Grade and purity has been lost in the discussion. The difference in operating costs between 300-400mg/L and 800-900mg/L is enormous, even before considering impurities. So our 7Mt is not even comparable to 3Mt of low grade.
Galan will be among the lowest cost brines. And what's also been lost in the market mania is that brines have lower operating costs than hardock.
Rio paid a handsome sum for Rincon. Rincon did not work previously because of impurities and average grade. Rio are now putting all their chips on DLE to make it feasible. And this is the case with all the low-average grade brines - but no one is pricing in the technical risk of DLE not working economically.
GLN Price at posting:
68.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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