Mining Plans

I have been thinking about the recent disclosure that the current plan is to open cut the Peg 8 pollucite "after discussion with off-take partners." This is an interesting development. Previous advice was that the mining would be an underground operation and the design has been fairly well advanced through consultants, no doubt at significant cost.
From a rough calculation based on the information available, such an open cut would involve the removal of the order of 500,000 cubic metres of material to recover a JORC resource of less than 4,000 cubic metres. This is a ratio of overburden to ore in excess of 100 to 1. This is right outside the ball park for an open cut operation in terms of a reasonably economic proposal. We are also told that we are to drill seven DD holes and that these holes are to be paid for by an "off-take partner". We already have sufficient exploration of the small deposit to determine a JORC resource and plan an underground mine, and we have two further DD holes which have not been assayed, presumably because they would not disclose any further useful information about the resource. Why does an "off-take partner" now require a further seven holes.
The only logical conclusion I can reach is that the holes are to get further information about the "overburden" and this "off-take partner" is interested in something other than the pollucite. This is most probably lepidolite. We know that this has already been found in holes adjacent to the pollucite. Who might be interested in this? Two parties spring to mind. One is our partner at Peg 9, Lepidico. The other is a Chinese processor of lithium ore. This is an interesting development. I also note the announcement today of the appointment of a chap who seems a highly experienced finance executive. He is not needed for an exploration company. It looks like we are going mining and in a fairly big way.