Canada and if that transpires into a more efficient regulatory process where a project that has provincial approval won't require subsequent federal approval. I think that's in the interest of all current but also future uranium projects that are going into production. Look, there is aspects of having two regulatory, both a provincial and a federal. There is overlap between the two. That's not in anyone's interest. And so, look, I've been very impressed with Mark Carney's commitment to streamlining the process and Canada playing to its strengths and getting these energy projects up and running now. So if it does transpire into that, I'll be very, very pleased to present that. Certainly the Premier of Saskatchewan Scott Mose has been very public with respect to what he would like to see with respect to the federal government's approach to projects such as ours. Yeah, let's wait and see. Look, November will be just around the corner, no doubt about that, and we are in the final stages as we speak.

Great, thank you very much.

Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one. Our next question is from Craig Hutchinson with QD Colon. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. To the question, you mentioned at the onset that you're looking to find out the best financing package by year end. Are you guys still entertaining a strategic investor at the asset level at this point?

Oh, sorry, Travis, yes, you can answer that.

Yes, thanks, Ray. Yeah, Craig, short answer, yes, we are. You know, as we have talked about in the past, it's a very targeted select group that we have been engaging with, some over the last few years, some in detail over the last year. And, yes, it still remains one of the many options that we have at hand. In terms of timing, everyone involved on that process, on the prepayment process, on the debt process, are all lining up for the timing around year end of this year, as we noticed.

That would come before the permit, probably. Yeah.

Thanks. Yeah, potentially. But, yeah, obviously the permits are very dependent on concluding that financing aspect.

Okay. And just on the contracting, I mean, do you guys have a set volume or rough volume that you want to have contracted before you make the final investment decision?

Yeah, Craig, no, we don't have that contract. You know, some of the options will require some level of offtake being in place, but it won't be being in place to commence construction. You know, like the dentist example, there's a portion of it that requires some volumes to be demonstrated. You know, as we've talked about before, they don't need price hedging in that sense. The lenders don't care what price. pricing mechanism is utilized, but there'll need to be some volumes there, but those aren't needed until the first part of those won't be needed until you actually start to draw down the debt, which won't be until early in 2027 at a minimum. And then others, it's not part of the discussion. There is no volume that we need to get to start construction. As we said, we're ready to go. If we got approval tomorrow, we're in construction and immediately. So, yeah, not seeing a good position there. And then even longer term, we don't really have, you know, because you get asked this sometimes, like, what's the split of, you know, term contracts or whatever. Long term, we don't have a set percentage that we want. We will always maintain our ability to leverage the production output flexibility that the mine has. And then the biggest determinant really is just the alignment between ourselves and the counterparty that we're dealing with or counterparties that we're dealing with with respect to what the future of the uranium supply and demand looks like. And if there's alignment, then we can get there on a contract. If there's not alignment, then that's when we're patient. And we've been patient the whole time, and that's clearly benefited us materially to do that, and we'll continue to do that.

Okay, great. I may have one last question for me, just back to PCE. I think the expectation was assays were released in April. Are they taking a bit longer than expected, or are you guys just waiting to dash those results with some new ones?

No, the lab has been very, very busy. As I'm given the volume of what's gone through, they will be expecting them in the late crowd. And when we release, we always provide materiality context around it. So there's no doubt 232 will have its own news release, given its materiality, which will most likely be separate from the assay results from the drilling that occurred in 2024. I just would emphasise again, Like, we're still in the very early stages of getting a grasp on the scope of PCE, but it's looking extremely, extremely strong if you provide the relativity to Arrow at the same level of drilling.

Great. Good luck, guys. Thanks.

The next question is from Brian MacArthur with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. A little bit back to what Ralph was talking about. When you get approval, let's just say we get it February next year, are you going to be able to do anything to move the whole construction timeframe up? If you maybe just go through how you see it developing going forward on the timeline and where the critical path is to production once you do get your permits.

Yeah, thanks Brian. The shaft is effectively the longest lead time item. It requires the greatest amount of preparation as well. As for the feasibility studies that we updated in August of 2024, it is a four-year construction process. it's preferable to start either as you're coming out of the winter, which is around the time that we expect the conclusion of the CNSC hearing process. So I think everyone should adjust that from the commencement of construction, which is subject to CNSC finalising the process, It is a 48-month process from that date. So I don't want to – there's not – in terms of accelerating that 48 months, there's nothing really material. It's going to be 48 months.

Great, thanks. I think that's how I understood it too. On the converse, but just to be sure, there's nothing, because it's delayed back to Ralph's question, that you've lost stuff in the queues or anything that would make it longer than 48 months that you can see right now just because of the timing of the way things have worked out.

No, it's actually the opposite. The delay in the hearings allows us to really refine the execution schedule for key imports further out than what we otherwise would have. So that's a reduction in execution risk once we start construction due to this delay in the hearings to November of 25 and February of 2026. It's actually, from that execution perspective, when you do commence, it's actually a real positive.

Great, thank you. Maybe just one more thing to make sure I fully understand this. My understanding was a lot of the sourcing was in Canada for what you need as well. Is that right? So really there's not a whole lot of risk in the supply chain going forward? Is that a fair comment?

That's fair, and we will prioritise and optimise the opportunities for Canada first and foremost. There is some specialisation of certain items of equipment with respect to the shaft and the mill, but nothing really material in that sense. But, yeah, no, Canada will be prioritised. And I'll say that that prioritisation does, as everyone knows with respect to our a focus on local communities, it will start in the local communities and it's going down from there.

Great. Thanks very much, Lee. That's very clear. Thanks, Brian.

This concludes the question and answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Currier for any closing remarks.

Thank you, Jolene. Yes, as always, we really appreciate everyone's ongoing interest and support for NextGen. We, as I alluded to in the earlier part of the call, we are on the cusp of final federal permitting approval. The market and the fundamentals for nuclear energy are improving almost on a daily basis with all of the news that is coming out and NextGen's ready to deliver its role in returning Canada to being the number one producer of this incredibly important fuel that powers economies and the population's homes right around the world. With that, I thank everyone for their time and attention. And as always, if any additional questions arise, please don't hesitate to reach out to Monica, Stacey, Travis or myself.

Thank you.

This brings to a close today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.