I am not sure the Chinese would want another lepidolite mine...

I am not sure the Chinese would want another lepidolite mine Bullrush. Interesting listening to Tom Woolrych on Money of MIne Podcast. Tom is an Australian geologist who works for Deutsche Rohstoff in Germany, as a way of introduction Deutsche Rohstoff describes themselves as the following: Deutsche Rohstoff is a globally operating holding company that identifies, develops and divests attractive resource projects in North America, Europe and Australia.

We focus on the development of oil and gas opportunities within the United States. Base Metals as well as specialty and precious metals complete our portfolio. We make good use of the opportunities in the commodity markets to achieve sustainable high returns for our shareholders

Tom's role is to use his expertise in geology the identify Tier 1 future mining investments for the company. He explains that the lithium market is very opaque in China but from his experience in speaking with others more closely involved in the lithium industry it is felt that it is no longer viable to process lepidolite in China, because of the cost of curtailment of tailings etc. The follow on from that is that spodumene will be required in much more vast amounts which is just beginning to be realised by the investment market and the money is beginning to pour back into high quality lithium projects.

What does this mean for LPD if the above is true. It could mean initially it will be difficult to sell low grade stockpiles to China at a viable price or if at all. Finance for development of the P1 plant may be become a more desirable option for potential investors. Due diligence should reveal the low cost effectiveness of the Lmax and LOH max process notwithstanding the increasingly desirable byproducts of Caesium and Rubdium. Unfortunately the P1 project may not be regarded in the same light as some high quality spodumene projects, although the UAE would seem to benefit greatly by supporting LPD projects, since they have an intention of manufacturing EV's in the Arab nation. I have an underlying fear that the industry will dismiss lepidolite outright, because of the failure of Chinese operations. Hopefully that shortsightedness doesn't reflect on our processes, and the UAE will step up.