Good day, and welcome to the Bushveld, Bushveld Minerals third quarter operational update. This meeting is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Chief Executive Officer, Craig Coltman. Please go ahead, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome to the Bushveld Minerals Q3 and nine months operational update, and thank you for joining. This has been a strong quarter for the company, and I'm pleased with the progress we have made in improving stability, production efficiency, and resulting costs. We will continue to prioritize this operational performance in order to deliver our target guidance, providing a firm foundation from which we can build future growth. To get started with the production numbers, group production for the quarter was up 19% relative to the previous quarter at 1,000 mtV. The group's production for the nine months is up on that of last year at 2,784 mtV over the 2,657 mtV for the nine months in 2022. While we have seen some constraints at the Vametco in the salt recovery plant and challenges in the leach plant, we've also carried out some much-needed maintenance and look forward to seeing this increased reliability and monthly production of around 200 mtV for the Vametco for the coming quarter. At Vanchem, we were pleased to see production increased by 100 mtV to 455 mtV for this quarter, owing to improved operational efficiency following the Vanchem turnaround project. The improved operational performance has continued into Q4, with the Vametco producing 209 mtV and Vanchem produced 178 mtV during the month of October. This performance for Vanchem is a new record, but now the highest output production that Vanchem has achieved since Bushveld Minerals acquired the operation in 2019. Group cash costs for both the quarter and the nine months are down to $26.50 per kilogram vanadium and $26.40 respectively. The improved cost position is underpinned by higher production volumes at Vanchem. Sales were down for the quarter, mostly because of the timing interval between product dispatch and arrival. However, sales are up on the nine-month mark over the same period last year at 2,945 mtV over the 2,678 mtV for the nine-month period in 2022. We maintain our guidance for 2023, and we are on track to meet production of between 3,700 and 3,900, and also on track to meet cost guidance. On September 11, 2023, the company announced a binding term sheet with Southern Point Resources for a cumulative investment of around $70 million-$77 million. Bushveld has subsequently, since that announcement, received its approximate $8 million interim working capital funds as part of this transaction, and the company is in the process of completing the other aspects of the overall transaction. I would also like to note that Bushveld has seen significant decrease in Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate of 5.69 over the nine-month period. This is more than a 50% reduction on that over the same period last year. I think these results are a testament to the increased control, health, and safety measures now put into practice. We continue to progress the various work streams to complete the Orion convertible loan note restructuring before the deadline date of 21st of December 2023. Completion of these transactions will strengthen the company's balance sheet and ensure that Bushveld is in a sustainable position to take the business into the long term. Post period end, we've also completed the acquisition of 26% minority interest in the Vametco, held by a Black Economic Empowerment consortium, in return for circa 233 million shares in Bushveld, representing 13% of the enlarged share capital. This transaction, resulting in the 100% ownership of the Vametco, means that Bushveld will have full operational management and financial control of the Vametco, an immediate value accretion action for the Bushveld shareholders. I'm gonna pause now and take any questions. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question at this time, please signal by pressing star one on your telephone keypad. Please make sure the mute function on your phone is switched off to allow the signal to reach our equipment. Again, please press star one to ask a question. I will now take our first question from Marina Calero from RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Good afternoon. Thanks for the call. I have a question about your sales for volumes for this period. It looks like they were below production numbers. When do you expect to sell these inventory later? Thank you. Can somebody relay that question? It came through really poorly, the, the audio. It's line now better? Let's go again. Try again. It came through really, really, soft the first time. Okay, sorry about that. I was just asking about your sales volumes during the period. It looks like they came in below production numbers. I was wondering if you could give us more color about when you expect that inventory to be sold. Yeah, so I suppose it depends which quarter you're looking at. So the sales for the quarter were down. Mainly that was just a timing difference between the interval between production and dispatch at arrival. So that's just a timing issue that will come into Q4 mostly. But of course, sales for the nine-month period was above budget. And sorry, above budget, yeah, but more so was better than what the nine-month period was for 2022. So there's a small timing difference for the quarter that that'll flow into the next period. Nothing that concerns me. Okay, that is all. Thank you. The next question comes from Thomas Martin, from BNP Paribas Exane. Please go ahead. Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Hopefully you can hear me okay. Firstly, just on production and guidance numbers. I think if we add up the sort of 9-month performance plus your fourth quarter, guidance, you know, we're getting perhaps towards the top end of your, your, your guidance range, if I've done the math correctly. So, you know, is there anything that particularly concerns you, looking through Q4 here? Clearly, I think we've got the 4-day shutdown to complete at Vanchem, and I suppose that's always a risk until it's done. Is there anything else that we should be aware about when we're thinking about Q4 numbers? So at Vanchem, less so. I mean, we have extended that kiln, the plant shutdown. It's supposed to have an annual shutdown every 12 months. That would have been July. So we're pushing that asset and sweating it a lot. The report suggests that we're okay to go to Q1 next year, but there's an element of risk. I mean, we had the 9-day shutdown previous month. We weren't expecting this shutdown of four days now. But we-- You know, I'm cautiously optimistic that from a Vanchem perspective, we'll deliver on the market guidance. I see my Chief Operating Officer is nodding sagely here. So I'm not too concerned about that. So we could quite easily get to the top end of the market guidance for Vanchem. Having said that, we're, we don't have the planned maintenance systems in place that we want to get to by H1 next year. But, I'm okay. I don't actually lose nights over Vanchem achieving the market guidance. For Vametco, the actual kiln, the leaching process, right up front of the crushers, that's all okay. We've got to improve the plant maintenance, but that doesn't concern me at all. The biggest risk we got at the Vametco is the Barren dam, where, you know, we are at fairly high levels, and if we get a significant amount of rain, that's a constraint for production for the Vametco. We've only got two months to go, so we're looking okay. If we get average rainfalls, we'll get to the market guidance for the Vametco. We'll keep, you know, stockpiling at the other end of the kiln and the leach process, and we'll always catch up. But the biggest risk for me is lots of rain in and at the Vametco and the barren dam, when it gets to those high thresholds. We've got to find a way to keep the rain off. I mean, we naturally evaporate by about a centimeter a month, but if we could find a way to somehow just keep the rain away, another avenue to manage excessive rains, then we're home and dry, and we'll get to the top end of Vametco's guidance as well. I'm actually going to the mine on Wednesday, and I'm gonna spend a significant portion of that time looking at opportunities around some scenarios for the Barren Dam. That's a long answer, but you know, we're pretty good. We should be pretty good to do the medium or top end of market guidance. But production guidance, the single biggest risk is the Barren Dam and the levels there. But you know, based on previous trends, we're okay, and I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll get to those market guidance we've shared in July and where we currently are pegging our output. That's a long way around, but I hope that answers your question. No, it does. Thank you very much. Very clear and helpful. I've got a couple of others, if that's all right. On that, the plant maintenance and well, the unplanned maintenance that you've had, the nine days and the four days, I guess, you know, simplistically, times 25, 9 + 4 is 13. So, you know, have you shifted a block of maintenance into next year? And I guess, is there any reason to think that next year's maintenance program, perhaps also related to the comments you made on preventative maintenance, is there any reason to think next year's maintenance programs might actually be longer than, you know, 25 days or something across the year? So yes, the planned maintenance period for both the operations is longer than you would typically have. It's gonna cost a little bit, it's gonna cost more, but in addition to that, we are looking at budget numbers and cash flow and things. If there aren't any constraints, we'd like to put a lot more effort into getting the planned maintenance up to more to levels that will give us more confidence. And that will take us for H1. The whole of H1 is a planned. In addition to the planned shutdown, is to do various improved maintenances across the operations, so we can get to a position where we can have more reliance on consistent throughput. We don't have that at the moment. You can see that in the numbers. You know, we lose a day, two or three a year at the leach process here, and we do maintenance where we can. But we wanna get into a position where we can spend additional days for shutdowns, but then in addition to that, spend more time, effort, and cash on planned maintenance during H1 of 2024. As a matter of fact, when we've been looking at some of our production throughput numbers, you know, looking at the maximum capacity we can do on some of these, on Vametco in particular, we've taken—That's, it's a first pass. We've got, we've gotta scrub these numbers. But we've gone for the higher end of production numbers for Vametco, but only for H2 next year. Giving us an opportunity in H1 of next year to spend that much needed maintenance to get these, the asset utilization up to more respectable levels of seventy-five, eighty percent on the kiln. So it's a stated approach. We, that doesn't mean to say we're gonna be where we want to be with our planned maintenance program by December 2024, but we'll have a significant focused improvement on getting the plants and various assets up to a level of reliability, which is better than we are now. I hope that answers your question. If it doesn't, please expand on anything further. No, no, that's great. You've covered, I think, on the preventive maintenance. I think that would be, you know, if you can achieve what you're laying out here, I think it would be really excellent to be able to reduce the unplanned downtime. Can I ask you one final one on pricing, actually? You, I guess prices look like they fall maybe another sort of $5 or thereabout since the Q3. You noted strong demand from your customers in your update. I guess I was wondering, I mean, is there any... Do you see any evidence of destocking from your customers? I was wondering if that was perhaps impacting the near-term pricing. But because you note strong demand, I'm wondering if perhaps, you know, there isn't a destocking element. Do you think there's anything going on there? And I guess, you know, in the context of strong demand from your customers, you know, prices are still falling. Do you have any insight as to how to square those two data points? We don't have any evidence of destocking. I mean, all the stuff we produce here, we can sell. I mean, they are actually begging us to produce a bit more because they can sell. We're doing everything we can, you know, from Vanchem, where possible, when it gets to an AMV stage, we send it through to Vametco to do additional nitro-vanadium, because that goes to the US market. We get a premium on that. So no, I mean, you know, we had quantum increases in production that will all be sold. There is a huge demand. We've just got to get the volume to the levels where we can make a few more dollars. And we're doing everything we can with various mixes and things. So no, it's all good from a demand perspective. Before I forget, I just wanna go back to your previous point about preventative maintenance. So we, you know, we had that nine-day shutdown on the kiln in Vanchem. It was unplanned, you know? We took a calculated risk to say we're gonna run, keep sweating the asset. And when we finished that nine-day and we heated it up, it was about six meters of refabrication in the kiln. This is an external service provider that said, "You know, there's an 80% probability that we'll go through to Q1 next year." Well, it was probably about just short of a month later, just adjacent to where they refabricated the kiln last time with the nine days, we had a hotspot again. So we took it down for four days. It's up and running again. It's been up and running again Saturday. So this is the challenge when you're not doing preventative maintenance. But look, we're aware of it and it's a huge focus for us next year. And you know, we've got to look at the numbers and the cash and all the other constraints we've got with prices that are depressed and things. But the plan is to spend a lot of time, particularly in H1, getting the maintenance to improve to such a position where we can get at least 5% more on this asset reliability. But that's a good example of the consequences of not doing preventative maintenance. So look, we're aware of it. We've got a plan, and our production numbers next year are gonna take cognizance of the fact that the first six months we'll do equal or better than we're currently doing. But we've got to spend time, effort, and money on getting the maintenance up to more acceptable levels. Because the size of the prize is huge, you know. If you get 10% more production, that is a massive positive cash flow on the bottom line. So, we're aware of it. It's not ideal where we are now with these short, unplanned shutdowns and refurb again, the kiln. But, we've got a plan, so I'm comfortable. Thank you. Perfect. Sorry, can I just follow one very quick one on the back of that? Just to be absolutely clear, the four-day shutdown, which in the release set is scheduled for November, that has now been completed, and it's all back up and running. Is that what I understood from you said? It is absolutely. I've got the CO's already said, "Yeah, no, they told me so." It went down on Monday, Tuesday, four days. It was up and running on Saturday again. So all good, and we're, you know, we're just gonna keep sweating that asset till the end of the year to make sure we get towards the top end of the market guidance for Vanadium. Yeah. Understood. Thank you very much. The next question comes from Nick Chalmers from ARC. Please go ahead. Hi, Craig. Just following on from the previous question on markets. Are Are you seeing much regional variation in demand and product pricing right now? And, a second question, if I may, on costs. C1 cash costs have come down quite impressively this year with the higher volumes. Where would current C1 costs put you on an all-in cash cost basis if, after including selling costs, sustaining CapEx and corporate overheads? I'm gonna give it a bash, and then the FD's gonna do some work on her side to make sure that I'm in the ballpark figure. I think our all-in cash costs, capital, sales administration, is closer to $33 or $35 per kilogram. But Tanya can come back and verify that for us in a moment. Was your first question, are we seeing any increased demand in regional sales being sold- No. in South Africa? No. I was saying regionally, you know, looking globally, are you seeing much regional variation in demand from, you know, U.S. market- Got it. versus Far East markets and indeed pricing? Well, we are seeing the difference in pricing. We're not seeing difference in demand. The U.S. is still in the order of 50%, and we still see about a 10% premium that we get for the products in the U.S. But volume-wise, pretty much the same. Hasn't varied much, but fortunately continue to get some premium in the U.S. market. Thanks, and you- Tanya, can you verify that? Sorry, go ahead. you said the U.S. is currently about 50% of your sales? Yeah. Yeah. Tanya, can you verify that my, my- Yes. Yes, you are spot on there, Craig, and yeah, it is all the sustain is around that. Okay, perfect. You're spot on. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Well, then I move to our next question from Sergey Raevskiy of SP Angel. Please go ahead. Hello, everybody. Well done on this quarter. Just one question on maintenance, if I may. So just to double check, you're planning to have maintenance mostly done in the first half of next year? I mean, like, if you split it between Vametco and Vanchem, will you have it scheduled on at both of those operations around in H1, and then H2 would be expected to have sort of like a higher production or I missed that? Yeah, no, you're spot on. So, I just wanna make sure I clarify. We're not gonna be in a position where we've got a great planned maintenance system running by December. You know, it's a journey, but we are gonna be spending more funds than we have historically on maintenance in the first half of next year, to get the assets up to a point of reliability, where we can then do increased production for the second half of the year. We've just seen too many, too much examples of relining the mill, the leach process, you know, requiring unplanned maintenance. So just to improve our probability of increased throughput for 2024, we're gonna be spending more effort on maintenance, and by design, it's gonna happen in H1 next year. So we can then rely on some increased production throughput in H2. So your comment and your observation was absolutely correct. Gotcha. Thank you. And, another one, just if you can remind me on the barren dam, on the waste dam, bottleneck at Vametco. What sort of, what sort of, like, is it, is it a capital constraint? Is it like regulatory constraint? When are you planning to address that, and, like, in what way? What's, what's, what's holding it up? Well, it's a significant amount of money. So the long-term solution is to build a new barren dam. I mean, that's the long-term solution. And you would do so simultaneously with either upgrading or building a new SRP, the Salt Recovery Plant, because they are interdependent. That is an 18-month or 2- to 2-year window from the time you do the feasibility study, till you execute, and you get it up and running. It comes at significant cost. We actually don't have the cash right now at this point in time. We've gotta generate more throughput to generate additional funds for that. that. It's a significant amount of money, but that's the long-term solution, and we're gonna invest in that when we can. But in the shorter term, I wanna look for an alternative solution that can debottleneck that constraint. It may be keeping the rain out of the barren dam. Maybe it can be building the walls a bit higher. Maybe we can build a temporary one behind, in line. I don't know the answer to that yet. There are options. I'm going out to the mine on Wednesday to have a sort of spend a couple of hours having a look at what is the art of the possible, and then we'll get the technical people in and do the costing. So, there's a shorter term solution, which I don't know what the solution is, but we've got options, and we're gonna brainstorm them. And then there's the sustainable long-term solution, which is to build a new Barren dam. In conjunction with the significantly upgrade or new SRP, but that comes at a cost, and we've got to put all of this into the capital prioritization model and see what is the... What is the art of the possible in terms of timing? And overlay that with free cash flow and then see come up with an appropriate timing on that. So, you know, let us do the work, and as soon as we've got the detailed studies and we understand ourselves, we'll share it accordingly. Understood. Thank you very much. Thank you. This was the last question today. With this, I'd like to hand it back over to Craig Coltman for any additional workloads and remarks. Over to you, sir. Yeah, thank you. Look, I mean, I'm pleased that the operational and safety initiatives are now starting to bear fruit, and you can see how they're reflected in the production figures. I think we're on track now. You know, we've spoken about the market guidance and the probability of achieving that market guidance. But there's still much to be done. Yeah. You know, we're reaching a platform of stability, but it needs to be better than the current stability. And we'll get there. And when we improve that stability, that's a great platform from which you can begin to grow. So I'm excited for the coming months, and we look forward to giving our shareholders an update at the close of the next quarter. Thank you very much for your time, and thank you for listening. Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation, ladies and gentlemen. You may now disconnect.