THACKER PASS PROJECT PFS RESULTS

JUNE 2018

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

AGENDA

PROJECT INVESTMENT DIFFERENTIATORS

Resource

Process

Location and Logistics

Financial

Team

Team

President of North American Operations and CEO – Alexi

Zawadazki

Sr. Process Development Manager / Nevada Operations Manager –

Dr. Rene LeBlanc

TeamLead Exploration Geologist – Dr. Tom Benson

Project Manager / Sr. Process Engineer – Brett Rabe

PFS FUNDAMENTALS

Phase 1 Phase 2

30,000 60,000

0 to 3.5 years 3.5 to 46 years

$581M $478M

$4,782 $4,060

$3,507 $2,535

-

-

36.6%

29.3%

-

-

$3.9 billion

$2.6 billion

$407

$368

$20.5

$18.8

$794

$705

$48.1

$41.3

$246 $543

PFS FUNDAMENTALS

Phase 1 Phase 2

Plant Plant

Plant Plant

$383 $899

$0.0632 $0.0632

$0.0756 $0.0756

215 292

$86,400 $86,400

800-1000 500-650

$43M $153M

- $6.7B

$6.4M $12.3M

- $569M

GEOLOGY OF THE THACKER PASS PROJECT

GEOLOGICAL MODEL

COMPARISON OF KNOWN CLAY DEPOSITS

MINERAL RESOURCE

Drilling Program

•

•

THACKER PASS PROJECT INFRASTRUCTURE

CAPEX BREAKDOWN

Open Pit Mine

12%$67M

Lithium Processing & Infrastructure

49%$287M

Sulfuric Acid Plant31%

$182M

Railroad & Yards

1% OwnerCost7%

$41M

Open Pit Mine<1%

Lithium Processing & Infrastructure

26%$126M

Sulfuric Acid Plant44%

$210M

Railroad & Yards22%

$105M

Owner Cost8%

$36M

$581M $478M

OPEX AND SUSTAINING CAPITAL

Mine47%

Lithium Processing

20%

Tailings24%

Infrastructure1%

Indirect Costs

8%

$623M LOM

$13.4M/year

$2,570/ton LCE (with credits)

$4,088 (before credits)

$10.6B LOM

Phase 1: $147M/year

Phase 2: $238M/year

Mine10%

Lithium Processi

ng41%

Sulfuric Acid Plant44%

G&A4%

Product Shipping1%

SUSTAINING CAPITAL COSTS OPERATING COSTS

LOM AVERAGE

OPERATING COSTS PER TONNE LCE

Mine11%

$537

Lithium Processing

38%$1858

Sulfuric Acid Plant46%

$2236

G&A5%

$239

Electricity Delivery & Product Shipping

<1%$13

Phase 1: $146M/year

$4,782/tonne LCE

$3,507/tonne LCE with credits

Sulfuric acid credit: $599

Electricity credit: $676

Phase 2: $247M/year

$4,060/tonne LCE

$2,535/tonne LCE with credits

Sulfuric acid credit: $706

Electricity credit: $819

Mine12%

$478

Lithium Processing

41%$1608

Sulfuric Acid Plant

43%$1723

G&A4%

$150

Electricity Delivery & Product Shipping

<1%

PHASE 1 OPERATING COSTS PHASE 2 OPERATING COSTS

HOW CLAYSTONE FITS THE LITHIUM SUPPLY

HOW CLAYSTONE FITS THE LITHIUM SUPPLY

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

Discount

Rate (%)

Low Case NPV

$10,000/Li2CO3

($ billions)

Base Case NPV

$12,000/Li2CO3

($ billions)

High Case NPV

$14,000/Li2CO3

($ billions)

Current Price NPV

$16,000/Li2CO3

($ billions)

SULFUR PRICE SENSITIVITY

Sulfur Price Multiplier NPV

($ Billions)

% IRR* No Crecits

($/t LCE)

Credits

($/t LCE)

MINE OPERATIONS

•

•

•

•

MINE OPERATIONS

Phase 1 Phase 2

MINE OPERATIONS

MINE OPERATIONSL

i (p

pm

)

Milling Grade

MINE OPERATIONS

MINE OPERATIONS

Alluvium15%

Basalt9%

Volcanic2%

Ore below 2,500 ppm Li

74%

Unclassified Material

<1%

74% of waste material is clay below 2,500 ppm

(excluding ore losses during mining)

Mine Waste Distribution

CLAYSTONE PROCESSING

CLAYSTONE PROCESSING

• Process is comprised of 3 functional areas: Ore Preparation & Leaching,

Sulfuric Acid Plant, & Lithium Processing Plant

• No new process technology, only traditional chemical processing equipment

used in unique ways, specific to the LNC extraction process:

o

o

o

o

PLANT

•

•

o

•

•

PLANT – SULFURIC ACID

Input Without Credits

(USD$/t LCE)

Credits Included

(USD$/t LCE)

% of

Total

OPEX

PLANT – FLOWSHEET

PLANT – FLOWSHEET

346 kg H2SO4 per tonne of ore

23.8 tonne H2SO4 per tonne LCE

PLANT – FLOWSHEEET

Water

•

•

•

RAW MATERIALS

MOU with integrated supply chain partner

•

•

•

Phase 1 Phase 2

Total per day 136 trucks 46 trucks & 88 rail cars

RAW MATERIALS

55.3%

18.3%

17.5%

8.9%

Limestone

243 $/tonne

LCE

Quicklime

481 $/tonne

LCE

Soda Ash

502 $/tonne

LCE

Sulfur

1,515 $/tonne

LCE

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

RAIL LINE

Tailings Management

•

•

•

•

ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY MANAGEMENT

Dry stack tailings

ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY MANAGEMENT

Rehabilitation

•

•

Air Emissions

•

o

o

PERMITTING

Project has been designed to minimize permitting risk

•

Government support at all levels

•

•

2017 Presidential Critical Minerals Executive Order 13817:

•

•

Construction permits expected by Q4 2020

•

SCHEDULE

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027

Exploration

Drilling

(SW Basin)

Pilot Plant

/TradeoffEngineering

Mine Plan of

Operations

Baseline Data

and EIS

Construction

Phase 1

Production

Phase 1

Construction

Phase 2

Production

Phase 2

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Qualified Person.

Forward-looking statements.

CONTACT INFORMATION