Share talk - Leo Lithium (LLL AU) – SUSPENDED- Trading halt...

Share talk - Leo Lithium (LLL AU) – SUSPENDED- Trading halt pending result of correspondence with Mali government

• We believe Leo Lithium quietly started production and we speculate it might look to start shipping crushed spodumene DSO material from Goulamina shortly.
• There was no press release to announce the start of production but this hasn’t stopped the government from stepping in.
• The company’s first announcement stated there was a ‘Pause in Trading’ from the ASX, then announced a full ‘Trading Halt’ accompanied by the following statement:

1. The Company seeks the trading halt pending an announcement in relation to correspondence from the government of Mali relating to plans to produce Direct Shipped Ore.
2. The Company requests the trading halt continue until the earlier of the Company releasing an announcement, or the commencement of normal trading on Thursday, 20 July 2023.
3. The Company is not aware of any reason why the trading halt should not be granted.

• It’s not entirely normal to start production without a press release or possibly without informing the national government.
• Leo Lithium are developing the Goulamina lithium project in Mali in a $170m jv Ganfeng Lithium.
• Management’s June reported that mining had started and ore was being stockpiled on a DSO pad with DSO early revenue expected in Q4 this year.
• Management claimed the mine was 25% complete in June with 1,000 workers on site with an opportunity to export ore 6-9 months in advance of spodumene.
• The mine and process plant is fully funded to Stage 1 first product.
• Goulamina is the world’s 5th largest global spodumene deposit

Conclusion: We speculate and suspect the Government of Mali is querying if all permissions have been granted for the export of spodumene DSO. The early export of ore from Goulamina would indicate how desperate Ganfeng is to acquire more feedstock for processing in China. Strong ongoing demand for lithium-rich spodumene concentrates indicates that relatively little new lithium is coming from DLE ‘Direct Lithium Extraction’ on brine projects around the world.