Though I'd try to get conversation back on track with some late night sleuthing.
On the 24/2/2017 China Minmetals president Guo Wenping met with China High-Tech chairman Zhang Jie to discuss, amongst another things, cooperation in lithium resource development.
"For China Minmetals, lithium resource development and battery material production are sunrise industries. We expect to deeply and broadly cooperate with China High-Tech in fields including lithium and the new energy industry, gradually forming a multi-dimensional overall industry chain cooperation. Both sides are expected to accelerate communication, determine cooperation methods and details, and achieve mutual development, benefits and win-win results."
Further.
"Zhang Jie pointed out the products made by China High-Tech include logistics vehicles, buses, airport buses, trucks, SUVs, family cars and so on. With regard to commercial vehicle sales and market share, China High-Tech ranks No. 1 among all central enterprises. However, it has so far lacked the lithium battery business, so it expects to conduct strategic cooperation with China Minmetals to realize complementation and win-win results in the industry chain.
After the talks, Guo Wenqing and Zhang Jie witnessed the Group Company sign a strategic cooperation agreement with China High-Tech"
In order for cooperation between China High-Tech and Minmetals, Minmetals subsidiary Huan Changuan Lico needs to secure a lithium supply.
14/3/2017 - China Minmetals held a meeting with Hunan Provincial People’s Government in Beijing.
"It is necessary to exploit advantages to the full in the development and integration of rare earth resources and the cemented carbide and lithium battery business upgrading and development, and to make up for shortcomings. It is hoped that Hunan Province will provide convenience and support in the related aspects."
Money can now flow out of china.
1/8/2017 - Chairman and Party Secretary of China Minmetals Corporation, made an official visit to Chen Hong, Chairman and Party Secretary of SAIC Motor Corporation Limited
China Minmetals’ new energy business has grown rapidly in recent years, has taken a leading position in relevant areas especially the area of high-end power lithium anode materials, and boasts abundant scarce upstream resources including lithium and nickel, which is an effective guarantee for supporting sustained business development of the company.
He Wenbo took the opportunity to say that SAIC Motor channels great energy into new energy vehicles so as to further expand the cooperation between the two sides and strengthen the cooperation.
Chen welcomed the delegation headed by He and appreciated the achievements of China Minmetals. He thanked China Minmetals for its contributions to the long-term cooperation between the two sides, and hoped to further deepen the cooperation between the two sides in the future, especially in the field of new energy materials, and gain more supports from China Minmetals.
Deals being struck with manufacturers. More reason to need to secure a lithium supply.
4/9/2017 - China Minmetals President Guo Wenqing investigated and surveyed the Changyuan Lithium Anode Material Base in Changsha.
Guo Wenqing continued that the reorganized Group Company possesses strong investment and financing capability and resource allocation capability in field research and investigation. It has linked up the full industry chain, ranging from mine acquisition to prospecting, design, construction, mining, mineral separation, smelting, logistics and trading, especially realizing integration and complementary advantages in the mineral resource field. All this has created good conditions for the new material business to realize great-leap-forward development.
Later, the Group Company shall integrate its resource and technology advantages in the field, promote the coordination of Ramu Ni-Co’s nickel resources, Minmetals Salt Lake Yiliping’s lithium resources and the Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy’s new energy material technology research and development, further deepen and perfect the new material top-level design work, continuously make the platform stronger, larger and more excellent, expand new development spaces, forge whole industry chain advantages in the field of new energy materials, construct the Li-Ni-Co-Mn industrial cluster in a way which is mutually matched internally and work on becoming the new energy material industry base with the most advanced technical level and largest capacity scale in China. He hopes that the scientific research personnel will focus closely on the new material industry layout and continuous innovation of industrial development so as to make greater contributions to the Group Company’s development."
27/10/2017 - Media interview with Guo Wenqing.
"Minmetals will depend on constantly developing its global mineral resource configuration and uniquely advantageous production, supply and marketing integration capability, thereby becoming the main force guaranteeing national metal and mineral resources."
In such strategic emerging industry fields as new energy, we are comprehensively integrating our exiting resource advantages in nickel, cobalt and lithium, and technological research and development advantages in the high-end lithium battery power positive material field, making an overall layout for the new battery material industry, forging an RMB a 100 billion new material industry sector covering the whole industry chain, and making full preparations for our country to race to control the high ground in the fourth technical revolution."
....
Two weeks later
MINMETALS SIGNS MOU WITH SYA
These guys have seriously deep pockets. They won't think twice about throwing in 20mill for a $66mill mine. Look out for the expansion!
(20min delay)