Announcement PDF Value-creation through DISCOVERy Investor Presentation | July 2024 ASX: ASE DISCLAIMER AND FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT IMPORTANT NOTICE & DISCLAIMER The purpose of this presentation is to provide background information to assist readers in obtaining a general understanding of Astute Metals NL (‘Astute’ or ‘the Company’) and its objectives. Readers should make their own independent assessment of the information and take their own independent professional advice in relation to the information and any proposed action to be taken in on the basis of the information. 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If you come into possession of this Presentation, you should observe such restrictions and seek your own advice on such restrictions. Any non-compliance with these restrictions may contravene applicable securities. Not An Offer This presentation is not and should not be considered as an offer or invitation to apply for or purchase securities of the Company or as a recommendation or inducement to make an offer or invitation in respect of the Company’s securities. This presentation is not a disclosure document under Australian law or under any other law. It does not purport to contain all the information any reader or prospective investor may require to make an investment decision and it does not contain all of the information required by Australian law or any other law to be disclosed in a prospectus. In particular, this presentation does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States. This Presentation may not be distributed or released in the United States. Securities in the Company have not been, nor will be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction in the United States. Accordingly, the securities in the Company may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly to, persons in the United States or persons who are acting for the account or benefit of a person in the United States unless they have been registered under the U.S. Securities Act or in a transaction exempt from, or not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and any other applicable U.S. laws. Not Investment Advice The presentation is not investment or financial product advice (nor tax, accounting or legal advice) and is not intended to be used for the basis of making an investment decision. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements contained within the presentation are forward looking statements. Such forward looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Astute, are inherently subject to significant technical, business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results to materially differ from estimated or anticipated events or results reflected in such forward looking statements, and may include among other things, statements regarding estimates and assumptions in respect of prices, costs, results and capital expenditure, and are or may be based on assumptions and estimates related to future technical, economic, market, political, social and other conditions. 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The Company does not guarantee any particular rate of return or the performance of its securities, nor does it guarantee any particular tax treatment. You should carefully consider the risks outlined in this Presentation before making an investment decision. No Liability No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the fairness, accuracy, completeness, reliability or adequacy of statements, estimates, opinions or other information, or the reasonableness of any assumption or statement in this presentation (any of which may change without notice), or the likelihood of achievement or reasonableness of forecasts or prospective statements in this presentation. Forecasts and prospective statements are by their nature subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Forecasts and prospective statements in this presentation are based on current expectations about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations described. This presentation has been approved for release by Astute’s Board of Directors. 2 AN ASTUTE INVESTMENT Lithium Clay Discovery at Red Mountain (USA) – Further assays pending • First three holes intersected high-grade mineralisation within 8 km-long soil anomaly • Aspirational target to define one of the top four lithium clay projects in the USA Copper-Gold Discovery potential at Georgina IOCG (NT) – Drilling Mid-year • Geophysical modelling identified dense rocks in a ‘text-book’ structural setting • Leichhardt East a ‘bullseye’ gravity target with nearby copper and uranium mineralisation High-Value Heavy Mineral Sands asset – Governor Broome (WA) • Substantial 101Mt JORC Resource Project with April 2024 scoping study showing strong economics • 10-year mine life, $139m NPV10, 54% IRR, $91m CAPEX with <2 year payback Value-creation through discovery • Advancing an emerging lithium discovery with large-scale potential • High impact copper-gold target to be tested in the coming month • Actively exploring value realisation options for Governor Broome Mineral Sands Project • Experienced board and management with a track record of discovery and value-creation 3 CORPORATE OVERVIEW Key Financials Share Price ASX: ASE 4,000,000 Share Price (@ 01.07.24) 0.06 Shares on Issue 3,500,000 $0.03 424,030,128 0.05 Options 0.04 Volume 2,500,000 2,000,000 0.03 1,500,000 0.02 Share Price ($AU) 3,000,000 Nil Loan Funded Shares 18,235,0002 Market Cap (@ 01.07.24) $12.72 m Cash (@ 31.03.24) $1.64 m Enterprise Value $11.08 m Debt (@ 01.07.24) Nil 1,000,000 0.01 500,000 Top 20 Shareholders 0 07/2023 08/2023 09/2023 10/2023 11/2023 12/2023 01/2024 02/2024 03/2024 04/2024 05/2024 06/2024 - Notes: (1) 23,000,000 of these shares are subject to an escrow period of 2 years from the date of issue (escrow expiry: 28 November 2024; (2) If exercised the Loan Funded incentive Shares would result in total cash received by Astute of $1.227M, at an average of 6c per share (@ 01.07.24) 67.98% Major Shareholders Holdmark Property Group 19.35% Greenvale Energy Ltd 12.03%1 Mining Investments Ltd 9.80% BOARD AND MANAGEMENT Tony Leibowitz Non-Executive Chairman Matt Healy Executive Director Mr Leibowitz is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Australia with over 30-years corporate finance, investment banking & broad commercial experience. Mr. Leibowitz has a proven track record of providing skills & guidance to assist companies grow & generate sustained shareholder value. Previous roles include Chandler Macleod Limited and Pilbara Minerals Limited, where, as Chairman and an early investor in both companies, he was responsible for substantial increases in shareholder value and returns. Mr. Leibowitz was a global partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Leibowitz currently serves as the Non-Executive Chairman of Trek Metals Limited (ASX:TKM). Mr Healy is a highly experienced geologist and Australian mining executive. He has a Master of Science with first-class honours (Geology) from the University of Auckland and over 18 years’ experience working at senior levels within resources companies and ASX-listed explorers. John Young Non-Executive Director Vince Fayad Executive Director Mr Young is a highly experienced, bachelor of Applied Science (Geology) qualified geologist and AusIMM member who has worked on exploration and production projects encompassing gold, uranium and speciality metals including tungsten, molybdenum and lithium. Mr Young’s corporate experience includes appointments as Chief Executive Officer of Marenca Energy Limited and CEO and Director of Thor Mining PLC. Mr Young was Pilbara Minerals Exploration Manager from June 2014 until August 2015, appointed Technical Director in September 2015 and transitioned to non-Executive Director in July 2017 until his resignation in April 2018. Mr Young was also the Managing Director of Bardoc Gold Limited from May 2017 to April 2019 and then a Non-Executive Director until his resignation in April 2022. Mr Fayad has over 40 years’ experience in corporate finance, international M&A, accounting and other advisory related services in Sydney-based mid-tier accounting firms. He is the principal of his own firm Vince Fayad & Associates, providing accounting and advisory services. His experience ranges from provision corporate, accounting and secretarial services, together with strong commercial acumen particularly in the planning and execution of development strategies for projects as well as acquisition skills. Vince is currently Joint Company Secretary of Greenvale Energy Limited (ASX: GRV) and Lithium Universe (ASX: LU7) Prior to joining Astute Metals, Mr Healy held the position of Chief Executive Officer for Greenvale Mining Limited (ASX: GRV) and was also previously Exploration Manager at Round Oak Minerals (a then wholly-owned subsidiary of diversified investment company, Washington H. Soul Pattinson & Co Ltd). 5 LITHIUM CLAYS Battery Product Produced at Mine Low Cost of Production Impact of Large-scale Lithium clay projects such as Thacker Pass1, Clayton Valley6 and TLC Lithium3 will produce battery-grade Lithium Carbonate at the Mine Compared to hard-rock projects, Lithium clays are positioned mostly in the lower half of the long-term lithium carbonate supply cost-curve Large-scale continuous geology with long mine-life, low mining cost and attractive long-term investment propositions 6 LITHIUM CLAY – A LOW COST PATHWAY TO A BATTERY PRODUCT Lithium Clay Projects Pilgangoora Benchmark 27/06 LCC Index USD $12,639 Source: TSX.V: LI April 2023 - American Lithium Corporate Presentation 7 Lithium Clays Large Mineral Resources 360Mt5 to 5.5Bt4 Contained LCE of up to 21.5Mt1 McDermitt Lithium (Oregon) 3.0Bt @ 1,340ppm Li / 21.5Mt LCE1 ASX: JLL Jindalee Lithium Market Cap: $18.8M AUD Thacker Pass 1.45Bt @ 2,070ppm Li / 16.1Mt LCE2 TSE: LAC Lithium Americas Market Cap: $831M CAD / $913M AUD TLC Lithium 2.5Bt @ 791ppm Li / 10.7Mt LCE3 TSX-V: LI American Lithium Market Cap: $172M CAD / $190M AUD (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent) Long-life assets with mine-life of up to 40 years, according to Technical studies2,3 Annual production of up to 66kt of Lithium Carbonate2 Tonopah Flats 5.50Bt @ 574ppm Li / 16.9Mt LCE4 NASDAQ: ABAT American Battery Technology Co. Market Cap: $68.8M USD / $104M AUD Rhyolite Ridge 360Mt@ 1,750ppm Li / 3.35Mt LCE5 ASX: INR Ioneer Market Cap: $361M AUD Clayton Valley 1.54Bt@ 882ppm Li / 7.24Mt LCE6 TSX.V: LCE Century Lithium Corp Market Cap: $45.5M CAD / $50M AUD Notes: Market Cap and Forex as per 28 June 2024 LCE Conversion LCE (t) = Li (t) x 5.323 NEVADA LITHIUM (100%) RED MOUNTAIN Maiden drill campaign reveals high-grade clay discovery: • RMRC001 intersected 59.4m @ 1,300ppm Li / 0.69% LCE • RMRC002 and 003 intersected lithium mineralisation 4.5km from RMRC001 • Assays for eight holes and additional rock chip samples pending Red Mountain is a low-risk exploration opportunity: • Presence of clay-rich rocks that host large deposits elsewhere in Nevada • 8km-long zone of anomalism in soils (up to 1,110ppm Li) up to 2.8km wide • Confirmed deposit-grade lithium in initial drill holes • Nevada a world-class mining jurisdiction with a history of value-creation • Twin tailwinds of strong forecast lithium demand and US Govt support Value-creation strategy: • Follow-up drilling planned for September-October 2024 • Preliminary metallurgical testwork planned for CY24 • Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate planned for 2025 9 GEORGINA IOCG PROJECT COPPER-GOLD Location Work to Date Prime Target Between the historic coppergold mining regions of Mount Isa and Tennant Creek, ‘East Tennant’ is considered highly prospective for IOCG deposits Leveraging substantial geoscience work completed by Geoscience Australia, the NTGS, and previous holder Greenvale Energy Ltd Gravity modelling has revealed a high-density target above a drill hole with IOCGstyle alteration, copper and uranium anomalism 10 GEORGINA IOCG (100%) BASE METALS & GOLD Location: • Between historic mining districts of Tennant Creek and Mount Isa • Ten granted tenements, three under application - 4,522km2 IOCG deposits an attractive exploration target: • Iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposits are large and economically attractive deposit styles • Olympic Dam (SA) in operation since 1988, still mining • Ernest Henry (Qld) in operation since 1998, still mining • IOCGs account for 35% of Australia’s domestic copper production4 Potential for a world-class discovery: • Geophysical modelling has uncovered three attractive constrained gravity targets with nearby copper and uranium mineralisation • Drilling to test the highest-rank target Leichhardt in mid-2024 11 Previous drilling intersected copper anomalism and uranium (0.24% U3O8 and 819ppm Cu from 689.09-689.41m) Drill testing Leichhardt East in mid 2024 12 Leichhardt East a ‘Text-Book’ IOCG target Source: Geoscience Australia ‘Iron oxide copper-gold mineral system’ https://www.ga.gov.au/data-pubs/data-and-publications-search/publications/critical-commodities-for-a-high-tech-world/iron-oxide-copper-gold 13 GOVERNOR BROOME HEAVY MINERAL SANDS Location Mineralogy Performance In the Southwest WA Mineral Sands district, within trucking distance to heavy mineral processing plants and Bunbury Port access High-value quality-of-life commodities zircon and titanium minerals ilmenite and rutile, with by-product monazite and garnet Conventional WCP methods produced heavy mineral concentrates from the project from which marketable products were separated 14 GOVERNOR BROOME (100%) MINERAL SANDS Location: • 95km from Busselton by road in Southwest Mineral Sands district • Four processing plants and deepwater port within 135km by sealed road JORC Mineral Resources: • 101Mt combined incl 94.4Mt of Measured and Indicated @ 4.5% HM Scoping Study reveals strong economics: • 10-year mine plan of combined dredge and dry mining • Heavy Mineral Concentrate produced on-site using conventional WCP • HMC trucked to nearby plant for Toll-Treatment into mineral products • Pre-tax NPV10 of A$139M and IRR of 54% • A$1,254 revenue, Total EBITDA of $426Ma and EBITDA margin of 34%b • A$91m Capex with payback of <2 yearsc • Actively investigating options to realise value such as sale for cash, shares and cash, Joint Venture Notes: a Includes royalties and landholder compensation b EBITDA/Revenue c Post-construction 15 Active Exploration News-flow Red Mountain Drill Assays July Red Mountain Rock Chip Assays Ranken ANT Geophysical Survey August Leichhardt East Diamond Drilling Red Mountain Drilling Sept. Leichhardt East Drill Assay Results Red Mountain Drill Assays Oct. Georgina VTEM Geophysical Surveying Nov. Red Mountain Met Testwork 16 A UNIQUE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY • Emerging lithium clay discovery in Nevada with US-scale potential • Opportunity for high-impact copper-gold discovery in the NT with mid-year drilling • Largely de-risked Heavy Mineral Sands development project with robust economics • Strong news-flow outlook • Expertise and experience to create shareholder value 17 17 Footnotes and Previous Announcements 1. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/global-lithium-market-10289 2. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/annual-survey-of-mining-companies-2022 3. RFC Ambrian Lithium – Deficits Still on The Horizon But the Pace of New Supply is Picking Up - Lithium Commodity Market Report August 2023 4. Wood Mackenzie Copper Research, 2022 5. ASX: INR Ioneer Delivers Definitive Feasibility Study, 30 April 2020 6. ASX: INR U.S. Dept of Energy Offers Conditional Commitment for a Loan of Up to US$700 Million for the Rhyolite Ridge Project, 13 January 2023 7. ASX: PLS Substantial 109Mt Mineral Resource increase.. 7 August 2023 8. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/19/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-driving-u-s-batterymanufacturing-and-good-paying-jobs/ The information contained within this presentation that relate to exploration results of Astro have been extracted from the following ASX announcements (ASX: ASE) and previously (ASX: ARO): • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Significant lithium discovery at Red Mountain Project: 18 June 2024 Outstanding scoping study results for Governor Broome Mineral Sands Project: 4th April 2024 Maiden drilling campaign at Red Mountain to commence: 28th March 2024 Additional high-priority targets identified at Georgina Project: 19th March 2024 Astute to acquire 100% ownership of Georgina Basin Project: 29th January 2024 Strong IOCG Target Identified – Georgina Project: 11th January 2024. Substantial Mineral resource Upgrade – Mineral Sands Project: 9th November 2023. 2023 TZMI Congress Presentation: 16th November 2023. September 2023 Quarterly Activities and Cashflow Report: 27th October 2023. Jack Track Bulk Testwork Produces Marketable HM Products: 23rd August 2023. Maiden Nevada Lithium Clays Drilling Intersects Claystone: 15th May 2023. Significant Polymetallic Mineralisation Intersected at Georgina: 6th April 2023. Assay Results Strengthen IOCG Credentials: 10th February 2023. IOCG-style mineralisation intersected at Georgina Project: 12th December 2022. High Value Mineral Content for Jack Track Deposit: 21st November 2022. Market Update and Exploration Strategy: 1st August 2022. Staking of Lithium property and acquisition of IOCG project: 1st June 2022. Bulk Testwork Program Delivers Further Positive Results for Governor Broome Heavy Mineral Project: 16th June 2021. Competent Person Statements The information in this report that relates to Nevada Lithium Exploration is in-part based on information compiled by Richard Newport. Mr Newport, who is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr. Newport consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. The information in this presentation as it relates to Mineral Resources and Exploration Targets for the Governor Broome Project is based on information compiled by John Doepel, Director of Continental Resource Management Pty Ltd (CRM), who is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Doepel has sufficient experience in mineral resource estimation, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and is qualified as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the ‘ Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr Doepel consents to the inclusion in the report of the information in the form and context in which it appears. The information in this presentation that relates to Exploration Results associated with the Georgina project, and the information related in this report that relates to Nevada Lithium Exploration is in-part based on information compiled by Mr Matthew Healy, a Competent Person who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM Member number 303597). Mr Healy is a full-time employee of Astute Metals NL. Mr Healy has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr Healy consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. 18 Contacts Matt Healy Nicholas Read Executive Director Media & Investor Relations mhealy@astutemetals.com nicholas@readcorporate.com.au +61 (0) 431 683 952 +61 (0) 419 929 046 19