Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) AGM 2024 summary

Opening remarks and agenda

• Meeting opened with acknowledgment of traditional owners, introduction of board, executive, and auditor, and AGM presented by MD & CEO Rowena Smith, outlining focus on rare earths, critical minerals, and high-tech metals.

• Voting procedures and proxy arrangements explained, polling cards distributed, quorum confirmed, proxies accepted, and minutes of previous AGM adopted as correct.

Financial performance review

• Financial report for the year ended 30 June 2024 tabled, with auditor available for questions.

• Company ended last quarter with AUD 38 million cash and received an additional AUD 5 million in federal funding.

• Dubbo Project optimisation delivered capex and opex savings, with strong financials including AUD 425 million annual free cash flow and 23.5% pre-tax IRR.

• AUD 1.5 billion conditional debt funding secured for Dubbo Project construction from EFA, US EXIM, and Canadian agencies.

• AUD 1,678 million capital cost estimate for Dubbo Project, with all major approvals in place.

Strategic initiatives and plans

• Strategy focuses on building a rare earths and critical minerals supply chain from mine to metal, with the Dubbo Project as a central hub.

• Final engineering for Dubbo Project awarded to Bechtel, with phased development approach and Rare Earth Options Assessment underway targeting lower cost and shorter implementation, supported by AUD 5 million federal grant.

• Timeline includes finalising engineering in H1 2025, investment decision in H1 2026, and production ramp-up by 2028.

• Exploring US market entry with potential second metals plant and leveraging US government incentives.

• Korean Metals Plant expanded product range, ramping up with commercial NdFeB samples accepted by new EU and Korean customers.