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| Statement |
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| The construction progress has not only been positively received by customers, but also by interested lenders |
| is in its early stages and believe that 2023 business results of the entire Westwater team were a significant achievement as we look to maintain our earlier market mover advantages of this dynamic market |
| And in the meantime, you've made a whole string of positive announcements, each of which one would think would put you significantly closer to clearing whatever hurdle the lenders have in order to close a deal for financing with you |
| And we are able to accomplish this increase in plant production within the $271 million capital budget |
| We believe these milestones along with signing our first multiyear offtake agreement are positive steps to creating value for Westwater shareholders and capitalizing on our position as an early market mover in the domestic graphite anode space |
| domiciled vertically integrated natural graphite anode supplier and believe the fundamentals of our business remain strong |
| With our 2 primary projects, the Kellyton plant and the Coosa deposits, we believe Westwater Resources is well positioned to provide local and IRA compliant supply to battery plants in the U.S |
| We believe the progress we've made in developing our product, producing samples, customer engagement, the construction progress on Phase I and signing our first multiyear offtake agreement, gives Westwater a competitive early market advantage over new entrants into the natural graphite anode market |
| We believe this will provide significant competitive advantages, given the domestic content requirements in the IRA previously mentioned |
| Flake graphite and CSPG prices decreased in 2023, but the value created in processing flake into CSPG remains strong and is forecasted to remain strong by third-party sources like Benchmark Minerals |
| And this is why customer engagement remains strong, which we will touch on later in the presentation |
| As a result, we continue to expect that global demand for graphite anode material will strengthen, resulting in a growing supply imbalance for the foreseeable future |
| And since the beginning of construction, we have had an excellent safety record by our contractors and Westwater teammates |
| The global demand for natural graphite anode material is expected to grow to approximately 1.2 million metric tons in 2030 and to more than 2 million metric tons per year by 2035 |
| with early market mover advantages |
| Based on customer demand signals and anticipated favorable project economics, we have started our feasibility study on Phase II of the Kellyton plant and expect to increase the combined production to 50,000 metric tons per annum of CSPG |
| The progress we have made in construction was significant in helping secure our first offtake agreement as we are not starting from ground zero and the multiple customers who have toured our sites provided positive feedback on our progress |
| Data from the remaining drill holes is positive and more drilling is needed in those areas prior to including these in the overall mineral resource estimate of Coosa |
| The Kellyton site has significant expansion potential |
| Before turning the call over for questions, I want to again highlight several 2023 accomplishments that we believe created value for Westwater and its shareholders |
| The projected demand growth for lithium ion batteries, government support for the energy transition and the dominance of the graphite anode market by China has led the U.S |
| The proposed guidance identified China as a foreign entity of concern, and we believe this is a positive step for the U.S |
| This represents a 67% increase in planned CSPG output to the 7,500 metric tons announced last March |
| That's an increase of 67% compared to what we announced a year ago, which we believe more than offset the softening graphite prices that occurred during the year |
| We continue to believe the Coosa deposit is a highly valuable asset with attractive economics, and we have started the process seeking strategic investment to advance Coosa, which could include strategic investors or partners |
| Safety is and will continue to be our number one core value as well as the protection of the environment where we live and operate |
| We reached several significant milestones within the past 12 months including signing our first multiyear offtake agreement with SK On, a Tier 1 lithium-ion battery manufacturer |
| This is a 67% increase from the planned Phase I CSPG production announced in March of 2023 |
| positions Westwater to become the first vertical producer of CSPG that is 100% based in the U.S |
| However, we are seeing a desire by cell manufacturers to increase the use of natural graphite to take advantage of its energy density properties, it's lower cost and it's lower impact on the environment |
| Statement |
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| Based on our recent conversations with customers, they're concerned with sourcing non-FEOC and IRA compliance CSPG for their U.S |
| We believe the recent Chinese export restrictions and additional requirements for graphite exports that began on December 1, 2023, served as another wake-up call for the entire battery supply chain, relying on critical minerals from China |
| Lastly, net loss for 2023 was approximately $7.8 million or $0.15 per share compared to a net loss of $11.1 million or $0.25 per share in 2022 |
| Given the early stage of the graphite anode market outside of China, we have been bringing interested lenders up to speed on the market, our technology, our development plan and customer engagement, which has taken longer than expected when compared to an established mature domestic energy sector |
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