Ann: Quarterly Activities Report, page-127

Interesting question  from Stuart?
Looking at the GXY/ORE union..
“Do you guys feel the need?”
And yes Ken does ... with POSCO immediately nominated as well as “other things like that”
.....it’s a key theme, and outcomes like the Galaxy OROCOBRE (Cobra?) merge are a natural fit

..And Ken repeating (a few times) how there will be more to say in coming weeks and months implies there will be quite a few more things to say?  Or at least two?

cheers

Stuart McKinnon
“Good afternoon Ken and team. I just thought it would be good to get your observations on this week’s announcement about the Galaxy or Cobra merger.
I guess the obvious question is what does this mean, if anything, for Pilbara.
Do you guys feel the need?
Or does this give you sort of pause for thought in terms of your place in the lithium world?
I realize you’ve got a lot of capacity to grow into, but yes, just keen to get your thoughts and observations on that development.
Thanks, Ken.”

Ken Brinsden
“Yes. Good questions Stuart. The big themes in the industry indicate that people will try to continue to grow.
I think scale is worth something in lithium raw materials and battery raw materials more generally.
The reason that’s the case is because, pretty much, it’s still do with the scale of the counterparty that you’re dealing with downstream.
So by that, I mean mainly the big battery makers and/or the big carmakers now who are the end user.
So the industry is going to be looking to try and grow more scale on the raw material supply side that supports growth, therefore, having the balance sheet to support growth and investment.
And I think that’s a trend that’s likely to continue in the industry.”

How that relates to Pilbara Minerals, well, as you point out, we have a big portfolio of growth ahead of us, and we’ll have more to say about that in the coming weeks and months that, I think, is pretty handy and not a bad place to be growing from in the Pilbara Western Australia.
And the second order interest is in the vertical integration in the industry, so further participation downstream.

Clearly, the things like the POSCO deal fit that category, and we actively contemplate other things like that, that help support our deeper levels of vertical integration in the industry as we grow.
So yes, they’re all key themes. And I think that the outcome with respect to Galaxy and/or Cobra is kind of a natural fit in that regard.​