BCI Minerals Limited (BIRNF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

2026-01-27 22:02:22 ET

BCI Minerals Limited (BIRNF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call January 27, 2026 7:30 PM EST

Company Participants

David Boshoff - MD & Director
Steve Fewster - Chief Financial Officer

Presentation

David Boshoff
MD & Director ...

Good morning, everyone, and welcome. I'm David Boshoff, and with me is our CFO, Steve Fewster. We're pleased to be joining you today for this December 2025 quarterly update. You'll notice that we're both in our harness today as we'll be traveling to site directly after this call.

Before we get underway, I'd like to mention that today's presentation should be read in conjunction with our December quarterly report, which is available on our website.

As we move through today's session, please feel free to add your questions to the live Q&A tab on the right side of the screen. I will be responding to these questions at the end of the session.

As we step into the new year, it's a good moment to reflect on the December quarter, not just on what we've achieved, but on how we've achieved it. The quarterly -- this quarter delivered solid progress with strong tangible momentum across operations, construction and financial performance. And that progress is underpinned by our values, which guide our decisions, shape our culture and influence the way we work with our partners and contractors.

That brings me to our find a way value. I'd like to recognize one individual who truly embodied it. Thomas Huckstadt is an application specialist in our IT team. Tom delivered the first phase of our Mardie operating system on time, on budget and to scope. He successfully managed key contractors to implement the Mardie production reporting system and our laboratory information management system. When traditional delivery models threatened time lines, Tom adopted an agile approach to accelerate implementation. And in fact, the contractor has confirmed that this was likely one of the fastest implementation in their history.

I'll speak more about the Mardie operation system shortly, but I want to begin by acknowledging Tom and recognize the values-driven approach of our people. And that values-driven approach is exactly what underpins the business we are building at Mardie.

Mardie is already Australia's largest solar salt operation and the third largest globally. Our focus is clear: Delivering salt to our customers later this year and providing -- and proving up SOP as a next major revenue stream. Salt is now in operation and is set to ramp up to 5.35 million tonnes per annum. With its scale, coastal location and integrated port infrastructure, Mardie is exceptionally well positioned to meet rising demand across Asia.

Our SOP pilot work is also progressing well and remains on track to support a production pathway targeting around 140,000 tonnes per annum. This represents an opportunity to leverage our investment in the salt business to produce made in WA value-add products. The port provides us connectivity to our customers, along with additional upside through its spare capacity, creating potential for third party revenue and strategic partnerships over time.

Now I'd like to walk you through the highlights for this quarter. In safety, we continue to strengthen key fatality prevention controls and maintained our focus on field leadership, completing more than 400 Leadership in the Field safety interactions. We also completed 290 critical control verifications, and our 12-month rolling average total recordable injury frequency rate was 3.9.

We continue to actively manage the complexity of concurrent activities and project activities on site for operations and projects. As mentioned earlier, we deployed the mine production reporting system and the laboratory information management system as part of the Mardie operating system. This, along with our digital twin that we call Poseidon enhances operational visibility and control, enabling us to make timely, data-driven decisions.

Brine levels across ponds 1 to 9 remained in line with our operational targets. The pond brine density continued to increase as we have forecasted. Construction is also progressing well. With the project now 77% complete, we commence seeding the primary crystallizers, and progress is tracking to plan. Major earthworks for the salt wash plant, stockyard and nonprocess infrastructure were also completed during the quarter, readying us for construction of these 3 assets over the next 3 quarters.

Significantly, another reflection on our Find a Way value, we secured all our primary approvals for the offshore placement of material from the dredging program at the Port of Cape Preston West. This is a key milestone for our port infrastructure, which also significantly derisks achieving our construction budget. Finally, we commissioned all the KTMS trial crystallizers as part of our SOP piloting work, achieving steady-state operations and performance in line with our expectations.

I'll now hand over to Steve who will walk us through the corporate highlights.

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