I think that your comment about " there are alternatives close...

I think that your comment about " there are alternatives close to ready " is spot on , Newbie .
Thinking more about the Ucore interview with Pat Ryan ....and then the ASM last January quarterly , a few things came to mind :
# the US Dept of Defense ( and other Western world countries ex China ) need companies like UCore and ASM working collectively , in a broader frame work , to supply the critical metals demands. So essentially , they are not competing against each other , outside perhaps raw materials feedstock .
They ( with others ) need to be up and running full throttle .
# ASM , thru the KMP , has much of the hard work behind it , having built and operated the Plant for two or three years .Some proved processes are being further refined to produce Nd Pr metal , others like terbium and Dysprosium are in the system and being refined .
WHEN ( rather than If ) the KMP is expanded in Korea or replicated in the USA ( Europe ?) , the "processes "for the additional material ,will have advanced by say 18 months ,
The recent discussion thru this thread , has been highly encouraging that this current rise in the ASM share price is sustainable and can continue ( with the inevitable pull backs ) .
A re-read of the Qtly to the 31st Dec ....just re-inforces that this current Qtly now due ( or via separate Announcements ) ..could have a heck of a lot of updated info on potential Offtakes , Funding and production/technology advancements.
Finally --might be getting close to "right time , right space " for ASM to start to meet its potential .