dingok, "investing boom could be nearing its end at the earliest" by 2018-20???
Do you know what is even happening in the world with lithium? There is absolutely no chance the lithium boom will end by those years. The gigafactories will just be warming up, the car manufacturers though turning out millions of EVs by then will just be warming up, and other uses like grid storage will be in full flight be then.
This is a technological change on a world wide scale that is not understood my many people. I'd put Dingok in that category. They will still be finding massive new uses for lithium batteries by then in industries that were never considered to be part of the boom. Imagine when Caterpillar releases the first lithium battery powered D11 for mine sites! Huge amounts of power will be required and several changeover batteries available as well, all powered by the solar farm during it's construction period as one of the first aspects to be built on a new isolated mine site.
This is a disruptive change that will create boom conditions across the world as governments of all persuasions get fully behind it, creating many jobs in fields that were thought to have been exported to China or elsewhere, isolated communities and metal deposits will no longer be the poor cousins as the new energy revolution changes the way everything is done in an ever increasing manner.
The boom will only be over when all cars,trucks,trains,tractors,boats, bikes, earthmoving equipment etc, etc has swapped over and all the ingredients are fully recycled, from wind,solar and stored power. That is not 2-3 years away, try 15-20 at the absolute minimum.
This is NOT just another ordinary commodity boom, that will quickly bust. This is a world wide disruptive change in the way we live and do just about everything. New deposits of high quality lithium will still be needed in 10 years time, so there is NO CHANCE of PLS missing this boom!!! PLS will be at the heart of the first 10 years of the boom, and probably be mining 10Mt/a by then because it will all be needed at an ever accelerating rate.
Expand
(20min delay)