Standard Lithium Ltd.

Your lines again will be placed on a music hold. Thank you for your patience. Good morning, my name is Krista and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Standard Lithium fiscal second quarter earnings conference call and webcast. 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 that time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. And if you would like to withdraw your question, again, press star one. Thank you. I will now turn the conference over to Salah Gamoudi, Chief Financial Officer. You may begin your conference.

Thank you and welcome everyone. Joining me on the call today are Robert Mintak, Director and CEO, Andy Robinson, President, Director and COO, and Mike Barman, Chief Development Officer. As a reminder, Some of the statements made during our call, including any forward expectations, company performance, and timing of projects, may constitute forward-looking statements. Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements contained in our press release, which also applies to this call. I will now turn the call over to Robert.

Thanks a lot for kicking things off. This past quarter has been transformative for us at Standard Lithium. starting with strengthening our leadership team to better navigate our strategic and financial journey in the current market conditions. I'm delighted to introduce both our new CFO, Salah Gamoudi, and Mike Barman, our new Chief Development Officer. Salah brings an extensive track record in the public markets, the energy sector, having enhanced company value and delivering shareholder returns. Additionally, Salah is based in Austin, Texas, adding regional insights, This, coupled with his expertise in driving operational efficiencies, positions us well to enhance shareholder value in the current complex market conditions that we're navigating. Mike Barman has stepped into the chief development officer role, bringing with him a wealth of experience in investment banking and a strong understanding of resource and commodity cycle. This expertise is valuable as we work to finalize key commercial contracts and agreements. With Mike's insights, we're making thoughtful progress in our discussions regarding long-term lithium offtake agreements that are pivotal to our project strategy. Furthermore, his experience is instrumental as we advance our efforts in forming the partnerships and more that will build upon the solid foundation that we've established across the Smackover region. While we continue to make progress in Arkansas, our East Texas expansion work has achieved a significant milestone. We've uncovered the highest lithium brine values ever reported in North America, underscoring the potential value of this expansion strategy. Exceptional quality lithium brine confirmed at concentrations of up to 806 milligrams per liter with an average of 644 milligrams per liter across our three exploration wells emphasizes the global importance of this opportunity. With a significant investment in our exploration drilling program now completed, we're poised to unlock the full potential of this Texas brine asset. This has attracted the attention of potential strategic partners and joint development interests. The presence of elevated potassium levels presents an additional opportunity for value creation that we're diligently exploring. Additionally, recent developments highlight the interest from global energy companies looking at lithium that are now active in the Smackover formation. This further reinforces the potential as a significant global lithium production hub. Building on our strategic plans, we exercise our option agreement with Tetra Technologies, ensuring control over the lithium brine production rights at our Southwest Arkansas project. We're advancing this project right now. Underway is the front end engineering design along with the definitive feasibility study. Post quarter we announced that we engaged Asenko Engineering to lead these studies. We completed and filed the definitive feasibility study for the phase 1A project and during the quarter, Lanxess also expressed its intention to participate in the project through a series of commercial agreements, namely for brine supply and disposal, a site lease for a production facility, and certain infrastructure services. These negotiations are underway, and these agreements will form and establish the operational framework for Phase 1A. Additionally, we announced an engagement with City A move that significantly strengthens our strategic approach. City will play an important role in facilitating strategic financing and partnership options for 1A, as well as advancing the Southwest Arkansas project and the initiatives in East Texas. City's expertise and their global reach make them a valuable addition to our efforts. As we move into 2024, it's clear that we're navigating through a turbulent time in the lithium sector. In 2023, we saw lithium prices retract significantly from their all-time highs, an 80% reduction that has reverberated across the market. Our share price has been reflective of these broader sector trends. Despite this, the long-term prospects for lithium and for standard lithium remain strong. Furthermore, recent developments, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, and the U.S. Treasury Department's recognition of critical minerals underscores the significance of developing domestic sources for EV battery materials. Our SMACover projects align perfectly with these objectives, and we're actively engaged with government agencies and departments to optimize our position and access financial support where available. In summary, our approach involves efficient capital sourcing, adaptability to market dynamics, and leveraging our valuable assets to maximize shareholder value. Our commitment to the discipline execution of our strategy positions the company in a strong place in this evolving lithium sector. Now I'd like to hand it over to our COO and President, Dr. Andy Robinson, for a more detailed update on our projects and operational development.