I am late to the party mate, sometimes its a good thing,...

I am late to the party mate, sometimes its a good thing, sometimes its bad.

In this case, I have bought where I thought it was near the bottom, and now I am even underwater, but I would imagine no where near the extent as many of the long term holders here...something I too am suffering with many stocks in the critical mineral space, so I feel your pain.

Tim, from what I can see is new to the CEO role, and I believe this is his first time as CEO/MD.
It will take him time, or anyone else for that matter to find his feet and find his management style, but from what I have seen, he is passionate, knowledgable, and has been building solid inroads, particularly with the UK government.
So in terms of crunching deals and nailing contracts, I am not too sure at his ability or prowess, and has he nailed the company maker yet..no. But he could surprise us all here and nail something soon.
I'm also hoping this is where Lynch comes in, to help get these deals over the line and ensure they are favourable for IXR.
Belfast v Makuutu offtake and interest-
I can see why they would be able to stitch up Belfast before Makuutu.
Recycling in this ESG focused environment is sexy.
It carries a lot of cache, and governments, financial institutions and organisations far and wide would want to be associated with that.
Repurposing of existing material....is re-used rather than going to landfill.
This will be a big sector for rae earths moving forward, with many other companies seeing the potential.
It is much cheaper than mining a feedstock, particularly when we are talking setting up a resource from concept to production, and it is the short circuit to the refined product coming out of China.
Then you just need someone to take the oxide and produce the magnetic material, and thats where LCM come in.
So the Uk /EU / US or any other government I would imagine, would absolutely support this disruptive domestic supply chain, which ensures security of supply at a competitive price point.

As for Makuutu...it is Africa...always a hard sell, as opposed to a top tier mining jurisdiction.
The usual issues and patronage is forever present, and a deep risk adjustment would be being applied to this resource and its economics.
Many say grade is king, but unfortunately for Makuutu, it is lacking here.

So on the surface, it may seem a resource which would be overlooked by a potential offtake partner who would pass it by.
The right partner would need to be found, who understands rare earths and the value proposition Makuutu could represent.
It takes a lot of education to get your head around the mechanics of rare earths mining and refining into a mixed basket or individual oxides.
Most analysts don't fully get it, and neither do most fundies.

My take on Makuutu's operation is that it is a massive resource, with a mediocre head grade.
It is an easy mining operation, which would probably come in at the lower end of the cost curve.
A good relationship with Local government exists, who seem to be supportive of IXR, we have been awarded our mining license and moved to a 94% stake.
Not all is what it seems with our grades though.
Our basket is heavy rare earth prolific, circa 45%, which could probably be ratcheted up in the processing...heavies is something China is lacking, and as I said, we are a massive resource with a simple mining plan.
So I think with the right partner, we could do well with Makuutu, particularly if we refine in house, and then integrate this supply with Belfast

In terms of balanced arguments, extreme views either way are unhinged and do not represent a holistic view.

Due to the shorters, the macro and the demise of critical minerals pricing...every shorter and downramper has currently won, but generally it is not for the flaky, shallow arguments they usually put forward.
There is a lot more at play here from the multiple regional wars going on, inflation and high interest rates, national debt, incessant money printing, changing governments etc...etc...AND the complete control, domination and manipulation of the commodity prices, both as ore and as refined products by the East.
These for the moment, rather than weaknesses in individual companies is driving the stock prices down...and there's just no institutional money coming in for the small caps....little to none.
To be honest, I enjoy reading the contrarian views, particularly if its a negative aspect I have not found or uncovered.
Those with merit are added to the equation of whether to buy or sell or hold....and cannot be ignored.
But overreaching and pumping out insignificant details...whether its up or down I tend to breeze over or discount and yes it does go both ways..upramping or down ramping.
The latest by @ChinaSyndrome is nothing any prospective miner has not faced before.
Doing a deal with the locals, paying the local patronage tax and keeping social license, is all part and parcel of mining, and if it is done respectfully and collaboratively, to mutually benefit all parties,there is usually no hurdle that cannot be navigated, no stream that cannot be crossed.But nonetheless, good to be across.
As for selling out say early 2022, when everything in our small cap commodity sector was pumping, I bet all wish we had taken more profit early.
I know I am a lot more aggressive with this now, and when I see no announcement and 3 days of big green candles I start to get nervous.

But this was sector wide, and not confined to one stock alone
And in terms of the plethora of stock specific crap that the downrampers put out, it must be considered in the entire context of the company, and not be allowed to be a singular driver, for derailing your investment thesis in a company unless it is hugely detrimental, is accurate and and has massive implications into the future.