NIC - General discussion, page-1014

There have been some interesting takeaways from the recent sampala and 1H24 calls:
1. It was noted that a lot of NPI production has permanently shifted to matte, forcing an upward move in NPI pricing. This implies a new floor for pricing.
2. NPI itself has increasingly diversified away from China. There was mention of new customers ex China that are in SS Production, thus taking some NPI out of the traditional channels.
3. Cathode interest ex China is also there from the 'class 1'/chemical products. This is not new but it's an indication that certain supply chains continue unabated (battery materials), which can't be said of SS production.
4. It has become obvious that there is an ore shortage. There was mention of the necessity to ship ore from the filos into IMIP. Hence, the mine/s will outperform given the premiums currently being paid and the lack of resources/reserves over the long-term. The team appear to have moved ahead of these developments, refer to siduarsi (which we havent heard a boo on) and sampala.