Hey Ash, do you think a better use of $2b would be to simply...

Hey Ash, do you think a better use of $2b would be to simply spend $200m taking over Rex and another $1b in building the permitted Hillside mine? Have it operational by late 2025 or early 2026.

Its not in Africa, there's no bidding war, a friendly supporting state government, possible future tie-in with Havilah, or with Oz/BHP infrastructure. Same/similar 42k tonnes a year output as Khoemacao. Not having to ship the concentrate across another country to get to port. S32 could build the plant the way they wanted from scratch. No cultural differences between local staff and S32 management.

There's probably late stage projects with juniors, in the Canadian provinces, on the TSX which make sense for under $2b. That said, I love what S32 is doing and trust management. If they say $2b on Khoemacao is the way to go, I'm in. What would I know anyway. If l have to be second guessing the management of an ASX25 stock on technical issues I shouldn't hold the stock. Their experts would have crunched the numbers. Yeah, just shut up and take my money when the cap raise shows up!

The local Adelaide newspaper had a big feature article, editorial, and front page promo this morning for a discussion on future copper shortages and development projects in SA. We've heard all the macro arguments about supply vs. demand and copper shortages before in investment articles. And it mostly focuses on BHP and Olympic Dam. So not really relevant to S32. However it's unusual to see the mainstream media looking at this topic and wondering where the electrification metals will come from. That's the first time I've seen this. A long way from fever pitch, but in the early stages of what l see as an inevitable situation as politicians promise something that cannot come close to being delivered.