Good announcement and great to hear confirmation the next run is imminent. This appears to be the final step towards signing off on the MOU.
Alcoa paying for the latest fit-out and I believe someone mentioned the bill was circa $400,000 - not insignificant.
A couple of comments stood out for me
So the pilot run will validate the improvements that will lead to increased output, OPEX etc.
FYI is positioning itself to be a significant producer of 4N and 5N HPA in the rapidly developing high tech product marketsThe changes in wording are interesting on the above. As
@Tcb007 rightly pointed out we were saying
FYI is progressing positively with its objective of being a leading global producer of high-quality 4N and 5N HPAonly a few weeks ago.
Look out for the info on the other HPA applications we are working on shortly. So far it's our stock HPA product we have mentioned however the last presentation for the first time showed the other applications for HPA and these are the ones we have a real advantage over the traditional bauxite process produced HPA due to our superior characteristics.
I am convinced we are also collaborating with some sort of anode or cathode producer in relation to a possible new product to market for the EV Battery too. Completely IMO that one but it would make sense strategically to take it to the next step for me to add another string to the bow.
HPA is just still completely misunderstood by the broader market still. Roly has commented to me that he feels sorry for the new entrants to market in the HPA space as our tech team is second to none and it has taken us years of R&D to get to where we are now. We have a competitive advantage. Not to say no one else can make it but it is not easy to produce HPA at high grade
with the right characteristics.
Just on the potential increase to project economics, this is the DFS numbers again
So in AUD at current rate of 74c the above is 733m AUD for 25 years.
But if you start adjusting numbers such as:
- Reducing OPEX
-Increase production to 12,000tpa or more
- The price per tonne of HPA assumption is 24,000. I'm convinced this is quite conservative. Let's say we even get an increase there t0 30,000pt
Bottom line is it turning into an AUD multi-billion dollar NPV
And then throw in the other 'things' Roly is working on with Alcoa.
It's going to get pretty evident how big this can get fairly quickly once the JV with Alcoa is finalised. It will be a game changer.
I agree with
@Scottj15 we will be the leader in due course and those looking from afar need to decide fairly quickly if they want in on the ride.
Roly"A JV with Alcoa is 1+1-3 in multiples"
"We just want to be number 1"
(20min delay)