JV Update, page-73

It was gorgeous scenery, for sure, particularly in BC and Alberta. I was mainly there for the summer festivals, music, comedy and they were world class. Rio Tinto makes so much money from their activities in Quebec they pay for the annual Jazz festival in Montreal which is massive and involves blues and gospel too. All the world's best performers in those categories attend and perform and there was a heavy metal festival straight after. Mining is a huge industry in Canada but has quite expensive overheads compared to Vietnam, for that reason it was a sound decision to operate there as well but I still suspect the Gold Bridge project hides something substantial under the ground and I'm happy we still hold it. When we have established ourselves more firmly as a business perhaps we can afford those high expenses of exploration.

The very low operating costs in Vietnam is what will make the Ta Khoa refinery both competitive with Indonesian nickel and attractive as a destination for Australian ore as we decouple from reliance on China to an extent and it's ESG credentials will make the cathode material it produces the most sought after in Western markets and any others with similar legislative requirements. It's not going to not be built, that would be unthinkable and the clincher is we are at an advanced stage of the planning and permitting process, having planned to be in production by next year. Should be just about ready to go when a deal is signed. All in my opinion. Must be close to a deal as it is needed with urgency by Australian industry and our Government, as well as those manufacturers seeking to supply Western markets with battery materials which comply with their legislation.