Ann: RIU Explorers Conference 2025, page-50

Congrats on the top-up - I wish I had some free cash to do the same!

I do think ASM made some major miscalculations in establishing KMP when and where they did. It was right perhaps to pivot from solely Dubbo and look to move down (up?) the supply chain for customers/revenue but they badly misread the Korean relationship and their interest in financially supporting that move with metal offtakes. That KCF Consortia (I think I have name right) has been nothing but hot air to date.

Their other mistake was not understanding the geopolitical/commercial complexity of the REE/nascent magnet market in regard to convincing magnet makers (both established and new) to sign-up to the promise of a new non-China supply chain. Why would a magnet maker risk offending the dominant Chinese suppliers and getting blacklisted by making even small orders from the competition? And the whole global 'non-China' rhetoric of the time was just that, with no substance or commitment and leaving ASM hanging in the wind.

Then the drawn-out duration/effort to go through the NdFeb validation process with those magnet makers was also perhaps not known back at the start, just adding to the delays, creating the current angst and share price lethargy.

So ASM had KMP ready to produce but it was in the middle of the supply chain, with no solid locked in western oxide/concentrate sources and no western metal buyers willing to take a punt on a new player!

But that's the past and I do understand why ASM did what they did. They were not wrong IMO, simply too early.

We now have solid commitments towards getting Dubbo developed, albeit in stages. That sorts out the long-term source of feedstock to downstream metal plants. Multiple magnet producers have finally signed off on the metal product from KMP and we should now expect small but increasing orders for same, cost covering through 2025 and profit generating in 2026. The US, specifically the DoD, are looking very supportive and likely to be the dominant Dubbo 'partner' to ASM, effectively sidelining the Koreans and Europeans in that regard. To the extent that they are now actively asking ASM to think about a second and third metals plant to be located in the US.

As to Rowena, I will admit to being a bid underwhelmed with her performance and presentations when she first moved into the CEO role. But she has massively grown in both confidence and technical/industry understanding in the past 12 months and I am now very confident in her ability to take ASM forward. You may well feel different.