Ann: June 2024 Quarterly Activities and Cashflow Report, page-92

Am I correct in that ALB is just shutting down processing in Aus. NOT mining.

I assume that as the plant is 51% Chinese owned the processing is being transferred to China where a large proportion (most) of global refining is carried out.

A not illogical move to shift the processing to an area which has better (cheaper) expertise. Not being IRA compliant would also make the choice easier.

Reading between the lines the plant in Aus appears always to have had issues.

The downside for LTR would be that future hopes of a processing plant might be harder to raise cash for. If it is perceived that the expertise is not available. Although I trust that our Korea links will give that. I also assume that the product would not be IRA compliant if it was processed in China.

So this ALB reduction doesn't reflect an excess of Spod - just a change in where it is processed. Have the Chinese refineries have grown faster than raw material supply?