Look at you go!
I never disputed that there WAS intention to produce more product from the pilot plant.
YES, it WAS mentioned by the company.
So what?
Try following the progress and you might understand how and why things change from “the plan”.
What’s relevant here is that the FUDsters seem to be clutching to the idea that if they had simply tried to produce more from that plant, then they would have identified the filtration issues that were later experienced in the 2ktpa plant.
No-one here knows the definitive answer to that, but my experience as an engineer who has worked on mining and minerals processing operations and projects around the world for decades indicates to ME that regardless of how much they produced from that pilot plant, there was ALWAYS some inherent risk in the progression to the upscaled 2ktpa plant. Especially considering it was not fully integrated nor fully instrumented. There is no certainty whatsoever that they would have identified the issue recently being rectified in the subsequent plant.
But don’t believe me - no-one should blindly believe anyone here; I simply provide insight that some appreciate and choose to explore further by DTOR - go and seek your own expertise and experience and come back with an informed view, perhaps, instead of naively claiming what apparently would have happened if they had done xyz.
Anyway, for some, that might lead to the question WHY did they not continue production from that pilot plant?
Ask the company directly if you want to know for sure.
My 2c is that it was Jan 2021 that we had 20 tonnes of BG on route to Korea, after producing circa 25-30t total, and we raised $30M just weeks later, and then got stuck into construction of the 2ktpa plant, and all the associated work involved with that - so it no longer made sense to continue on with trying to “ramp” output from a relatively clunky and relatively manual pilot plant, consuming critical resources that were better placed at the salar.
Not to mention the economics of production vs sales at that time. Circumstances and plans change. So what?
I also note that the company clearly stated in 2020 that the pilot plant had delivered on its original goal. Who was stamping their feet then complaining that it hadn’t hit 500tpa rate?
imo it’s no big deal at all, and it made perfect sense to wind up the pilot plant production as the 2ktpa plant build got underway.
It’s rather amusing that like most of the criticisms thrown at the company around here, they happen WAAAY after the fact, with the armchair experts vocally proclaiming what the company “should have” done.
Funny that “advice” has such a lag, often benefits from the ol’ hindsight glasses, and is mostly provided by those who admittedly have zero or next-to-zero relevant expertise or experience.
The pilot plant delivered “product quality exceeding original expectations” and provided a “high level of confidence in (the) chemical process technology and construction costs for production scale up”
It also enabled production and sales of 25 tonnes of BG carbonate for testing and qualification by potential end-user customers.
Simple. Fantastic.
If you genuinely want to understand the various risks, constraints and limitations (practical, economic, technological, etc) associated with progression through the stages from proof-of-concept to commercial production, then seek out literature and expertise on the topic. Track down someone who lives and breathes that process and get informed on the complexities and issues.
Applying layman’s “common sense” and “logic” is not always relevant, and sometimes a recipe for disaster.
ps. Bazza just arrived; you should’ve seen the look on his face when I called him a liar, told him his car was faulty, and that he is now dubious and has lost all trust! lol
Imo
Dyor
Seriously, go and seek out some experienced engineers in this field and inform yourself on these topics. It’ll save embarrassing statements like:
“if all they wanted to do was prove their process, they would have done it on a much smaller scale.”
Inform yourself; it’ll lead to better investment decisions.
Good luck
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Also for all your.... "experience"... you've been wrong on almost every account for a while now. Maybe you should take your own advice and seek out some experience engineers?
