NexGen Energy Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

NexGen Energy (TSX: NXE ) released second-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Thursday. Read the complete transcript below. This transcript is brought to you APIs. For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit for a consultation.

View the webcast at Summary NexGen Energy Ltd reported a strong liquidity position with over C$970 million at the end of Q2 2026, emphasizing its strategic leverage to future uranium prices. The Rook I project is progressing on schedule, with significant construction milestones completed, including a 3,000-foot airstrip and a fully commissioned accommodation complex. S. utility, aligning with its strategy to maintain exposure to future uranium price increases.

Management highlighted the supportive Canadian policy environment for nuclear energy, with NexGen positioned as a key player in meeting future uranium demand. NexGen is advancing exploration at Patterson Corridor East, with 50% of a 42,000-meter drilling program completed, aiming to expand its mineralized footprint. The company confirmed no significant capital cost inflation for the Rook I project, with major contracts signed in line with previous estimates. NexGen continues to explore various funding options, including prepayments for uranium deliveries, to optimize its financial structure without dilution.

The company is hosting an Investor Day webinar to provide a comprehensive update on the Rook I project's construction progress and future plans. Full Transcript OPERATOR Good day and thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Before we begin today, we encourage anyone joining by telephone to also access the live webcast, where NexGen will be showing current site construction photos and video at the Rook I project.

Access for the webcast details can be found in today's news release. Welcome to the NexGen Energy second quarter 2026 results conference call. As a reminder today, all participants are in a listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. After the speakers' remarks today, there will be a question-and-answer session.

To join the question queue at that time, you may press star then 1 on your telephone keypad. You will hear a tone acknowledging your request. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star then 0. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr.

Leigh Curyer, founder and Chief Executive Officer and director with NexGen Energy Ltd. Please go ahead, sir. Leigh Curyer, President, Director & Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Chris. Good morning, and thank you for joining NexGen Energy's Q2 2026 financial results and investor call.

Joining me today are Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer; Ryan Podrasky, who recently joined in Q2 from Elk Valley Resources as Chief Financial Officer—Ryan brings more than 25 years of project development and operational finance leadership in operating a $10 billion revenue business with over 5,000 employees and overseeing capital projects in excess of $5 billion; and Chris Copley, our Director of Engineering. During today's call, I'll provide an update on our construction, exploration, and commercial activities during the second quarter of 2026.

At the conclusion of this presentation, we'll move to a short slideshow and then move into the Q&A portion of the call, where you will have the opportunity to ask myself, Travis, Ryan, and Chris any questions you would like. We'll be making forward-looking statements throughout the call today, so please visit our website for all the relevant disclaimers. I'd like to commence by acknowledging the broader nuclear energy environment in which NexGen Energy is advancing.

As a Canadian company developing the world's largest and most strategic energy project in Saskatchewan, we are seeing Canada's policy environment turn highly constructive towards the country's future leadership across the nuclear landscape—from small modular reactors and large-scale reactor deployments to re-establishing Canada as the world's leading supplier of uranium through our Rook 1 project. The confluence of this supportive global policy and NexGen Energy's timing to production is perfectly aligned as NexGen Energy brings the Rook 1 project into operation just four short years from now.

The world's largest current production centers will be nearing the end of their lives, meaning NexGen Energy's output will effectively only replace that declining material. This underscores the importance of our ongoing exploration efforts at Patterson Corridor East and the district-scale package we hold to support this incredible nuclear future. The world is changing rapidly, and governments everywhere have arrived at the same conclusion: economic and national security now depend on energy sovereignty.

Ongoing geopolitical conflict has reinforced supply chain diversification as a key strategic priority, creating an opportunity for Canada to become the leading supplier of critical energy resources. The facts are striking. While 70% of nuclear demand comes from OECD nations, just 25% of fuel supply comes from those same nations. Add to that the fact that over 90% of OECD uranium production is already contracted and therefore unavailable for future sale.

NexGen Energy's timing with the Rook 1 project is perfectly aligned. We're seeing this translate into policy. The Building Canada Act marks a significant shift in support for major energy infrastructure projects, and Canada's newly released nuclear energy strategy sets out clear ambitions, including a doubling of uranium exports by 2035. NexGen Energy is fundamental to Canada in delivering on this vision.

In this context, NexGen Energy's offtake sales strategy has been proven correct in optimizing the economic return on every single pound to be produced, providing investors with world-leading leverage to the future price of uranium. Simply, NexGen Energy has orders of magnitude more pounds to sell than any other Western world supplier, and we retain full upside on every single pound—truly uncapped leverage to the future uranium market. That market spot consolidated during the quarter in the mid-80s, while the term market continued to trade steadily higher, reaching $97 per pound as reported by TradeTech. That's above the $95 high of the 2007 cycle.

The five-year forward price now sits at $105 per pound. This trend clearly shows where the market is heading and validates NexGen Energy's strategy of maximizing our leverage and exposure to the future price at the time of delivery. While prices keep moving higher, there's still been no meaningful supply response to date. When we zoom out, this becomes obvious.

Uranium prices have increased 500% over the last decade, while supply has only grown 14% over the same period. The past 12 months have only reinforced how little new supply is available to come online and how increasingly challenging it is to keep existing producing sources running. On uranium sales contracts, we continue to advance and, in some cases, execute sales agreements with customers. S.

utility customer at market prices at the time of delivery. This again validates another end user confirming NexGen Energy's offtake strategy, which is beneficial for our utility customers as well as for NexGen Energy. , Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Our objective remains consistent: to secure high-quality long-term partnerships whilst preserving the exposure to future prices that will maximise profitability per pound and ultimately value for our shareholders.

This is also a responsibility by NexGen Energy to ensure royalties to the Saskatchewan Government—which are based off realised price for uranium—are maximised. Royalty revenue funds health, education, and social commitments, which reflects our appreciation of the Saskatchewan Government's long-standing support for the initiatives NexGen Energy have delivered. With 96% of our reserve base available for future sale, we have the highest leverage in the uranium universe to where uranium prices go from here.

When we analyze the potential future sources of uranium, their cost profiles, and timelines, it is not hard to see how constructive the backdrop is given the structural nature of the supply deficit. We are therefore concluding and expecting prices to continue to strengthen materially from these current levels. With respect to construction milestones, during the quarter we have completed all planned key construction milestones to scope, budget, and schedule. At the conclusion of this commentary, I will provide a short slide update of construction at the Rook 1 project during the quarter.

You will see a lot has been accomplished in a short space of time. In detail, we've completed our 3,000-foot airstrip. Our accommodation complex is fully commissioned, complete and occupied, and capable of 700 persons. The team at the Rook 1 site now currently numbers approximately 300 people and is growing weekly as construction activities gain pace.

We are well advanced on major earthworks and surface infrastructure. Construction of the laydown facilities, the effluent diffuser road, the in-water works, and the site road networks are all on schedule. Earthworks will dominate site activities for the remainder of 2026 in preparation for shaft sinking, which commences in Q1 2027. Pads for the production and exhaust shaft mine terraces will be completed in Q3.

In Q4 we will begin concrete foundations for the shaft headframes, hoist house, and winch house, install the temporary freezing plant, and erect the primary batch plant. By December 2026, the full 5,840-foot extension airstrip will be complete. The latest construction progress photos will be posted on the homepage of our website. Further, we will host our Investor Day webinar on Tuesday, September 1st, where we will provide a comprehensive update on each phase of the Rook 1 construction pathway.

During the webinar, you'll hear directly from our highly experienced project team, whose expertise spans hard rock mining, engineering, and construction, with extensive experience in large-scale copper and gold projects complemented by deep uranium milling and processing expertise. We have also recently awarded major contracts during the quarter—the final major engineering procurement contract and the shaft sinking contract—structured to fully incentivise and align outcomes with the shaft sink itself. Further, the mine hoist equipment, among the most critical components in shaft-operated underground mines, commenced back in mid-2025 and is advancing on schedule.

We'll be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony next week on August 13th at Rook 1 with global investors, customers, partners, Indigenous nations, and the Government of Saskatchewan. This will be a major moment for Canada, signifying officially the critically important role NexGen Energy will play in delivering Canada's energy commitment. The team we've assembled at NexGen Energy is high calibre, proven, and holds itself and others to elite standards. Together, we provide the experience, capability, and expertise required to successfully deliver the world's most important uranium project.

Combined, this team has delivered over $20 billion of capital projects and brings more than 2,100 years of relevant experience. On the exploration front, Patterson Corridor East is one of the most exciting exploration discoveries in the Athabasca Basin, and we continue to be highly encouraged by results. With approximately 50% of our planned 42,000-meter drilling program now complete, our focus remains on expanding the overall mineralized footprint and the growing high-grade shears within the system. Every metre drilled improves our understanding of the scale and potential of this latest discovery.

Importantly, exploration success complements the value being created across NexGen Energy as construction advances towards production. Continued success at PCE, together with opportunities across the company's dominant land position in the southwestern Athabasca Basin, will continue to drive growth for decades to come and create unparalleled shareholder value. Results from the drilling at PCE will be issued in the coming months. Our balance sheet is very strong, with a liquidity position of over C$970 million at the end of Q2.

Given the backdrop I've outlined, NexGen Energy's positioning within it, and our unique exposure to the future upside in uranium prices, the company has significant accretive options for funding. These include project finance, strategic corporate or asset-level financings, and prepayments of future uranium deliveries. The liquidity on hand validates we can evaluate optimally all of these options. NexGen Energy remains a one-of-one in the uranium sector.

The facts: we are in construction of what is considered by many analysts to be the world's most important uranium project; we have the largest quantity of uranium in the industry available for sale; and we have the most leverage to a rising uranium price. In addition, we see a future in which supply remains in long-term deficit and demand for reliable base-load nuclear power continues to accelerate higher just as NexGen Energy commences production at Rook 1. In closing, safety, disciplined execution, and community advancement remain at the core of everything we do.

On the latter, we recently conducted the groundbreaking ceremony for the La Loche Hotel, which we have financially guaranteed and have brought the CRDN and the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan Northern Region 2 as partners. This is another example of how we at NexGen Energy believe everyone should expect better from the mining industry, and we are proud to be redefining and leading this new era of successful resource development. We look forward to updating you on our continued progress throughout the year as we deliver key construction milestones and advance Rook 1 towards first production.

I'll now provide a brief slideshow of construction pictures during the second quarter and then open the call to questions. Just one moment. On the front slide there, for those who are on the video webcast, that is the airstrip that was commissioned last week. It's currently 3,000 feet in length and is up and running.

This is a wider view across the site. Confirmation drill holes to a depth of 250 meters ring the production and the exhaust shafts. The freeze plant installation is currently underway, and up the top there is the location of the future mill terrace. The pilot hole, which I'll show you now, has been drilled down to 950 meters.

You can see on those pictures just the level of competency that the ground conditions exhibit. We know every single millimeter of the rock that we're about to excavate with the sinking of the production and the exhaust shafts. Moving to the camp, this is the total camp that we have at site—accommodation available for up to 770 people—successfully installed, commissioned, and operating to schedule. So the project is completely underway in construction as we speak.

The next slide is an indication of the level of crushed aggregate stockpiles that we have in place. We've been crushing aggregate for many, many months now with a CRDN (Clearwater River Dene Nation) partnered business, and we have 575,000 tons of gravel successfully crushed to date, ahead of schedule, employing up to 50 local residents. And that's been going around the clock and during the winter months. And so we have a huge stockpile of crushed gravel.

We need a lot of crushed gravel, but that signifies that we've gotten ahead in order to ensure that the successful construction of the project is occurring. So everything that we do with this construction on any given day—if the design is finalized, we have ordered the equipment, even if we need it three to four years from now. If we have finalized the design, we have already ordered it. And that is just astute to ensure that we are not subject to any unforeseen delays.

This is the apron at the southwestern end of the runway, with a fully contained airstrip with very, very clear lines between the vegetation and the airstrip. The next photo is that this 3,000-foot airstrip is already underway being extended to 5,840 feet, which will be completed by December 2026, a little over five months from now. Here is the road installation of the diffuser road from the Rook 1 production pad down to the lake, and you can see there the diffuser installation site, which commenced this month in August.

Here we have the turbidity containment with the installation of the diffuser, the underwater diving unit, all equipment and supplies, and people in place constructing. Here we've also excavated, as I mentioned in the call, a lot of the capital works that have been conducted during Q2. For the balance of this year, earthworks is a very heavy component of it, preparing the ground for all of the foundations that will be constructed thereafter.

Here we have the drill rigs a short three and a half kilometers—you can actually see these drill rigs from the production and exhaust pads from the Arrow deposit three and a half kilometers away—currently halfway through the 42,000-meter PCE exploration program. As discussed during the call, we'll be having results released continuously over the course of the coming months. And in order to house the additional core, and also for 2027 and 2028 drilling, we are extending the core yard storage as we speak in order to house the additional core that we see coming from PCE over the next couple of years at a minimum.