@Borrisbb Great post. Simple explanation of all important...

@Borrisbb
Great post. Simple explanation of all important topics.

You said "I really believe that LTR is worth more than PLS"

And,.. @Sharejon said "There's no way on this planet that LTR is worth more than PLS, however. PLS will be at 680ktpa, and quite close to 1000ktpa, when LTR is commissioning their 511 ktpa operation".

I will say in advance that I like and consider PLS's assets are world class despite they have old technology plants on it.

However we must understand that (I can see it's still not understood) "not all lithium is equal".

We must understand that there is a big difference between producing 6% (SC6) and 5.5% spod concentrates. (Even PLS announced it will produce 5.25%).

(I am also hoping that the fund managers can spare some time -or read my post from May 2019 - to understand those issues and have some solid information about the lithium projects. They should understand that every project is different and has its own specs and value).

Do you want to see the proof of that?

Here it is.

This slide below is from Mineral Resources (MIN) May 2022 presentation;

You see here that the difference between producing mixed grade (or 5.5%) and producing 6% SC6 is huge.

For Mt Marion assets; there is 300kt per annum difference between mixed grade and SC6.

Mixed grade: 900kt
SC6: 600kt.

So, they will produce mixed grade but no SC6 because production of SC6 would cost them a lot more as well. (Btw, Mt Marion resource ave. grade is quite higher in comparison to Wodgina asset. Also, Mt Marion is close to LTR's Buldania, only 200km).

Same thing for Wodgina assets production;
5.5% grade: 960kt
6% SC6 grade: 750kt

Therefore LTR will be producing 700kt SC6 at much lower cost than MIN and PLS starting in in 2029. That equals to at least 1000kt 5.5% or mixed grade.






Here it is the graph from LTR's DFS.

LTR will be producing 700kt SC6 at much lower cost than MIN and PLS starting in in 2029. That equals to at least 1000kt 5.5% or mixed grade.

It is also expected that LTR will add another spod concentrate train to KV project later on.




I can give you more information why LTR's process is superior to most of other producers in Australia. I actually posted that info here long time ago.

First of all we all need to look every lithium resource separately. "Not all lithium is equal".

1) The collection of ore for crushing in process from different pits around the area is a big problem. Every ore has its own mineral and structural characteristics. So processing machines can't produce same product every time and the crushed ore quality varies hence the end product.

PLS is collecting its ore from 6 pits. See my Post #:63887167
Same for CXO.
PLS has 6 pits in 9km. See below from PLS's own graphs.

Also we all know very well that PLS has an old technology plant in comparison to LTR. It's not easy to renew it with new technology anymore. PL has to build a new plant next to the old one if they ant to use the new technology.

Of course these things all change the cost of the end product.



The ore characteristic also affect the technology you can use in the plant.
Again "Not all lithium is equal".

LTR will usa a SAG mil instead of BALL MILL in the plant. (You know they were preparing the base for it recently. I believe it's coming next month).

SAG MILL provides significant cost saving in comparison to BALL MILL, however you can't use SAG mill for every ore. You have to use the suitable ore type for it. LTR has it.

I also explained that on myPost #:58765424 on Jan. 11 2022
This is my previous post below;

The SAG mill has big advantages over the ball mill in lithium ore processing (grinding), but not all lithium bearing ores can be processed by a SAG mill.

First of all the lithium bearing ore has to be brittle properties for using the SAG mill in the process. Otherwise the SAG mill can't be used.

There is no iron balls inside the SAG mill. The SAG mill has a short length and and completely covered by rubber liners inside it, but it has a large diameter. The large ore particles come inside the SAG mill is being lifted by the the lifters inside the mill and drop down by the gravity and hitting each other during that process, then they are crushing each others. That's the simple principle of a SAG mill.

In the ball mill, the that is being done by the large iron balls. The iron balls need to be replaced over the time because they wear out during the process. However those iron particles from the worn out balls are being introduced to the process and increase the iron content in the processed output of the mill. Then they will have to be removed in the other processing machines come after the ball mill.

Therefore there is no iron content introduction to the the processed ore in the SAG mill. The ore processed in the SAG mill has lower iron content.

The other main advantage of using a SAG mill is it requires significantly LOWER ENERGY consumption.

Then the other big advantage of using a SAG mill is it requires significantly LOWER WATER consumption.

Lower water consumption means the processed ore in the SAG mill will have lower impurities when they leave the mill. Because the water used in the mills are being underground water which has all sorts of minerals (iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, etc.) and organic matters, those impurities has to be removed from it later on, ot the end product will not be a SC6 standard.

PLS has this problem for long time. I explained this issue on my Post #:55837559.
"The iron content was important. LTR has very low iron content in ore. Btw, other large resources PLS's Pilgangoora and Albemarle/MIN's Wodgina resource are in the iron country Pilbara where the iron content is very high in the ore while the ground water which was used in floatation was highly contaminated with all of the other minerals (iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, etc.). PLS had a lot of trouble for making a SC6 concentrate. You can remove all these impurities but it will cost you a lot and your product will be expensive."




When it comes to Greenbushes, even Talison can't use SAG mill. They have 4 ball mills and they have high cost in production of end product. They started with that old technology design and have to keep going with that old ball mill technology.

As a result, LTR has a lots of big advantages over the other projects atm.
......