CleanTech Lithium (LSE:CTL) — Recap of key milestones and company activity

0:00 Good afternoon, and welcome to the CLEANTECH LITHIUM PLC Investor Presentation. Simply type in your questions and press send. Before we begin, I would like to submit the following poll. And I would now like to hand you over to Daniel Fox Davies. Good afternoon to you. Good afternoon. Thank you. Ignacio, good morning to you. Hi, Dan. Good morning. Good to see you. Good to see you too, mate. What time have we got you up in in Santiago? Oh, it's pretty nice. It's 9AM here in the middle of winter in in Chile. Excellent. Well, we were having a sort of mess back and forth, we thought you were you were absent, obviously, in Asia the last time that we we did an update.

0:53 We had to put out an RNS, and that raised some concerns, but, obviously, you've been very busy traveling in Asia and also to America. So we just thought before we break into the summer and a lot of people head out for July and August, it would just be useful to just get an update and and recap, predominantly a recap, a little discussion about what you've been up to, and then we can sort of come back when we have after everybody's summer, and hopefully, we'll be in a position to give some further information. But starting from there, so where would you like to kick off today? Well, I think the the first point that we should touch on, and we have just a slide here to to guide the conversation through several topics, should be the same. We have received questions from many shareholders. We we share their frustration on timings, and so we wanted to give them a recap on what has been going on with the and where we are today.

1:49 So I guess I should start then by saying that we remain very positive on the COOL as many people will remember. We were awarded the COOL March 9 this year, and we expected a somewhat expedite process. We said eight to ten weeks end of the month, end of June. And we had to issue an analyst saying that that, we couldn't meet that timeline. And the reality is, unfortunately, some timings are not under the company's control. We have been having really positive conversations with the mining ministry. The the sale continues within the controller's office and the mining ministry. They are sorting out issues between themselves. They are they are very keen to award us the sale as soon as possible, I mean, to to get this process finalized.

2:35 But, unfortunately, there are backlogs. There are other things happening. There was a government change, and this has meant that the process is going slower than we had originally expected. Having said that, again, it is a very positive moment for the company being one of the first in the history to be awarded a sale. You cannot disregard that there might be some because of its uniqueness, some delays in the approval or in the approval process. But, again, the the ministry, and we're working very closely with them, is is engaged and is very committed to getting this over the line as soon as possible. And we shall update the market once we have a more substantial loss on that. I think, I mean, from some of the comments I've seen, I think it's just good to reiterate that, obviously, you've had a change of government and while it's the most pressing thing for the company and for many shareholders within the universe of mining issues in Chile, sadly, were probably not the most pressing thing for the new incoming administration.

3:40 But can you just clarify again between what we've been awarded and the rubber stamping? And I think the question that probably shareholders have is that is there anything that's happened which is you feel would fundamentally change your view in terms of the ability to move forward? Yes, it's a good question then. No. Nothing has changed substantially. We have been awarded the CLEANTECH PLC. The CLEANTECH LITHIUM been the new going government, the incoming administration has ratified that the CLEANTECH LITHIUM is how they will award new lithium projects. As you say, there are many things going on in Chile beyond our COL. For example, two days ago, the congress voted a law to reduce corporate taxes, to provide tax stability for the future. Those are things that are happening, and and the government is focused on on that as part of their emergency mandate, as they said when they came to office.

4:40 But the mining ministry, in particular, is very committed to getting these sales through the the finish line. It is the same process that we announced in March. It is just been iterating between them and the control office, and and we are supporting them. So they can and assisting them, so they can provide the the answers that the control office is is asking for. But there's nothing nothing that changes the reality, which is the CLEANTECH awarded and and should just go through this rubber stamping process with the control office in order to be fully enforced. Okay. Well, look, hopefully, we'll we'll get a little bit further down the process over the course of the summer, and then we can look forward to updating everybody when we move forward on that. Do you want to just touch on some people I know have been asking questions on some of the the various sort of investor forums about the ASX?

5:31 Yeah. Yes. So as we've been discussing, our plan is to do a list in Australia, and we are working with our with with you, with our legal advisers advisers in Australia, with with the whole CLEANTECH team. There are many things going on beyond beyond this, but I think it's important to provide us an update. And and we understand also that that the sale is the the the rubber stamping on the sale, the final award is important to this process. So we're working on everything that we need to have ready to be to a listing in Australia as soon as we have the sale ratified. Everything is is going well. You can you can also attest to that. Dan, we are all ready to go, and timings might change as they say all timing changes a little bit, but it's still on track.

6:19 Yeah. So we have we have a weekly all parties meeting. We're progressing through the updating of the auditing of the financials. That needs to take account of the new capital structure. There's various background documentation, legal stuff that needs to happen, processes, and updating, including the expanded license area after MINIJI, etcetera, acquisition from last year. So the various lawyers and parties are dealing with that with Australia. You and I contemplating whether whether we'll get down towards the back end of August. But there is a we we're now into a a process, these things there's there's awful lot of minutiae and detail that needs to come together. But that's ongoing. And I'd say from my side, I've been very positively encouraged by what we're doing.

7:07 The main thing and I think, you know, the the main one that people will be interested to hear, and I know you're limited on what you can and cannot say in terms of ongoing discussions. But, obviously, the last time we spoke was you were about to head off to towards China and other some other Asian countries, and then you had the follow-up meetings in in The US. So I think probably be useful for people who just touched on where exactly you went in China, the that maybe you had specific names, the range of people that you've met with, and where we are in that process. So let's start with kind of a reminder of a recap of what the strategic partner process is or what we're looking for with this process. We are the intention is to secure the best partner or partners to help us take Laguna Verde all the way into production.

7:55 These have to be parties of real scale. We're looking for commitments first to fund the project to get us to FID, and then to support project finance into construction and operation. We are not alone in this. We have engaged a very specialist firm called Castle Freeman, that have extensive experience and are very well connected in the field. They have reached out far and wide to to many parties. We talk to them weekly, regularly, and we are very impressed on how they have got what they've done and how they conduct their business. I what I can say without going into specifics, Dan, is that we have numerous parties under NDA, and that gives them access to our data room.

8:41 I can I cannot say the exact number, but it's kept growing? This is not a a steel process. Companies are still being onboarded into the data room, still seeking initial clarifications on the information. So so we are at different stages with different parties. These are parties from across the world. As as you mentioned, I've been to Asia. I've been to US. We have parties from Europe, from Oceania. So interest from all across the world in our project. Some, as I said, are more advanced than others. We have had just recent approaches of companies that have come into our data room as early as this week. And we are surprised and delighted because of who they are. And with this latecomers, we are, you know, open, and we'll give them time to reach their conclusions while others are more advanced.

9:36 In Asia, as you were wondering, I met I went to a few countries and I met with with with several companies. There was substantial interest at the moment from Asia. Initially, it was the most interested region. So we went there to talk to these parties, explain our projects, explain where we are, what our strengths are. And I came back very encouraged by the level of conversations and and the parties that we met there. And then subsequently, I went to fast markets in Las Vegas, where we continued meeting parties from different jurisdictions, but also also was encouraged by where the business, where the the lithium market is going, where the how strong demand is, and also by being able to explain to parties how advanced our project is and and and how it's different to many or most of other projects in Chile and even in Argentina.

10:28 So all all in all, we have a the process is ongoing. We have various meetings planned over the coming weeks with the parties coming with very interesting options for us. And and the project the the process is progressing as we expected. But also, I have to convey this is very positive. And from what we've read from analysts, this is the real trigger for us going forward into project development is to select the right partner with the right scale to allow us to be able to develop the the Laguna Navelle project into into and take it into production. So just just to reiterate on some of the things that we have said in previous months, we we have touched a number of companies who've been in the data room, who've been admitted since we published the PFS.

11:15 And on your trip, just to clarify, Ignacio, you are meeting with a range of companies within the EV value change chain, sorry, ranging from battery manufacturing companies, cathode companies, manufacturing companies, commodity trading houses, large global mining companies. And my understanding, just just for care for everybody is we've now had preliminary meetings or the companies have preliminary meetings. People are working through the data room, and we're expecting later this year before the year end is that we'll end up with a number of proposals, which of terms to yet be defined, and probably a very number of different and competing and alternative proposals in coming in as joining as the company's strategic partner.

12:03 Yes. Yeah. You're right, Dan. And and as I said, some companies are just coming into the data room. Some others are much more advanced. So we're giving everyone time, given the scale, who they are, the importance within the value chain, We're giving everyone the opportunity to review the information, to send clarification questions. Then there should be some site visits. We should have received some proposals and discuss meaningful terms with a few parties. And as you were saying, aiming or targeting initially to end this before the end of the year, that would be nice. Although that always depends on several factors. But we are encouraged by the level of interest and the number of parties that are in the process. And we'll obviously update the market whenever we have substantial news to report.

12:50 Okay. Well, that sounds very encouraging. You we have couple of key points, and then we'll jump into questions. We're gonna try and keep this under half an hour. But very quickly then, jumping on to you have had a point here about the DLE and the trials underway. Yes. Yeah. So many people may think that one of the purposes of this call is just to recap an update on everything that's going on within the company. So people remember, we finalized our PFS in March. We published the PFS. So what have we been up to since then? And our strategy, what we've said is we want the DFS to happen with the strategic partner. There are many strategic reasons why that is the best idea. But what we can do and what we have been doing is doing post PFS or pre DFS work to support the moment when we select the strategic partner.

13:43 And so it's we have released an RNS previously talking about our lithium processing trials in The U. S. And what I can say is that we will be probably next week updating the market on the results of these trials, producing lithium carbonates in The U. S. But also, we're doing some additional work with other parties aiming at advancing, for example, our DLE platform. We are testing and supporting testing different resins to so I'll see how they compare with our PFS resin, which is lung shens, as we've discussed. And also, we are working with a very specialized hydrogeological firm in advancing the reinjection model for for the DFS. So those are kinds of things that we are doing in parallel now, preparing for the next stage of development.

14:42 And in terms of the environmental impact assessment, we have said before that this is going to be a key a key deadline or or or it will be key for the the timeline of the project. So what we've done is we have onboarded our EIA leader, Sebastian Elwin, who joined the company the at the beginning of July. And now we're looking at doing the tender process to start preparing the EIA for submission next year. That is a twelve month process of preparation. So and we are going to be talking to most prominent and expert environmental impact assessment companies in the country to support us with that process. And hopefully, we'll have news on that later this year, speaking about how we intend to engage in this environmental impact study process and how that will be also transformational as it will be the last permit that we will need in order to develop the project and take it into production.

15:41 Okay. So that will help get sort of the long lead process out of the way. Well, listen. I think the main thing was with we wanted to be able to have a forum here to address some of the questions. So let's dive into those. We are limited on what way on what you're allowed to say on, obviously, in a, an investor meet for us is things that are being RNS, and some things are ongoing, but we will do the very best that we can. Right. So we have a question from David B. Please advise on what issues are being discussed between the mining ministry and other government departments and why do you mean administrative? And secondly, was it reasonable to expect the sale? Ignacio, I think there you made a comment that the ministry is working with other government departments. I don't think you were in trying to imply that other government departments were getting involved in the sale.

16:31 No. That no. No. The process is the the sale is a decree. It's a decree that covers the contract that that we agreed with the government, and it goes to the controller's office. And so it is in the controller's office for legality review, and the controller's office may ask questions to the mining ministry. And that's the back and forth that I'm talking about. Is the controller asking the ministry, please clarify this. What does it mean? And so they have to respond. And given that there there was a new government coming in office in March, it took a while for them to to be able to grasp this whole process and and and go back to the controller's office. But the process is still there. And figure this out. And the controller's office looks over a number of things across a number of sectors?

17:19 Yes. They have to review every decree issued by the president or the ministries in Chile. So my understanding in our conversation is that the Ministry of Mine is fine. They're doing it in the Navademu administration. Obviously, they're very focused on the larger mining companies within Chile, but they've largely awarded. But we're at the controller's office, but the controller's office is looking at legislation and decrees and awards across multiple sectors and anything that the government is doing. So with the new administration and with the newer legislation that you've just said has been put through and a number of other things, But my understanding is sort of conversations with you that we we get to have on a regular basis is that they are swamped with new initiatives and new legislation that is coming out of the the president's office and a number of other ministries, and it's just a a resourcing and a manpower issue, and they get frustrated. The controller's office can't withdraw a sale.

18:15 No. It's not within the power to withdraw. That's the ministry's, and the ministry's committed to push this, all the way into into approval. So the problem is we're in a backlog of paperwork from the Controller's Office, which oversees legislation and awards and things across a number of departments. The question is, was could we foresee a delayed? I mean, you can comment on that, but obviously, we did the DD, we've been awarded, you had the guidance of how it was going to come. Governments sometimes can move incredibly quickly. Invariably, things take a little bit longer. But I think the question there is really is, did we have any inkling? I don't want to speak for you, but we had a number of conversations, and I know that we were expecting it to be imminently, and it was partly that the Nomad was keen that we put out an update when we didn't get the deadline. But do you want to comment on that? Did we foresee the delay when we went to the fundraising?

19:09 No. You're right, Dan. And it goes also to Steve M's question in the chat or in the It's Q and we are as frustrated as most of you, I believe. It's hard to control or impossible to control government's timings. We expected that, as we said, we gave guidance on a timing. And we expected that to be the real timing. But as time goes by, normal access to, you know, to update the market on timings. It's it's hard for us to say when it is going to happen. I'm what I can just say is we are working very closely with the ministry. We are positive. We remain very optimistic. This will happen in my opinion. But the timing, specific, the moment, it's up to the government and we'll try our best to support them in making this as quick as possible.

20:01 I think, Steven, in terms of timing, the the company's been asked by by its nomad to not give speculative timing. So we could get a we could get something on Monday morning. It could be later this month. It could be early August. So it really depends on what other station is coming and where we fit. It's not like you're in an even pile. So from that point, I don't think we can say whether we can say first half Q3 or Q4. The intent is that we hope it's going to be relatively imminent. I think it's fair to say that there is no material reason that there is any issue with the licensing in any way. We have been awarded the sale. That's the one thing that people hate to get in the chat rooms is we have the sale.

20:54 We need to just go through another department for approval that it's in compliance with everything. And if they don't, they can come back and ask some questions, and you may amend some wording. But you can't actually lose your sale. You can't have somebody else come in and take it, which I saw some speculation from. They can't take it and award it to any other party. You know, you have 97 and a half percent, but it is a contract. It is award given by the government. But there is this last process, and we're in a backlog with a new government coming in. I think there's been some sort of wild speculation or, that there was something nefarious, which I I think is not helpful and would be entirely incorrect. So, Steve, I don't think we can put it one on. We might be able to do another one next week or the week after. It might be after the the summer break. We're not in a position, but I know that that Steve is working hard with Ignacio to talk on a regular basis.

21:51 And as soon as we can get an update, we'll do so. William, is the formalizing of the sale required? It's not a required condition precedent. Depending where it comes in, it would be better, obviously, I think, for the story. It would be more robust. We'll take a view on where the market is. At the moment, we're just going through all the accounting and legal documentation, prospectus documentation that needs to be updated. It's not being circulated to something that will delay, but we'll make a decision close to the time when all the documentation is ready as to how close we think it might be and whether it would be better to actually have it in hand. But you've got other companies that are listed in on the ASX who don't have a an extraction license. They would just have the mineral licenses, which we've had from day one. So while it's not a CP, there's a sort of market judgment to be had.

22:45 Same to John about the question on timing. I don't think we could put Ignacio in that position just at the moment. John, are we concerned about the weak share price? Obviously, the company's primary role is to make a return for shareholders. It's been disappointing. There's been a bit of a weakening across a number of the lithium stocks. But Ignacio, do you want to jump in on that and then I'll come back in? Yeah. Of course, it's I would say it's disappointing when we have the fundamentals. The story is there. We're working in the background in many things. The project is progressing. We believe we are a much stronger company that the market is now is currently reflecting, And we expect to turn that around with the good news this year, certainly.

23:34 And we have many avenues. That's why one of the reasons why we're doing this is just to to reassure people, guys, we have the sale. It is in the control's office. We are doing listing. We are in the process of selecting a strategic partner, advancing our project. Our project remains as the most advanced lithium project in Chile and could be will be the first in over thirty years to enter into production. Some of you may have read the new President of the Board of Codecco saying that their project is more looking at 2035 or something. We remain committed to our time line. We are working on what we can on the environmental impact assessment post PFS work, also being very cognizant on cost, being very thoughtful on what we can progress on an economically reasonable way to be ready for the strategic partner to come in to advance the project.

24:27 So of course, know, just summarizing, we believe the company should be in a different position vis a vis the share price. It is disappointing. But it's momentary and it's going to change once we start closing all of these open avenues that we have at the moment. I think from that point, we believe that even for the stage of where we were before the PFS, the company is cheap. So the purpose of today's exercise was to give an update and give shareholders the opportunity to ask some questions and to try and clarify some points that were being brought to attention of the company from some of the forums. However, the majority of the parties here are existing shareholders.

25:17 So one of things the company needs to is we'll be reaching out to new parties. So Ignacio and I are talking about some targeted marketing to some new institution investors that we want to bring and make aware of the company story. We are talking to a number of investor relations firms and parties. We saw a great piece actually by Charlie Archer the other day. We're going to be doing some more work with Charlie Archer in the not too distant future. We've been talking to some IR firms that have worked with a number of other leading both Chilean and international lithium companies. All parties have their reach of investors. Predominantly, we have most of the institutions that we've been involved with on the register. I don't deal on the retail side, so we've been working at some retail channels. And if anybody has platforms and channels that they think are particularly effective, we'd always be happy to hear about that.

26:11 So we're looking at working with some other parties. We're not really gonna be doing, I think, sort of too much into London, but we are we have an extensive data base in Jersey. We're looking at doing some further marketing into Jersey and the Channel Islands and into Europe. We still maintain our German listing, and there's been some activity there lately. So we're looking at doing that if through the summer. And actually, while a lot of people say the summer is quiet, the reality is that the people that are still at their desks when they've taken their holiday, you get a lot more of their time and attention, and people have a lot more time to actually focus on you and hear your story. So Ignacio and I are looking at doing some things together from really about the second week of August. There's some logistics on his side of my side, which rules out sort of July. But the share price is disappointing.

26:58 It's not that we don't look at it every day. There's just gonna be a time lag before we can get out and start to address them in positive manner. What have we got? This sale so the sale ratification is gating. So it's it's not gating the ASX dual listing. It'll be a market decision. Steven, you're asking about whether we run into all this. Obviously, it's it's the prime time in Australia between now and year end. It's their winter rather than the summer. We didn't run into the holidays last year. I'm not quite sure there. We're we're working through the process, financials, the various reports, the updating, principles and approval, etcetera.

27:46 It takes a while to all click that together. Obviously, we're just into July, and we're gonna do the the first year financials that are being done. Then we're probably gonna have to do an interim update. Potentially, that's also being reviewed at the moment. So I'm not sure on the timing and the holidays, but at the moment, we'll continue to expect for this year. I I don't see any reason why we go into the financial year '27. You're limited, know Ignacio, and I'm gonna give you a bit of cover here on what you can say on the legal case, but we have been asked. Do you want to just address that as best you can? Yes, sure. I think you got it right, Dan. It's an ongoing process. We I cannot say much because it's ongoing. And also, we will report as soon as we have any substantial updates for the market, but but we are in discussions. So nothing major happening. This is not a concern for us. As I as we've said, it is not substantial for the sale.

28:47 The COOL is awarded over an area, and it gives you the right to extract lithium. So it's something that we want to resolve, but still, COOL is the most significant aspect, and it is progressing as we discussed before. So I think so for people with some clarity, what you can say obviously is that you're in dialogue with them. It's amicable. The company is currently in dialogue to secure a mutually reasonable settlement to everything with them. That's not guaranteed, but obviously come back. But just for people to be clarified, they do you just wanna just go back over again so there's no no misunderstanding of we have the 97.5% of the mineral rights over the license. That does not exclude the licenses which these guys are looking to pursue.

29:41 So the important aspect to apply to the CLEANTECH was to have a percentage of the CLEANTECH and we had way over 80% of the CLEANTECH which was a requirement at the moment. And now having been awarded the CLEANTECH the mining licenses are no longer imported. These licenses are covering an area that was also excluded from the soil. That's kind the summary. That's the the that's the key thing, obviously, is that you picked up a a number of licenses at the beginning For various reasons and environmental reasons, these licenses particularly are excluded from the sale, so they don't have the same major weighting or potential value, and we're gonna have a a commercial process to go through with those parties. Again, I I don't I don't wanna say too much.

30:29 I don't want to draw you to say too much, but we are hopeful. I mean, obviously, it's a small small mining community. These guys have a position that, hopefully, we'll be able to update in the not too distant future. But it's it's not an impediment to the sale in any way. It's not an impediment to the development of the asset. It's not an impediment to bringing in a strategic partner, nor is it an impediment to moving forward in terms of anything else that the company is seeking to do. But it is something that should be resolved. Right. Anyone from some Steve M, and, again, this is, we expect a difference, but do you think the strategic partner process would support the development of the other Chilean assets in the company's portfolio?

31:16 So Steve, all of your questions are pretty interesting. Our initial strategy is we want to select one or a couple of partners to develop at project levels, to develop Laguna Verde. And that's what we're looking for, a partner to develop the Laguna Verde project, which is the most advanced, as as you know. Having said that, of course, parties look into the holistic holding or position of the company in country as a value added proposition, and those other assets are important. So whether with a partner we can develop other assets or with a partner developing the unaverte, we can focus on the next assets. That's obviously in our minds. And we are always continuing to open and looking for additional alternatives in the region that can also leverage where we can leverage our existing license position to get synergistic other opportunities or alternatives in the area.

32:16 I think it's fair to say you're expecting multiple proposals to come. Some of those may be for countrywide. One of them may be be asset specific. Some of them may be to come on fully now. Some of them may be to be the DFS with an option to then come on. So that's the process it's gonna take. It's gonna take several months. But I think, Steve, in your other question, you know, the expectation has to move that we're still expecting it by year end. Yeah. Of course, that that those timelines, this is an important will be an important conversation. And the final objective is to select the best partner or partners to develop the project. So that's the initial guidance. Of course, that can move in the if if we have many parties interested, if we have, you know, low discussions.

33:05 As you say, it is a multi pointed negotiation, there will be many things to talk about when we are into more substantial conversations with selected parties. Okay. We have Jono, which I think might be John O'Leary, but just comes to Jono. Jon, there is no Ignacio, if you may, I'll jump in for this. The last fund we gave the company twelve months full headroom. The you know, that was in June, so we're back from there, and some of those things we can also put back. So there's there's no expectation in this the delay of the ratification of the sale isn't actually delaying anything that the company is doing in terms of strategic partner process or in terms of the work it's doing with the DLE or in terms of the work that is doing the environmental impact study or indeed in terms of the process that we're doing for the ASX. So there's not a delay per se on the operations.

34:06 It's just a delay in terms of getting the ratification. The burn rates I'm not I need to come back to you, but, I mean, the company still only got three or four people. It's got very little operational stuff at the moment. We we don't have the the expiration spend that we had before or the consultancy fees we were doing on things like the PFS and previous capital raises worth doing license acquisitions. So the company has a very nominal burn rate, and it's well in excess of 12. The last question, what dollar amount are we requesting potential partners to invest upfront? I don't think we've have you made a specific proposal or we we've invited proposals from parties and there are a range of scenarios? We haven't mentioned publicly any amounts, Dan. What we've said is we want this party to come to support the project to take it to FID, and that will require reinjection work. It will require to obtain the EIA.

35:05 It will require the DFS. So there are some commitments up front, and then there are some commitments up to when when we go to project finance to finance this project into construction. And we're we're talking with the parties about these two stages. Early investment to get the project to FID without the need to raise more capital from our shareholders and then post FID commitments to fund the project into construction proportionately or supporting also the company in its funding. Okay. We're going to try and keep this to thirty minutes. I think we're at thirty five, so we'll try and move forward. Are the confirmation of increased resources at Laguna Verde due to the new licenses on hold until the appointment of a new strategic partner?

35:53 Steve, we've been very cautious with the expenditure, so we're not doing any exploration. Until we onboard the strategic partner. But there are there is the potential to increase the the resources, as we've mentioned, with the additional acreage that we acquired last year. We'd have to do some step out drilling, but I think until the idea is to have somebody else fund that as part of the process of going through the DFS and through FID. Quick two things here. There's a question from John about the environmental study and when this is starting in terms of timeline. When do you happen to start, Ignacio? I saw a couple of comments also about the timing of the EIA, so I'll take the advantage to to respond to both John's. First, so guys, how this work?

36:40 In Chile, an environmental impact study to be submitted, to be accepted into processing, it requires twelve months of environmental baselines. That's flora, fauna, etcetera. And and that has to be gathered twelve months before no longer no later than twelve months before submission. So what we need to do is to start the environmental baseline campaigns to be able to submit in twelve months. And that's what we're planning to do. Soon as possible, we are as as I said, Sebastian, has already joined the company. He his last position was actually with the environmental assessment system. So he's very experienced in terms of environmental processing, and what we're doing is getting to the terms of reference and narrowing down the the number of parties we want to approach to receive proposals in order to award the EIA work as soon as possible to start that environmental baseline campaigns.

37:38 And I think for for Jono, twelve months is pretty standard around the world. You have to do a baseline study, which is an impact, and it's every every environmental impact study on the mining side that I've come across has always been a baseline twelve months that needs to be done. So it it's not that Chile's out of line. I'm not aware of anything that's actually shorter than that on the mining side. Just to clarify, it is it is it's twelve months of preparation, and then there's the processing of the environmental impact study. That's why we brought a very experienced person to lead this, work stream. The new government, as I said, it it passed a law, or it's it's processing a law to reduce taxes, but it's also looking at laws to make this process and the permitting process more efficient.

38:30 And those might be tailwinds for us in the future, but we're working with the current scenario and are being conservative on timings, and that's twelve months of preparation and, let's say, fifteen months of processing. Thank you. Steve, how are we doing in the long term process for seeking for a new CFO? That process is moving in the background. We we remain cost efficient, and we're assessing various options for what's best to manage the this this partner process. As I said, there's many things going on in the background that that's there's the effects, there's the big partner process, and others. So we we we're continuing with Gordon in the in his consulting role.

39:16 And eventually, at some point in time, we'll announce when we have news about this. But I I think it's fair to say, obviously, the company needs to go through its financing. There are a number of roles. The company is relatively lightly staffed, Gordon Consulting, Steve, yourself. Nick supports the the impact. But as it goes forward, you'll need to staff up the operation. I know that you're looking at not only CFOs, but other roles that you'll need to fill in Chile, but part of their ability to do that was also getting the funding out of the way. So now the funding's out of the way. I think the focus is fair to say has been on the strategic partners. I know you've been on the road for the last couple of weeks, obviously, in Asia and then in The States. But I think, Steve, it's it's it's an ongoing process, and I think I think RNS will be a bit like a London bus.

40:03 We'll have nothing for a while, and then you'll get a slew of them all coming at one time. Ignacio, Miguel's asking whether whether the sale can be changed or not. The sale is in a in a a legal approval process. So what what's going on is there's a decree issued by the ministry, and the controllers has to review the legality of so the the the controller's office doesn't have the faculties of reviewing the content or, say, let's say, changing the terms. They can they have to make sure that the decree is abides to the constitution and to the laws, and that's what they're doing. Thank you. Well, if I jump in and ask you, William is just asking about whether there's a minimum price requirement for enabling the ASX.

40:48 They they want 20¢ for the the units you have there, but you can do it just like an ADR or a GDR. So you can have a a three for one ratio, two for one ratio, four for one ratio. So it's it's not something that's gonna impact in terms of doing the the ASX listing. They've got many other international companies, and you can just have a ratio between your ASX unit because what you're issuing is a a certificate of depository interest. So that actually, what they're doing is you you issue the CDI, which is a a gives you then the right to the shares from The UK. So you can do the ones about that. Reese is asking an interesting question. So Rice asking, Lagoona Verde is clearly the flagship, but PLEANTECH LITHIUM also has Viento Andino and Arenas Blancas over the next twelve months. How should shareholders think about the role of these assets in terms of the negotiations with a strategic partner?

41:52 And do you intend to actively advance these, potentially JV them or farm them out, etcetera? So look, these assets are interesting, but they are going to be sequential. We have focused on Laguna Verde. It is the most advanced project we have, Aseol. And I'll talk about George's question in a bit. But also making reference to the fact that we do have a sale, the first sale awarded to a private company in Chile's history for Laguna Verde. So that has to be our first asset. The Ento Andino is 100 kilometers away. It is potentially has significant synergies in terms of the processing of infrastructure, of logistics.

42:38 So that will be something that we would look to develop in the future after we have secured the progress of Laguna Verde. And at the As Blancas, as you know, we haven't done any exploration, but we all know where it is. It is in the basin of Salado Da Cama. We have I have history in Salado Da Cama. I think these licenses are also prospective. So that's one for the longer term. And as I said, Luis, we're also looking at there are more opportunities in Chile, but we have to be cognizant that we're focusing on Laguna Verde. Most important for you as shareholders and for the company is to take this the first project towards development and also look then at potential other opportunities in the country or the region. Do is any of the data of the other assets in the data room, or is it being excluded for the moment?

43:31 No. All of the company's information is in the data, including other assets, what we've done, etcetera. Yeah. So, I mean, I I think it's fair to say is that these assets need further work. That is capital intensive. The position is is that in order to go and do further exploration work on those is going to be five, ten, fifteen, twenty. Mean, we sent some 20,000,000 on drilling previously, I think, back of the envelope. And, obviously, the pilot plant was was multimillion dollar expenditure. So it's in no way to diminish the potential of the assets or the company's interest in them. But in order to commit to a one or two season development program, the company would need to have a much larger balance sheet. So it may well be that, a partner comes in and wants to do additional work. It may well be a partner comes in, wants to focus on Laguna Verde, and the company is able to recover some of its previous expenditure in which we could then look onto the other assets. It may well be that a partner comes in to help fund just Laguna Verde, and then the company is in a position then I think it would be a a major significant rerating for the company once it has a strategic partner.

44:47 Then you'd be able to raise additional capital in twelve or eighteen months time to then focus on the second and third assets. And I'm also saying it's there are a number of other assets in Chile. I think the company's development with DLE and having the first proper significant sized pilot plant, once you bring in a partner, you'll end up bringing in a lot of other potential discussions about other assets that you could bring to leverage off the assets and the infrastructure that you'd be building around Laguna Verde. Great, Nicole. And then let me just close with before the closing remarks, just go to George's question about EnergyX and E and I. Just to say that I think it should surprise many people the volume of this commitment, given that this company doesn't have a sale.

45:43 And I want to again, I want to take it back to reflect Ignacio, sorry. Not everybody can not everybody can can see the question, so just go there. So George was asking the views on Eni's investment in EnergyX's Black Giant project. I just because, obviously, the audience can't can't see the the comments there. Can you just let everybody know what was Eni's investment in EnergyX Black Giant, and what is Energy's excess Black Giant project? Where and size? Thanks, Thanks, Dan. Yes. So so any it's an Italian company. Some of you may know. It's a based in oil, it's quite a quite a large company. EnergyX is a US company that has a a lithium project in Chile without a sale, without, you know, substantial information, but but they have attracted this investment. I think it is on the positive side, it shows confidence in the country even without a sale. And what it shows to us, to our, and to our shareholders, to you, is that, the country is trustworthy and the company with a sale that has done three years of exploration, that has a PFS, that has a pilot plant, should also be getting the benefits of this investment.

46:58 And going back to reflect on where we are at the moment, because, yes, we are all frustrated because of the delay in the signing of the sale, but CLEANTECH and La Verde has been awarded a sale, the first in the country's history to a private company. We are in the process with CATLFreeman to select one or a few strategic partners to develop this project, La Buena Verde. We are already we have the technology, and we have a pre feasibility study, the technology. We are looking at alternatives. We are going on post PFS work to keep the project moving forward. We want to start the environmental impact study while other companies are delaying projects in lithium. We are moving forward. And and so that when we get the sale signed by the president, that figure will accelerate everything else. We are in a transformational moment.

47:51 As we've said, since we were awarded the CLEANTECH and it's taken longer than we wanted, but still on track. So I'm looking at demand. Last year, at this point in time, lithium price was around $78 per kilo. Now it's it's gone down from the highs of $27.28. It's but it's still around $22.5 per kilo, which is our PFS base case. And demand keeps looking very strong. First, on EVs, but also with BESS, with, automation, robotics. And what I heard in fast markets, which was very interesting, was also demand is looking strong, for ships, for planes, for larger equipment that will require larger volumes of lithium.

48:40 So all in all, the demand is interesting. There's a lot of interest in our project in particular, the first with ASEAN awarded in the country. We continue to advance the project. We are going to select a partner to develop it, and we're looking forward. And we are very appreciative of all of you taking the time, continuing to support the company through this process. And I'm sure there will be better times coming soon for the share price and for you and for your company. Just jumping very last one, Ignacio, and then we'll crack on to them. But yes, just letting you know, so NE jumped into EnergyX's project. They put in just under $0.02 $5,000,000,000 which is going to come in in phased investments. The company is targeting 50,000 tonnes a year, initially with a capacity of 7.5 and then to build it up over train. Obviously, we're targeting under the PFS 15, but we think it could do 20 from Laguna Verde, and we think the other assets could do potentially another fifteen to twenty thousand.

49:39 So you'd be at about 80% of what they're looking to do, and they did that deal in return for a 25% for the offtake. Okay? But it's again, it just shows I just wanted to bring that up and people can find it from the, the Any website. It just shows that there is, continued, corporate m and a activity that significantly values assets by industry much, much higher than the market is doing at the moment. But we'll have we'll have a further update towards the back end of the summer. I know a lot of people are breaking. We'll be doing scripts around Europe. But as always, Ignacio, thank you for your time. And if anybody has any further questions, by all means, please direct them to either Nick or to myself. And if we couldn't address them here, we'll always do our very best to come back.

50:30 Yeah, Dan. And I look forward to hopefully seeing many of our investors in October when we're there in London during LME week. Hopefully, we have substantial news to share in advance of that. So stay tuned and stay positive. And thank you. That's great, Daniel Ignacio. Thank you very much indeed for updating investors today. Could I please ask investors not to close this session as you'll now be automatically redirected to provide your feedback, which will help the company better understand your views and expectations. On behalf of the management team, we would like to thank you for attending today's presentation, and good afternoon.