Interesting to see an article by Bloomberg 3 days ago. They...

Interesting to see an article by Bloomberg 3 days ago. They predict a big (upward) price crunch in the price of cobalt in the early 202o's.

"A burgeoning risk of a supply crunch in cobalt -- a key battery metal that’s more than tripled in price in two years -- poses one of the biggest threats to forecasts for rising electric vehicle adoption.

Major investment in mines is required to avoid price spikes that could see cost reductions for lithium-ion batteries stall, Bloomberg New Energy Finance analysts said Monday in a report. Shortages of cobalt are likely earlier than previously forecast and the issue poses a potential challenge to EV sales over the coming five to seven years, according to the report.

“The long lead time to bring on new mines and the concentration of cobalt reserves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mean there is a real possibility of supply shocks in the early 2020s,” the BNEF analysts said. The DRC accounts for more than two-thirds of mined output, according to trading firm Darton Commodities Ltd."

You may recall that MD Brendan Borg predicted that by late 2020 CLA would commence production, so this puts CLA in an excellent position to take advantage of what appears to be a major supply problem by that time.

The fact that CLA has just recently released a maiden JORC compliant indicated and inferred cobalt resource of 112.4 million tonnes makes it a world-class cobalt deposit and a potentially attractive target for a major investor in the renewables industry.

You may also recall that in the CLA announcement of 30 April 2018 it was reported that:

"Key components of the Scoping Study are progressing well, with the processing flowsheet now nearing completion. Mining engineering studies and pit optimisation studies have commenced, using the recently completed Mineral Resource block model. The Scoping Study is expected to be completed late in the June Quarter."...so not long now to wait!

The Scoping Study will confirm the feasibility of the project.

Once the Scoping Study is out you'll start to see major investors ready to pounce. The SP will go through another upward price spike. If takeover or divestment is on the table the spike might even be more pronounced. My prediction is a share price of 40c by early July, once the Scoping Study is released. (IMO, or course)

The Bloomberg report, if proven correct, will be bad news for the renewable industry, but great news for CLA.