The long term future for this asset of ours is not in doubt. The world will need and use every tonne of lithium from Pilgangoora, but it is the long term.
Firstly we have to get through and survive the short term decline in price while we get the plant operating to maximum efficiency.
The current and short term are all important in getting to the long term. Currently we have an oversupply of both spodumene and converted lithium, a situation that is getting worse, not better in near future.
Luke Kissam spelt this out in the Q&A section of the ALB Q2 results presentation, with ALB looking to buy some converters in the future, because of short term overproduction and some converters possibly becoming cheap buys.
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/nxt4m6e5Right now the investors in A40 are finding out the hard way about planning for the long term without paying enough attention to the short term.
My own opinion is I'd like to see Pilbara do a cap raise to pay off the debt, and give us the funds to get the plant operating to the best of it's ability.
I fully understand the sale process is the attempt to do the same thing without diluting shareholders, but we lose a part of the asset in the process anyway. Doing a cap raise, yes I know again at low levels, might sound like an extreme measure to some, it is IMHO much better to get the company is a strong financial position a long time before there are any problems. It would also indicate to potential partners that we are not desperate to do a deal and can walk away, leaving them possibly high and dry.
There is no doubt about the longer term future for EVs and lithium in my mind, but all this attention on 2025-28-30 -40 overlooks what can happen in 2020-21 which we have to survive to get to the longer term.
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