Arafura Rare Earths Limited

During the year, Arafura raised over $930 million through 3 private placements and shareholder purchase plans, including a second tranche of the May placement of $186 million that settled after year-end. At year-end, cash and term deposits were $723 million, and on a pro forma basis cash would have been greater than $900 million. Peter said the company has secured $775 million of senior debt facilities, excluding the US EXIM letter of support, and it has binding subscription agreements for AUD 230 million with KfW on behalf of the German Raw Materials Fund and Export Finance Australia, plus AUD 200 million of convertible notes with NRFC. On offtake, the company said it contracted 500 tonnes of NdPr and 700 tonnes of Dy and Tb with Traxys North America, and an additional 500 tonnes of NdPr plus 7 tonnes per annum of Dy and Tb with an Indian counterparty. No quarterly revenue, EPS, or gross margin figures were reported on the call. Forward-looking, management said the project is fully funded once project-finance contractual close and strategic equity settlement are complete, with EFA and German Raw Materials Fund settlement targeted for October 2026. Construction is expected to run for 37 months from start, with practical completion toward the end of 2029, first production at the end of 2029, and ramp-up to nameplate targeted for the end of 2031 or early 2032.

Darryl Cuzzubbo framed the year as a turning point from development into construction and argued that rare earth supply-chain geopolitics make Nolans strategically well timed. He emphasized that Arafura is the only ore-to-oxide rare earth project in construction and said that, because of that positioning, the company has attracted unusual levels of government and institutional support. His tone was confident and defensive of the strategy, while also acknowledging that execution risk remains as the project moves into a complex construction phase.

Peter Sherrington focused on funding, debt close, and offtake structure. He said the company raised over $930 million during the year, held $723 million of cash and term deposits at year-end, and would have had more than $900 million pro forma including the later-settling tranche; he also said senior debt facilities total $775 million, excluding the US EXIM support. He highlighted that project finance documentation is well advanced and that only a small number of lender credit approvals remain before contractual close, while stressing that the Traxys and Indian contracts are tied to global seaborne NdPr index pricing.

Analyst and shareholder questions centered on the expected DyTb output, pricing mechanisms, the timetable from construction to first product, remaining financing conditions, and whether further equity would be needed. Management said roughly 40 tonnes of DyTb are recovered through processing, about 15 tonnes are already contracted, and the rest will likely be sold alongside NdPr customers rather than on a separate standalone basis. On timing, Darryl said construction starts in a couple of weeks, practical completion is expected toward end-2029, and first production should follow then, while management reiterated that the project is currently fully funded and that the remaining critical steps are contractual close and settlement of strategic equity.