Wa1 Resources Ltd · ASX:WA1
Wa1 Resources — Investor Presentation (February 2025)
26 slides from Wa1 Resources's investor presentation, Feb 28, 2025
Slide 1: West Arunta Project: A Once in a Generation Niobium Discovery
Nb For personal use only WEST ARUNTA PROJECT A ONCE IN A GENERATION NIOBIUM DISCOVERY CORPORATE PRESENTATION FEBRUARY 2025
Slide 2: Important Notices and Disclaimer
IMPORTANT NOTICES AND DISCLAIMER Nature of Document: This presentation has been prepared and issued by WA1 Resources Not an offer: This presentation and its contents are not an invitation, offer, solicitation or Ltd (WA1, the Company) to provide general information about the Company. The recommendat
Slide 3: Investment highlights and WA1 tenure in the Arunta
Nb Luni niobium deposit was discovered in late 2022 with the first ferroniobium sample produced in 2024 100% owned by WA1 For personal use only A$86M in cash to advance key project workstreams Strong share register of long-term institutional investors Board of directors have significant shareholding
Slide 4: Luni Niobium Deposit
LUNI NIOBIUM DEPOSIT 1 ▪ Drilling since discovery has focused on defining the shallow, oxide-enriched blanket of high-grade niobium mineralisation overlying the carbonatite plug For personal use only ▪ The current Mineral Resource estimate (MRE) generally commences between 30m and 70m below surface
Slide 5: Luni Mineral Resource Estimate
LUNI MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE1 ▪ Inferred MRE contains world-class grade and scale: 2.1% ▪ 200 Mt at 1.0% Nb2O5 For personal use only ▪ The MRE contains a significant high-grade subset of: ▪ 53 Mt at 2.1% Nb2O5 ▪ MRE confirms Luni is the most significant niobium discovery in more than 70 years ▪ Th
Slide 6: CBMM's Araxá Deposit
CBMM’S ARAXÁ DEPOSIT ▪ The Araxá niobium deposit was discovered in 1953 and is in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil1 For personal use only ▪ Araxá supplies over 80% of the world's niobium ▪ The carbonatite complex is circular in shape with an average grade of 2.5% Nb2O5 within its shallow high-grade
Slide 7: Niobium Industry Process Flowsheets
NIOBIUM INDUSTRY PROCESS FLOWSHEETS ▪ The three existing niobium mines follow a similar flowsheet to produce a ferroniobium end-product for direct use in the steelmaking process For personal use only ▪ WA1 is testing a conventional flowsheet utilising similar steps to the three existing mines 1 2 3
Slide 8: Ferroniobium - Proof of Concept Testwork
FERRONIOBIUM - PROOF OF CONCEPT TESTWORK1 1 2 3 CONVERSION TO REFINING For personal use only BENEFICIATION FERRONIOBIUM (Hydrometallurgy) (Pyrometallurgy) Conversion Vessel Crushing and Grinding Calcining (Aluminothermic Reaction) LUNI MINERALISATION Desliming HCl Leach Phosphate Flotation (Stage 1)
Slide 9: Ferroniobium - Beneficiation & Refining
FERRONIOBIUM - BENEFICIATION & REFINING1 STAGES 1 & 2 1 2 REFINING For personal use only BENEFICIATION (Hydrometallurgy) Crushing and Grinding Calcining LUNI MINERALISATION Desliming HCl Leach Phosphate Flotation (Stage 1) Niobium Flotation (Stage 2) SIMPLIFIED, PROCESS FLOWSHEET TO PRODUCE FERRONIO
Slide 10: Ferroniobium - Conversion
FERRONIOBIUM - CONVERSION1 STAGE 3 3 CONVERSION TO For personal use only FERRONIOBIUM (Pyrometallurgy) Conversion Vessel (Aluminothermic Reaction) SIMPLIFIED, PROCESS FLOWSHEET TO PRODUCE FERRONIOBIUM AND FIRST SAMPLE ▪ The refined concentrate progressed through conversion testwork (via aluminotherm
Slide 11: Global Niobium Supply
GLOBAL NIOBIUM SUPPLY GRADE OF KEY NIOBIUM PRODUCERS1 (Nb2O5) GLOBAL FERRONIOBIUM PRODUCTION2 2.5% 125,000 Ferroniobium production (tpa) For personal use only 100,000 75,000 80% GLOBAL SUPPLY BY PRODUCER3 50,000 11% 8% 25,000 - 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 1.0% HISTORI
Slide 12: Ferroniobium Demand
FERRONIOBIUM DEMAND NIOBIUM DEMAND BY TYPE1 ▪ Global ferroniobium production is approximately 115ktpa and For personal use only sells for ~US$30,000/t1 ▪ Micro-alloyed steels using OIL & GAS STRUCTURAL niobium increase the efficiency PIPELINES of the steel industry ▪ Strength improvements allow ligh
Slide 13: The Only Replacement for Steel Is Better Steel
THE ONLY REPLACEMENT FOR STEEL IS BETTER STEEL For personal use only MARINA BAY SANDS - SINGAPORE OPTUS STADIUM - PERTH 130,000t of steel used in construction Adding 0.02% Nb to steel componentry resulted in a total steel saving of 12,000t while improving build quality Utilised 40t of FeNb costing U
Slide 14: Niobium Market Distribution
NIOBIUM MARKET DISTRIBUTION FeNb supply1 For personal use only FeNb demand2 CANADA 8% Listed as critical3 EUROPE 20% NORTH AMERICA 18% JAPAN S. KOREA CHINA 13% 35% Identified by many countries as a critical mineral due to 11% supply concentration BRAZIL 91% EU Critical Mineral Rankings - 20234 US Cr
Slide 15: Niobium Oxide Demand
NIOBIUM OXIDE DEMAND ▪ Niobium oxide is predominantly NIOBIUM DEMAND BY TYPE3 produced through additional For personal use only treatment applied to refined ferroniobium1 NIOBIUM OXIDE 12% ▪ Key established and high-growth markets include2: AEROSPACE SUPERCONDUCTORS ▪ Superconductive magnets and cap
Slide 16: Niobium Oxide Demand – Batteries
NIOBIUM OXIDE DEMAND – BATTERIES NIOBIUM BATTERY TECHNOLOGY NIOBIUM BATTERY LEADERS • Up to 10x longer life than traditional batteries – For personal use only significantly reducing e-waste1,2 • Ultra-fast charging – full charge in 6 minutes or less2 • Increased stability – up to 20,000 fast charge
Slide 17: Key Project Workstreams
KEY PROJECT WORKSTREAMS Process Testwork Environmental For personal use only Resource Maiden Indicated MRE Ongoing optimisation and Targeted surveys and anticipated late in the first variability testwork to support studies to support formal half of 2025 detailed flowsheet development permitting appr
Slide 18: Exceptionally High-Grade Zone Defined
EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH-GRADE ZONE DEFINED1 ▪ Recent assay results from resource definition drilling have defined an For personal use only exceptionally high-grade zone of niobium mineralisation in the east of Luni, including: ▪ 42.0m at 3.9% Nb₂O₅ ▪ 28.5m at 6.6% Nb₂O₅ ▪ 27.9m at 5.5% Nb₂O₅ ▪ This zone
Slide 19: Initial Beneficiation Variability Testwork
INITIAL BENEFICIATION VARIABILIY TESTWORK1 THREE DRILLHOLE COMPOSITE ▪ Excellent beneficiation testwork results on an initial 100 variability composite sample covering 400m extent For personal use only 90 ▪ Results provide a demonstration the flotation regime can treat a wider portion of mineralisat
Slide 20: Pre-Development Activities
PRE-DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES ▪ Key infrastructure established to support ongoing exploration and pre-development activities For personal use only ▪ Long lead time de-risking activities continue across a broad suite of disciplines ▪ Field activities have recommenced in 2025 and will continue to address
Slide 21: Community & Sustainability
COMMUNITY & SUSTAINABILITY ▪ The West Arunta Project is located on the lands of two native title groups: ▪ Parna Ngururrpa AC (Luni niobium deposit) For personal use only ▪ Tjamu Tjamu AC (project access) ▪ Negotiation Protocols are in place with both native title groups providing a pathway for cons
Slide 22: Corporate Snapshot
CORPORATE SNAPSHOT CAPITAL STRUCTURE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SHARE PRICE (27 FEBRUARY 2025) A$13.25 Gary Lethridge Non-Executive Chairperson For personal use only SHARES ON ISSUE 67.7M Paul Savich Managing Director OPTIONS1 AND PERFORMANCE RIGHTS 1.0M Tom Lyons Executive Director MARKET CAPITALISATION (U
Slide 23: Advancing the West Arunta Project to Efficiently Unlock Stakeholder Value
ADVANCING THE WEST ARUNTA PROJECT TO EFFICIENTLY UNLOCK STAKEHOLDER VALUE Near-term Deliverables Ongoing beneficiation testing For personal use only across Luni P2 carbonatite Process flowsheet optimisation Pachpadra targets and further development Arunta belt High-value niobium oxide flowsheet deve
Slide 24: Advancing an Essential Critical Mineral Project
Image: Ferroniobium product sample from West Arunta Project testwork For personal use only Nb ADVANCING AN ESSENTIAL CRITICAL MINERAL PROJECT FOR THE CONSTRAINED, HIGH-VALUE NIOBIUM MARKET Investors Product Marketing Media Paul Savich Gustavo Macedo Michael Vaughan Managing Director Niobium Marketin
Slide 25: Appendix A - References and Notes
APPENDIX A - REFERENCES AND NOTES SLIDE 3 SLIDE 12 1. For full details refer to WA1 website and previous ASX announcements 1. Mordor Intelligence, Global Niobium Market, 2022 2. Source: Niobium Tech presentation “Niobium solutions for a sustainable future” viewed at <https://niobium.tech/- SLIDE 4 /
Slide 26: Appendix B – Mineral Resource & Competent Person Statement
APPENDIX B – MINERAL RESOURCE & COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT Tonnes Nb₂O₅ (%) Nb₂O₅ (kt) P₂O₅ (%) P₂O₅ (kt) For personal use only (Mt) Inferred 200 1.0 1,900 8.8 17,000 1. Mineral Resources are classified and reported in accordance with JORC Code (2012). Competent Person Statements: 2. The effective d
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