LAR

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to Lithium Argentina Q1 2026 earnings presentation. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. I will now hand the conference over to Kelly O'Brien, VP Investor Relations. Kelly, please go ahead.

Thank you for the introduction. I want to welcome everyone to our conference call this morning. Joining me on the call today to discuss the first quarter 2026 results is Sam Pigott, CEO of Lithium Argentina. Alex Shulga, our CFO, will also be available for Q&A. Before we begin, I would like to cover a few items. Our first quarter 2026 earning results were press released earlier this morning. The corresponding documents are available on our website. I remind you that some of the statements made during this call, including any production guidance, expected company performance, update on development plans, the timing of our project and market conditions, may be considered forward-looking statements. Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements in our presentation and MD&A and news releases. I will now turn the call over to Sam Pigott.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. The first quarter of 2026 represented another very strong quarter as Caucharí-Olaroz continued to operate at or near design capacity while beginning to generate meaningful cash flow. During the quarter, production totaled about 9,700 tons of lithium carbonate, with the operation averaging approximately 97% of nameplate capacity, a level we've been able to consistently run for the past two quarters. This performance also highlights the progress we are making on costs. First quarter operating cash costs were down again to just under $5,400 per ton, making Caucharí-Olaroz one of the lowest cost lithium operations globally.

I also want to highlight that since the beginning of the year, we have been able to distribute around $100 million in cash from Caucharí-Olaroz, $48 million for Lithium Argentina's share, strengthening our balance sheet and highlighting the cash generating capability of the operation. This quarter reinforces the importance of Caucharí-Olaroz, both in what we've achieved with stage one and in the opportunity to grow from here. On the left side of the slide, we've summarized operational and financial metrics for the quarter at Caucharí-Olaroz, which reflect both strong operations and an improving lithium pricing environment. As noted previously, realized prices increased to just under $17,000 per ton for the first three months of the year, compared to just over $9,000 per ton in the fourth quarter last year.

Combined with stable production and continued cost discipline, we have produced an over threefold increase in EBITDA quarter-over-quarter. Adjusted EBITDA, which removes primarily non-cash FX fluctuations, increased to $106 million for the quarter, up from $30 million in the fourth quarter. Turning to costs. Last quarter, we highlighted the progress of our cost reduction efforts at the operation. I am pleased to say that we've reduced them even further in the first quarter, bringing our cash operating costs down below $5,400 per ton. While these costs demonstrate what the operation is capable of, some quarter-to-quarter variability should be expected as we remain focused on driving costs lower over the long term.

We are also watching the situation in the Middle East closely. So far, we are seeing a limited impact related to costs and availability of key supplies or reagents such as soda ash. The operations at Caucharí-Olaroz do not require an energy-intensive process, have minimal diesel needs, and do not need sulfuric acid, relying principally on solar evaporation. As noted previously, direct diesel consumption makes up less than 3% of our direct operating costs. I think it's important to spend some time showing how the EBITDA generated at Caucharí-Olaroz translates to cash flow. As mentioned, during Q1, the operation generated $106 million in adjusted EBITDA. There is roughly a two month lag between when these sales are made and when the cash is received at the operation.

As we've outlined, we are expecting over 90%, nearly all, of this EBITDA to convert to free cash flow this year and support our growth plans by providing capital to strengthen and de-risk our balance sheet. We expect this cash flow generation should become increasingly evident through the second and third quarters. In terms of adjustments, during the first quarter, sustaining CapEx was even lower than normalized levels estimated at around $4 million-$5 million per quarter. On the interest side, we have a small amount of third-party project-level debt, which is approximately the same as it was at the beginning of the year, even after making around $100 million in distributions and represents less than 0.5x net debt to Q1 EBITDA on an annualized basis.

Related to tax and other costs, we expect cash taxes to increase in the coming years, but we are realizing the benefits of accelerated depreciation and our intercompany loan structure, which is providing a much stronger cash flow generation during these early years of operations. The high level of cash flow generation from EBITDA during both high and low price scenarios is important to understand to see how we will leverage this cash flow to support our expansion plans and de-risk our balance sheet. Now, turning to our outlook for 2026, this year's production guidance of 35,000-40,000 tons remains unchanged.

This estimate has some flexibility built in as we look to optimize this year's production and also consider efforts to support sustained higher production levels in the years to come. We have provided an EBITDA outlook across a range of prices and see substantial upside as market reference prices move closer to the futures pricing. Currently, our realized prices include an approximate 6%-7% adjustment to market pricing. We expect this differential will decrease as consistency continues to improve and product quality evolves. Recent lithium prices range from roughly $20,000-$30,000 per ton. At those levels, the operation is capable of generating approximately $460 million-$630 million of EBITDA in 2026 on a 100% basis.

Moving to the market, we are seeing a much more constructive view on price and the sustainability of these higher prices based on accelerant energy storage demand. On the EV side, we are seeing a much stronger outlook today, including for commercial vehicles, than at the start of the year. This is supported by recent developments in the oil market, as well as the increasingly strong performance and low cost of batteries, which now offer longer ranges and faster charging capabilities. It will take time to bring on enough new lithium supply to meet that growing demand. Large-scale and high-quality projects with experienced teams and a successful track record are rare. Against that backdrop, we believe assets like Caucharí-Olaroz Stage 2 and PPG are becoming increasingly strategic within the global lithium supply chain.

During the first quarter, we made substantial progress advancing and de-risking our Stage 2 development plan, which is targeting to add an additional 45,000 tons per year of production capacity. One of the key upcoming milestones is the approval of the RIGI application, which was filed late last year. We understand this is progressing well and could be approved as early as this quarter. Another important catalyst is the advancement of the environmental permits. This is underpinned by a recently updated resource estimate and a basin-wide hydrogeological model supporting the project's ability to sustainably extract brine needed for these higher production levels. We are working closely with our partner to finalize the development plan mid-year.

Building off the success of Stage 1, the plan is expected to incorporate new technologies while leveraging Ganfeng's expertise in lithium chemical processing and modular construction capabilities in China to help optimize timelines and overall development costs. We believe future growth should be funded in a manner aligned with shareholder interests, prioritizing Stage 1 cash flow generation and access to low-cost project-level debt where appropriate, while minimizing the need for equity issuance and limiting shareholder dilution. I want to spend a minute talking about the communities around Caucharí-Olaroz, because these relationships are an important part of the operation. We've been working in the region for many years now and have built long-term relationships with communities across the region through agreements, local hiring, procurement, and ongoing engagement as the operation has grown. I think that's important context as we discuss Stage 2.

We expect ongoing dialogue with the neighboring communities where important relationships have been built and expect this to be an important part of supporting the next phase of growth at Caucharí-Olaroz. Moving to PPG, this is an equally important part of our longer-term growth platform in Argentina and represents a key source of value. As a reminder, the scoping study released late last year outlined a phased development plan targeting up to 150,000 tons of lithium carbonate production over time, beginning with an initial 50,000-ton phase. By combining three separate projects, we believe PPG will be one of Argentina's largest lithium operations, benefiting from scale and synergies related to being a single operator across one single massive lithium system. Our focus here is also to de-risk and provide a path to value creation for Lithium Argentina shareholders.

Working with Ganfeng, we are looking at the option to bring in a minority investor at the project level. So far, we have been very pleased with both the level and breadth of interest there is from global groups seeking exposure to large-scale, low-cost, and scalable lithium supply from brines. PPG is on a strong path to create value. The combined assets have a historic book value of $1.7 billion based on investments made. The development plan shows a range of NPV values from $6 billion-$8 billion. Overall, I believe finding a minority partner for PPG represents an opportunity to continue growing responsibly and unlocking significant value in a manner that does not require equity dilution or reliance on cash flow from Caucharí-Olaroz. As we look ahead, our focus remains on disciplined execution at Caucharí-Olaroz.

The stronger financial position established over the past year, supported by distributions from Caucharí-Olaroz and the recently completed debt facility alongside Ganfeng, provides additional financial flexibility. At the same time, we continue to advance and systematically de-risk our broader growth platform, which includes Stage 2 and PPG. These projects will benefit from the ongoing permitting progress, RIGI approvals, development planning, other key upcoming technical and financial milestones. As we look to broaden our investor base and improve market visibility globally, we are considering plans for a secondary listing on the ASX, which we believe could further strengthen our position with international investors and support long-term shareholder value. Our focus remains on disciplined execution and continuing to systematically de-risk the broader growth platform in Argentina.

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Your first question comes from the line of Anthony Taglieri with Canaccord. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Taking my questions. What might be a good expectation for cash distributions coming from the JV for the rest of the year, just given obviously the $48 million attributable generated year to date, 90% free cash flow conversion targeted? You know, how does this mesh with other objectives like paying down debt and funding the stage 2 expansion?

Yeah. I think the project is gonna be generating a significant amount of cash that will show up in Q2, Q3, Q4, the remainder of the year. You know, I think between prices of 20-30, it's, you know, EBITDA of $460-$630 cash flow conversion of 90%. You can see how the cash is gonna build within the business. I think the priority number 1 will be redeploying part of that cash into preparing for stage 2. However, it's certainly not gonna absorb that amount of cash. For the remainder, I think the secondary priority will be to make cash distributions.

The joint venture level debt profile has improved a lot, it's been termed down very low cost, currently running at 0.5 times net debt to kind of annualized Q1 EBITDA, we feel very comfortable with that. I think we'll, you know, we'll continue to work and align with Ganfeng on making cash distributions throughout the year, and also, you know, spending on early stage CapEx, certainly after we get the RIGI approval for stage 2, in preparation for the expansion that will be coming.

Okay, great. Maybe just following up with that, you know, assuming the approval comes soon, what could sort of CapEx expectations look like this year then?

I mean, I think for the full FID decision, that's going to depend on getting environmental permits in place, which is really a 2027 event. I think the RIGI will help in terms of catalyzing or accelerating that potential permitting process. There are things that we can start to look at in order to accelerate stage 2, these would be, you know, fairly immaterial CapEx expenditures in 2026.

Okay, great. Thanks for that. I'll pass it on.

Your next question comes from the line of Joel Jackson with BMO Capital Markets. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi, Morgan, it's Evan on for Joel. Thanks for taking my question. Just wanted to discuss some of the puts and takes on the pricing discounts this year. I know there's like VAT and the quality discount, and if you don't mind kind of discussing how that's gonna flow throughout the year and maybe if that's already steady state, what we're seeing in Q1.

I mean, for Q1, you know, what we disclosed was we're taking a 6%-7% discount from reference prices. These are reference prices stripped of Chinese VAT. I think looking ahead, there's room for improvement here. The consistency of our product continues to improve. The product quality also evolves. I think there is room to improve on what we had in Q1 throughout the rest of the year, and certainly as we move into 2027, we've talked a lot about this in the past. You know, the objective of our partner and ourselves is to be able to supply lithium chemicals directly to customers without going through China, and therefore being able to capture kind of the full spot price.

I think you know, for modeling assumptions, I think the 6%-7% discount from reference price, you know, there is room throughout the year for that to improve.

Okay, thanks. Just a second one. In terms of your progress on phase II with RIGI expected soon, anything new on PPG or is that still similar as is on the last update?

It's Yeah, I You know, I think we're making significant progress on advancing, you know, options, which we have many, to unlock value for this project, including potentially bringing in a minority partner. It's, it's a bit premature at this point to provide specific timing around that event, but we would hope to provide more color midyear, probably around the same time when we're providing updates on stage 2 development plans. Just, you know, just as a, as a reminder, we have made the submission for the RIGI for the PPG project, which will be an important catalyst. Permits for phase 1, the first 50,000 ton development plan, which will start in Pozuelos, have been secured.

it's just, you know, working with Ganfeng, not necessarily rushing a decision, but ensuring that we make the best decision for shareholders that maximizes value and provides kind of the foundational capital required to fund, the stage 1 CapEx.

Your next question comes from the line of Corinne Blanchard with Deutsche Bank. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning, Sam. Good morning, Kelly. Maybe first, can you guys talk about lithium pricing? I mean, obviously you got a good inflation plan for this quarter, and I think if you look at spot price and lithium futures even a few days ago, that would imply to see another big jump into Q and probably 3Q. Would be great to hear where do you think that that can go to, for idea in the next, you know, two, three quarters.

I mean, pre-predicting short-term moves in lithium prices is a challenging business, as you know. You know, I think the read-through we get from our partner, who obviously have a tremendous amount of kind of insights and touch points within China, is the market is extremely tight. Yeah, I mean, pricing has continued to climb pretty aggressively since, you know, Q1 in our realized pricing. You know, we feel pretty strongly that market will continue to, the market demand will continue to support these higher prices. In terms of, you know, where it reaches, I'm reluctant to provide that kind of granular forecast, but we feel very, very good about, you know, Q2 obviously, and throughout the rest of this year.

Thank you. Maybe for a second question, can you talk about, I think you mentioned wanted to be doing the ASX inclusion. Is that the only index that you're thinking of maybe for a secondary listing, or are you thinking anywhere in, you know, Asia, like Hong Kong, also?

I mean, I think, yeah, we've looked at all different avenues to try and broaden our visibility globally. It, you know, I think the ASX has emerged as one of the strongest areas, I think, for lithium producers like Lithium Argentina. I think it's a market that appreciates free cash flow and the cost profile of brines, and has also kind of taken notice of larger mining companies moving into Argentina and the change of the risk profile there. Yeah, I mean, I think the ASX does stand out. We obviously have no plans to get rid of the New York Stock Exchange listing. Think the ASX could be useful as we spend more time in Asia Pacific and Australia.

Just, you know, on the ASX, you know, we're advancing a plan that could have us listed there as early as midyear. We should note this, you know, this is a secondary listing, and we're certainly not planning for any IPO or financing associated with this listing plan. From all our research, it does indicate that, you know, the ASX would be a very supportive of a company like Lithium Argentina and the brine, low-cost brine profile that we would provide investors there.

Thank you.

Your next question comes from the line of Ishan Jain with HSBC. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Thanks for taking my questions. Great set of numbers. Just following up on your listing plan in Australia. What I understand is not for the funding or financing the next leg of growth probably, but to improve, I'll say, the investor interest on given broadening the access. Is that the correct assumption?

That's the correct assumption. Yeah.

Yeah. Secondly, on the cost side, you did highlight your long-term target is of $5,400 a ton cost. Is there scope of further improvement in this target, could we expect it to further lower costs from the current levels?

I mean, $5,400 was a number that we put out at the beginning of the year, to reflect our existing cost structure at nameplate capacity, so at $40,000 per ton. You know, I think we're obviously very comfortable in that assumption given that Q1 costs came in, you know, slightly below that or in line with that, even at 96.8% operating capacity. There, I mean, I think there is opportunities longer term, for us to look at ways to bring costs down. Those probably come from, you know, elements of, you know, continuing to improve recoveries, you know, continue to optimize the plant.

At this stage, it's, you know, given $5,400 was kind of a number we put out at the beginning of the year based on our existing cost structure, I think we'll stick to that. With the, you know, with the caveat that of course, you know, especially working with our partner, we're always looking for ways to bring down costs, and I think we're very comfortable with what we put out, you know, just a few months ago in terms of where long-term costs would be. That, you know, that happened very quickly.

Thanks. Thanks a lot.

Your next question comes from the line of Mac Whale with ATB Cormark. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hey, Sam. You gave some indication for, at current prices what the EBITDA looks like. In terms of the pricing, Is that with the VAT off of that reference pricing and still a discount? Like, what are the, what's the basis on pricing for that?

Yeah, that's right. That reference price, the $20-$30 is like ex-VAT.

Okay. You're just putting in that pricing, you're assuming there's no further discount in terms of generating those numbers. I just wanna make sure I'm modeling.

No, no.

Yeah.

No. That would be the assumed discount as well.

Oh, okay. Can you also, can you remind us how the royalty payment works? It seemed higher than I'm modeling. I just wanted to check that I've got that correct. It's based off a gross profit number less depreciation. Is that correct? Some percentage of that?

That's broadly correct, but maybe I'll turn it over to Alex Shulga to provide a little bit more detail.

Yeah, sure. Mac. We have several taxes, royalties. We have export tax, lesser fund, and we have provincial royalties, which are the kind of larger parts of what kind of goes below C1 cost. If you take, for example, export tax, then that's revenue minus certain expenses like temporary imports for some of the regions. And that's a net of export refunds, approximately 2.87%, 2.9%. That's kind of connected to revenue. That's why it jumped up as well, right? And then in terms of provincial royalties, that is 3% of revenue minus C1 cost, less certain deductions, if I were to

Okay

put it in a simple way.

When you I guess if we were to look at pricing, like this $12.5 million on selling duties and royalties are kind of a bunch lumped in there. Some, I guess, is sort of more fixed, but I'm just trying to figure out.

There's a fixed part and there's a part that's a percentage of revenue. And there's a part that is a fixed deduction from that. Yeah, it's a bit of a combination.

Um-

Significant portion is connected to revenue.

Okay.

That's why it jumps up.

If we're trying to come up with an EBITDA number at the Caucharí-Olaroz level, that should all be negative to EBITDA, right? There should be nothing in there that's not, that we would take out of EBITDA, would there? Or add back?

No, because all of this we include in EBITDA, right?

Yeah

this export tax, those export refunds, all of this is already deducted from EBITDA.

Okay. Okay. We should be looking at it, all things being equal, that level, there isn't any one-time stuff in there. It should be kind of trending higher as pricing rises.

Yes, that's right.

Okay. Okay. Just a few of those sort of housekeeping questions. Thanks, guys.

Your next question comes from the line of Mohamed Sidibe with National Bank. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi, Sam and team. Thanks for taking my question, and congrats on the strong numbers in the quarter. You reported pretty good cost in Q1, and appreciate your commentary on the long-term cost there. I was just wondering if you could maybe provide us some color on inflation seen in country and potential FX impact. It seems like you've been managing to offset most of that through your operational improvements, but any color would be useful there. Thank you.

Inflationary pressures, you know, I think, you know, obviously diesel prices globally have gone up. You know, Argentina is not immune. Luckily for us, you know, direct oil and gas diesel costs are less than 3% of our OpEx. It is, you know, there will be some inflation there, but it is very immaterial kind of piece of our cost structure. In terms of wages, yeah, I mean, there's constantly kind of fluctuations in terms of how inflation's running versus devaluation and the impact on kind of like the dollar equivalent cost of peso labor expenses. Again, those are, you know, those are somewhat manageable and not all that material.

We feel very good, about, you know, our cost profile and kind of our insulation against kind of broader inflationary trends globally.

Great. Thank you. Just on the ASX listing, I know you clarified, no plan on removing the New York Stock Exchange. What are you thinking around the TSX? Is that something that's up for debate or how do you look at that listing? Thank you.

I mean, yeah, we're evaluating, just kind of the puts and takes of obviously the Australian listing, which I think as I described, you know, seems to be a market that would be, you know, supportive of bringing on kind of a brine exposure, which is, you know, something that is, that is unique, not wouldn't just be unique to the ASX, but I think really in terms of, you know, pure play equity exposures, in the brine space. It's, it's a pretty limited pool of options that investors globally have. I, you know, I think without a doubt the ASX would make a lot of sense. Yeah, I think it's, you know, it's too early to commit to whether, you know, we would consider, dropping the TSX.

We have to weigh pros and cons and so we'll make that determination and provide further updates in the months to come.

Great. Thank you.

We have reached the end of the Q&A session. This does conclude today's call. Thank you very much for attending, and you may now disconnect.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Lithium Argentina AG Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Please note that this call is being recorded. After the prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question during that time, please press star followed by 1 on your telephone keypad. Thank you. I would now like to hand the call over to Kelly O'Brien, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you for the introduction. I want to welcome everyone to our conference call this morning. Joining me on the call today to discuss the fourth quarter and full year 2025 results is Sam Pigott, CEO of Lithium Argentina AG. Alex Shulga, our CFO, will also be available for Q&A. Before we begin, I would like to cover a few items. Our fourth quarter 2025 earnings results were press released earlier this morning and the corresponding documents are available on our website. I remind you that some of the statements made during this call, including any production guidance, expected company performance, updates on development plans, the timing of our project, and market conditions may be considered forward-looking statements. Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements in our presentation, MD&A, and news releases. I now turn the call over to Sam Pigott.

Thanks, Kelly. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. 2025 marked an important year for Lithium Argentina AG. Cauchari-Olaroz demonstrated its ability as a stable, cash-generating operation, but we significantly advanced our next phase of growth. Starting with operations, the project is performing exceptionally well. For the year, production was over 34,000 tons, reaching the high end of our guidance range and ending the year near capacity, with fourth quarter production at 97%. We are now seeing that strong operational performance translate into lower costs, with fourth quarter operating cash costs around $5,600 per ton. Following year-end, the operation distributed $85,000,000 of cash, $42,000,000 for Lithium Argentina AG’s share, and we completed a $130,000,000 six-year loan facility, strengthening our balance sheet and highlighting the financial capacity of our assets. In parallel, we were able to make meaningful progress across our growth pipeline. This included the consolidation of PPG, supporting a more efficient development plan as outlined in the scoping study released late last year, as well as the submission of RIGI applications for both PPG and stage two. Since completion of the chemical plant in late 2023, production has steadily increased. 2024 represented our first full year of production. In 2025, the focus shifted to consistent recoveries, sustaining higher production levels for longer periods of time. During the year, the team made continued improvements across several areas, including brine management, wellfield optimization, process stability in the plant, and reduced reagent usage, which together supported more reliable and consistent operating performance. That progress resulted in the operations achieving close to nameplate capacity in the fourth quarter, with production of approximately 9,700 tons. This operational performance translated into strong financial results, which, despite the low lithium price environment in 2025, Cauchari-Olaroz generated $56,000,000 in adjusted EBITDA. I want to spend a moment on cost, because I would argue this is just as important as the production story, if not more so. Since Q1 2024, cash costs have declined 30% from over $8,000 per ton to around $5,600 in Q4. That improvement is broad-based: reagents, maintenance, camp services, overhead. Every major cost line moved in the right direction. This is not just fixed cost at higher volumes. Much of this reduction is in variable cost driven by our efforts to optimize the operation following the ramp-up. The best way to show this structural change is by looking at the impact to a revised long-term estimate. Based on the current cost structure at full capacity, we now forecast cost of approximately $5,400 per ton, down from $6,500 a year ago. That is a 17% reduction to our own prior estimate. And it is important to note that we are not done. We and our partner, Ganfeng, remain fully focused on driving further efficiencies with both stage one and as we grow. On the next slide is an updated cost curve, which includes actual operating performance at Cauchari-Olaroz. Not a feasibility study. It is not a projection. These are actual costs from an operation that has now been running and improving quarter over quarter. This operation is one of the few sources of lithium chemical production to come online outside of China in the past ten years. We now have the opportunity to scale from 40,000 to over 200,000 tons of lithium chemicals to serve global markets directly from the Americas. Turning briefly to the market, since mid-2025, there has been a significant recovery in lithium prices, supported by strengthening demand across both electric vehicles and, increasingly, energy storage systems. On ESS specifically, the wide range of forecasts you will see from global banks and consultants reflects how new and large this demand is becoming. This gap is particularly visible even in 2025. Our estimates, especially those outside of Asia, are still adjusting to how material ESS has become as a driver of overall lithium demand. For Lithium Argentina AG, this rising ESS demand aligns well with our existing operations and growth platform that we have developed, in terms of scale, cost, and ability to integrate with a more global customer base. Looking ahead to 2026, we expect production in the range of 35,000 to 40,000 tons of lithium carbonate, reflecting our focus on sustaining stable operations at current levels and long-term optimization. Based on our production targets for 2026, Cauchari-Olaroz is expected to support significant EBITDA under a range of lithium price scenarios. Using today’s market price of about $20,000 per ton and the midpoint of production guidance would imply around 460—

Ladies and gentlemen, please be on standby. We will just address a quick technical issue. Again, please be on standby. We will be back momentarily. Thank you.

Apologies for that. My line dropped. Obviously, we are not recording this. And so I will carry on where I left off. Based on our production targets for 2026, Cauchari-Olaroz is expected to support significant EBITDA under a range of lithium price scenarios. Using today’s market price of about $20,000 per ton, and the midpoint of production guidance, would imply around $460,000,000 in EBITDA for 2026. This incorporates actual results year to date and adjustments to market price. From a cash flow perspective, this should translate into strong cash conversion supported by accelerated depreciation and low sustaining capital requirements of approximately $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 per year. Following year-end, the operation distributed $85,000,000 of cash, increasing Lithium Argentina AG’s cash position in Q1 to now around $95,000,000. In March, at the corporate level, we also completed a $130,000,000 debt facility with Ganfeng, increasing our balance sheet flexibility. With Cauchari-Olaroz now operating at close to capacity and costs well below $6,000 per ton, we are turning our attention to what comes next. And the opportunity in front of us is significant. We have the potential to grow from approximately 40,000 tons per annum today to over 200,000 across a series of phases, using Cauchari-Olaroz stage one as the foundation. In 2025, we laid the groundwork. The resource base is defined, the permits and RIGI applications are advancing, and the economics, as the PPG scoping study showed, are compelling in nearly all pricing scenarios. We recently published an updated resource and reserve estimate for Cauchari-Olaroz, reinforcing the scale of the basin, with total measured and indicated resources increasing by approximately 42%, positioning Cauchari-Olaroz among the largest lithium brine assets globally. Beyond this, our platform includes PPG, another large-scale brine resource with over 15,000,000 tons of measured and indicated LCE resources. Together with Cauchari-Olaroz and PPG, we are advancing two of the largest lithium brine resources globally, providing the right scale and brine chemistry to support our growth plans. We continue to see a more supportive investment environment emerging in Argentina, with the RIGI helping to attract long-term capital and improve project economics, as reflected in the more than $70,000,000,000 in investment applications submitted or approved under the program. RIGI applications for both Cauchari stage two and PPG have been submitted. As we look ahead, we are scaling our lithium platform in Argentina. At Cauchari-Olaroz, we are advancing the stage two expansion plan of 45,000 tons, leveraging our operating track record, existing infrastructure, resource scale, and using the significant cash flow from stage one to provide a strong foundation to support the execution of this expansion. In parallel, at PPG, we are progressing what is targeted to be Argentina’s largest lithium operation, with a phased development plan to grow to 150,000 tons LCE. Here, we are working closely with Ganfeng to bring in the necessary financing and are seeing strong engagement from customers and potential minority partners. The next phase of execution is defined by a series of clear milestones to de-risk this growth, including RIGI approvals, finalizing the stage two development plan, and financing PPG. In conclusion, we are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished and excited for the years to come. In 2025, we delivered what we set out to do: establish a strong operating foundation with industry-leading costs, strengthen our balance sheet, and take meaningful steps to de-risk our growth pipeline. Looking ahead, we are in a very strong position to build off what we have already accomplished at Cauchari-Olaroz stage one and scale from 40,000 to 200,000 tons. We have world-class teams, a proven track record, two of the largest and highest-quality lithium brine resources globally, a much improved investment environment in Argentina, and a market that is undergoing strong demand tailwinds from continued EV growth and accelerated demand from energy storage build-outs. We are focused on de-risking and advancing a path to more than 4x-ing our lithium production and creating the largest lithium platform in Argentina.

And with that, we are ready to open up the line for questions.

We will now open for questions. Please limit your question to one question and one follow-up. We will pause for a brief moment to wait for the questions to come in. Your first question comes from the line of Anthony Tagliari of Canaccord Genuity. Your line is now open.

Good morning, Sam and team. So first of all, congrats on the excellent cost performance in Q4. My first question is related to cash cost expectations for 2026, noting your new long-term goal of $5,400 a ton. So how should we expect this to evolve in 2026? Is $5,600 a ton the new base case for Q1 moving forward? You know, between that 35,000 to 40,000 tons of production on an annual basis?

Yes, thanks for the question. So, yes, in Q4, we delivered $5,600 per ton in cash cost. These were really driven not just by volume increases reaching 97% capacity, but also structural changes we made to the cost profile. So that would include things like reagents, camp services, maintenance, and optimization of our workforce at camp. With all those changes, and what we realized in Q4, we did update our long-term cost estimate at full capacity of $5,400, which is the 17% decrease from what we put out last year at $6,500 per ton. So we would expect some variability quarter over quarter tied to volumes produced and timing of cost. But certainly, sub-$6,000, that $5,600 is a pretty good indication of where things are likely to settle throughout the year.

Okay. Great. That is helpful. And maybe as a follow-up on Q1 realized price expectations. Could you bridge us from sort of the average Chinese benchmark price of approximately $21,000 a ton to date in Q1 versus the expected realized price of $17,000 a ton? So, you know, simple math after considering that, that implies around $1,900 a ton of processing costs there. So is that something we should expect moving forward for the rest of the—

Yes. I mean, as a general statement, our pricing today is based on the market price for battery-quality lithium carbonate outside of China. So that does strip out VAT from the export reference prices you typically see quoted by SMM, Fastmarkets, etc. Beyond that, the adjustments for quality are around mid-single digits from that reference price. And that is something that we continue to monitor with our partner, Ganfeng. But at the moment, that is what we are realizing.

Thank you. That is helpful. I will pass on.

Your next question comes from the line of Joel Jackson of BMO Capital Markets. Your line is now open.

Hey, Sam. You talked about the different opportunities working at any price level. I think your partner, Ganfeng, would sort of say similar things. Can you talk about some of the volatility you have seen in the global markets the last few weeks? If that has changed any risk factors to think about Cauchari or its phase two or PPG. And then also, would your objectives be the same as Ganfeng? Obviously, they are not your companies, but could you talk about maybe how some of your objectives versus your partner’s growth over the next couple of years could be similar or different?

Sure. Thanks, Joel. I mean, as a broad statement, we are obviously monitoring the impacts of the situation in the Middle East. We are not seeing any material impact to our operations. In a lot of ways, we are pretty well set up and insulated from increased costs to oil and gas prices. Our largest energy input by far is the solar radiation onto our ponds. We have done a series of analyses over the past couple of weeks just given the developments in the Middle East and the energy complex. And our direct energy exposure is very limited. So approximately, or less than, 2% of our total operating costs are tied to diesel and natural gas. And then looking further afield into our indirect costs associated with logistics and other cost lines, it all remains below 5% of our OpEx which is exposed to that. So we are very well insulated. We are not a traditional mining operation with heavy reliance on diesel for mining or for crushing or haulage. So from that perspective, we are doing very well. All of our deliveries and shipments are meeting their targets on schedule. Demand is still being pulled very strongly from China and our offtake agreement with Ganfeng. So, you know, we obviously do monitor it, but are very pleased to report that minimal, if any, impacts are being experienced to date and various limited likelihood for escalation. In terms of our growth ambitions with Ganfeng, I think both of us understand the unique position that we have here today. We have brought online Cauchari-Olaroz exceptionally well. Costs are, again, below where we thought they would be at full capacity going back last year. $5,600 in Q4, the ability to more than double production at Cauchari-Olaroz, and then similarly, the largest potential lithium project in Argentina, 150,000 tons staged across three 50,000-ton phases, expecting operating costs to be low $5,000 a ton. So I think we have the right type of growth. We now have proven that we can execute. I think the partnership is working very well. Ganfeng has pretty ambitious targets for where they want to see their lithium production by 2030. A big part of that growth is through their portfolio with us in Argentina. I think it is around finance. Ganfeng is a $20,000,000,000 market cap company, with huge access to capital in China. I think the question was always, are we going to get pulled in one direction or another? I think the answer to that is, one, our shareholder agreements provide joint control over key decisions, including expansions, so we do have some control over our destiny. But the way things are developing now, Cauchari stage two, at today’s prices, stage one would be generating somewhere in the order of $460,000,000 in EBITDA, which provides quite a bit of cash flow to execute on stage two. We are obviously waiting for a development plan midyear. And then PPG, when we decided to put all these assets together with Ganfeng, we made it very, very clear, and in a formal agreement, to work together on financing plans that would not require shareholders to contribute equity, and we are seeing a lot of engagement around that. There are a lot of groups that really appreciate the scale of this business. They appreciate the team that has been able to execute at Cauchari. And so we are very confident we will be able to put together a financing package that does not require equity contributions from shareholders. So I think, in today’s market, we are very much aligned in terms of pursuing both growth plans simultaneously.

Okay. Now I will just follow up with, I know you and Ganfeng talked about wanting to put on some DLE plans and trial it out at different assets in Argentina, Pastos Grandes, Olaroz, Mariana. Can you talk about, at least for Cauchari, what is the DLE plan there? Or is it more going to be a stage two idea?

It is going to be a stage two. So the DLE, all the results that we are working with Ganfeng on, they are really taking the lead, as you would expect in terms of new technologies, applying new technologies to brine assets in Argentina. So right now, the focus for us is completing this development plan with Ganfeng, and we are targeting mid-2026. With that, we will obviously have a lot more to share through that report and other disclosures. But I would say the bar has been raised in terms of what we would want to see from that new technology. Conventional has pluses and minuses, but we are seeing a lot more of the pluses right now. I mean, our cost profile has come to a level that I think we were all very impressed with. These are structural changes to the cost profile of the business. A long-term target of $5,400 a ton, which is very, very real. I mean, we just came out of Q4 at $5,600 a ton. It already places Cauchari certainly in the first quartile of the cost curve. And so we look favorably on the technology that Ganfeng has been pushing ahead. But it has to deliver better CapEx and better OpEx, which we are confident it will. And we will disclose more when the development plan is finalized mid-2026.

Thank you.

Your next question comes from the line of Corinne Blanchard of Deutsche Bank. Your line is now open.

Hey. Good morning, and thank you for taking my question. Maybe the first question, I want to come back on the pricing. Obviously, this is quite a big jump from 4Q to 1Q due to the spot market. But can you maybe share your view on expectations throughout 2026 and maybe kind of a six-month shared view here that would be helpful. And then maybe the second question, maybe if you can just comment on the financing environment for the extension. I know you cannot comment extensively on Ganfeng, but there is definitely a question coming from the converts and balance sheet. So anything you can address there? Thank you.

I mean, pricing is, as you know, Corinne, very, very difficult to predict. I think the visibility that we get is largely through our partner, Ganfeng, which is the largest lithium producer in China. They are seeing very, very strong demand, and it is really based largely on ESS. I think the view is, pricing could remain volatile, but expectations are for pricing to remain in and around where it is trading today. I am not saying that is necessarily our expectation, but that is what we are hearing through our partner in China. And I think part of that is just around—we had it in one of our slides—because ESS is relatively new, it is growing very quickly. It is relatively opaque versus tracking EVs. There is just not the same maturity of data collection and disclosure that there is in the automotive business. So there is a huge divergence of view in terms of what the market is going to be in 2030. You know, even in 2025, I think people are still trying to reconcile what the actual lithium demand pull-through from ESS installations or shipments was. So, I mean, getting feedback from China, and this is shared by many of the other end customers that we have discussed over the last couple of months, is that energy storage is certainly on the high end of the bank and consultant range. So that should be very supportive to lithium prices going forward. And, sorry, your second question, do you mind repeating that?

Yeah. No problem. Just asking about financing and, again, you kind of fenced it a little bit previously with Ganfeng’s view, but if you can talk about balance sheet and converts and what you intend to do there.

So, I mean, I think we are very, very pleased with the progress we have made strengthening our balance sheet over the last year. We have closed a $130,000,000 six-year debt facility with Ganfeng. We distributed $85,000,000 from the operation, $42,000,000 of which came to LAR. Our cash position is just under $100,000,000. And meanwhile, if today’s prices are anywhere near them, the project is generating meaningful cash flow. So I think taken together, the cash we have on hand, the cash flow capacity of our operations in a wide range of pricing scenarios, provides us with a lot of flexibility and optionality to address the convert. I would say, one thing that I think is important to note is that the lithium price environment has been very challenging over the last couple of years. Anybody following the space would appreciate that as a fact. Meanwhile, LAR has not issued a single share for any financing purposes. And I think that speaks to our discipline and quality of our approach, and we are in a very, very good position right now. So that is on the convert. In terms of the financing plan for our growth, I think there are two different distinct paths between PPG and Cauchari. Cauchari stage two has stage one as a foundational backstop. So at today’s prices, $460,000,000 of EBITDA, which can provide some funding to the project. It can also allow us to access debt to finance phase two, and we will have a lot more information midyear with the development plan. On PPG, this is a joint effort with Ganfeng, working with some of Ganfeng’s global customers to look at different potential minority partners to bring into that project to provide the majority, if not all, the equity financing required.

Your next question comes from the line of Ben Isaacson of Scotiabank. Your line is now open.

Thank you very much, and good morning. Hoping I can ask three quick ones. Sam, your costs have improved dramatically over the past eight quarters or so. And I am just curious, do you think your costs at sub-$6,000 are a competitive advantage? And why I am asking that is, do you feel that competitive projects in Argentina have the ability to also reach that sub-$6,000 area? Or do you think LAR is unique in that?

I mean, there are a lot of different projects in Argentina. So it is hard to paint them all with the same brush. Chemistry composition is obviously a very important factor. Scale is an important factor to get costs down. And then the ability to execute and the technology selection. So, all different factors, but certainly brines do represent a very attractive resource base to deliver low-cost lithium units into the market. I think the second factor, in terms of what it represents overall, is brine seems to be the lowest cost and, in some ways, most resilient, reliable source of lithium chemical production outside of China. The entire industry is fixated on how to deliver these chemicals without going through China eventually. There have been a number of attempts and efforts to bring in conversion capacity outside of China to process spodumene concentrate. I think to date those plans have been challenging from a cost perspective, from an execution perspective. So I think my answer is yes, Argentina can be low-cost producers. Yes, I think there is something fundamentally different about what LAR has been able to accomplish, and I think that is related to the quality of our underlying resource as well as the design of our stage one plant.

Great. Thank you. And then just second question, I see that stage two for Cauchari is rated at 45,000 tonnes. Can you talk about debottlenecking opportunities at stage one? Is it possible to get back to 45,000 tons? Why or why not?

Yes. I think with further investment, we probably could push it above 40,000 tons. I think one of the realities in planning stage two is that we are currently under a RIGI application process. RIGI is a very attractive investment framework in Argentina. It provides a number of fiscal benefits: lower tax rates from 35% to 25%, some changes in terms of VAT treatment with a non-cash item. But more importantly, any qualified, approved RIGI project has very clear ability to take cash out of Argentina and keep it out of Argentina. So I think our preference certainly is to make investments in stage two, whereby all of that production, sales, and profit will be captured under the RIGI.

Great. And then just my last one. Sam, you have a lot of experience on lithium and in China, and I was hoping you could share some insights into how you think sodium batteries are evolving and what it means to lithium demand growth rates, and maybe on the EV and on the battery storage side. Thank you.

Yes. And we typically hear a lot about sodium-ion batteries whenever lithium price starts to spike. And this start of this cycle is no different. So, yes, I think our view is that both technologies are improving. LFP has a significant advantage right now in terms of energy density, in terms of weight, and in terms of cycle, I should say. So all those are very important for, obviously, the EV segment, any mobility application, but also energy storage. There is still a significant economic advantage. I think sodium is a legitimate risk if lithium prices were to approach where they were last cycle. That starts to really eat into the economics and forces people to look at substitution. But I do not think we view it as a material threat at today’s price level or even significantly higher than today.

Great. Thank you.

If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by 1 on your telephone keypad. That is star followed by 1 on your telephone keypad. Your next question comes from the line of Mohamed Sidibe of National Bank. Your line is now open.

Thanks, Sam and team, for taking my question, and congrats on a good quarterly cost performance. You answered my question on growth, the cadence of your growth projects as well as financing on that. But maybe back on the cash operating cost that you have, I know you touched on the no impact on fuel and diesel, but are you seeing anything from reagents pricing impacting your cost right now at the operations? Thank you.

As of now, we are seeing very limited impact. Most of the impact would obviously be the input cost to producing the reagents that we have. So we obviously use soda ash, lime, hydrochloric acid. I mean, obviously all of those do use diesel as an input to the actual production of the reagent itself. None of it travels through the Strait of Hormuz. None of it travels through the Middle East or the Red Sea. So from a shipping logistics standpoint, it is somewhat unaffected. We do understand that the war in the Middle East, or the conflict in the Middle East, is creating some issues for various fertilizer inputs. We are not exposed to anything of that order of magnitude. Our exposure is really around what the diesel price is going to do, and are those diesel prices going to be forced down into higher input costs for us. And so far, it seems minimal, if at all.

Great. Thank you.

As of right now, we do not have any pending questions. I would now like to hand the call back to Kelly O'Brien for closing remarks.

Great. Thank you, and thank you everyone for joining us this morning. Please feel free to reach out directly to the team if you have any additional questions. Have a great day.

Thanks.

Thank you for attending today’s call. You may now disconnect. Goodbye.