NexGen Energy (TSX:NXE) reported third-quarter financial results on Tuesday. The transcript from the company’s third-quarter earnings call has been provided below.
This transcript is brought to you by Benzinga APIs. For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ for a consultation.
View the webcast at https://www.gowebcasting.com/events/nexgen-energy-ltd/2026/11/10/third-quarter-2026-results/play
Summary
NexGen Energy Ltd. reported substantial progress in the construction of its Rook 1 project, marking a significant milestone with the groundbreaking ceremony held earlier this year.
The company emphasized the robust uranium market, with prices reaching historical highs and a promising outlook driven by global demand and supply challenges.
NexGen maintains a strong financial position with CAD 822 million in cash and investments, and a strategic inventory valued at CAD 341 million, ensuring financial flexibility for ongoing and future construction activities.
Advanced construction milestones include completion of critical infrastructure like the airstrip and various civil works, with detailed engineering and procurement well underway.
Management highlighted its strategic contracting approach to align with future market prices and the continuation of advanced negotiations with global utilities for offtake agreements.
The company reiterated its commitment to delivering the Rook 1 project on scope, on schedule, and within budget, leveraging extensive planning and risk mitigation strategies.
Future growth prospects include ongoing exploration success at Patterson Corridor East, with plans for additional resource estimation and engineering studies.
Full Transcript
OPERATOR
Thank you for standing by. This is your conference operator. Welcome to the NexGen Energy third quarter 2026 results conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the speakers’ remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session at the end. To join the question queue, 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 zero.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Lee Currier, Chief Executive Officer and Founder with NexGen Energy Ltd. Please go ahead, sir.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Thank you, Jason. Good morning and thank you to our shareholders and stakeholders for joining NexGen Energy’s Q3 2026 financial results and investor conference call. Joining me today is Travis McPherson, Chief Commercial Officer, Ryan Podrasky, Chief Financial Officer, and Chris Copley, Project Director. During today’s call, the latest on our commercial activities, including the uranium market environment during 3Q20 and to date, the continued exploration success at Patterson Corridor East, or PCE, only 3.5 km to the east of Arrow, and, importantly, an update on the successful construction progress at our Rook 1 site, including a slideshow highlighting the advancement at site. And then we’ll move into the Q&A portion of the call, where you’ll have the opportunity to ask myself, Travis, Ryan, and Chris any questions.
We’ll be making forward-looking statements throughout the call today, so please visit our website for all the relevant disclaimers. August 13, 2026 will stand as a defining day in NexGen’s history. On that day we held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Rook 1 project, symbolizing the commencement of major post-approval construction activities. August 13th was 12 years and 6 months from the initial discovery of the Arrow deposit. This journey has been defined by the courage to test common geological convention, perseverance, resilience, genuine collaborations and partnerships with local communities, underpinned by rigorous planning, delivery of those stated objectives with elite safety and respect for the environment in which we conduct our operations.
Simply, this approach, which never stops, has delivered better than the past. The solid foundation of NexGen Energy, built on delivery over the past 16 years, is today being directly reflected in the quality of work on the ground in the successful execution of construction at Rook 1. The people who have stood alongside us and shared their perspectives on August 13th at the groundbreaking ceremony all reflected what this project means. Saskatchewan’s Premier Scott Moe, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Secretary of State Buckley Ballinger, Mati Nation, Saskatchewan President Glenn McCallum, Matey Local 39 President Keith Sirchuk, and leaders and members from all four of our local priority area communities. Many of our international shareholders, board of directors, team members, among many others, some of whom were absent due to illness or family commitments.
Their presence spoke to something larger than a single mine. Rook 1 is a provincial priority, a national champion, and is being delivered in partnership with the local communities to set a new standard across the global resources sector. Rook 1 in the southwestern section of the Athabasca Basin is the foundation of nuclear fuel supply for the world, underpinning the trajectory of northern Saskatchewan and Canada’s nuclear and the objective for decades to come.
And that timing could not be more important than it is today. The uranium market is at unprecedented levels of demand and challenged supply. The long-term uranium price reached and has maintained its historical high during the quarter at $99 per pound and is forecast to go considerably higher by the market observance. And as the world’s existing producing mines are dominated by production downgrades, rising sustaining capital, and increased costs of production as they move into the latter stages of mine life.
Two forces are defining this era: energy security and electrification. And they point in the same direction. We need more power and it needs to be sovereign. The idea that Canada has what the world needs has taken on greater significance, most recently echoed by Prime Minister Mark Carney. And from a resource perspective, and particularly uranium, that is certainly true. Having the resources is only one component. Realising Canada’s opportunity depends on companies who recognize the opportunity, where the uranium market is heading tomorrow, not where it has been in the past, and responsibly executing.
There is a new breed of future uranium producers in Saskatchewan. And at a time—at a time of unprecedented market opportunity—and full credit to our cohort of uranium companies with projects under construction as we speak, who in these inflationary times are structuring contracts with the same approach as NexGen Energy: tied to prices in the future at the time of delivery in order to mitigate inflation and cost increase risk, whilst being financially astute, focused on maximizing financial returns for shareholders and maximizing royalties for the great province of Saskatchewan.
Yes, uranium prices have risen five times over the past decade. Yet we are mining the same amount of uranium as we were 10 years ago. Prices simply will rise substantially higher due to increasing cost of production and the depletion of the existing mines. Momentum across the nuclear sector continues. Over 88 gigawatts of nuclear capacity is now under construction, with approximately 8 gigawatts more from restarts and upgrades. That’s over 20% growth. And that doesn’t take into account the massive backlog of planned reactors as well as SMR deployments, which are making rapid advancements. This growth, which the industry hasn’t seen since the 70s and 80s, is being driven by the requirements of nations around the world to have reliable baseload power at scale to meet rapidly rising electricity demand.
These massive investments in global energy infrastructure are happening right now in Canada. Specifically, we’ve seen a massive resurgence in the demand for new nuclear power plants, including Saskatchewan, where Premier Mo announced plans for 2.6 gigawatts of nuclear power in northern Saskatchewan by 2050. Further, we’re seeing the federal government of Canada revitalize and recommit to the Canadian nuclear stalwart CANDU, promising to export this homegrown proven technology around the world.
It’s an incredible situation developing in Canada. During the quarter, Prime Minister Mark Carney pitched the project, a four-reactor nuclear plant at Darlington, Ontario, funded by a $3 billion federal and provincial investment. As part of Canada becoming master of its own destiny, a new chapter in Canada’s nuclear history is being written. As Prime Minister Mark Carney stated, we are an energy superpower and we are only getting stronger. Across Canada, nuclear power is having its moment. In Port Hope, Ontario, the provincial utility has proposed a new 10,000 megawatt nuclear station.
While on the shores of Lake Huron, one of the world’s largest nuclear plants, the Bruce Power nuclear power plant, is advancing to double the plant’s output to 4,800 megawatts. In Alberta, a proposal to generate a similar amount of power via four large-scale reactors near the town of Peace River has begun its impact assessment process. While in New Brunswick, home to the only operating nuclear plant outside of Ontario, the province is investigating ways to expand nuclear.
This momentum was also evident at the industry’s preeminent uranium conferences during the quarter, including the World Nuclear Symposium in London and the Global Uranium Conference in Adelaide, where strong interest in NexGen Energy’s offtake and supportive sentiment reinforce the highly constructive backdrop for NexGen Energy and the uranium industry at large. This shift is increasingly tangible, with major technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and many others financially backstopping the expansion of nuclear power and the supply chains required to support this growth.
Further, governments are signaling the need for strategic reserves, Kazakhstan being the most recent during the quarter, and increasing investment in nuclear fuel supply chains. Together, these trends continue to strengthen expectations for materially higher uranium requirements. These dynamics are evident in uranium pricing today. As mentioned earlier, as at October 31, the term pricing is at a historical high, $99 US a pound. Three- and five-year forward prices have reached $105 and $112 US per pound, respectively. Uranium prices continue to rise higher, highlighting the strength of the fundamentals in our sector. Our Rook 1 project is one of only a couple of uranium projects globally under construction today, together with Patterson Corridor East and our 190,000 hectares of prospective land.
NexGen Energy’s foundation to the uranium required for the next phase of global nuclear growth. At Patterson Corridor East, the 2026 drill program is nearing completion. We are seeing continued growth and strength of the mineralized system with more to come. Results published during the quarter once again highlighted a significant basement-hosted uranium system that continues to grow. During the quarter the high-grade subdomain expanded by 17% to presently 644 meters and, given results, allocated an additional fifth rig to the program. More results will be received and released imminently.
While subsequent resource estimation, engineering, environmental studies, and permitting will be required, these results are pointing to PCE as a highly advantageous avenue for NexGen Energy and Canada’s nuclear energy objectives. On contracting, we are in advanced discussions with many utilities around the world. Global utilities recognize NexGen Energy’s unique value proposition in terms of materially diversifying their supply chains to reliable, technically sound, and geopolitically stable new sources of uranium. We will continue to advance negotiations and forecast executing additional sales agreements in the coming periods as we deliver construction of the requirement project.
Our contracting strategy is simple and remains the same: to realize the most value per pound produced with every pound that is produced and sold by shortening contract durations, tying them to the prevailing market prices at the time of delivery. This approach has proven to be right, particularly in light of what is occurring in other major supply centers today. NexGen Energy is the world’s most levered western world company to the future price of uranium and will continue to always be so.
Our balance sheet is strong with 822 million Canadian in cash and short-term investments at the end of Q3 2026, as well as an additional 341 million Canadian dollars worth of inventory in U3O8, providing significant financial flexibility as we advance Rook 1. NexGen Energy’s strategic positioning and unique exposure to the future uranium price upside has provided access to a broad range of attractive and accretive financing alternatives. These include strategic financings, prepayments, project financing.
Importantly, our existing liquidity allows us to be highly disciplined in assessing these alternatives and selecting the optimal funding package to preserve flexibility and continue to maximize long-term shareholder value by successfully executing the construction of the requirement project. Importantly, we continue to achieve key construction milestones to scope, on schedule, on budget, and safely. Construction activity accelerated materially during the third quarter with earthworks and critical surface infrastructure advancing right across the site. The critical path exhaust shaft pad civil and concrete foundational work has commenced. Earthworks for the airstrip expansion to 5,840 ft is complete, providing the capacity to accommodate large jet aircraft by the end of the year.
The construction facilities pad civil foundations are substantially complete, supporting temporary construction facilities and the primary batch plant. The shaft sinking contractor has been mobilized to site, along with the freeze plant, which we strategically procured in 2023, that will be delivered to site in January 2027, with temporary freezing commencing in March of ’27, a key milestone on the critical path. We will go into more detail during the visual slideshow at the conclusion.
Detailed engineering continues to progress in alignment with the overall project schedule, with a focus on civil packages, shaft infrastructure, and site-wide utilities. NexGen Energy have also awarded key construction contracts across aggregate crushing, earthworks, concrete, shaft sinking, steel buildings, and power generation. Procurement activities continue to accelerate, with procurement for over 50 process plant long lead items in progress as we speak, along with the procurement for underground equipment.
The progress achieved through Q3 reflects the consequence of significant detailed planning over many years during permitting and our focus on safe execution. Let’s walk through the latest construction photos through the link included in today’s newsletter release. They provide a clear visual update on the significant progress being made across the site scale and work now underway as we continue advancing Rook 1 toward production. Just running through the slides here, this is the eastern end of the extended runway of 5,840 ft, which was completed on October 23, 2026. The permanent access road is on schedule for November 26, and the runway electrical systems are on schedule for February 15, 2027.
This slide is two pictures of the exhaust shaft and temporary power facility pads. As we discussed during the call, the civil works are largely completed for both of these activities in preparation for the arrival of the batch plant and the foundations to support the freezing for the freeze plant and the subsequent freezing of the exhaust shaft in Q2 2027. The production shaft pad—already complete and ready for civils that are scheduled for completion on December 16th of this year.
Slide 6 is showing the construction facility pad that includes the primary batch plant area, the temporary facilities area as well. As you can see, snow started falling at site as well. Moving to the secondary batch plant—already arrived or being prepared for arrival at site—and first concrete pour is scheduled for December 16, 2026. This is a picture of the primary batch plant, which will support project construction by producing and supplying concrete for the foundation, structural works, and other critical site infrastructure.
It’s currently being uploaded in the Port of Houston and then making its way to site. All components are scheduled to arrive at site by December 4, 2026, with installation occurring during the first quarter of 2027. The stockpile facility—clearly all the earthworks have been completed on October 15, 2026. Moving along to the waste pad, or the waste management facility pad—that’s temporary storage of the site waste prior to the treatment or disposal. Clearing and grubbing of those activities are complete, with cut and fill operations underway and scheduled for completion on December 18, 2026. This is the installation of the effluent diffuser, which is a 500 meter pipeline that was completed on August 30, 2026.
Highly complex operation involving multiple contractors all working together under the project management of the NexGen Energy team, with successful installation which required barrages, cranes and dry, and divers to deploy. The pad and road finishing activities are underway and are on schedule for completion by December 18, 2026. The Exploration Courtyard expansion and mineralized cutting tents. That courtyard is being expanded to accommodate or be prepared, ready for the total 2027 drilling campaign for PCE. That is clearly indicative of our confidence around the PCE resource and how much core is going to be required, or core storage is going to be required, as a result of our drilling program at PCE in 2027. Expense. Temporary accommodation at the camp expansion—again, this was completed in June 2026 on time and budget.
Accommodation is now on site for 570 people, including an additional 200-person camp as well. So we have capacity for well over 770 people with respect to the construction activities at site. Septic tank absorption field as well—on schedule and completion for December—and the Clearwater Bridge. This was installed by the Saskatchewan Highways Department, greatly appreciated by NexGen Energy and reflecting the government’s commitment to the project in ensuring that appropriate transport infrastructure is in place to support the more heavy haulage vehicles coming to and from site going forward.
Thank you, and I will hand over to the operator to open the call for any questions that anyone may have.
OPERATOR
Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then 1 on your telephone keypad. You’ll hear a tone acknowledging your request. If you’re using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing any keys. If you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star followed by the number two. We’ll pause for a moment as callers join the queue and while we prepare the Q&A roster.
And our first question comes from George Eady from UBS. Please go ahead.
George Eady (Analyst)
Yeah, hey Tim, thanks for the update today. Can I ask on the cash spend? So the run rate stepped up in 3Q as expected. Can you maybe help us think about that sort of run rate from here for the next couple of quarters and then, just in regards to that, when some of the bigger licks of capital come and, thinking about your current liquidity buffer, when you need to, at latest, finalize the next funding strategy? Thank you.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Yeah, thanks, George. Yeah, look, we’re funded through to the end of Q3 2027 as we speak with our cash and short-term investments. We have been spending more over the last quarter, and construction is well underway. The bigger drawdown on our cash reserves starts commencing as we start sinking the shafts, and they are scheduled for the beginning of Q3 2027. So yeah, we’ve got plenty of runway, we’ve got plenty of options in front of us with respect to financing, and we’ll be answering that question in a manner that keeps the optimization of project construction intact and will be reporting on that in due course.
George Eady (Analyst)
Yeah, great, thanks, Leigh. And just the strategic inventory, you still don’t view that as a source of funds, is that right? And then, if I can squeeze one more into that as well, just some of the bigger capex spends with the shaft sinking—can you remind us, are the contracts fixed yet in terms of price, or are they still TBD?
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Yeah, firstly, we won’t be selling the inventory at all as a source of financing. With respect to your second question around the shaft sinking contract, we have signed that contract. That contract has come out right in line with our August 2024 financial cost on the Rook One project. Now, that purely validated—because costs have gone up over that time—that we were ultra conservative in our financial cost calculation with respect to the sinking of the shafts. Shaft sinking, a large component of it is labor, and we are all aware, as widely reported, that there’s inflationary pressures and wage pressures.
Now, the way we’ve got the contract set up is that we have complete transparency and management of those costs. If they go up, we will pay them. The shaft contractor is strongly incentivized around its sinking rates with respect to those shafts, and those sinking rates have had an enormous amount of analysis and validation around them with respect to the rock conditions. So, as everything we’ve done at NexGen Energy throughout our 16-year history, we have been conservative and met market expectations in everything we’ve done, and the construction of this project will be no different. I would also just add that we have already locked in the purchase of a number of items of equipment where we have identified—even if they are to arrive in year four of the construction period—we’ve already ordered some significant items to ensure that they arrive on time and at the cost that we expect.
So, as I said, we’ve been planning the construction of this project for over seven years. We know exactly what we’re doing on every day over that four-year construction period—and I basically need to date that back because we’re already well into it—and who’s doing it and which contractors are going to support NexGen Energy in doing it. And, by virtue of the slides that we went through, you’ll see the dates are very specific as to the day as to when things start and finish, and that is indicative of the level of planning that we’ve gone to.
OPERATOR
And the next question comes from Ralph Profitti from Stifel. Please go ahead.
Ralph Profitti (Analyst)
Thanks, operator. Leigh, just one question from me on the geotechnical side—you actually just touched on it in your previous answer—and, you know, the 60-hole program was very successful in identifying sort of rock qual and compressive strength and things like that. I’m just wondering what follow-up work is being done and what happens now on the geotechnical side, and what comes next between now and, say, initiation of temporary freezing in March of 2027.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
I’ll answer the first bit, and if I’ve left any gaps I’m sure Travis or Chris will be happy to jump in. But holistically, we have completed a full geotechnical assessment of the shaft conditions themselves. So we’ve drilled pilot holes right down the middle of the exhaust and the production shafts. We’ve drilled geotechnical holes right throughout the ore body, right throughout where the underground tailings management facility is going to be located, and also in a broader sense around the project as well.
I dare say—or I will say—I am unaware of another project that’s had such geotechnical testing to this extent prior to actual construction. And we are very aware of every millimeter that we’re drilling through with respect to the exhaust and the production shafts. Now, they are the two most critical items of this entire construction process. As we highlighted in our webinar on September 1st, we’ve been extremely transparent as to the ground conditions that we expect, the reasons for them, and for those who have been fortunate enough to go to site, have seen the core firsthand and can attest to the competency of that and the consistency.
So, to answer your question, Ralph, there’s no further geotechnical work to be done prior to the commencement of excavating the exhaust shaft commencing at the start of Q3 2027.
Ralph Profitti (Analyst)
Gotcha. Thanks so much.
OPERATOR
And the next question comes from Mohammad Sidibe from National Bank Financial. Please go ahead.
Mohammad Sidibe (Analyst)
Hi Leigh, thanks for taking my question and good to see the progress at site. Maybe in terms of your procurement packages and contracts—you know, the shaft sinking contract has been signed—but could you remind us of any other procurement packages or contracts that are yet to be awarded that may be driving the biggest cost or schedule risk, in your opinion? Thank you.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Well, I’ll start. The major ones have been issued. We’ve got over 50 at the moment that we’re currently issuing, and there’s a significant number more. But around the major items of construction, we have the batch plant for the foundations, we have the freeze plant which we procured back in 2023—over three years ago. It’s been located in the shed ready for transportation up to site for quite a number of years now. And the other one would be the power plant which we don’t need until year four, but we’ve already procured that—we’ve put the order in and got the contract terms around it.
So I would say they would be the major ones as we speak. We haven’t encountered any elevation of risk around delivery in accordance with our construction schedule at all, and I think that’s a result of the level of detailed planning that we’ve conducted in the seven years prior to actually being approved to start construction of this project. You can see, by virtue of how quickly the runway has gone in, the expansion of that camp to 770 people in an elite environmental manner, that we are incredibly busy outside at the moment.
There’s 376 people—there’s an enormous amount of activity on site—and everything is going, and it’s in this order: I want to be very clear on this. Everything is to scope. We will not compromise the scope which is in the long-term highly economic interest of this project whilst maintaining absolute elite environment and safety standards, incorporating or optimizing as much community contracting and employment as achievable. We’re currently leading Canada in respect of that.
It’s well under management and the major items we’ve put a lot of work into, and we’re focused on them, and it is going according to our schedule, scope, and cost as we speak, and we’re constantly reviewing it. It’s not like one and done and everything’s finished. Every day we’re constantly reviewing it, constantly mitigating, and that will continue. I can tell you now this project will be built to scope and in the most efficient time and cost achievable. And as I said, it’s a function of the team that we’ve got at NexGen Energy that we’ve assembled over the past seven years, and the granular detail that we’ve put into the planning and the risk mitigation around it. So I just encourage everyone to keep watching our progress, go back to the webinar on September 1st to see when things are happening and how that compares to what we’re presenting in every quarterly call, and hold us accountable to that.
There’s no fear there whatsoever. There’s huge excitement at site, and it’s accelerating as we speak.
Mohammad Sidibe (Analyst)
Thanks a lot for that color, Leigh. And maybe for my second question, if I may, for Travis—maybe just on the contracting front and offtakes. I think, just given the recent policy shifts—well, not policy, but the midterm election won by the Democrats—and questions around data centers and hyperscalers, just wondering from a utilities perspective, has anything changed in terms of your conversations and how they’re approaching long-term contracting, or it’s the same kind of strength and bullishness that we’ve seen since the last few years?
Thank you.
Travis McPherson (Chief Commercial Officer)
Yeah, thanks, Mohammad. Yeah, sure. Short answer is no, we haven’t seen any change with respect to that. We wouldn’t forecast any—or any material anyways. You know, there’s still announcements today out of some of the SMR companies and how they’re advancing. And again, the midterms are obviously specific to the United States. That’s obviously a very important jurisdiction, one that’s supportive really across the aisle of nuclear power and has been for a long time now.
But we’re not just talking to U.S. utilities—we’re talking to utilities all over the world. And so there’s a ton of interest there for our project, as we said earlier, and our product, and with urgency. So yeah, no change there as a result of the midterms.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
No, I’ll just, I’ll, I’ll just, you know, add, you know, at the global uranium conference in Adelaide, it was, you know, normally a conference where you don’t have, or in the past there haven’t been, a lot of utilities. Asian utilities were well represented and they were very open about accessible supply of uranium from 2030 onwards. They’ve got a real concern over it and that demand is, is insatiable. They are well aware that Kazakhstan are building their own strategic inventory to support their own nuclear initiatives.
And, you know, the, the, the takeaway was that they’ve got, basically all they’re going to be allowed to procure is, is pretty well done. So it’s, it’s materializing and, you know, whilst you’re not going to see that directly in the spot price, spot price is rising. Long-term price is at a historic high and going further, the three- and five-year is well into the hundreds and going higher. So it, it’s happening. People should look at all of those components when trying to gauge these market fundamentals and how they’re playing out.
But as NexGen, and having been in the sector since 2002, but particularly as NexGen’s history, this market opportunity is, I think, the most compelling in all commodities without a doubt, and as everyone knows I bang on about it. I’m very technically and financially fact-driven and that assessment is based on that technical and financial fact, and it’s incredibly, incredibly exciting for investors in, in NexGen and also the other uranium cohort.
OPERATOR
Thanks for that, audio caller. Thank you.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Thanks, Mohamed.
OPERATOR
Once again, if you have a question, please press star then one, and the next question comes from Bill Peterson from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.
Bill Peterson (Analyst)
Yeah, good morning. Thanks for taking the questions and all the progress updates. So you’re hiring a lot of people, you’re going through training and so forth. How should we think about manpower additions over the next 12 to 18 months? What type of inflation are you seeing with such additions? And I guess more broadly, how should we think about expenses, salaries, given the big step up in 2026?
Travis McPherson (Chief Commercial Officer)
Yeah, look, the training programs have always been, or have been, a big focus of ours going back to 2022 because, you know, frankly, before everyone was talking about it being hard to hire people and labor shortages and this and that. You know, we’ve always found it hard to find people because we’re looking for the right people. And so we’ve always taken time to train them, identify them, and onboard them the right way. We’re not finding any challenges with respect to that.
You know, anytime we put out for applications, we literally get thousands of interested people for each one of those positions. So yeah, we’re not seeing any, any issues there. We’re on top of it. We have been for a long time. We’re seeing the fruits of those early investments now. You know, we just, as an example, did a heavy equipment operator training program and had 47 people enter, 47 people graduate, and 10 immediately got hired at our site, with the rest working with various contractors of ours to, to, to fill out their employment.
So that’s just a small example of these training programs ongoing. With respect to wages and that sort of thing, like you said. I mean, as Leigh said, we’re focused on the scope and the schedule, number one and two. And so we’re willing to pay people to actually do the work and do it really well. But that doesn’t take a ton of people when you get the right people. So you pay the right people the right amount and you don’t hire five people to do one person’s job.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Yeah, we’ve, we’ve, we’ve even actually reduced the level, or the overall G&A cost as well, over the quarter and going into 2027. So at a managerial level, the scale of activities, or the spend over the course of Q3 and going into full year 2027, the G&A component is actually going to decrease as a percentage. So, you know, we have a very highly focused focus on every dollar we spend. And, and I’ve got to say at the moment, in terms of labor rates, the actual cost on a per hour basis, we haven’t experienced a significant increase in cost over the, over the 2026 and, and 25.
So, you know, I think that’s a combination of a, a couple of aspects, you know, very strong management of them. But also, you know, people are wanting to come and work at NexGen given the project that we’re working on and the, and the conditions at NexGen and the advancement. So it’s, you know, it’s another factor that you’ve got to really manage closely and be ahead of. And with the training programs that we’ve put in place early, we’re starting to bear the results and benefits of that planning.
Bill Peterson (Analyst)
Yeah, thanks for those comments. And then maybe stepping back and thinking about the bigger capex picture: on the investor day, you pointed out that 2027 looks to be the peak capex year. First of all, I want to confirm at least two months on that that’s still the case, and I guess if you do the math it looks around 600 million Canadian. Is that the right way to think about it as of now, especially taking into account the commentary you just made?
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Yeah, that’s still completely valid, and we expect it to be during 2027. Yep.
OPERATOR
Thanks. And the next question comes from Graham Tanaka from Tanaka Capital Management. Please go ahead.
Graham Tanaka (Analyst)
Hi guys. Congratulations on your progress. I’m glad things are proceeding on schedule, on budget. Could you confirm or again repeat what you think the all-in cost per pound will be at production and maybe give us a little hint as to what might happen with that curve as you go from the first to second to third year cost per pound, and also had questions on your reserves and basically mine life plans with scalability upwards and flexibility going forwards. Thank you.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Thank you, Graham. I’ll start and then hand over to Travis. But the cost estimate, the reduction rate and all of that, as per the definitive feasibility study, is maintained in that. With respect to PCE, obviously there’s a lot of interest in it given, you know, the, the obvious upside to the NexGen story that it, it will deliver. That is still subject to future resource calculation, engineering studies, environmental studies as well, and obviously subject to permitting.
I’ll just say that, yeah, the, the likely development scenario would be—and as I said, qualified with respect to it would be subject to permitting, etc.—but we would not foresee any material challenges around that, given that we have already received the permit for the Arrow deposit. There is still extensive mineralization that we have intersected through the drill bit that is outside the current grade shells and product and mine plan of Arrow. So I, I think a logical development scenario is Arrow as, as for as detailed in the definitive feasibility plan, ongoing production at Arrow as we, you know, prove up additional, the, the increase the drill density of those intersections in and around Arrow and also below the current Arrow grade shell, and then also looking at how PCE is optimized once we have an initial resource statement on PCE, which we’ll be aiming for in around the start of Q3 2027, obviously subject to the timing of receiving assays.
So very exciting. NexGen is clearly much bigger than just Arrow itself, even though Arrow is, you know, number one in the world, and it’s a, it’s a great position to be and I think the exploration team’s doing a magnificent job with the five rigs on PCE, and they’ll be having a short break over Christmas and then getting right back into it at the start of 2027.
Graham Tanaka (Analyst)
And yes, and, and what the cost per pound, getting back to that, what, what is that looking like relative to your plans even seven years ago? I’m just wondering how much that comes out to per pound.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Well, cost per pound, as validated in the August 2024 financial cost, was just under $10 a pound US with an all-in cost at about $14 US.
Graham Tanaka (Analyst)
Okay, and today what would that estimate be?
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Well, it is, is maintained as we, as per the August 2024 financial cost that we published. It’s the same.
Graham Tanaka (Analyst)
Fabulous. Congratulations. Thank you.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Thanks, Graham.
OPERATOR
Again, if you have a question, please press star then one. And our next question comes from Craig Hutchinson from TD Cowen. Please go ahead.
Craig Hutchinson (Analyst at TD Cowen)
All right. Good morning, guys. Just on the financing piece, you guys mentioned that you’re financed through Q3 of next year, but just can you talk to what the cadence around the financing, like do you expect to announce a series of financing measures together or can we expect, you know, maybe some of these, these announcements to come independently, and just curious on your recent thoughts around prepays as well. Thanks.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Yeah, look, it, it’ll, it, it’s dependent on a number of things, market conditions at the time, etc. Look, I, I think as we stand, it’ll be a combination of those various alternatives, not, not just one of them. You know, rising uranium price certainly assists in getting a lower cost of finance, be it whatever form it may be in. So I, yeah, I, I would like to be more specific, but that is as specific as we can get at this point in time. As I said, as, as we sit here, we would be expecting like a combination of one or more of those activities that we’re looking at.
We are in negotiation for a prepayment with entities both in and outside of the US as we speak. And so it’s not just, you know, there’s a number of prepayment options that we’re looking at. Very importantly, any decision around that is tied to maintaining leverage to the future price of uranium at the time of delivery. So that is our approach and our guiding principle in those prepayment negotiations.
OPERATOR
All right, thank you. This concludes the question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Leigh Curyer for any closing remarks.
Leigh Curyer (Chief Executive Officer)
Thank you, and thank you everyone for attending today and joining our call. Look, we, we are in construction mode and it, we are working on what is the world’s, you know, highly important newest uranium project. The timing is perfect. We see a market where supply remains structurally constrained while demand for secure, reliable nuclear power continues to accelerate precisely as Rook 1 is, it is advancing construction and will be in production in a few short years from now.
In closing, the safe and successful execution and community advancement remain at the core of everything we do. We’re delivering Rook 1 to the highest standards, importantly to scope and within the most efficient time and cost achievable. While we continue to grow the opportunity across our broader district in creating long-term value for our stakeholders, we invite and expect better and, and always will be delivering better in everything we do. So with that, it’s an exciting time in the industry, incredibly exciting time at NexGen.
I’d like to take the opportunity for the team that is on the call and the team out at site. They’re doing a magnificent job in the delivery of this hugely material project on a world scale. Thank you.
OPERATOR
This brings to a close today’s conference call. You may disconnect your lines. Thank you for participating and have a pleasant day.
Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company’s SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants’ and analysts’ statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.