My guess is that it is related to the quality and consistency of ORE's battery grade product. Technical Grade product (if it is to be used in batteries) will likely require further processing (e.g. purification and micronisation) prior to the battery manufacturing process. On the other hand, battery grade is intended to be used directly in the battery manufacturing process, so the purity and particle size of the product needs to meet whatever specifications apply to the particular battery maker's process and product.
So it may simply be that ORE has not been able to have its battery grade product qualified by sufficient customers to sell all it can make (there were certainly reports in the past that ORE's battery grade product may not have met the market's requirement for quality and consistency. I assume this was the reason the board replaced Richard Seville with Martin Perez de Solay, a chemical engineer.
