IMO - there is still considerable confusion - whether intentional or from lack of research/information around this carbonate plant.
I've referred to it as "Half-Built" (as has Alan Kohler from the Eureka Report) and Brett Lynch confirmed with "... that's probably a good way to put it. It's halfway there"
Dougal Elder refers to it as "partially constructed".
I've yet to see anyone other than a poster who shall remain nameless and thinks I'm a clown, believe it is "functioning" for our intended use case.
Macquarie Bank sent their team in for a site visit to NAL in Sep 2022. Now
@SplitFusion also has visited the facility (the only poster I know of that has) and posted many pictures and thoughts ... Split this is NOT an attack or slight/sledge on you. No capital would have been spent on NAL converter in the time between your visit and MB visit. I'll just cut and paste some of the MB research report and highlight a couple of things.
There should be no question about it (the carbonate plant) being "functioning". We i.e. SYQ are in the BATTERY-GRADE LITHIUM BUSINESS. Whatever Li2CO3 was produced by Quebec Lithium (Canada Lithium) would not have been battery grade.
@SplitFusion were you able to more closely inspect those bags of carbonate in your pictures ... I don't believe they were battery grade. I'd also be interested if you asked why are these bags lying around and not sold (given they must have been part of the acquisition and have some "cash value"). Couple of pallets at least ... 100 bags to a pallet? x 20Kg/bag (std 2,000Kg pallet) x 2 pallets = 4,000Kg ... gotta be worth US$50K or thereabouts? Not trying to trap you, just want to know whether you had the opportunity to dig deeper. I'm curious but OK if you chose not to or consider it a private conversation.
Back in Oct '22, Patrick Brindle (PLL COO) was interviewed by Howard Klein ... and this is from the transcript
"I would say that from our perspective if you look at other conversion plants that have been built in recent years you know what's actually in the plant at La Corne probably only represents about 50% of the equipment and the capital needed for a fully functional carbonate plant so we're not doing any work in the carbonate plant today. There are major elements missing uh you know between the acid roast and cooler, a mill, storage of beta spodumene I mean calcined material substantial upgrades to crystallization impurity removal filtration packaging etc. There's probably a few hundred million dollars that would need to be spent there to put the carbonate plant into service. What we did agree at a board level is that we would refresh technical studies that had been undertaken in the past at a feasibility level to re-evaluate what might be required in some granular detail with respect to a full build out of the carbonate plant and then once those studies are completed you know we'll have a conversation at a partner level about what the next appropriate steps are."This PFS has CONFIRMED much of what was already said, known and posted ... certainly over in this forum anyway ... that PB interview got a hostile reception in the SYA forum.
I mean I just don't get it. We seem to have attracted some very rude posters (who are very pro SYA and negative PLL) recently. Lots of emotion and to be blunt misinformation.
Downstream is important but the right decision is even more so ... since we are talking about a refinery life of generally 30yrs. I see lots and lots and lots of Carbonate coming in North America for there own deposits (both sedimentary rocks/clays of which Thacker Pass will be the first of many) and then the brines of South America (Chile, Argentina, Boliva and some Brazil). Hydroxide is the natural for spodumene. Even the PFS NAL DFS alludes to that it the demand/supply section.
When the DFS on Carbonate comes at year end, the dust will have settled (hopefully) and we'll also see how the OTA works in practice with shipments and revenues. Despite all the dramas, I'm looking forward to the next 6 months cementing NAL as a producer and revenue for another 2 of my lithium stocks (PLL and SYA).
(20min delay)