LKE towards TOP-5, page-17460

Hi gassed, sounds great!
Any indication of how long it will take to construct/install/commission an operation that can output 25ktpa? Really keen to get some clarity on the timing there. Thanks in advance.

I noticed that snydacker mentioned the pilot plant going from “completion of construction” to shipping lithium chloride samples in “just two months”.
However, he then notes, seemingly in some type of relevant comparison, that “commissioning of evaporation ponds typically takes many years”….
I find that rather interesting and disingenuous, because I’m not aware of any traditional Li brine operation that has had to wait around for “many years” for their ponds to be commissioned…?
There’s a good reason that ponds are built in strings and progressively filled during construction, so as to align timing of suitable brine with construction completion of the processing plant…. I thought this was common knowledge?

I see that livent implement a hybrid-DLE process but are shifting away from this in upcoming expansion, back to traditional pond-based processing. One might think with all their experience and expertise, and contacts in this very small and specialised industry, that they would move in a direction driven by tech/costs/viability etc…. I wonder what’s going on there…?

Anyway, if you have any clarity wrt my first question, that’d be great, thanks.