@ozpolarbear
Would just like to give some clarity to yours and King Louie's bit about Smaller Graphite Mine shareholders being apprehensive, fearing TON going from strength to strength, being the Elephant in the Room, The Super Pit that will supply the Graphite Market for 100 years etc etc.
Now as you know I can be reputeded as being "incomprehensible' so bear with me as I try to put a quite complex 'Theory" together.
The Super Pits [produce 200kts+ 2017] can only get Offtakes for their 80kts++ out of China.[the Dragon]
Offtakes historically and in the near Future [2020] out of the RoW [rest of world Nth America/Euro/Japan/Korea] have been for say 20/50kts Max] These were and are the size of Offtakes to Import from China. The 100year old Traditional Traders Asbury, Superior, SGL, Imerys and particularly AMG/GK do anything from 5kts to 10kts even 50tonne [no k 1000] as supply to END USERS.
Do you follow Ozzie B ? Graphite is NOT a Commodity like IO or Uranium, it is END User "controlled" and Volume of 50kts goes thru Traders to Break up into 10kt lots to distribute to various End Users.
Graphite Lots processed to Specific End User Needs and Requirements.
That Natural Flake Graphite is NOT a Commodity that one digs up and ships out is the Concept one must fully understand the ramifications of as an investor.
Understand this and you see Why No Superpit is going to be able to control the whole Market especially by only supplying [dancing with] the Dragon.
Oz Every Industrial Country in the World has their Gov't declaring Graphite ONE of the Strategic/Critical "Elements". What they're talking about is for their Home Industries to have access to it for their OWN advancement into the New Age whatever of High Tech Industry.
The Graphite Sector outside of China is based on a desire/a need, a requirement for Import Replacement of getting Dragon Imports of raw graphite AND the processed AND the Industrial Finished Products using Natural Flake Graphite.
Do you follow? Supplying the Dragon is actually excellent for the smaller outfits, the Boutiques because their market is to the RoW End Users who "supposedly" under their own gov'ts directive, their own reasons for wanting Non Dragon Imports. Ozpolarbear the RoW [ my Barbarians] don't want to Import their Value Added Spherical for example from China, currently the Only spherical producer.
Anyhow hope you get some gist of my gero on Super Pits are Not a threat or worry to Boutiques. The worry/concern is if/when their concept is seen by the Market to falter/ hit snags whatever could put Graphite into the say the Rare Earth category.
Ozpolarbear as you pointed out in your very first post- The Lamboo Scandal plays a tune for Dragon Dancing.
There's more angles like getting RoW financing for Dragon centric enterprises? There's will a Dragon financed outfit be able to trade too with it's RoW customers/Importers? There's that the Traditional Traders are more into Synthetic Graphite than Flake and China has no Synthetic monopoly.
On and on the Opaque Graphite Market whirls, unravels but first and foremost one must fully and truly understand the FACT that Graphite is NOT a Commodity Market.
offline midday, don't really want to bother using up my remaining 2 'allowed' posts. Frankly the 3 post limit should be applied to some of the ton rabid one liner "dills' too but they're just enthusiastic, hey?
see ya round the ridges but get this others are in fear of the elephant TON bit. It's you mob who should be in fear of the Dragon in Africa geo politics
Uber Alles.
