Yeah totally agree with you there pal.
And unfortunately I think this is the point where the ' Poison Pill ' of having signed on for with HALF of NAL's spod going effectively across the border to Piedmont is coming home to roost in Legault's 2019 comments and narrative where they would not be happy with the spod leaving Quebec for further added value processing. And I'm talking more down the track I guess. And they would much prefer Tesla bring some of its operations to Quebec than perhaps supply over the border to the Americans with Quebec ' raw ' product.
So the merchant banker FOX and the Australian ' Cowboy's ' look to have been out sly'd the pack of Wolves Politicians......
In all seriousness though we should have gone for the partnership with Nemaska as I had mentioned ages ago long before Allkem signed on with Livent.
And they have been very very quiet about Whabouchi's progress to date but at the same time equally LOUD about the tie-ins with FORD and the downstream benefits. So if Sayona was even close to that , you'd expect more LOUD noises being trumpeted by Quebec and Canada.
So All the while there is this continued perception of the the poor cousin NAL with its complicated ore body and more complicated ' blending ' requirements from a less than perfect and lower grade Authier are left out in the cold ....with only Moblan's real chance of FUTURE funding through its 40% stake from I.Q subsidiary SOQUEM.
And if Nemaska is to be seen as any example with Quebec's hold on 50% , I would say it's NOT likely that they will give up their 40% in Moblan if it proves as good as Sayona is endeavoring to talk up. So that would mean a similar partner to come in and take up 30 or 40% of Sayona's 60% . But this can really only happen when Sayona actually delivers a DFS with a concrete economic and financial value.
So in a sense we may appear to be ahead of Quebec's market darling Nemaska but in actual fact we are miles behind them from a downstream point of view and in even being close to establishing Moblan as the NEXT viable feedstock lithium project.
Interesting as well how this whole Allkem / Livent deal came to be. I mean firstly it was ALL STOCK and not your typical cash bleed / dilutionary script offer. So that in itself would have had to have been entertained and discussed LONG before it came to pass and would also have had to be known before that it would also require the blessing of shareholders. And even right now the Livent Share Price is trading above the theoretical anticipated merge price of the proposed new entity.
So with well over US$1 billion in synergy savings and another C$1 Billion in upfront funding , this is what it would take for Quebec to become serious about the merits of a preconceived project.
So where is Sayona's $1 Billion in long term project synergies and savings , and who might want to take on that very specific mineral's synergy.
So with Nemaska ever since its return from administration it's been a step by step approach by Quebec in ' leveraging ' up the value of the outcomes. First its was Pallinghurst and Livent buying half , then it was Pallinghurst Group selling its stake to Livent in return for direct equity in Livent ( effectively a 40%plus increase on their original investment ) , then Quebec awarding another C$300 million to Livent / Nemaska's Becancour plans ......, then Ford's original OTA spod & hydroxide details ......to Allkem & Livents merger proposal ........followed now by Ford's commitment and proposal for a facility right next door to New Nemaska's Plant in Becancour and the additional funding that goes with it.
And unfortunately Sayona and Piedmont are miles behind that and so have ' miscalculated ' the whole playing field in my opinion. And at the same time Moblan is a few ' Steps ' behind proving itself a viable source and an economical and / or environmentally approved project whereas Whabouchi as well as James Bay have already been approved.
So what Sayona needs now in my opinion is NOT a Piedmont but more an Albemarle or equivalent. RIO perhaps , Mitsubishi maybe ....or even something more novel in the Black Mass recycling end of the spectrum .......but definitely we are wasting our time hitching our wagon with Piedmont. I can tell you that for sure. They don't even understand the Canadian or Quebec set up.
Y
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