Normally I'd be all over this debate like a rash, unfortunately busy working on the house. Haven't even had time to read the FS properly, but just for you sat down to see what I could find...
Your points 1 and 2 are irrelevant to LIN, we all know LYC has been all over the shop last couple of years with production for various reasons, lately stockpiling product until prices improve. Prices are sheethouse, we all know that so no need to keep repeating. If prices don't improve there will be no western RE market besides LYC and MP Min, simple as that. Time will tell how that situation with the Chinese unfolds...
The LYC "base 100" is simply a reference point in time to demonstrate the change in RE prices over time as a percentage of the starting point (is base price). A percentage symbol would make it a lot clearer.
LYC built the Malaysian plant to separate a specific mix of RE-Oxides, as below. They are now adding in new plant to separate out Dy and Tb that were historically seen as too low and cheap to be worth the effort. Each individual RE-oxide costs to be separated form it's brethren based on current tech. Without looking any further, it's entirely possible LYC have stopped bothering to separate out Ce or La oxide products because the price is so low not to be worthwhile? RE developers are looking to calcine ore before leaching to prevent Ce going into solution and thus being having to be separated out... it's just not worth it.
For LIN FS, I just did the maths on the financials to see what basket price they were using, because the term isn;t mention in the report. Divide the LOM avg revenue by the LOM avg NdPr-oc in con, then divide that by the LOM avg payability of 64.8% and I get US$108.80 LOM avg NdPr price... which strongly indicates that Nd and Pr are the only RE-oxides being valued. Fair enough, I would have thought NdPr in Kanga was 95% of payable Res anyway, so it looks like they haven't even bothered to squeeze that little bit extra out. Let me know if you come up with a different answer?
