Ann: ARL SMM and MC to form a JV to develop KNP Goongarrie Hub, page-400

Cheers for the recognition & cheers also for the notes on the ETF.

Bit of a long one after not posting recently so the time poor might go to the last few paragraphs marked by **

My medium term ( 5 year ), outlook for nickel has dimmed a bit due to cooling demand for EVs in general but that’s only going to drive away the worst traders of all- the retailers- because they’re very much driven by hype/headlines.

We in Ardea have a better than average prospect thanks to the wide range of potential credits ( cobalt, scandium, gold etc ), large tenement portfolio in one of the world’s best mining jurisdictions ( WA ), & even better than that our ground is in one of the centres of mining- the Kalgoorlie region. That has been confirmed by the Japanese consortium that has joined us.

Even though the sector appears somewhat dimmed my long term view still holds nickel at USD$8-$10 which is fine for us. The longer prices ( nickel ), remain depressed so too the number of higher cost projects that will be cancelled or closed increases. As we all know- low prices are the cure for low prices.

Why are we at ARL different, besides location? Obviously this isn’t to you or most of the other regulars here but to newer readers.

Sumitomo Metals Mining is a leader in mine to end user mineral extraction/refinement/production especially when it comes to nickel & more importantly nickel laterites.
With thier own end product facilities in Japan etc the decision to partner with us to such a degree ( sharing the $98,000,000 input, tells me one very important thing the forum may not have touched on yet.

That our ore type is compatible with their system.
Basically our dirt matches their plant. Not saying it’s exactly what they need but it must be close enough.

That’s actually a huge thing as it means they don’t need to spend at home ( their existing production chain ), to profit from this partnership. They’ve had plenty of time to examine our ore type, its chemistry & the geology that hosts it. As well of course the Board that manages it.

There’s got to be a reason why they’d put $17,000,000 ( from memory ), with Nickel Canada ( FPX? ), or whatever it’s called but put almost triple that with us. I can’t say what that reason is- I don’t work for them- but there has to be a reason & some kind of comparability based economics is probably it.

They have operations/partnerships in all the nickel hubs- Indonesia, Phillipines, Canada, Australia, Russia, even Madagascar (?) !

They & Mitsubishi know where the industry as a whole is headed. It might surprise some to know & it is a bit of a side note but Toyota’s $50,000,000 investment in Tesla many years ago was in large part made to help Tesla survive. It was in some way more of an investment in a fellow traveller ( Toyota & other Japanese companies supply Tesla with parts for their cars/factories ), than it was an attempt to trade that stock. The reason this is worthwhile noting is that Mitsubishi, Sumitomo & Toyota move in the exact same circles- many of their executives would know each other & some would have even grown up together all being Japanese companies.

We can safely assume that a lot of people in Mitsubishi know a lot of people in Toyota!

That means that Japanese companies know very, very well where things are going as evidenced very clearly by Toyota’s decision to let the consumer lead them as opposed to say, Tesla, in some way betting the house on battery only vehicles. This is noted to show that the Japanese know as much & probably much more than many think they do when it comes to the wider picture ( we can also note Japan’s recent push in to the U.S. steel sector ).

The exact route the battery story takes, to my mind, won’t make or break Ardea but it’s great to have people who understand it intimately showing faith in us- even if it fades for a while they see us as a safe investment.

The underlying & always expanding ( over time whether it rises or falls in any given calendar year ), demand for stainless steel etc will carry us through if our partnership comes to full fruition. For the reasons above, when it comes to the nickel juniors, we may well be the company most likely to succeed.

That might lead some to further research so to wrap it up?

**Our DFS partners are in the right group of companies for our minerals/sector & have shown great belief in us. It’s a very, very positive medium to long term signal. Short term? Commodities & the junior end of the market are as much a roller coaster as any other part of the global economy.

If the DFS goes well I still see $3 between now & when a mine is built/ramped up as a conservative estimate for this even if the number of shares doubled & the NPV is halved. Any little price shock in the nickel market could see us back over $1.50 very quickly.

The new financial year should be a good one for any invested here at $1 or lower ( using phrasing such as likely, very likely, may, should etc carefully these days so feel free to use them as a guide as to the confidence of any statement in my posts ).

The bed rock we stand on.

Couldn’t agree more, while getting where Jacko22 is coming from.

Our friend appears to possibly be on the path to redemption so perhaps worth taking a deep breath sometimes… from someone who failed to do so many times themself. You’re one of the good’uns.