Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp (LAAC) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and thank you for standing by.

您好，感謝您的支持。

My name is Regina, and I will be your conference operator today.

我叫雷吉娜，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。

At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Lithium Argentina fourth-quarter 2023 earnings conference call.

此時此刻，我歡迎大家參加阿根廷鋰業2023年第四季財報電話會議。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Kelly O'Brien, Vice President, Investor Relations.

現在我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁凱莉·奧布萊恩 (Kelly O'Brien)。

Please go ahead.

請繼續。

Thank you, Regina.

謝謝你，雷吉娜。

I want to welcome everyone to our first earnings conference call.

我想歡迎大家參加我們的第一次財報電話會議。

Joining me on the call today to discuss the fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 results is Sam Pigott, President and CEO of Lithium Argentina; Alex Shulga, VP and CFO; Alec Meikle, Business Development; Ignacio Celorrio, Executive Vice President, Legal, Government, and External Affairs, will also be available during the Q&A session.

今天，阿根廷鋰業公司總裁兼執行長 Sam Pigott 與我一起參加電話會議，討論 2023 年第四季和全年業績。 Alex Shulga，副總裁兼財務長； Alec Meikle，業務發展；負責法律、政府和對外事務的執行副總裁 Ignacio Celorrio 也將出席問答環節。

Our earnings were released after the market closed yesterday.

我們的財報是在昨天市場收盤後發布的。

And you'll find the press release, the MD&A, and the financial statements posted on our website.

您可以在我們的網站上找到新聞稿、MD&A 和財務報表。

We also filed our annual information form last night.

我們昨晚也提交了年度資訊表。

I remind you that some of the statements made during this call, including any production guidance, expected company performance, Ganfeng's proposed investment in Pastos Grandes, the timing of our projects, and market conditions, may be considered forward-looking statements.

我提醒您，本次電話會議中所做的一些陳述，包括任何生產指導、預期公司業績、贛鋒對 Pastos Grandes 的擬議投資、我們項目的時間安排以及市場狀況，可能被視為前瞻性陳述。

Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements in our MD&A, annual information form, and news release that was filed last night.

請注意我們昨晚提交的 MD&A、年度資訊表和新聞稿中有關前瞻性陳述的警告性語言。

Now I would like to introduce Sam Pigott, our President and CEO.

現在我想介紹一下我們的總裁兼執行長 Sam Pigott。

He joined Lithium Argentina on Monday.

他於週一加入阿根廷鋰業公司。

However, he is not a stranger to the lithium industry or Lithium Argentina.

然而，他對鋰業或阿根廷鋰業並不陌生。

He joins the company from Ganfeng Lithium, and we are happy to officially have him on the team.

他從趙鋒鋰業加入公司，我們很高興他正式加入團隊。

I now turn the call over to Sam.

我現在把電話轉給薩姆。

Thank you, Kelly, for the introduction.

謝謝凱利的介紹。

And thank you, everyone, on the line for joining our first earnings conference call.

感謝各位在線上參加我們的第一次財報電話會議。

It is great to be here this morning, having just published our 2023 results.

很高興今天早上來到這裡，剛剛發布了我們 2023 年的業績。

This is our first earnings conference call.

這是我們第一次的收益電話會議。

And we thought it would be well-timed on the back of the first lithium sales and our transition from development to operations at Cauchari-Olaroz.

我們認為，在第一次鋰銷售以及我們在 Cauchari-Olaroz 從開發到營運的過渡之後，這將是一個很好的時機。

As we mentioned yesterday in our earnings release, 2023 was a historic year for Lithium Argentina and everyone involved with the development, construction, and now operations of Cauchari-Olaroz.

正如我們昨天在財報中提到的，2023 年對於阿根廷鋰業公司以及參與 Cauchari-Olaroz 開發、建設和運營的每個人來說都是歷史性的一年。

This $1 billion development is the result of the talented and dedicated team of professionals at both Lithium Argentina and Ganfeng.

這項耗資 10 億美元的開發案是阿根廷鋰業公司和贛鋒鋰業才華橫溢、敬業的專業團隊的成果。

Since joining the company, I have had detailed meetings with the operators and various members of the team and feel very confident in the production guidance outlined in the earnings release. 2024 is expected to be another positive year as the project improves product quality and increases production volumes.

自從加入公司以來，我與操作員和團隊的各個成員進行了詳細的會議，並對收益發布中概述的生產指導非常有信心。隨著該項目提高產品品質並增加產量，預計 2024 年將是另一個積極的一年。

Overall, the ramp-up is going well.

整體而言，爬坡進展順利。

It's been approximately nine months in first production and four months in operations with the first KCl train.

第一列 KCl 列車的首次生產大約花費了九個月，營運大約四個月。

And we are already operating at levels consistent with other projects in Argentina.

我們的營運水準已經與阿根廷其他項目一致。

The Cauchari-Olaroz is currently producing at approximately 50% of capacity.

Cauchari-Olaroz 目前的產能約為 50%。

And in March, the plant has demonstrated it can operate at around 75% capacity over a limited period.

3 月份，該工廠已證明其可以在有限的時間內以 75% 左右的產能運作。

It will take time to work through these typical ramp-up issues to sustain these higher levels of production.

解決這些典型的產能提升問題以維持更高水準的生產需要時間。

But we expect to be operating at close to design capacity by the end of 2024 on a steady-state basis.

但我們預計到 2024 年底，將在穩態基礎上以接近設計產能的速度運作。

We recognize that the current lithium price environment raises concerns amongst investors about corporate strategies, especially around capital-intensive growth strategies.

我們認識到，當前的鋰價格環境引起了投資者對企業策略的擔憂，尤其是資本密集型成長策略。

For Lithium Argentina, it's quite simple.

對於阿根廷鋰業來說，這非常簡單。

By far, our highest priority is to support the successful ramp-up of Cauchari-Olaroz stage one and ensure we remain well capitalized through the cycle.

到目前為止，我們的首要任務是支持 Cauchari-Olaroz 第一階段的成功推進，並確保我們在整個週期中保持充足的資本。

Cauchari-Olaroz is a world-class project.

Cauchari-Olaroz 是一個世界級的計畫。

And we are focused on increasing production volumes and product quality, as this will maximize cash flow and give us the most optionality going forward.

我們專注於提高產量和產品質量，因為這將最大限度地提高現金流並為我們提供最大的未來選擇。

In line with keeping our focus on Cauchari-Olaroz and an effort to maximize longer-term optionality with our growth assets and ensure a further cushion to our balance sheet, we entered into a transaction on March 5, whereby Ganfeng has agreed to invest $70 million for an approximate 15% stake in Pastos Grandes.

為了保持我們對Cauchari-Olaroz 的關注，並努力最大限度地提高我們的成長資產的長期選擇性，並確保為我們的資產負債表提供進一步的緩衝，我們於3 月5 日達成了一項交易，贛鋒同意投資7,000 萬美元收購 Pastos Grandes 約 15% 的股份。

As part of the transaction, Ganfeng will lead a regional development plan in the Salta province of Argentina that will incorporate three distinct, large, and high-quality assets, those being Pozuelos Pastos Grandes owned by Ganfeng; Pastos Grandes owned by Lithium Argentina; and Sal de la Puna, which is a joint venture between Lithium Argentina and Ganfeng.

作為交易的一部分，贛鋒將主導阿根廷薩爾塔省的區域發展計劃，該計劃將納入三項獨特、大型、優質的資產，其中包括贛鋒擁有的Pozuelos Pastos Grandes； Pastos Grandes 由阿根廷鋰業公司所有； Sal de la Puna是阿根廷鋰業公司和贛鋒鋰業的合資企業。

The regional development plan is expected to be finalized by the end of 2024.

區域發展規劃預計2024年底完成。

To reiterate, this transaction has provided a cushion to our balance sheet and allows Lithium Argentina to advance a regional development study at minimal cost and without distracting the existing teams currently focused on Cauchari-Olaroz.

重申一下，這項交易為我們的資產負債表提供了緩衝，並使阿根廷鋰業能夠以最低的成本推進區域發展研究，而不會分散目前專注於 Cauchari-Olaroz 的現有團隊的注意力。

It also builds on the successful partnership with Ganfeng at Cauchari, where we have seen the benefits of their expertise and experience in commissioning the chemical plant and bringing processing technologies and skills not currently available outside of China, to Argentina.

它也建立在與贛鋒在考查里的成功合作夥伴關係的基礎上，在那裡我們看到了他們在調試化工廠以及將目前在中國以外無法獲得的加工技術和技能帶到阿根廷方面的專業知識和經驗的好處。

During the remainder of the year, I look forward to the completion of the commissioning at Cauchari-Olaroz, preparation of the development plan for Pastos Grandes basin in collaboration with Ganfeng, maintaining a strong financial position for Lithium Argentina, and having the opportunity to work with a talented multinational and diverse group of individuals.

在今年剩下的時間裡，我期待完成Cauchari-Olaroz的調試，與趙鋒合作制定Pastos Grandes盆地的開發計劃，保持阿根廷鋰業強勁的財務狀況，並有機會工作擁有一支才華橫溢的跨國和多元化個人團隊。

That concludes the prepared remarks.

準備好的發言到此結束。

Now we'll open the line for questions.

現在我們將開通提問熱線。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Joel Jackson, BMO Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）Joel Jackson，BMO 資本市場。

Hi, good morning, everyone.

嗨，大家早安。

Sam, welcome to the job, first week officially.

山姆，歡迎來到這份工作，正式第一週。

Can we talk a little bit about -- so you're not disclosing what sales volumes were out of Exar or LAAC for the fourth quarter.

我們可以談談 - 所以你沒有透露 Exar 或 LAAC 第四季度的銷量是多少。

But it looks like you are talking about $20 million, $21 million gain from the JV from Exar in the fourth quarter.

但看起來您正在談論 Exar 合資企業第四季度的 2000 萬美元、2100 萬美元收益。

Can you talk about -- are you able to give a little color about what kind of sales run rates are and when you give a production guide?

您能否談談—您能否對銷售運作率以及何時提供生產指南進行一些說明？

And if it's $20 million, that wouldn't seem to imply that you had some healthy profits on these times even if the quality wasn't quite what you want yet.

如果是 2000 萬美元，這似乎並不意味著您在這些時候獲得了一些可觀的利潤，即使品質還不是您想要的。

And then you're giving a 20,000-, 25,000-tonne production guidance out of Cauchari-Olaroz this year.

然後，你們給出了今年 Cauchari-Olaroz 產量 20,000 噸、25,000 噸的指引。

Would we assume that's what the sales would be, volumes also out of Cauchari?

我們會假設這就是銷量，也來自考查里？

Maybe I'll take your -- the second part of that question first.

也許我會先回答你的問題的第二部分。

So yeah, the guidance is 20,000, 25,000 metric tonnes of production this year.

所以，是的，今年的產量指引是 20,000、25,000 公噸。

That guidance, obviously, reflects the variability in a typical ramp-up.

顯然，該指導反映了典型的成長過程中的可變性。

I think things are going very well, and there's room to improve there.

我認為一切進展順利，而且還有改進的空間。

But obviously, that guidance is a reflection of what we believe is achievable today and incorporate some of the expected ramp-up issues that are typical in a project like this.

但顯然，該指導反映了我們認為目前可以實現的目標，並納入了此類專案中常見的一些預期的升級問題。

I think for the first part of your question, I'd turn it over to Alex Shulga to answer around the $20 million.

我想對於你問題的第一部分，我會把它交給 Alex Shulga 來回答大約 2000 萬美元。

Alex?

亞歷克斯？

Thanks, Sam.

謝謝，山姆。

This is Alex, CFO.

這是亞歷克斯，財務長。

The $16 million for the full year is not only LAAC share of the joint venture operating profit.

全年1600萬美元不僅僅是LAAC在合資企業營運利潤中的份額。

It does include LAAC share of the JV results of operations.

它確實包括 LAAC 在合資企業營運績效中所佔的份額。

But in addition to that, it includes other elements including a significant non-cash foreign exchange gain on some of the local [BCS] peso-denominated dollar linking to company loans.

但除此之外，它還包括其他因素，包括與公司貸款掛鉤的一些當地 [BCS] 比索計價的美元帶來的大量非現金外匯收益。

Because of the significant devaluation in the end of 2023, the JV recognized the non-cash unrealized foreign exchange gain on such loans in accounting.

由於2023年底貨幣大幅貶值，合資公司在會計中確認了此類貸款的非現金未實現外匯收益。

And the $16 million reflects LAC share of this gain.

1600 萬美元反映了 LAC 在這一收益中所佔的份額。

For more details on this, please refer to disclosure note 8 on page 24 and 25 of the company's financial statements.

欲了解更多詳情，請參閱公司財務報表第24頁及第25頁揭露附註8。

And I'm happy to follow up if you have any more detailed questions.

如果您有任何更詳細的問題，我很樂意跟進。

Okay.

好的。

I'll ask one more question.

我再問一個問題。

Sam and team, can you talk about the trade-off that you're looking at for product quality.

Sam 和團隊，您能談談您正在考慮的產品品質權衡嗎？

So you got to look at what kind of quality can you get, battery-grade, if there's different floating definitions of battery-grade versus technical-grade.

因此，如果電池級與技術級有不同的浮動定義，您必須考慮可以獲得什麼樣的質量，電池級。

And you got to look at how much volume you can get out.

你必須看看你能輸出多少音量。

We know Olaroz, their phase two across the road there is just focusing on technical-grade.

我們知道 Olaroz，他們在馬路對面的第二階段只專注於技術級。

How about the trade-off in trying to push so much volume as possible, but maybe deciding -- maybe more technical-grade might be the optimal path and upgrading it to battery-grade later elsewhere, maybe by Ganfeng?

盡可能嘗試推動銷量，但也許決定——也許更高的技術級可能是最佳路徑，然後在其他地方（也許由贛鋒）將其升級到電池級？

Just talk about the trade-off that you're sort of looking about -- as you start to ramp the operation and try to maximize profit.

當您開始擴大營運並嘗試實現利潤最大化時，只需談談您正在考慮的權衡。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Sure.

當然。

Well, I think I'll start by just saying that the plant is designed to produce battery-grade.

好吧，我想我首先要說的是，該工廠旨在生產電池級產品。

And our focus today is on ramping up volumes.

我們今天的重點是增加銷量。

As a function of increasing volumes, we also expect quality to improve.

隨著數量的增加，我們也期望品質能夠提高。

As we reach higher and higher rates at steady state, there will be less variability flowing into the product.

當我們在穩定狀態下達到越來越高的速率時，流入產品的可變性將會越來越小。

So the intention right now is to move to battery-grade.

所以現在的目的是轉向電池級。

Obviously, we will do whatever is in the best interest of shareholders and maximizing value.

顯然，我們會做任何符合股東最佳利益和價值最大化的事情。

And we consistently kind of review that with our joint venture partner.

我們一直與我們的合資夥伴進行審查。

But the plan is to ramp production volumes, see increased improvement in product quality, and move towards battery-grade.

但計劃是提高產量，提高產品質量，並轉向電池級。

Ben Isaacson, Scotiabank.

本‧艾薩克森，豐業銀行。

Thank you very much, and good morning, everyone.

非常感謝大家，大家早安。

And congrats on the first call, and Sam, congrats as well.

恭喜你第一次打電話，山姆，也恭喜你。

First question is, can you talk about the weather-related power disruptions?

第一個問題是，您能談談與天氣有關的電力中斷嗎？

And what is -- what exactly happened?

到底發生了什麼事？

And how long has it been going on for?

而且這種情況已經持續多久了？

And what is the mitigant going forward?

未來的緩解措施是什麼？

Sure.

當然。

I'd say, in the first couple of months of this year, really February and March, the Puna area in Argentina experienced a really unusual number of electrical storms, which impacted some of the reliability of our power to site.

我想說，在今年的前幾個月，實際上是二月和三月，阿根廷的普納地區經歷了非常多的雷暴，這影響了我們現場供電的一些可靠性。

So this is something that we're working on to mitigate going forward, just increasing the support systems there, improving redundancies.

因此，我們正在努力緩解這個問題，只是增加那裡的支援系統，改善冗餘。

It's something that we're well advanced in taking care of.

我們在處理這方面已經很先進了。

So it was (multiple speakers) just unusual weather.

所以（多個發言者）這只是不尋常的天氣。

So how should we -- so is there still risk?

那麼我們應該如何——那麼仍然存在風險嗎？

And will that risk be eliminated entirely when you're done like in a quarter or whenever?

當你在一個季度或任何時候完成後，這種風險會完全消除嗎？

I mean, the plan is, yes, to mitigate these power-related issues.

我的意思是，是的，該計劃是為了緩解這些與電力相關的問題。

I would say that as we push throughput through the plant, it obviously puts more strain on the power system.

我想說，當我們提高工廠的吞吐量時，顯然會對電力系統造成更大的壓力。

But we've identified what needs to be fixed, and we're pursuing a solution.

但我們已經確定了需要解決的問題，並且正在尋求解決方案。

Perfect.

完美的。

And then my follow-up question is, you talked in the press release about expectations for positive cash flow from operations this year.

然後我的後續問題是，您在新聞稿中談到了對今年營運正現金流的預期。

Can you give us just some color on your assumptions in terms of the economics to achieve positive CFO?

您能為我們提供一些關於實現積極 CFO 的經濟學假設嗎？

What kind of pricing are you thinking about, et cetera?

您正在考慮什麼樣的定價等等？

We were thinking about recent pricing.

我們正在考慮最近的定價。

So maybe just take an average of year to date.

所以也許只取今年迄今的平均值。

David Deckelbaum, TD Cowen.

大衛·德克爾鮑姆，TD·考恩。

Good morning, everyone, and congrats again, Sam and team, on the first inaugural call here.

大家早安，再次恭喜 Sam 和他的團隊在這裡舉行了第一次就職電話會議。

Perhaps just to dig into the weeds a little bit more.

也許只是為了進一步挖掘雜草。

I was hoping just on the guidance side, if you might opine on what your expected operating cost now is on a per-tonne basis, sort of ex-DD&A, in this first year and then what you're thinking now as you get to capacity relative to your original expectations.

我希望只是在指導方面，如果您可以對第一年每噸的預期營運成本（類似於前 DD&A）發表意見，然後您現在的想法是什麼相對於您最初期望的容量。

So I mean, I think as most people appreciate, we're in the middle of a ramp-up at Cauchari-Olaroz.

所以我的意思是，我認為正如大多數人所意識到的那樣，我們正處於 Cauchari-Olaroz 的加速發展階段。

Costs are largely tied to volumes.

成本很大程度與產量有關。

And as we reach steady state, we'll provide more details.

當我們達到穩定狀態時，我們將提供更多詳細資訊。

I would say on the cost side of things, we're also going through a transition from construction to development.

我想說的是，在成本方面，我們也正在經歷從建設到開發的轉變。

And so the cost will change -- the cost structure will change.

因此成本將會改變－成本結構將會改變。

So I think it's too early to provide you with any of that guidance.

因此，我認為現在向您提供任何指導還為時過早。

But when we have a cleaner sense, once we reach more steady-state production, we'll obviously be providing that information along with our partner, Ganfeng.

但當我們有了更清晰的認識，一旦我們達到更穩態的生產，我們顯然將與我們的合作夥伴贛鋒一起提供這些資訊。

But in terms of operating costs, I mean, what we have said is that we expect to be operating cash flow positive in 2024 based on recent pricing, which, to Ben's question, is kind of an average of battery quality in China year to-date.

但就營運成本而言，我的意思是，我們所說的是，根據最近的定價，我們預計2024 年的營運現金流將為正值，對於本的問題，這是中國今年電池品質的平均水平——日期。

Yeah, and I appreciate that.

是的，我很欣賞這一點。

Maybe just further into some of the guidance details.

也許只是進一步了解一些指導細節。

I'm trying to get a sense of -- I think you all announced that in light of the current environment, you're reducing corporate overhead and spend by 25%.

我想了解一下——我想你們都宣布，鑑於當前的環境，你們正在將公司管理費用和支出減少 25%。

Obviously, as we think about the Cauchari expansion, it seems like that's a wait and see.

顯然，當我們考慮考查里擴張時，這似乎是一種觀望。

How do we think about the capital that you're looking to spend this year?

我們如何看待您今年打算花費的資金？

I know that you know that you're going to do away with sort of excessive exploration work at Pastos Grandes.

我知道您知道您將取消帕斯托斯格蘭德斯的過度勘探工作。

But how do you see this base CapEx evolving this year?

但您如何看待今年基本資本支出的演變？

Or is it kind of iterative right now as you're considering multiple different opportunities that are out there?

或者，當您正在考慮現有的多種不同機會時，這是否是一種迭代？

Yeah.

是的。

I mean, I'd say that we're in a very fortunate position to not have material capital commitments going through this year.

我的意思是，我想說我們非常幸運，今年沒有實質的資本承諾。

As disclosed in our documents, we have $13 million of CapEx remaining to be spent.

正如我們的文件中所揭露的，我們還有 1300 萬美元的資本支出待支出。

The priority for us is to get to ramp up at a steady-state production.

我們的首要任務是提高穩態產量。

Stage two will follow that.

第二階段將隨之而來。

It will follow a successful completion once we get up to near nameplate capacity by the end of this year.

一旦我們在今年年底達到接近銘牌產能，它將成功完成。

In terms of our decision to cut back on our other corporate expenses, it's in part related to this transaction with Ganfeng and the development plan that they will be leading for the Pastos Grandes region.

就我們削減其他公司開支的決定而言，部分與與贛鋒的交易以及他們將領導的帕斯托斯格蘭德斯地區的發展計劃有關。

So we don't anticipate spending material capital on that plan, given that we already have a wealth of information from the work that's already been done by us and our predecessors on the Pastos Grandes basin.

因此，我們預計不會在該計劃上花費大量資金，因為我們已經從我們和我們的前任在帕斯托斯格蘭德斯盆地所做的工作中獲得了大量資訊。

Santhosh Seshadri, HSBC.

桑托什·塞沙德里，匯豐銀行。

Yeah, hi, good morning, everyone.

是的，嗨，大家早安。

And congratulations, Sam, for your new role.

恭喜您，薩姆，擔任新職務。

So I have a couple of questions here.

所以我有幾個問題。

Firstly, can you provide some timeline on the ramp-up to battery-grade specifications?

首先，您能否提供一些電池級規格提升的時間表？

Because I was under the impression that debottlenecking your KCl plant will help you achieve higher production rate as well as battery-grade product.

因為我的印像是，消除氯化鉀工廠的瓶頸將幫助您實現更高的生產率以及電池級產品。

I can see your production rates are increasing, but you're still producing technical-grade product.

我可以看到你們的生產力正在提高，但你們仍在生產技術級產品。

So if you can provide some color on that, that will be helpful.

因此，如果您能對此提供一些顏色，那將會有所幫助。

Yeah.

是的。

I mean, I think the priority -- sorry, there was a second question

我的意思是，我認為優先事項 - 抱歉，還有第二個問題

(multiple speakers) --

（多位發言者）——

Yeah, go ahead.

是的，繼續吧。

I'll wait for the second part of the question.

我會等待問題的第二部分。

Okay.

好的。

Yeah, the priority for us is ramping up volumes and getting to this steady near nameplate capacity by the end of the year.

是的，我們的首要任務是增加產量，並在年底前達到穩定的接近銘牌產能。

Volume -- quality will improve as we push through production.

隨著我們生產的推進，數量——品質將會提高。

The -- as we increase throughput and achieve steady-state production at ever-greater throughput, it's going to help with the variability of our product, and the product quality will improve.

隨著我們提高產量並以更大的產量實現穩態生產，這將有助於我們產品的可變性，並且產品品質將會提高。

The battery plant is designed to do battery quality specifications.

電池廠是專門做電池品質規格的。

Great.

偉大的。

And how to think about the pricing discount to your JV partner, Ganfeng, given the product quality differences?

鑑於產品品質差異，如何考慮給合資夥伴贛鋒的定價折扣？

Yeah.

是的。

The pricing today that we receive is tied to battery quality prices, which are then adjusted based on product quality and the cost to further process this product by Ganfeng in China.

我們今天收到的定價與電池品質價格掛鉤，然後根據產品品質和中國贛鋒進一步加工該產品的成本進行調整。

So as the product improves, which we've already seen, the discount to battery quality that we receive is expected to narrow.

因此，隨著產品的改進（我們已經看到），我們​​收到的電池品質折扣預計會縮小。

And yeah, so it's tied to battery-grade, less an adjustment for product quality, which is improving.

是的，所以它與電池等級相關，而不是對產品品質的調整，而產品品質正在改善。

Noel Parks, Tuohy Brothers.

諾埃爾·帕克斯、圖伊兄弟。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Sorry if you've already addressed this.

抱歉，如果您已經解決了這個問題。

But I was just wondering, looking at the stage of production and operations at the stage one, just wondering, do you have any rough sense of sort of the delta in terms of cost inflation now live in production versus what sort of the original planned levels were?

但我只是想知道，看看第一階段的生產和運營階段，只是想知道，就目前生產中的成本通膨與最初計劃的水平相比，您是否對增量有任何粗略的認識？

Just kind of a sense of where we've come versus the original studies.

與最初的研究相比，我們只是感覺到我們已經走到了哪裡。

I mean, I'd say that the largest cost on an operating basis for any brine project are the reagents.

我的意思是，我想說，對於任何鹽水項目來說，最大的營運成本是試劑。

And reagent prices have been very volatile.

而且試劑價格波動很大。

There has been quite a bit of inflation since the technical report was announced.

自技術報告公佈以來，通膨已經相當嚴重。

But we expect that our costs will be on a steady-state basis, reflective of other operations in the vicinity.

但我們預計我們的成本將處於穩定狀態，反映附近的其他業務。

Great.

偉大的。

And just looking ahead, I guess, just to the expense -- resources including personnel and so forth.

我想，只是展望未來，只是為了費用──包括人員等在內的資源。

As the region continues to build out among several different areas with new projects getting off the ground, do you have any sense of any particular constraints, resource constraints, just looking out over the next few phases, the next few years?

隨著該地區繼續在幾個不同的領域進行建設，新項目開始啟動，您是否有任何特殊的限制、資源限制的感覺，只是展望未來幾個階段、未來幾年？

I mean, human capital is hugely important.

我的意思是，人力資本非常重要。

I think as we all know, Argentina is very active in terms of lithium projects.

我想眾所周知，阿根廷在鋰計畫方面非常活躍。

So we're very happy that we've built the team along with Ganfeng within the joint venture project.

因此，我們很高興能夠在合資項目中與趙鋒一起組建團隊。

But that's certainly an area that, I think, the country will face challenges is attracting appropriate talent.

但我認為，這個國家將面臨的挑戰肯定是吸引合適的人才。

I think in our case, we're very fortunate to have a joint venture partner in Ganfeng and access to their world-class expertise in commissioning and operating these very large lithium chemical plants.

我認為就我們而言，我們非常幸運能夠擁有贛鋒這樣的合資夥伴，並能夠獲得他們在調試和運營這些超大型鋰化工廠方面的世界級專業知識。

I mean, the other area is kind of logistics.

我的意思是，另一個領域是物流。

There's a lot of reagents that move through the northwest part of Argentina, and that will just increase as more projects come online.

有很多試劑經過阿根廷西北部，隨著更多項目的上線，這一數量還會增加。

And this is part of the thinking around our -- the investment that Ganfeng made into the Pastos Grandes and kind of assessing a regional development plan for Pastos Grandes, where we can be better coordinated with our existing joint venture partner in Cauchari, which is Ganfeng.

這是我們思考的一部分——贛鋒對帕斯托斯格蘭德斯的投資以及評估帕斯托斯格蘭德斯的區域發展計劃，我們可以與我們在考查里現有的合資夥伴贛鋒進行更好的協調。

David Deckelbaum, TD Cowen.

大衛·德克爾鮑姆，TD·考恩。

Sorry to come back for seconds here.

抱歉又回來了幾秒鐘。

But I was hoping to ask just sort of what information we might expect to receive with this regional development plan.

但我只是想問一下，我們希望透過該區域發展計畫收到哪些資訊。

What's going to be included in that around planning and disclosures?

圍繞規劃和揭露的內容將包括哪些內容？

And should we think about this as a fulsome development plan for Cauchari, Pastos Grandes, and beyond over sort of like the next several years?

我們是否應該將其視為考查里、帕斯托斯格蘭德斯及其他地區未來幾年的一項充實的發展計劃？

And will there be additional feasibility studies that go into that?

是否還會有額外的可行性研究？

The plan right now is for Ganfeng to lead this regional development plan focused on the assets in Salta.

目前的計劃是由贛鋒領導這項以薩爾塔資產為重點的區域發展計畫。

So that would include as well as Pastos Grandes and Sal de la Puna.

因此，這將包括帕斯托斯格蘭德斯和薩爾德拉普納。

We expect to have more information towards the end of the year.

我們預計將在今年年底獲得更多資訊。

Fair enough.

很公平。

Thank you, guys.

謝謝你們，夥計們。

And with that, I'll hand the call back over to Kelly for any closing remarks.

至此，我會將電話轉回給凱利，讓他發表結束語。

Thank you.

謝謝。

I want to thank everyone for joining the call today.

我要感謝大家今天加入電話會議。

And we look forward to your participation next quarter.

我們期待您下個季度的參與。

Have a great day.

祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you all for joining.

感謝大家的加入。

This will conclude today's meeting.

今天的會議到此結束。

You may now disconnect.

您現在可以斷開連線。