Unfortunately it is rocket science. Producing carbonate from a brine is not a case of applying a model and then expecting it to work out of the box. This is an extraction and chemicals process.
There are many gaps in various HC threads on the topic of the Rincon project, but I'll summarise the actual state of play against these gaps;
1. The pilot plant was built for the purpose of a POC. The design was envisaged to produce 100-150tpa LCE. The rate of production was never a technical milestone I.e AGY never stated that a certain rate would have to be achieved to prove commerciality of the plant. This goes back to 2017.
2. This rate was later upgraded to 500tpa over 2018/19 (or around there as I cant remember exact date), however the rate was never a requirement. They always stated a target rate of production as opposed to it being a technical milestone or stage-gate to progress further.
3. Inbetween 2019 to today's date the pilot plant moved to 2ktpa. This involved a number of capital raisings and product qualifications with asian/North Asian customers for battery grade carbonate. If you go back to the announcements from this time all new equipment was purchased to achieve a higher degree of scale. Its not about x10 the same equipment it's equipment that does the same job but at scale. This introduces issues, but this issue isn't the sole root cause of delays.
The Rincon project is difficult. You could reference other issues like permitting eg: the 10ktpa permit has been years in the making now. It is what it is in Argentina and this is the field we are playing in.
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