DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) from brine is still unproven....

DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) from brine is still unproven. Nobody has been able to upscale it successfully. Lake resources, LKE, is a classic example of failures. Brine miners are faced with other barriers to successful production. Their ponds, lined with polythene membrane need to sit for years before harvestable quantities of brine concentrate evaporate enough to be viable. In the meantime they are vulnerable to climate variations and heavy diluting rainfall. Pumping brine from Argentinian aquefas reduces the level of their water table. Environmentalists are citing the effects on their pretty pink birds. Seems all that is in it for Rio is the off-take customer base that comes with it - VW, Mercedes, Tesla. They must have done their numbers. Rio employs experts, and they tend not to take risks, particularly in the AUS $10 billion arena.
Just think - they are big enough to place a $20 billion all cash offer to PLS, a better offer than they have just consummated, and you and I would say "where do we sign?"