Will it be mined though? And when?
There are a lot of hard rock prospects popping up now, and they are all fudging the numbers to make theirs look the most undervalued. They have to, because they know not all of these projects will be developed.
Focus seems to be on mgmt all the time here, surely ppl can see where the decline started. It was from the PFS. The capex of this project has ballooned out to USD 200 mil. This is the worst of all upcoming hard rock projects on a per Mt basis, and the capital intensity suffers. The capex has stymied this project. The only reason this isn't a complete dud on paper is because it is high grade, a massive resource and close to surface.
The current team clearly recognise this and have prioritised optimisations before completing a DFS. They know that without improved recoveries, the capex intensity just isn't investment grade for this type of project. The metallurgy testing needs to demonstrate that the iron will be removed. Good results here will improve Goulamina's chances significantly. But I'm guessing that the capex will blow out even further in order to get recoveries higher.
i am not convinced there is any interest in this project other than Changsha atm. There is nothing to show they are interested after recently visiting the site. They may be our only choice, which means that we will get shafted if a finance deal is done right now. The Europeans will need lithium, true, but they have made it clear they want to get it from Europe. Personally I see India as a future opportunity but maybe this is optimistic.
Good to get excited over a box being ticked, but the mining permit was never really an issue. The issue is that projects need backers, they need finance and they need to show off their good bits. Regurgitation of the PFS metrics is pointless. We need to complete the work on those sticking points and bring some more potential partners to the table.
This being said, the value here is still undeniable. The LTR comparison shows just how much spec punters value country. We are in Mali, but the opex will be about $50/t cheaper than their deposit, even assuming $80/t tantalum credits...we have a PFS, they are only in scoping study stage, even our resource is bigger. But only 1/5 of their market cap?
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