About time for a new thread that actually concentrates on what the company is doing, and how we will be building our own success.
With the current agreement beyond just the BOA, we are actually locked into 280,000t of spodumene concentrate being 80% of our initial processing plant. This in itself is an interesting number, as 100% is production of 350,000t of spodumene concentrate, from a current 2Mt/a plant. That means with certainty that the plan is to "high grade" it early. This is what most companies do in mining as it means paying off any debt quickly.
One of the biggest questions over price received will relate to how many of the currently being built gigafactories are built and operating.
From none now, sometime next year the Tesla one is meant to start, while the mega VW one will be an extra year or 2 into the future.
Making an assumption that the LCE price is around the current level, then first full year revenue would be around $350m while costs should be around $85m, leaving a cashflow of $265m.
Of this initial cashflow, we will be paying for the construction of our half of the conversion plant somewhere in Asia, with a cost of about $60m for our 50%. So plenty is left over should a bit of debt be needed to build the first plant and all the infrastructure that goes along with it.
(I've noticed that we, PLS have applied for a miscellaneous license over 11,660 ha, just to the west of our tenements, so plenty of room for waste dumps, tailings dams etc.)
Assuming the conversion plant takes only a year to build, and it sounds from the BOA announcement that GLC are very keen to get it going, then to have enough concentrate for that plant as well as our initial commitments the next BOA possibly gives away how large the plant will be in the DFS. As soon as the next BOA is announced I will be adding numbers very quickly, as a larger than 2Mt/a plant will see us grow very quickly.
Thoughts people on the timing for any expansion? or any other numbers?
Even if we start at 3Mt/a, I would be assuming that expansion would be on the cards within 2 years, as by 2020, the growth rate and price of lithium products should be really accelerating.
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