Ann: Presentation - Annual General Meeting, page-21

Hey @chuchtv I did some research a few months back into all previous BAPEs which were run in Quebec and roughly estimated that the "median" time it took was between 5-7 months. There were some uranium mine related BAPEs which were outliers for the obvious reason and took longer at 11 months.

I think the statement made by the Sayona Quebec rep at the public consultation at the time was a huge exaggeration and you would imagine his inability to handle those discussions as well led to the recruitment of VP of Corporate affairs Alexis Segal. 

Whilst no-one can be certain, I am personally leaning towards the recommendation being No BAPE required as Sayona has stated it's application complies with laws and regs, independent environmental studies have demonstrated no major impacts to esker or water sources, they have revised plant designs to mitigate additional environmental concerns, and importantly Quebec government is motivated to bring growth to local economy. With the Authier project forecast to generate annual revenue of $80m over 18 years, 150 jobs in construction of mine and 160 in operation this is a significant development for the region. The sooner clarity is provided the better - one way or another.

The environmentalist group concerns and noise are a challenge, but the one thing they have working against them is that there is no study or evidence conducted by any accredited professional to substantiate or prove any impacts. There is a lot of exaggeration (about distances) and innuendo rather than facts. A similar scenario I faced personally was when I submitted plans to local council to construct a multi-site development, some neighbours complained and made allegations of issues, but they weren't architects or engineers and didn't understand the planning framework of the local council. In the end my application was approved because my architect ensured compliance with regs and any amendments requested by town planning were adhered to. 

It's no doubt a challenging period, but things are never as bad as they seem.

GLTAH