Discl: I bought into Sayona March this year with a significantly...

Discl: I bought into Sayona March this year with a significantly amount (for my standards) in shares and options.

When I bought according to the information available the company expected to get permits in Q1 or Q2 2018. So I assumed that this box was basically checked already. As it turns out, that is where the company keeps grinding.

They designed the project size (below 2.000t ore per day) so that it could take a fast track licensing process. But the community around is giving same backlash. There have been two consultations (19.6. in La Motte and 20.6. Pikogan). There is another one the 27^th and a follow-up the 20^th of August.  

In La Motte the people seem especially worried about the proximity of the mine to their river (Esker). According to some older study they had the cleanest water in the country (or even the world). The mine is only 75m away from the river.

The meeting of the 20^th in Pikogan was with the native community, which is also concerned but had also good things to say about Sayona. Chief Kistabish: “They came to us as soon as they realized they were on Abitibiwinni Aki territory. It has been one of the most proactive mines to date. It shows a lot of openness.”

I think the company has been staffing up to address the issues. They have a French webpage and Facebook page to inform the people. They will try to persuade the locals over the coming weeks.

My take is: DFS should come out soon and might move the SP a little. I would expect any off take agreement to come after they managed to advance in their permitting. No earlier than September 2018. But I am gladly proven wrong if they can be faster.