In addition to the capex figures I posted, it's always good to remind ourselves how good the opex numbers in the PFS are. $1,323/t of concentrate. Longonjo REO concentrate currently is 35% grading.
$1,323/t = $1.32kg 35% concentrate. Purely hypothetical 100% concentrate opex cost is therefore $3.77/kg.
Those who have been following ionic clay projects, primarily OVL, will notice the constant discussion on the OVL forum as well as OVL company announcements that ionic clay REE projects are cheaper. Speaking purely around opex costs here as I agree that capex ionic clay is cheaper. For example in todays announcement: '. Ion Adsorption Clay deposits are currently the lowest cost sources of rare earths in the world,'.
Setfire2thehive on the OVL forums posted a good reference a while back which quoted Chinese ionic clay deposits having a $3-$5 opex per kg. It's hard to get an exact reading on ionic clay concentrate grades but generally it seems to be 70% - 90%.
So at a 100% hypothetical concentrate grade Longonjo opex is $3.77, meanwhile established miners in China with what one could guess as 70% - 90% concentrate grades are anywhere from $3-$5 opex per kg.
The Longonjo resource is single handedly breaking the general rule that opex wise clay deposits are cheaper than hard rock. All of this without leaching and with minimal negative environmental impact.
Longonjo is a perfect combination of low capex, low opex, and importantly, high volume output.
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