I am now holding SRK again so decided to catch up with the...

I am now holding SRK again so decided to catch up with the existing discussions.

The original driver for this project, and therefore the loan, and therefore the payment of interest, was the unexpected discovery of, what appears to be a very large amount of high-grade lump DSO from surface detrital material at Paulsen's East.

That discovery bonus subsequently lead to planning for the establishment of an efficient low cost and environmentally sustainable bulk iron ore export facility at the Port of Ashburton. The facility will handle up to 5 million tonnes of iron ore per annum, and also allow transhipment to 'cape-sized' ships, which are the largest class ships currently able to transit the Panama Canal.

The direct road route to the new shipping terminal at Ashburton is only 235kms from the Paulsen's East project compared to the 600km journey that the road trains used to make to Utah Point at Port Hedland.

The fully permitted and constructed Ashburton trans-shipment terminal came via an MOU agreed to by Strike, CZR Resources and CSL Australia.The bulk export facility was to include "all landside facilities including but not limited to road train unloader, conveyer, storage shed, non-process infrastructure, jetty, fixed point transhipment vessel loader and ancillary infrastructure at the Port of Ashburton (POA) to facilitate the export of iron ore".

A secondary benefit of the Paulsen's East detrital ore looks to be the sourcing of a new ore-sorter, but I cannot find whether that was costed as part of the original loan. The advanced Steinert KSS Combination Ore Sorter was commissioned in late June 2022. It uses sophisticated x-ray imaging, in conjunction with compressed air, to separate waste from crushed and screened high-grade ore, which is now facilitating the consistent production of higher value high-grade lump DSO from Paulsen's East.

Concerns that shareholders will be 'diluted into oblivion' appear to me to be ignoring the realities of international trade. With our largest customer, China, resuming business as usual with Australia, the facility and its costs look like a necessary improvement to Strike's transport infrastructure.

I believe that the company is at an exciting place, particularly when you take into consideration our ~42% share-holding in LEL along with the insatiable demand for lithium up to 2030 and beyond.