Joe again...., page-18

Quinono,

I don't think Lowry has ignored it as it is the very point he has been making. ORE has in the past got away with putting lower grade product into the market and still getting a decent price for it. He is saying that those days are over and there will be a greater premium for battery grade( or discount for lower grade). The other point is that the premium for hydroxide is diminishing. This is a concern as ORE has stated that the cost to convert carbonate to hydroxide is about $1,500 per t. which will need to be made up. Admittedly this is happening in a closed Toyota loop in ORE's case - luckily! But it is the costs of going from industrial grade to battery grade that ORE has to grapple with. Probably 12 months ago when ORE was producing a larger proportion 99.5% the cost of going through the purification circuit was, I understand about $2000/t which was essentially the same as the premium paid for battery grade i.e. no great gain in profit. It should also be noted that the cost of $4193 was only 4% down on the PCP yet very little "battery grade" product was produced.


P