Exactly correct.
If permits were granted and it was good news, they would never even have had a trading halt, they would just straight out announce "permits granted for ...." and kept on trading.
This is bad news, very bad .... and the board need extra time to talk with the government and then work on how to best dress-up the announcement. It may in fact stay in suspension for some time.
I believe it's almost certain to be a repeat of the Arcadium Lithium court ruling.
"The Supreme Court of Argentina's Catamarca province has ordered a halt on the construction of two significant Arcadium Lithium projects. The decision comes after an injunction filed by an indigenous community, demanding a suspension of permits ..."
The indigenous communities now probably want ALL permits suspended, it doesn't make sense that they would just go after Arcadium, but that they would then move on to all the other projects and companies after being successful in halting Arcadium. They've been emboldened by the Supreme Court ruling.
My bet is that the same indigenous community, or a related one, with lawyers paid for by extremist environmentalists, has also come after Galan, and all other lithium companies in the area.
The province will take it's time to conduct it's own environmental studies now, probably taking 3 years or more, and backed by radical environmentalists and some politicians and local government servants.
Then Galan will also have to conduct their own environmental studies, if they are permitted to, which is now problematic.
I'd say that even if the projects is permitted to conduct it's own environmental studies, it will become a bureaucratic nightmare over many years. For instance, look at INR, it's lithium project has so far been delayed by environmentalists and studies and government bureaucracy for 6 years longer than anticipated or required now.
I'm anticipating another period of suspension, because they will want "at least" the weekend to deal with the fallout, contact everyone, and then write up an announcement, and possibly even all of next week.
Talk about the kiss-of-death. Are things like these ever going to end for lithium projects the world over?
Gw
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