Let’s also remember the massive flack that Lake copped when the DFS numbers for CAPEX and OPEX were released. Repeated claims of being the “most capital intensive Lithium project on the planet” and the like.
The fact is that Lake put out robust and current numbers in December 2023, when the DFS was released….and they were the first in the field to do so. History has shown that projects that have subsequently released updated numbers for their CAPEX and OPEX have all shown substantial increases from previously released numbers….and to top it off, Lake numbers are “in the pack” and certainly NOT the highest CAPEX and OPEX numbers amongst their peer DLE projects being developed - see below from an ILiA (International Lithium Association) presentation delivered only last night.
Even with CAPEX and OPEX numbers known prior to the Lilac optimised performance numbers being released, the Lake CAPEX and OPEX numbers are within the pack of those proposed to be delivered by their DLE peers.
I’m looking forward to the formalised updated numbers for the Kachi project (based on the Gen4 Lilac bead performance outlined in the Lilac report noted in today’s announcement) to demonstrate the point that the Kachi project is one of the better performing DLE projects out there….far from the claims made here by the usual suspects that Kachi was “the most capital intensive project on the planet”.
(20min delay)