Agreed - even at a massive 10mtpa operation, they have enough...

Agreed - even at a massive 10mtpa operation, they have enough high quality IAC resources for more than +30 years

Adding to the resource size doesn't add significant value at this point. It isn't an exploration play - it has moved across to the far more difficult part of the Lassonde Curve

What will add value is de-risking the asset to production: the value uplift will come from permits, positive feasibility study results, building a pilot facility with bulk feedstock testing, offtake agreements, investment partners etc etc. This is a long slow grind.

That process took Serra Verde nearly 10 years

MEI could do it in 5+ years, with luck

Rallying rare earth prices will help the stock price - but not much juice left from increasing the size of what is already a large clay resource base

One open question is whether the team and board are right for this work. Their experience is more towards exploration/promoters, they lack experience working in Brazil, have no experience in building a complex IAC operation (only the SV team really has this outside of China) and are operating the company effectively by remote from Australia. They have done well so far - but the next stage is very different.