Ann: Update on Project Leadership, page-111

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Szalva you are many years here in waiting.

In relation to offtake agreements, you have the Aust Gov at the moment insisting that ilu has to secure offtake agreements as part of unlocking the extra $400 million.

For a company to enter into such agreement they have to know what they are going to do with the product.
What use is a volume of NdPr Oxide to anyone without the capability or connections to turn it into a useable product eg magnet? Now if they are looking at using it in the EV motors or offshore wind turbines it will require other elements as well, so they would need to have some agreement there also, and then it has to go through the processes of getting turned from a powder to a metal to a magnet. All sounds simple, but its not, those complexities are part of what has driven (in the auto sector) manufactures to work around requiring such products, and the auto sector with the talk of all this demand is what companies are using to sell their vision to getting into production.
Many seem to be conveniently looking past the achievements of Valeo, ZF, and Yassa ( which was acquired by Mercedes back in 2021) and then you have the others that are looking into RE free motors, its not that it may happen one day, it already has.

Companies like Siemens Gamesa don't buy NdPr Oxide from China, they buy magnets.

NdPd will of course still be required, but in what volumes.
Companies like Hyudai and Kia (who themselves are researching RE free motors) will keep buying from China for their EV's, what choice do they have.
Questions could be asked, will there become a time where China is unable to keep up with demand for REE magnets.
Will China ever get to the point that they need to consume all their own supply capabilities.


As ausheds put in their post 3 days ago to chokdee 77077347 who I see is yet to respond:
"To add some substance can you list the presumably ex China "magnet makers and more" that you think will be operating 2028/30, with projected annual volumes?"


China don't seem willing to surrender what the west gifted them in relation to the processing of these elements along with others, the west was grateful to have them take over the toxic legacy that surrounds the processing and happily turned its back and closed their eyes in accepting the finished products. Yes China has spent years now in cleaning up their own industry by taking control and merging their own internal, but they are still happy to accept needed minerals which are being sourced using practices that damage the environment and use questionable labour practices, but still the west continues to support these practices by purchasing these products.


I question as to where the demand is going to come from to absorb a supposed ARU & ILU product, and I would say that the forecasters have been wrong so far, but now they have just moved their dates further into the future, same as kicking the can down the road.
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