Yes I saw that too. The cobalt price action is consistent with...

Yes I saw that too.
The cobalt price action is consistent with that article I posted - that it is getting to the point where some buyers are getting very nervous and holding off on orders, hoping that they don't have to lock in the much higher prices for their next orders. Then they get outbid and the prices move on up again.

But I don't think recent price action at ARL has been related at all to that blip in the cobalt price.

With ARL I think its logical to say that the first dip was simple profit-taking from a hard run as instos look to grab everything they can. It started coming back the next day.
The second is related to nervousness about the SPP.

I admit I didn't see the SPP coming but have been thinking it through a bit more.
Possibly, the company was realising that the loyalty options were not going to convert fast enough (too many sticky hands), and they were unable to really factor in that extra cash injection for another 6 months or so. Meanwhile there are hungry drills waiting to deliver the resource upgrades.

If they can put the pedal to the metal with this cash, and they must also realise that strong and constant drill results for the rest of the year, ending with possibly an earlier-than-expected PFS, will do a lot more for the sp than whatever happens in this short term turbulence now.

I agree with BE. I think its likely we're looking at about 20m shares in this SPP (as its likely that there are not that many actual share holders left any more and not all will take max allocation) and whatever happens, the small amount of shares involved is unlikely to have any major effect on ARL being massively undervalued.
It will all blow over in a couple of weeks.

I just don't think the SPP is related to take over.
It wouldn't be enough to stop it from happening.
Considering the value of the assets its like expecting somebody to balk at a deal where a Ferrari is being offered of Gumtree for $1000, and expecting them to walk away if it went up to $1100.

The other possibility is that it could be used to fund that spin off for the gold assets. But this also seems a bit unlikely and it would have been announced as part of the rationale, surely(?).
Spin offs are rewards for LT holders. They would cost the company time and money away from the main focus on the cobalt assets.
The major benefit is purely for shareholders - that we could all end up with shares in another company that may prosper as a medium term gold miner. I would expect ARL management to keep this up the sleeve for a little longer - and possibly use it to sweeten whatever CR is involved with plant building in 2018.

Better to have that cash and start bolstering the pace of development and the company's capabilities immediately. Aside from the drilling and PFS work there are a lot of deals to come.
There are a lot of different resources here to consider.
A lot of plane trips for the MD.
A lot of battery companies to talk to.
MOUs to sign.
They need a bit of $$ for that printer ink and some cash for lawyers/contracts and some good admin staff to hire to get through the next stage.

I am pretty certain I'll take my maximum allocation.
This one is going to be driven by the instos and things tend to run when instos can see that they have the majority of the pie. There are too many good things associated with having the largest deposit and the registry with 100m or so shares is still looking slim.

I always expected a consolidation in the mid 80s.
The SPP shares are a reward for the small investors to get another shot at discount shares before the instos continue to drive this forward.

Its hard to predict what happens next, but my outlook is that I'm not really that influenced by the daily sp, and particularly when things start whipsawing around. They just tell me that something big is happening behind the scenes.

All the best
AC