Lots to unpack with the video.
I saw a very heavily edited video, where a lot of leading questions were asked. I think Patrick chose his words carefully and never really answered anything fully.
It seems like he and PLL want to push out into time, anything that will imply additional funds that will be required from PLL, it is pretty easy to understand that they don't have the funds to do all of the things that they have agreed to do and therefore would like to spread them out as far as possible, maybe in hopes that the loan programs will kick in or that they will get an answer from the DOE on grants or other implied $$ may arrive, at this point if they don't get any of those in the next several months I would expect that they would need to go back to their SH's to produce the funds via a CR.
One thing that we as investors must understand is viewpoint of both Sayona and PLL. For instance when Sayona states they will be in production by Q1 2023 that means they will be actively mining, PLL is looking at it from the viewpoint of when they will get their first paycheck, two completely different mindsets.
There were a few times where I caught myself wondering. One such time was when Patrick was discussing the carbonate plant. He admits that it is 50% built and may take a few hundred million to upgrade (about 1/3 the price of the TN LIOH Plant) to today's standards but recons that will take years. He then goes on to state that the Tennessee Hydroxide plant which is 0% permitted and 0% built will only take 1 year to complete, there were several such inconsistencies during the video. When he reference how long it would take Sayona to complete a task vs how long it would take PLL to complete a similar task, in all cases Sayona would take longer to achieve and PLL would take shorter. From where I sit I see PLL with 4 projects.
1. Sayona, which is fully funded, ahead of budget and as of September on time to begin in Q1 2023
2. Atlantic Lithium, not permitted, PLL has only placed its initial investment dollars into Atlantic Lithium, yet implies 50% ownership
3. Tennessee LIOH plant - not permitted, not funded - 600 Million CAPEX required
4. Carolina Lithium Project - Not permitted, very serious questions if it ever will be permitted, and 1 Billion in CAPEX required.
In all there will be Billions required and the ONLY one that looks to be a producer in the next 3 years is Sayona.
I get it... PLL has to dance and do what they can to keep the interest level up so they don't completely crash but they are doing it to make a supposed "Partner" look bad and that does not sit well with me.
(20min delay)