CLQ Will Return To An All Time High ($1.65)

There are a few important considerations at play here that investors need to understand...

1. Robert Friedland (CLQ Chairman) is a unique character. He sets an extremely high bar for his own work, his teams and most importantly... for the value of his assets. Two years ago, RF was quoted at the CLQ AGM as saying that it would be beneficial for the company to simply wait 2 years before signing a deal because the economic winds of the EV revolution were not blowing hard enough yet and RF is in the business of maximising shareholder value... CLQ was very smart to not rush into a full offtake in the early stages, 2 years ago... The gunpowder remained dry for explosive negotiations once the EV world woke up to the reality of the nickel and cobalt supply cliff...
2. This battery complex will get funded and this battery complex will get built, but it is a matter of timing. At the 2019 AGM, Sam Riggal was quoted as saying that he could sell a 100% offtake tomorrow if he wanted to. The demand is there. This is one of the best and biggest nickel and cobalt reserves in the world. It is a top 10 source of both nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate. The game is all about being patient. The game is all about having bidders jump through hoops over one another such that a bidding war can drive the best outcome for shareholders. We have to remember that RF himself holds 15% of this company. Board and management together hold 30% of this company - they have significant skin in the game. Have a look at RF's history in driving negotiations. Take a detailed look at the deal-making history of the world's current largest nickel reserve - Voisey's Bay, founded by none other than RF himself.

I think the timing is drawing very, very close. I think there is a reason that CLQ is not flooding the ASX with token announcements to push the share price higher. I think there is a reason that management appears quietly confident. I think the PEP will be tailor-designed around the project partner in mind. It may include on-site processing capability for lithium-ion battery precursor materials. If financing is secured in CY2020, the negotiations will have started already in CY2019 (which we know they have - reference the Macquarie Bank announcement). A deal-making process can take more than 6-12 months. What this also means is that finances of EV makers in 2019 was more important than the finances of EV makers in 2020. We saw Tesla raise north of $2b in late 2019 with a capital raise that no investor saw coming...

So what happens when the deal is done? I am willing to predict that on the day of financing, the share price will ascend extremely rapidly to circa 50-70 cents. From there, in the coming days and weeks, CLQ will establish a steady march higher towards a new all-time high... that is the life cycle of a mineral discovery... the share price peaks around the time of first/peak production...