ioneer (US:IONR)2024-09-18 10:54Project Development and Financing - Ioneer has made significant progress towards a Final Investment Decision (FID) and construction commencement at the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project, supported by a $25 million share placement[4]. - The company expects to receive a positive Record of Decision from the Biden administration in October 2024, allowing for large-scale procurement post-FID[5]. - Ioneer has secured a conditional loan commitment of up to $700 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for the construction of the Rhyolite Ridge Project[8]. - The company has completed key permitting milestones, including the issuance of Air Quality and Water Pollution Control Permits, with the Mine Plan of Operations approval expected in October 2024[6]. - The project continues to advance through the NEPA permitting process, achieving key milestones including the issuance of the draft EIS in April 2024[23]. - The company anticipates achieving a Final Investment Decision (FID) by FY2025, which is crucial for future projects[124]. Resource Estimates and Exploration - The updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the South Basin at Rhyolite Ridge shows a Measured Resource increase from 44Mt to 75Mt, representing a 71% increase[6]. - Total Mineral Resource decreased to 351 million tonnes (mt) in FY2024 from 360 mt in FY2023, with a 71% increase in Measured Resource to 75 mt[20]. - The company completed 53 drill holes in its geotechnical program, extending the lithium-boron deposit by an additional 1 km to the south and southeast[11]. - The company is focused on developing the Rhyolite Ridge Project, with an estimated resource that is open to the north, south, and east, not including the north basin tenements[27]. Financial Performance - The Group reported a net loss after tax of $7,825,000 for FY2024, compared to a loss of $6,391,000 in FY2023, indicating an increase in losses by approximately 22%[19]. - Operating cash flows improved to $(7,198,000) in FY2024 from $(8,069,000) in FY2023, reflecting a positive change of $871,000[20]. - The company reported a total revenue of $1,893,150 million for the fiscal year 2024, representing a significant increase compared to previous years[120]. - The company reported a total of 6,486,978 million in user data, indicating a strong user base growth[120]. - The company reported a total of 5,758,522 shares at June 30, 2024, compared to 5,319,954 shares at June 30, 2023[114]. Offtake Agreements and Collaborations - The company has binding offtake agreements for over 80% of its expected total production of 22,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium carbonate from Rhyolite Ridge[9]. - Ioneer is collaborating with Sibanye-Stillwater, which has committed $490 million for a 50% interest in the joint venture to develop the project[8]. - The company has entered into binding offtake agreements for the supply of boric acid from the project, which include conditions precedent related to the timing of the Final Investment Decision and first production[28]. - A binding lithium clay R&D Memorandum of Understanding was signed with EcoPro Innovation Co. Ltd to develop a 1 million tonne lithium carbonate equivalent clay resource[14]. Environmental and Compliance - Ioneer continues to maintain compliance with environmental permits, with no compliance issues reported during the year[8]. - The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published on April 19, 2024, initiating a 45-day public comment period, which closed in early June[6]. - The company remains committed to sustainability, achieving no lost time incidents or fatalities during the year[9]. - The company is managing risks associated with climate change, including extreme weather events that could impact future production infrastructure[31]. Risk Management - The company faces material business risks including health, safety, environmental risks, funding risk, and global economic conditions that could impact performance[27]. - The company has identified litigation risk as a potential issue that could adversely affect its financial position and performance[29]. - The company is exposed to sovereign risk related to the fiscal, tax, and regulatory environment in the jurisdictions where it operates[30]. - The Group does not undertake any hedging activities, exposing it to credit, liquidity, capital management, and market risks[191]. Executive Remuneration and Performance - The Board assessed the performance of the Company team as generally meeting expectations, awarding a Short-Term Incentive of 100% of target opportunity[60]. - The executive KMP FY2024 STI scorecard award was 50% of maximum, with individual rewards ranging from 41% to 53% of maximum[64]. - The maximum Short-Term Incentive (STI) opportunity for the Executive Chair is 120% of base salary, and for the Managing Director, it is 160%[84]. - The performance measures for the FY2024 STI scorecard include achieving a Record of Decision for the NEPA permitting process, with a maximum weighting of 40%[89]. - The company adopted an executive incentive claw-back policy during FY2024 to recover paid STI and vested LTI awards under certain circumstances[66]. Shareholder Value and Market Performance - The closing share price decreased to $0.15 in 2024 from $0.34 in 2023, highlighting a significant drop in market valuation[99]. - Basic loss per share increased to $0.336 in 2024 from $0.305 in 2023, reflecting a decline in shareholder value[99]. - The company achieved a 5-year total shareholder return (TSR) of 11.11%, recovering from a TSR of -5.56% in the previous year[99]. - The total comprehensive loss for the year attributable to the owners of the company was $7,870,000, compared to a loss of $8,914,000 in the previous year, indicating an improvement of about 11.7%[134]. Capital Structure and Equity - The company issued 2,325,614,708 shares as of June 30, 2024, an increase from 2,098,818,267 shares in the previous year[47]. - The Group issued 213,602,562 shares during the year ended June 30, 2024, as part of a capital raise, contributing to an increase in total issued capital[177]. - The equity raised from shares issued amounted to $25,141,000 during the year[138]. - The company has a total of 129,664,600 shares held by directors as of June 30, 2024, with James D Calaway holding 56,790,814 shares[37]. Financial Position and Assets - The company’s total assets increased to $224,475,000 as of June 30, 2024, up from $206,319,000 in the previous year, reflecting a growth of approximately 8.8%[135]. - The company’s net assets increased to $218,221,000 from $197,399,000, representing a growth of about 10.5%[135]. - The company’s total liabilities decreased to $6,254,000 from $8,920,000, a reduction of approximately 29.8%[135]. - The exploration and evaluation expenditure rose to $187,664,000, compared to $152,226,000 in the previous year, marking an increase of approximately 23.3%[135].