Good to see you back from NZ Frank.I follow the Chilean Mining...

Good to see you back from NZ Frank.

I follow the Chilean Mining Minister the Honourable Marcela Hernando on Twitter, and last night she retweeted the story about her foreign mining investment comments made in London last week. This is most unusual, but once again she is sending markets a clear message that mining investment in Chile is a foundation of the Chilean economy.

This will be my last comment on the Codelco matter as we are flogging a dead horse.

LPI and its predecessors have not spent 10 plus years spending over AUD$100 million, the vast amount of which has been expended by LPI, to gain all the government approvals necessary to have the Maricunga project halted at the finish line. A project that will provide significant economic and social benefits to the people of Chile, LPI shareholders and most importantly, the local indigenous communities which reside not far from the project area. That is NOT going to happen.

Here is an analogy which might better explain how improbable the Codelco request is. It is akin to Australia's ATO stating that it has decided to reinterpret the treatment of franking credits such that it has changed the legislation and regulations so franking credits are no longer allowed and taxpayers will have to repay all the tax credits they have accrued since the policy was enacted back when Adam was a boy. Could you see that happening?

Chile is NOT the wild west. One just has to see how the Opposition and its supporters reacted to the Boric Government's election in November 2021 and the outcome of the Chile Constitution Referendum. It is a stable, mature, thriving democracy.

A bit of history here. LPI has gained a great deal of respect for its workings in Chile over the last six years. When the Bachelet Government pulled the Codelco CEOL stunt on its last day in office in 2019, LPI took legal action, only for the new Chilean Government to step in and provide LPI with a formal written assurance that LPI could apply for a CEOL over its Litio tenements. That assurance still stands.

What this latest stunt from Codelco is all about is two fold:

1. It is final payback for LPI pulling out of the Maricunga Lithium tender in 2017 - this prevented Codelco from taking control of the salar and LPI's eventual takeover which would have resulted from the conditions attached to the tender. Albemarle being the most likely acquirer.

2. Codelco has done, very, very little with it tenements on the salar. It has been left behind by LPI and has become largely irrelevant. Codelco has made this move in an attempt to gain some commitment that it is still in the running for inclusion in the salar's development. That was addressed in the statement made by LPI management this morning.

What would be best for all concerned going forward is if the Chilean Government, Mining Minister and Mining Undersecretary draw a line in the sand and have the National Lithium Company replace Codelco as the state-based lithium explorer/developer/producer and that all stakeholders start with a clean sheet. Codelco has muddied the brine.

The AGM on 14 November will provide an opportunity for all shareholders to raise any concerns with the Board and management - respectfully of course.

GLTAHs old and new.