The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Orest Wowkodaw - Scotiabank GBM - Analyst
: Hi, good morning, and congratulations on the operating performance. I'm curious if you can give us some color on the improvement in cash
costs. I mean, last quarter, you warned about costs staying elevated because of harder ore in a different pit. I was just curious, are you out
of that pit earlier than expected? Or what's driving the improvement?
Question: Orest Wowkodaw - Scotiabank GBM - Analyst
: And just as a follow-up, do you think these cash costs are now sustainable? As your next quarter is not a scheduled maintenance quarter,
do you think you can maintain those costs?
Question: Orest Wowkodaw - Scotiabank GBM - Analyst
: Okay. Thank you very much.
Question: Craig Hutchison - Cowen and Company LLC - Analyst
: Hi, good morning, guys. Pretty impressive sales volumes for the quarter. I just wanted to confirm, maybe a follow-up to the last question,
did you guys have the scheduled maintenance? Or was there a scheduled maintenance in September that you typically occur? Or is that
something that's going to be pushed into Q4?
Question: Craig Hutchison - Cowen and Company LLC - Analyst
: Okay. Great. And just on the DRPF, I mean, the spending in the quarter was a bit lighter than I expected. And you've talked about a slight
increase on inflation. Is the balance of spending -- is that mostly going to be pushed into the calendar fourth quarter? Or will some of that
be spread out into early next year as well?
Question: Craig Hutchison - Cowen and Company LLC - Analyst
: Okay. Great. And then just on the DRPF project in general. I know the plan is to start shipping commercial volumes in sort of second half of
next year. But is the plan to blend in the first half, will you guys be expensing that and booking that as revenue if you blend it with your other
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OCTOBER 30, 2025 / 1:00PM, CIA.AX - Q2 2026 Champion Iron Ltd Earnings Call
material? Or is the plan to sort of capitalize some of those costs and revenues through the first half until you're producing a product that
sort of meets spec?
Question: Craig Hutchison - Cowen and Company LLC - Analyst
: Okay. Great. And maybe just one last question for me. Can you just maybe talk -- what you're hearing in the DRI product in general? I think
the last question was just on premiums.
Just how robust is the market right now? I know there's some weakness in Europe and other places. But can you give us sort of broad
overview of what you're hearing with regards to DRI in general?
Question: Craig Hutchison - Cowen and Company LLC - Analyst
: Great. Great color, guys. Thanks.
Question: Stefan Ioannou - Cormark Securities Inc - Analyst
: Yeah, thanks, guys. Most of my questions have been kind of answered in general. But just maybe just one more thing on the stockpile
destocking.
Is it still -- I know it's going to vary quarter to quarter based on maintenance and weather and whatnot. But is it a fair assumption that this is
something that gets down to a, quote-unquote, normal level, say, through the end of 2026? Is that a good way to think about it or --?
Question: Stefan Ioannou - Cormark Securities Inc - Analyst
: Okay, okay. Great, great. And maybe just on the minutia sort of this idea of when you start creating the higher-grade product and then
blending it at first. I'm just curious, like when you start producing it and you're showing the plant works, how long does it take a potential
customer to take that material, test it, get comfortable with it, and then come back to sign a contract?
Question: Stefan Ioannou - Cormark Securities Inc - Analyst
: Okay, okay. Great. Thanks very much, and congrats again on the nice quarter.
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