A$3.46 Million Loss as Prairie Lithium Advances 150 Tonne Phase 1

Phase 1 Moves From Foundations Toward Commissioning

Prairie Lithium Limited (ASX:PL9) spent FY2026 turning its Saskatchewan lithium project from an engineering plan into a physical facility, but the balance sheet shows that commercialisation remains a capital-intensive exercise. Construction at the Pad #1 Phase 1 facility progressed through civil works, piling, reinforced-concrete foundations and structural steel, with the exterior building envelope completed by April 2026.

The company also began factory acceptance testing in May on a four-column commercial-scale Direct Lithium Extraction unit manufactured under Aquatech’s PEARL platform. The testing is a pre-deployment step before transport, installation and integration at the Saskatchewan site. The annual report does not provide a commissioning date or production result.

Hydro Lithium Takes All Planned Phase 1 Output

Prairie has secured a binding commercial pathway for the first stage of the project through an agreement with South Korea’s Hydro Lithium Inc. Hydro Lithium has agreed to purchase 100% of Phase 1 production, stated as 150 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate equivalent, and to supply and install approximately A$10 million of proprietary refining technology and equipment.

That agreement gives the project a named buyer for its planned initial output, while the refining equipment introduces another execution dependency alongside construction and DLE integration. Separate, non-binding arrangements with Long Creek Rail and Stardust Power were aimed at developing future logistics and downstream options, but neither represents a committed revenue stream in the report.

Loss Replaces Prior-Year Disposal-Driven Profit

Prairie recorded a net loss attributable to shareholders of A$3.46 million for FY2026, compared with a A$10.59 million profit a year earlier. The company attributed the reversal primarily to the absence of FY2025 gains and credits, including profits from asset disposals, flow-through share income and share-based payment credits.

Operating cash outflow narrowed to A$3.41 million from A$7.26 million, while cash and cash equivalents rose to A$5.85 million at 30 June 2026. The increase was supported by A$3.77 million raised through At-the-Market issues and US$5 million in proceeds from selling the Big Sandy Lithium Project and Lithium Research Centre. Prairie reported A$80.36 million of exploration and evaluation assets, principally tied to the Saskatchewan project, and said their recoverability depends on continued development, funding, technical outcomes and lithium market conditions.

Funding and Dilution Remain Visible Constraints

The ATM raises added 310 million shares during the year, taking the financial statements’ 30 June share count to 5.58 billion. The annual report’s corporate-governance section separately lists 5.78 billion shares as at 15 September, a discrepancy that investors may want reconciled before relying on percentage ownership or per-share comparisons.

Prairie also disclosed annual tenement renewal fees of A$619,985 and a A$1.48 million services-agreement commitment. The report says the group had no financing facilities at year end other than a fully repaid monthly credit-card facility. With the company still loss-making and construction continuing, the next financing decision may be as important as the next construction milestone.