Yes, loving the more regular updates recently....seems everything is lining up well for the DFS delivery, but word of caution for investors...having worked many projects and deadlines over the years, when your deadline is Dec/year-end, more often than not it winds up being delivered in Jan/Feb given the holidays and wind downs that occur across all your contracting companies coming into Christmas. So personally, I'm not expecting the DFS in 2022, but late January/early Feb 2023. No big deal with this slight delay, its very normal at year-end.....
Looking forward to the following news over the remainder if 2022 (only the next 5 months!);
1. Long-term (30 day) pump test at Pata Pila finishes in 10 days...guessing results will be reported a few weeks later in mid August? Hopefully JP does not wait until the other three 30-day pump tests are complete before releasing results/news, even if he just confirms flowrate and Li concentration after each 30 day test, that would be welcome and appreciated!
2. News from remaining three 30 day pump tests (second well at Pata Pila and two wells at Rana de Sal).
3. HMW Mineral Resource upgrade due in Q3. Expecting material increase to the current 2.3 MT based on extensions and less conservative specific yield assumptions.
4. Results/news from exploration drilling (Pucará del Salar, Casa del Inca III, Catalina? Santa Barbara?)
5. Greenbushes GS11 assay results. Optimistic about these given the outcropping lens they found and Tier 1 zipcode.
6. News from the further GB field work underway at the other key targets identified.
7. Ministerial approval of the GB Conservation Management Plan allowing further work at GB to commence.
Other new I'd like to see (but not holding my breath):
1.. Updates on HMW DFS progress and specifically detail/confirmation of a phased development approach (i.e. concentrate first to provide early cash flow then Li plant for battery grade) plus indication of value upside from this early concentrated phased development. current NPV. I would liek formal confirmation of the DFS rate for HMW, we have heard JP mention a potential increase to 25ktpa but I'd like formal confirmation that this is the DFS base case rate now (no question we have more than enough resource for 25ktpa for 40+ year).
2. I'd really really like an exploration target announced!! If so, I would expect it to be 2-4 MT. This is in addition to whatever the new mineral resource update is going to be (I'm guessing the current 2.3 MT will increase to ~3 MT, so an exploration target of 2-4 on top of that, targeting 5-6 MT total HMW resource). I know we don't need this extra resource for our development plan of 20-25ktpa for 40+ years, but its important to have an exploration target formally out there if we ever got into a takeover situation so we could try extract value for the exploration upside as well as the official resource (don't want a POSCO done on us where they bought 2.5 MT and turned it into 13.5 MT with exploration and didn't pay a send for that upside!).
2. Updates in Candelas? Would like to see formal confirmation it will be developed as an integrated Phase added to HMW project thereby sharing costs and increasing project value/NPV, with an indicative value upside reported vs current unoptimised conservative economics (not hard to re-run the PFS economic model with some assumptions around shared infrastructure and opex costs and report a new NPV for Candelas).
3. Plans for our offtake? I know we have purposely not committed our valuable offtake to date (which as been a good move I think), but now we are getting close to the DFS and Plan A looks to definitely be to progress to production (vs selling the asset), I think its time to align our offtake with some key customers, preferably Tier 1 battery producers or Tier 1 EV manufacturers. I expect GLN have been inundated with offtake offers so can pick and choose the best to align with!
Anything I missed folks?
Looking forward to returning to ATHs probably in the new year!
Expand
(20min delay)