This is what I mean EJ....off you go on another tangent with ‘if this’ and ‘if that’ and always saying (forgive me), weird things.
AJM has given their expected recovery rates of 80-85% at nameplate, it’s all through the presentations and the DFS. I think most Li miners are using these figures although the early starters struggled with underestimating abrasive ores, dilution and such but they have/are making the adjustments as one would and new comers have had the benefit to learn from these.
Regarding cash costs, all use varied costing models, because that’s what they are. As an investor it is good to look at the costs as a guide (low/med/high) but you can look at individuals that makes up the costs to further confirm. Just two examples, AJM & PLS have low strip ratios (2.9.1 and around 4.1 for PLS) compared to TAW which has 9.1 strip ratio. That is a huge difference. Next transport, 95km’s to Port Headland storage v 350km’s to Esperence, another huge difference. When you plug these into a cost model of course AJM & PLS will come out on top. (Remember too that AJM released an updated resource at Southern Ridge with a pit re-optimisation so that may be where your variation came from?)
Anyway, in conclusion we are looking forward to our first ship and maybe that announcement will answer some of your questions formally. Enjoy your popcorn, you deserve it
