Ha - : ) it was me Joannie … and I will put the rest of this...

Ha - : )
it was me Joannie …
and I will put the rest of this part of the post in a spoiler, as it’s off topic to LTR;

Spoiler : Private (?)

We ‘met’ at a drilling company .. Dynamic … which - as I remember, you exited at clever profit, whereas I hung around for ages and ended up selling at substantial losses (that, luckily for me, *have* ended up being offset).

The lunch invitation idea came from a very nice man, @jacko1 with a mining background , who had seen you posting elsewhere (I’d met him on another forum, also, and then, in real life at an AGM.).
We’d share lunch sometimes and he’d share some tips, and his trading ‘habits’ and we’d chin wag and, enjoy good food, and he thought you would enjoy the same.
Anyway those meetings were abandoned during a weird and protracted personal shut down when being a near total recluse was a bit of a survival necessity ( thank goodness for HC, and a shout out to any others who ignored my ‘private’ sign and enjoy HC from a position of ‘real world infirmity’ of any kind.).

We ‘met’ again when I was researching PIL - Peppermint something - and was extremely unpopular with a crowd of pumpers who did not like the links I was bringing to that forum. (I think one wanted to meet so as to either hire me or pay me to shut up - which was kind of funny! )

Apart from those long ago encounters I met you more recently on a health forum Joannie.
I hope you are doing better these days and that all ‘mystery’ is now explained

___________________

And I’ve already said most of what I have learned, but to recapitulate;
- Follow people you know to be wiser and try to learn how they work.
- Treat the stock market as a way to gain insight into yourself
- ‘Don’t give up’ . That’s a truism that has worked for me — because the ASX is like a simmering pot - there’s always a new opportunity.

And sometimes ‘resetting’ at the right time can bounce one out of a loss of years within days. (Switching from Altura at ~4c a share a decline of years from an average 27c to PLS at average 22c is @ personal example.)​

- Bite the bullet if you need to … Despite that letting go is hard to do, and the company was once your pride and joy :/
…. But sometimes endurance really is the best course!

- Research the posters you are talking with, or who seem wise - it’s easy using the ‘advanced search function and trust your instincts. ( There’s plenty of ‘heart’ posters out there who are manipulative and tell half truths as well as the good ones) and listen to the ones who criticise just as much as to the ones singing the love songs)

- Try to give back by supporting those who are ‘the good guys’

- And be honest! But remember the stock forums are for discussing companies and that everyone has a different story and a different agenda.

- Sometimes you’re just lucky!

- Watch the closing price, and volume and learn a bit about price trends.

- Read as much as you can!

And that’s enough from me Joannie, bar wishing you well, because I really am no kind of trader to follow and am mostly here just to play a bit, learn a bit and share a bit whilst keeping an eye on my main interests which - luckily - I have held for a long time.

cheers

Less private and there’s even a chart

cheers


https://www.copyright link/markets/...d-year-for-lithium-dealmakers-20241216-p5kyl5
Allens tips ‘action-packed’ year for lithium dealmakers
Alex GluyasMarkets reporter
Dec 16, 2024 – 12.40pm




Top-tier law firm Allens predicts a wave of dealmaking in the critical minerals sector next year as lower borrowing costs and higher demand for the commodities needed in the energy transition fuel a rebound in prices.

The firm’s bullish outlook follows a turbulent 12 months for the sector – which includes lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths – as new supply outpaced demand, triggering a sharp fall in commodity prices and halting mergers and acquisitions.
But Allens says green shoots are emerging, highlighted by a string of big-ticket deals over the past 12 months. Although there were just 24 transactions in the critical minerals space this year versus 49 in 2023, the total deal value was $14.8 billion compared with the previous year’s $5.3 billion.

That has largely been fuelled by lithium prices collapsing more than 80 per cent in 2023 and 2024, which triggered a flurry of dealmaking, including Allkem’s $10 billion merger with Livent, Rio Tinto’s $10 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium and Pilbara Minerals’ $560 million purchase of Latin Resources.

Allens advised on many big deals in the critical minerals sector this year and said the momentum would rise in 2025 and spill over to other commodities.

Interest rate cuts in the US and Europe, the prospect of rate cuts in Australia, and a moderate price recovery for critical minerals in 2025 set the scene for an action-packed year in which M&A activity is expected to rebound,” Allens partner Charles Ashton wrote in a report set to be released this week.
“Investors will have greater flexibility to expand and diversify their portfolios as funding costs fall and project economics improve.”

Mr Ashton is also betting that developers will increasingly rely on creative financing strategies to get deals over the line, given they have struggled with traditional forms of financing because of softer commodity prices.
Government lenders are increasingly providing support during the initial phases of a project’s development and as it gains momentum. Similarly, customers focused on securing long-term supply are digging into their own pockets to assist with start-up funding.
China’s stranglehold

“Ultimately, given customer lenders want the product rather than straight repayment of the debt, they can apply a different credit lens, thereby removing some of the obstacles to a traditional project financing,” Mr Ashton said.

However, he said major domestic and international lenders would remain critical to funding critical minerals projects, given interest rates were expected to fall next year.
“Many banks are still bullish on critical minerals, and we expect they will be eager to put their balance sheets to work to finance the energy transition as prices recover,” Mr Ashton said.
The Australian government is also expected to get more involved as countries look to reduce their reliance on China, which wields significant influence over processing and battery manufacturing.
Indeed, China remains the single most influential player in global critical minerals given its competitive advantages including economies of scale, abundant capacity, lower labour costs and government subsidies.
Goldman Sachs noted in a recent paper that the operation of a $230 million, 50 kiloton per annum lithium hydroxide plant in China would cost $650 million in Australia.
Governments around the world, including Australia, have recognised that the concentration in China creates geopolitical risks and have taken action to address this imbalance.

The Australian government recently reaffirmed its commitment to Iluka Resources establishing a domestic rare earths supply chain, by upsizing the funding package provided for the construction of the Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery.
Allens believes the government will become increasingly willing to invest directly in critical minerals projects and entities for the long term. The firm expects like-minded partners around the world to co-operate and also coordinate their critical minerals investment strategies.