Announcement PDF ASX: CXO Annual Report 2024 Core Lithium | 2024 Annual Report About this Report Core Lithium Ltd is the 100% owner of the Finniss Lithium Operation – the Northern Territory’s first lithium mine, and Australia’s only lithium mine outside of Western Australia. Finniss is located just 88km by sealed road to the Port of Darwin and supported by one of the best logistics chains of any Australian lithium project. The operation is currently on hold while restart studies are completed and lithium market conditions stabilise. Contents The Year in Review 2 Finniss Milestone Timeline 4 Restart Ready 6 Chair’s Letter 8 Chief Executive Officer’s Report 10 Operating and Financial Review 12 Sustainability 31 Tenement Schedule 40 Mineral Resource and Ore Reserves Statement 41 Directors’ Report 46 Auditor’s Independence Declaration 68 Financial Report 69 Independent Auditor’s Report 109 ASX Additional Information 112 Corporate Information 114 Important Information Acknowledgement of country This Annual Report covers Core Lithium Ltd (“Core”, the “Parent” or the “Company”) and its subsidiaries, collectively referred to as “the Group”. The financial report is presented in Australian dollars. Core is a company limited by shares, incorporated and domiciled in Australia. Core acknowledges First Nations people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we work throughout Australia. We pay our respects to the people and cultures, and to their elders past, present and emerging. We recognise their connection to land, water and community, and their rich contribution to society. The Company’s registered office and principal place of business is: Core Lithium Ltd Level 9, 2 Mill Street Perth 6000 Western Australia 1 The Finniss Lithium Operation has extensive infrastructure in place including a 1 million tonne per annum processing plant and a full logistics chain from mine to port. 2 Core Lithium | 2024 Annual Report The Year in Review Mining operations were paused in January 2024 and processing of stockpiles was completed in June 2024 Operations Read more pages 12–13 Sales and marketing Read more page 14 95,020dmt 97,423dmt Projects and exploration Read more pages 15–20 ~500km2 spodumene concentrate produced spodumene concentrate sales landholding in the Bynoe pegmatite field Record monthly recovery rate of 65% in May 2024 First lithium fines shipment made in September 2023 Finniss Global Mineral Resource increased to Cash operating costs of $1,396/dmt 48.2Mt 1 66,140wmt @1.26% Li2O 5,178wmt of concentrate and up to 75,000wmt of fines available for sale cash spent on exploration in FY24 lithium fines sales $26.6m 1. Refer to “Finniss Mineral Resource Increased by 58%” as released on 11 April 2024. Core Lithium confirms that the Company is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the Mineral Resource Estimates cross referenced in this report and confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed. 3 Restart study to be completed in FY25 Maintaining the operations in a restart ready state Complying with all licence requirements Bottom-up assessment of cost base Review of operating model 4 Core Lithium | 2024 Annual Report Finniss Milestone Timeline A Rapid Pathway to Production 2020 2019 2018 2017 • BP33 MRE grows 50% • BP33 emerges as high-priority target • Finniss discovery • Bynoe landholding increased • Maiden MRE at Grants • Grants mining lease lodged • Maiden MRE at BP33 • Scoping study • Grants Mining Lease granted • Finniss DFS • AAPA Certificate granted • EPA assessment completed • Grants MMP submitted • Yahua offtake agreement • BP33 approvals commence • Grants MMP approved • Finniss awarded Major Project status • Grants Mining Lease granted • Darwin Port agreement 5 Finniss Mineral Resource Estimate grows BP33 grows Finniss MRE grows 10.1Mt 18.9Mt 30.6Mt @1.48% Li2O2 @1.31% Li2O @1.32% Li2O1 Finniss Ore Reserve grows 10.6Mt 2024 @1.3% Li2O 2023 2022 2021 • Updated DFS • Ganfeng offtake $125M raising • Final Investment Decision • Construction commences • Core joins ASX200 • Finniss ORE grows to 10.6Mt @1.3% Li2O • Strategic review undertaken following lithium price fall • BP33 mine authorisation and MMP approved • Finniss officially opened • $50M early works approved • Crushing plant commissioned • $111.4M institutional placement and Share Purchase Plan • Maiden DSO sale • Construction complete • First concentrate produced • BP33 Early works commence • Mining of Grants pit suspended • Processing operations paused • BP33 boxcut suspended • Restart studies commenced • Review of regional exploration targets • First delivery into long-term offtakes • Additional offtakes • $100M institutional placement • Mining commences 1. Refer “Significant Increase to Finniss Resources and Reserves” released on 12 July 2022. Total Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 18.9Mt @ 1.32% Li2O is comprised of Measured MRE of 5.60Mt @ 1.46% Li2O, Indicated MRE of 7.69Mt @ 1.35% Li2O and Inferred MRE of 5.57Mt @ 1.12% Li2O. 2. Refer “BP33 Mineral Resource more than Doubled” released on 6 March 2023. Total MRE of 10.1Mt @ 1.48% Li2O is comprised of Measured MRE of 2.85Mt @ 1.46% Li2O, Indicated MRE of 4.09Mt @ 1.53% Li2O and Inferred MRE of 3.17Mt @ 1.45% Li2O. Core Lithium confirms that the Company is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the Mineral Resource Estimates and Ore Reserve Estimates and exploration results cross referenced in this report and confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed. Core confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Person’s findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original announcements. 6 Core Lithium | 2024 Annual Report Restart Ready The Finniss Lithium Operation is a highly valuable and strategic asset as the only lithium operation in Australia outside of Western Australia. Finniss has a modern, high quality process plant and associated infrastructure and a proven logistics chain. The operation is connected to the Port of Darwin by 88km of sealed roads and is ideally located for Asian export markets. In response to the rapid and sharp fall in the lithium price during the year, the Company took the difficult decision to pause operations at Finniss to preserve the value of the asset. The operation now has a small, specialist team overseeing its security, safety and ensuring the infrastructure remains in a restart ready condition. We have worked closely with NT regulators to ensure we continue to comply with all licence operations and maintain our high environmental standards. Our restart strategy includes the following: Retention of skills and experience to ensure a high standard of site maintenance and operational readiness A detailed bottom-up assessment of the cost base A review of the future operating model Studies into optimisation of the processing strategy Updated mine scheduling and planning Resource extension drilling of deposits and targets within trucking distance of the Finniss processing plant Any restart decision will be based on the outcomes of the restart work programs and an assessment of the lithium market conditions, among other factors. The restart study is expected to be completed in the first half of calendar year 2025. 7 8 Core Lithium | 2024 Annual Report Chair’s Letter Dear fellow shareholders, I am pleased to present Core’s annual report for the financial year ending 30 June 2024. This year has been one of both challenge and resilience, and I want to take this opportunity to provide a summary of our activities, focusing on key areas such as safety, mining operations, environmental compliance, and our strategic response to changing market conditions. The lithium industry is small and rapidly evolving. As a new entrant, Core has had to navigate the inevitable waves shaping and shaking all lithium companies. We demonstrated our resilience by quickly capitalising on the strong sentiment from 2021 to 2023, successfully financing and constructing our Finniss lithium operation. However, when the market sharply turned from around the start of FY24, just as our operations were ramping up, we had to act decisively and take what were tough decisions to protect your Company. When the first spodumene concentrate was produced from the Finniss operation in February 2023, lithium prices were nearly US$8,000 per tonne. The following year, they hit record lows of US$1,100 per tonne and are currently trading well below this level. This meant lithium prices fell by around 85% throughout our operating period. This price fall has challenged the economic viability of most of the world’s lithium operations. In response to the deteriorating market conditions, Core undertook a strategic review, which resulted in the difficult decision to stop mining operations at Grants in January 2024. The run of mine stockpiles was processed, with DMS processing stopping in June 2024. This decision was made with careful consideration, prioritising the long-term sustainability of our business and the interests of stakeholders. The decision to stop mining has allowed Core to maintain a strong cash balance while we undertake exploration and further studies to allow the Company to recommence mining once market conditions are favourable. While the toughest decisions are now behind us, we are acutely aware of their impact on our employees and important stakeholders in the Northern Territory. The passing of time may have shown that they were the right decisions in the circumstances, but this does not diminish our regret for reducing our workforce and placing operations on hold to protect the value of our assets. Our commitment now is to build a management team that is dedicated and capable of leveraging the platform we have created to transform Core into a much stronger operator in the future. We are steadfast on this path, focusing on sustainably rebuilding shareholder value across our business. Despite the challenges of FY24, several positive outcomes were achieved. As a Board, we are pleased with our safety and sustainability performance during a period of volatility. Our commitment to rigorous safety protocols and continuous improvement has reinforced a secure working environment for all employees and contractors. We have invested in training and safety systems to maintain high safety standards across our operations, safeguarding our workforce and bolstering our operational efficiency and industry reputation. Our ramp-up of operations at Finniss showed progressive improvement, with demonstrated plant performance and recovery improvements achieved over FY24. We demonstrated the efficiency and safety of our logistics chain in transporting products from our operations to our customers. We also advanced our second mining front with the box cut commencing at the BP33 project. Importantly, we ended FY24 in a solid financial position, with a cash balance of more than $87 million and no debt, providing a solid foundation for our future endeavours. Core will continue to act ethically and keep our operations in good standing before any restart. We remain committed to working closely with local NT stakeholders and collaborating with the traditional landowners of the lands on which we operate. I’d also like to thank the NT government, which has remained a supportive partner. I encourage all shareholders to review the sustainability report contained within this document, which outlines our strategy, key objectives and achievements during FY24. This past year, we experienced several changes in our team as part of our ongoing efforts to move the business forward. I want to thank all those who contributed during this period and acknowledge the executive team’s leadership, particularly during the transition phases and restructuring. While the strategic plan and the cessation of mining and processing were implemented, it was critical that the Board’s focus turn to securing highly capable executives to ensure the change could be sustained and that the Finniss operations were ready to restart. Following the departure of CEO Gareth Manderson in March 2024, CFO Doug Warden was appointed interim CEO. Doug did an outstanding job in this position, and the Board extends its thanks for his dedication and professionalism during his time in the role. In May 2024, the Board was pleased to announce the appointment of a new CEO, Paul Brown. Paul’s previous leadership roles with Hastings Technology Metals, Mineral Resources Ltd, and Fortescue Ltd, as well as his extensive experience in the lithium market operations, make him the ideal person to spearhead the restart of studies and optimise Finniss Operations. 9 With the appointment of Doug Warden as interim CEO, James Virgo was promoted to interim CFO in March and was confirmed as permanent CFO in May 2024. James is an experienced finance professional with extensive financial, commercial and taxation experience. James is the ideal person to drive Core’s business development and capital management activities. Andrea Hall resigned as a non-executive director of Core in March 2024. Andrea had been a director of Core since April 2023. On behalf of the Board, I thank Andrea for her significant contribution to Core, including as Chair of the Risk Committee. Our company has a solid balance sheet and a robust financial position, allowing us to navigate market fluctuations and seize opportunities when they arise. We continue to invest in exploration and development activities, focusing on expanding our resource base and identifying new growth opportunities. Our exploration teams have made promising discoveries, which we believe will contribute to Core’s future success. The lithium industry remains one of the most exciting and dynamic industries in which to participate. There remains a clear prospect for growth in the long term, but we expect to continue to see volatility in the short term. While this will be a challenge, it also presents an opportunity for Core to be in a position to resume operations from a lower cost base and with higher productivity to capitalise on any future price upswing. We have built a team and a strategy around this objective and are committed to delivering on this plan and, in doing so, providing for Core shareholders. Our strategic goals for FY25 are to streamline business costs, get Finniss Operation restart ready and continue near mine and regional exploration. We are well‑funded to deliver on these objectives and look forward to sharing the results of these efforts in FY25. In conclusion, the past year has been one of adaptation and resilience for Core. While market conditions have presented challenges, our commitment to safety, operational excellence, and environmental stewardship remains unwavering. We have taken proactive steps to navigate the current landscape and are confident in our ability to capitalise on future opportunities as the lithium market recovers. I want to thank our dedicated employees, management team, and board of directors for their hard work and commitment. I also thank our shareholders for their continued support and confidence in Core. Yours faithfully, Greg English Non-Executive Chair Core Lithium Ltd. We continue to invest in exploration and development activities, focusing on expanding our resource base and identifying new growth opportunities. 10 Core Lithium | 2024 Annual Report Chief Executive Officer’s Report Dear shareholders, It is a pleasure to write to you for the first time as the Chief Executive Officer of Core, a position I have held since June 2024. I am happy to be in this role and believe Core has a tremendous opportunity to create long term value for our shareholders and important stakeholders in the Northern Territory. We have a highly strategic and valuable infrastructure at our Finniss Lithium Project and critical operating experience from the past two years, which we continue building within our business. At the same time, the lithium market is experiencing significant challenges, so we will be patient and methodical in planning to potentially bring Finniss back online with a lower cost base and a more sustainable operating future. We have a well built dense media separation (DMS) plant, which the Core team successfully commissioned and ramped up to the point where it achieved a monthly lithium recovery rate of 65% before being placed on care and maintenance when all stockpiles were processed. This is a testament to the high quality design of the facility, and we believe we can further improve these recoveries with further optimisation and potential modifications. For those I have yet to meet, I am a Mining Engineer with over two decades of experience spanning lithium, iron ore, and major bulk commodities. My career has seen me contribute to developing and operating world‑class projects, including ramp‑up and steady-state management of significant greenfield operations. In recent years, I’ve focused extensively on lithium, overseeing operations and development projects that have played a key role in advancing the sector. Leading Core and steering the future restart of the Finniss Mine is an exciting new chapter where we stand on the cusp of delivering significant value. Core holds ~500km2 of the Bynoe pegmatite field in the NT, accessible via sealed roads and other critical infrastructure. Large sections of the project area remain underexplored, and there is exceptional potential for further lithium deposits within trucking distance of the Finniss processing plant. Finniss itself is ideally located 88km from Darwin and the port. This is a proven logistics chain we do not share with other major mining companies. I have been impressed by the support from the NT government, local traditional owners and community groups. We have worked hard to build solid, long standing relationships in the Northern Territory, and we all want the Finniss operation to succeed. We have shown that we can create a competent and loyal workforce from within Darwin and the surrounding regions, which gives us confidence in our ability to create a team as our restart plan evolves. Finniss produces a high quality, coarse grained spodumene concentrate, which our long term offtake partners in China highly regard. We will continue to maintain these relationships while we go through the restart study process. Core has accomplished a lot over such a relatively short period. Since its initial discovery in 2016, the Company has completed extensive drilling, technical workstream, feasibility studies, project financing and has brought the operation online in 2023. The typical timeline from discovery to production of a new lithium mine is usually more than 10 years. This puts us in an enviable position to capitalise on a recovery in the lithium market compared to other lithium developers. After less than a year of operations, the decision to suspend the Finniss operation was challenging but ultimately necessary in light of the rapidly declining lithium market. While this had a difficult impact on many of our people, it was crucial in preserving the long term value of our assets. By making this decision, we’ve positioned ourselves for a strong restart, a path where others may not have had the same opportunity. We’ve also retained critical technical knowledge vital to maintaining asset integrity and ensuring full compliance with our obligations during this interim period. Core continues to operate under a culture of high performance, highly augmented by the recent appointment of James Virgo as Chief Financial Officer. Under his guidance, we will continue to enhance our lean team with the relevant expertise ahead of our planned restart plan. While Finniss operations are suspended, our entire focus is on advancing the Finniss operational restart strategy, with a detailed bottom-up assessment of the cost base and future operating strategy currently underway. Our goal is to deliver opportunities to improve operating efficiencies, including process improvements in the mining schedule and project pipeline. We anticipate the key outcomes of this Restart Study to be ready in the first half of CY25. 11 By making this decision, we’ve positioned ourselves for a strong restart, a path where others may not have had the same opportunity A key element of our plans is to build our resource inventory within trucking distance of Finniss. We also want to deliver value for our shareholders by advancing our earlier stage exploration assets, which have untested potential for commodities outside of lithium. By making appropriate, low cost investments in exploration, we believe we can build and realise value for shareholders while keeping our primary focus on the lithium restart strategy. I want to thank our shareholders for their encouragement since I joined the Company through challenging conditions for both the lithium sector and equity markets. We have a strong balance sheet and disciplined approach to capital spending that will allow us to see through this part of the cycle and position the business and our Finniss operation for the recovery. Finniss is a fully permitted, proven operation which can be rapidly restarted for minimal capital in the right market conditions. With key workstreams for the restart well underway, we are looking forward to a brighter year in FY25. Yours sincerely, Paul Brown Chief Executive Officer Core Lithium Ltd. 12 Core Lithium | 2024 Annual Report Operations Operating and Financial Review Continued Ramp-up and Operational Pause The ramp-up of mining and processing at the Finniss Lithium Operation continued in the first half of FY24 before a strategic decision in January 2024 was taken to pause the operation in light of a deteriorating lithium price and market outlook. Mining Mine performance at the Grants open pit continued to improve in the early part of the financial year, following the successful implementation of several performance improvement initiatives. This resulted in substantial increases in total material moved as operations continued to ramp up over 1H FY24. There was a concerted focus on wet season preparedness, in response to the above average rainfall which hindered operations in FY23. Additional high volume water storage facilities were constructed, haul roads were sheeted, and higher capacity pumping infrastructure was used for dewatering. This investment in haul road improvements and upgraded dewatering infrastructure significantly reduced the time to return to normal mining operations during the FY24 wet season. The site experienced above average rainfall during November 2023, which was earlier than the previous year. However, the site team was well prepared to respond to these conditions. A second geotechnical monitoring radar was installed to improve prediction of wall movement and ensure preventative measures were established proactively. However, in response to falling lithium prices and subdued market fundamentals, Core completed a strategic review and elected to suspend all mining operations at Finniss in January 2024 with processing of stockpiled ore continuing until June 2024. Core will now prioritise the safe preservation of the Finniss assets in a restart ready state following the cessation of mining and processing activities. 13 Processing The dense media separation (DMS) plant with nameplate processing capacity of 1 million tonnes per annum at Finniss operated throughout the majority of FY24. As operations continued to ramp up in the first half of the period, plant performance continued to improve through an integrated operational approach. The Group focussed on increasing equipment availability and lifting productivity in the DMS plant which led to record ore crushing throughput, processing and a significant improvement in recoveries. Process improvement works were conducted during Q4 2023 resulting in the DMS plant running at higher rates increasing from 80 tonnes per hour to 90 tonnes per hour during the plant’s ongoing ramp up phase. A series of trials were also completed, including optimised blast parameters in the pit to produce the desired ore feed size, adjusting screen size in the crushing circuit, DMS media reagent dosing set‑point and timing adjustments, optimising the ultra‑fines circuit, adjustments to the roll crusher and commissioning of a mica classifier. The initial set of improvement actions and operating parameters identified by this work produced substantial improvement in recoveries from ~47% in the first half of production in 2023 to 65% towards the end of the period. Core produced 95,020 tonnes of spodumene concentrate during the reporting period, exceeding the revised guidance of 90,000 – 95,000dmt. Successful discussions were held with Core’s key offtake customers, which resulted in the broadening of the specification of spodumene concentrate to include acceptance of grades with a minimum of 4.5% Li2O. Production of a concentrate at these lower grades resulted in higher recoveries and improved lithium yield. Plant reliability improvements increased plant runtime and led to more stable plant conditions. These results, along with further optimisation of plant density setpoints achieved an improved final concentrate grade averaging 4.8% Li2O. Following suspension of mining, Core continued the processing of existing ore stockpiles until all stockpiles were exhausted. During this time, increasing equipment availability and lifting productivity was the primary focus at the DMS plant, which led to record ore crushing throughput, processing and improved recoveries. Restart assessments remain underway to facilitate further cost reductions and improve operational performance when lithium market conditions improve. 14 Core Lithium | 2024 Annual Report Operations Operating and Financial Review Sales and Marketing Core has long-term offtake agreements in place with two leading Chinese companies, Sichuan Yahua and Ganfeng. All spodumene concentrate sales for FY24 were completed under these agreements. In early July 2023, a shipment of approximately 13,100dmt of spodumene concentrate was loaded for export to China. This shipment represented the balance of the commissioning and first production tonnes (18,500dmt total) sold to Sichuan Yahua under the additional sales agreements previously announced in March 2023. In early September 2023, the inaugural 10,000dmt spodumene concentrate delivery was made into Core’s longterm offtake agreement with Ganfeng. The Group also sold its first parcel of 15,000dmt of lithium fines with a grade of 1.3% Li2O with the ship leaving Darwin Port on 8 September. Suspension of operations Throughout the period, significant decreases in the market price for spodumene concentrate culminated in Core’s decision to suspend all ongoing mining and processing operations. Discussions commenced with offtake partners regarding future delivery schedules and the potential impact of the decision to suspend mining on the long‑term offtake agreements. The final spodumene shipment for FY24 of 10,413dmt left Darwin in mid-June 2024. As at 30 June 2024, Core has 5,178dmt of spodumene concentrate available at Finniss for sale, bulk testing or qualification by potential customers. The Group is assessing its options for this material. Core achieved record sales of 97,423dmt, exceeding the FY24 revised guidance (80,000dmt–90,000dmt) at an average grade of 4.8%. Lithium fines To address lower recoveries from the DMS plant in the near-term, a strategy of extracting lithium fines material and selling it as a ~1% lithia product was adopted. A total of 66,140wmt of fines were extracted from the storage facility and transported to the Darwin port for shipment. In total, lithium fines sales were 66,140wmt for the period. As at 30 June 2024, Core has up to 75,000wmt of lithium fines available at Finniss for sale, bulk testing or qualification by potential customers. Restart Strategy Core is now advancing its restart strategy, designed to enhance future operations from a cost, product quality and sustainability perspective, ensuring readiness for improved lithium market conditions. The Group is now prioritising the safe preservation of the Finniss assets in a restart ready state following the cessation of mining and processing activities. It is also using the pause of operations to advance its operational restart strategy, aiming to strategically capture substantial value from a restart of operations upon stabilising market conditions. The updated operating strategy involves a detailed bottom-up assessment of the cost base and the operating model. Opportunities to improve future operating efficiency and reduce expenses will be actively investigated. There will be detailed analysis and further refinement to the processing strategy, mining schedule and project pipeline including the integration of the BP33 development and other deposits. The restart strategy aims to strategically capture substantial value from a restart of operations upon stabilising market conditions. Integrated with this work is the review of the long-term sustainability and regulatory approvals strategy in the Finniss region. Activities in this space have been progressing throughout FY24 and will continue to advance in collaboration with government, community and other stakeholders as part of FY25 work packages. The restart study is due to be completed in the second half of FY25 and any restart decision will be subject to the outcomes of the study and market conditions, among other factors. Key on-site activities for the remainder of the period included genera