Weirdly, I share a similar lithium investing story. It's bullshyte for the faithful investor!
Nevertheless, the timing of the energy-shift narrative has changed with this deal. I now believe that companies like POSCO and other well-funded multinationals/wannabes (backed by governments stimulus and incentives) are facing a serious and pressing issue with ‘FOMO’. The MD of Rio Tinto said last night that, they expect prices to continue growing since there won't be enough low-quality projects to satisfy demand. For this reason, they believe that taking over LTM at this time is a good fit.
Global corporations will be searching for openings and where are they? I had assumed that there would be certainty for a lot more JV and M&A activity after the US election, but Rio's entry into the market has altered that sentiment because of the massive chuck that they have taken out of it. Elevating them to number 2 globally with plenty of upside and the resource capabilities to put them at number one within a few years. I also see a Chinese supplier has inked a binding offtake agreement this morning with an Aussie company with assets in Argentina.
Perhaps the US elections has no significance in terms of the global energy supply market's security needs. And when you stop to think about it, we need secure energy regardless of who is in power. Therefore, anything can happen at any time.