For the record, I suspect they are pretty confident they have an...

For the record, I suspect they are pretty confident they have an IAC resource - it is a question of extent and what proportion of the resource is ionic and what proportion is clay - there is no such thing as a 100% purely ionic resource btw is my pont. You only just have to read through the Anns. But yes they can't confirm anything until they do the METs, and based on a previous Ann suspect they will do that low cost test one is talking about here on some of the augur samples I suspect. Geologists know what they are looking at is my point.

Now the key aspects are as follows - noting ionic clays are essentially the weathering and release of REEs from a previous hard rock deposit:
1. The extent of resource where a simple pH4 solution can be used (essentially a low cost almost salt type solution that allows capture of REEs). This is essentially what makes an ionic resource - well the cheapness in extraction methods if have enough of it.
2. From there the extent of secondary resource where a stronger pH (meaning more acidic) solution is required (essentially adding a minor amount of acid to attain the REEs but the risk is if need too much acid results in impurities and lower REE prices been received from downstream converters - also added cost might make it unviable to extract). And that is where grade is important - where you have low grade, well you need more of the resource to be ionic with the secondary resource (i.e. I will term that as clay not going to Step 1) not requiring say too much of a difference to pH4 in simplistic terms, meaning it is almost ionic
3. The extent of resource that has not been broken down - in simplistic terms weathering has not been complete - cannot be recovered if using an ionic process. That is won't be recovered. That is why for hard rock deposits you need a higher grade than ionic resources.

I no longer hold this stock I previously posted in but gives a flavour of a few things been debated here and types of REE deposits etc etc - Post #: 66206344

The pH scale - Energy Education

All IMO