Hi vorno46,Yes, ATR have missed the 3Q/2023 target for executing...

Hi vorno46,

Yes, ATR have missed the 3Q/2023 target for executing offtake agreements given in development timetable from the 21st July Noosa presso, however they did slip it out to 4Q/2023 in the Annual Report issued on 29th Sept, one day before the end of the 3rd Q and so technically not a fail?... Long term investors in ATR (and other developers) become inured to project timeline slippages.

In my opinion the offtake for the REEC will be problematic as any natural offtake partner would be PRC based... that's where the demand and the spare C&L capacity is...but the politics ATM is dead against Chinese processing of Aussie RE's, particularly if funded by Oz government largesse. So who else is there that could take Donald REEC (and the associated Th/U by-product) and crack it?

ILU's OzGov funded Eneabba R.E. refinery could but would be reasonably expected to hold off until a FID call on their own WIM100/Wimmera MS project. Apparently LYC's Kalgoorlie C&L plant has been designed with some spare capacity but they could always further ramp up production at Mt Weld if they foresee increased demand for the downstream products. Once Kalgoorlie is running there will be an idle monazite C&L plant in Malaysia...good luck getting an import licence from the Malay government! India has plenty of domestic mon sands and limited C&L capacity, Vietnam? dunno. What does that leave, USA...all talk no walk IMO... Silmet in Estonia is owned by NEO who have their existing supply arrangements and now have HAS as a major shareholder. Solvay's La Rochelle facility hasn't processed monazite for decades due to issues with disposing of radionuclides, but have inked an MOU with HAS for 2,500 tpa of MREC (RE carbonate - so already C&L'd) from Yangibana. If Yang. MREC doesn't get up (very likely IMO), there could be some demand there for Donald REEC, though Phase 1 Donald capacity is 8,000 tpa and although La Rochelle apparently has the capacity to process 10-15 ktpa of RE concentrate, would they be allowed to C&L in France given the previous issues with radionuclides?

Would the OzGov consider funding a South Eastern Australian RE C&L plant from the newly announced A$2B increase in the Critical Minerals Facility, maybe as part of a plan to hasten development of the WIM mineral sands deposits? Once the REEC is C&L'd to a mixed RE carbonate and all of the nasties washed out it should be a lot easier to market to western downstream RE processors. We can only live in hope!

DYOR & GLTAH etc.