Longer term , I don't think you can go too far wrong with Sayona as a Lithium producing stock pick. And that is just my view for many many reasons . Many of which have been spoken about on these forums and some which haven't as yet got to that stage or level in the discussion.
However, in terms of a more shorter term view of share price catalysts , I don't think you can go to far past the handing down of BOTH the Ontario and Quebec fiscal 20204 /2025 Provincial Budgets on the 22nd of this Month.
And when you string a few things together like the more recent comments made by the RIO Chief ( Jakob Stausholm) at this year's PDAC conference in regards Lithium . We already know that Rio is heavily committed to Quebec lithium particularly in the James Bay region as reiterated in his PDAC address.
But they also have their equity interest in Nano One and their demonstration plat at Sorel-Tracy which was commissioned in June 2022 and where they received their very first ton of ore and produced its first concentrate in July 2022 ....,which included ore received from Sayona. Now I remember it stated it would receive ore from local suppliers but never ever saw a mention of anyone BUT Sayona Mining....
Remember this is the same Guy ( Jackob Stausholm ) who was prepared to shell out US$2.5 billion in development for its scuttled Serbian Lithium project and then paid US$825 million for the Argentinian Rincon project whilst further committing another US$140 million for that project as well. And at that same time was quoted at their last AGM in May just gone that “We wouldn’t mind having a stronger lithium business.”
O.K , so then you have Mitsubishi making its much talked about and very first foray into Canadian Lithium by announcing ( also at PDAC ) that it will take a 7.5% stake in Frontier Lithium with a provision for increasing its future stake following assistance in DFS studies and collaborating on seeking funding sources and alternatives. So that's just their FIRST ' Toe in the Water ' move when we know from their previous statements they are also KEEN on battery metals with particular interest in Lithium.
So , I can't help but think they have announced the timing of this as a potential preemptive move from Ontario handing down other sweeteners and benefits for critical minerals investment in Ontario.
Similarly , I think there will also be additional measures when the Quebec budget is handed down on the same day 2 weeks and a couple days from now.
So what's interesting with RIO is that its now been almost 2 years since Sayona Ore was taken for testing of their NEW higher grade beneficiation methods from their pilot plant with NOT a word stated except for these recent comments by Brown in regards this regime of sampling which allegedly involves ongoing ' testing ' for over 6 months to measure consistencies in product quality .
So could this be somehow related to RIO's testing of the beneficiation of Sayona Ore's ?...or is it more so ' Top Secret ' that shareholders CAN'T know about the outcomes of these tests for almost 2 years now....... Was it successful ? Will it lead to something ....an alliance / partnership or something else ? Or is it just NOT that important for us Investors to be too concerned about ......
Anyway , so short term , I reckon you have a lot to potentially benefit from if you're simply looking at an entry at around these SP levels.
But certainly , you have to question the timing of the Corporate Activity of Frontier Lithium and almost couple that with the recent PDAC comments from RIO....ALL in close proximity to the timelines of BOTH Provincial Governments handing down their 2024/2025 Budgets . And all of that together with those general comments made by senior Canadian political figures in regards critical minerals and the ' Manipulation ' of prices....etc.... And when was the last time you saw an Australian counterpart official make similar comments around that sort of narrative.
So yeah it's looking interesting in the short term if you've got the stomach for the wait and see with regards to how nameplate is progressing and how the increasing cost recoveries in the face of falling G&A fixed costs and higher volumes through the plan are fairing. And obviously how ALL this factors stack up against our Top line selling prices.
And there are other things in play that could absolutely launch this without much warning for investors at all.
So you have to be vigilant in how you go about your assessments of your investments.
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