Pre Bretts' departure, there was supposed to be a couple of hours set aside for us with Sal and Guy, a dinner that night, with the trip to NAL the next day.
So.....we went anyway.....
.
James had been there the week before........
To be honest, I was shocked they let us even get there.
Until the day of departure, I was waiting for the rug pull...the cancellation of the trip.
Maybe they thought the backlash and negative comms would be far worse if they cancelled it.
So, they must have thought, 'give them the 2 bob tour and see them off back where they came from, but tell them nothing'
That is certainly the feeling we got when we knocked on Sayona Quebec's door...their locked door.
'Oh a surprise visit ' Sophie exclaims, as she turns red and unlocks the door.
Yep, we were in the neighbourhood and thought we would come down and say hi.
So yeah, it was awkward.
.
I had every intention of leading with the teeth and freaking them all out, but quickly read the room.
It was way too serious and way too frosty to pull a stunt like that, so the teeth stayed in my pocket....what a shame! 
I wanted them to remember me as the crazy Aussie with the teeth....something they would never forget...could not unsee!!!
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After the initial awkwardness, she softened, was welcoming and we chatted small talk for a while.
'Guy is busy, sorry.... '
The small talk continued, and I asked if I could meet him, but was met with the same response.
It was all very cordial and nice......and was getting to the point where we were seconds from being evicted.
.
'OK, I understand he is busy, but could you please convey to him that I have travelled a long way to be here, over 30 hours.
It has been a very tiring trip and if we could just meet him for 5 minutes it would make it worthwhile.
Please convey my disappointment. '
.
Little did we know that Sal and Guy were in the office behind reception, with the door open, in full earshot of what was transpiring with Sophie.
They must have heard my pleads to Sophie, and within seconds, they came from behind the partition to welcome us in for an introduction and a chat.
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So, pleasantries exchanged, we were quickly shown around the office and ended up in the boardroom. Quite a nice upmarket office with lots of people working away.
What exactly everyone was doing I am not sure.
Maybe 30 people...and they even have an IT guy!
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While in the boardroom, what Guy was most excited about was that he could see the ice hockey stadium for the Montreal Canadians. He called it the temple'
So, I guess he is right into them .
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Split and I chatted to Guy, while our 3rd partner worked Sal over, about his concerns. I was trying to keep an ear
out for both conversations.
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With us, the most prominent information we received was that the Moblan DFS will not be late.
Questioned a number of times Guy was quite adamant that it would still be November.
So, good news on that front.
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Other comments were the usual.
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Ramp is going well; we do not really know what happened with Brett yadda...yadda...yadda....
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Guy also mentioned James visited the office and NAL last week getting up to speed.
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Another point both Sal and Guy were pushing was that the government of(Quebec?) had a big announcement coming in 2 weeks. They spoke of them allocating funds all the way
upstream. Nothing more specific than that. I kind of got the feeling they were insinuation we would get funding, but I have heard this before.
.
Big announcement this, big announcement that....
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So, my skepticism was blocking any joy this news brought.
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Should be any time now then....
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I can personally add something to this.
I had some brief comms with Brett.
He is flew out last Thursday. Where to???
Is he headed to Quebec for this announcement?
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The timeline seems to add up....but as always....time will tell.
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Time...the great healer and the single greatest thing that will grow your investment.....but this constant hanging on, sure is wearing thin....
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The conversation the dude was having with Sal had been continuing and was addressing the concerns of takeover.
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Guy then had to head off for a meeting, which left just the 3 off us .....and Sal.
Let me preface this by saying, our 3rd partner, the dude, had already met all these guys.
He has a personal relationship with them and been to conferences, dinners, and celebrations with them.
They know him well, as an extension of the Sayona family.
.
We joined the conversation about the share price and our concerns for takeover.
Hell, my original conversation with Brett spelled out this fear back in June when we were 20c...
I was worried from back then.....
A strategic placement of US$400-500 million could probably take control of Sayona....the whole bloody lot...
If I were an LG, or an OEM or a Posco, I would take it.
Both for equal reasons of securing IRA and ESG compliant supply and locking anyone else out from taking the only new supply of concentrate in Nth America for the next 2 years.
Substantial reasons there........
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I remember thinking- 'I got a bad feeling about this......we all had a bad feeling.
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Another member of the team came in, I cannot remember his name, but I have seen him around. And I think he has been involved with NAL before.
We introduced ourselves, a little bit of small talk.
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We also spoke of offtakes.
What is all this Korea stuff Sal, these visits?
Yes, we have a particularly good relationship with them, and discussions are ongoing.
OEM's were mentioned, as well as the Koreans, with the discussions being further advanced with the Koreans than with the OEM's.
.
Nothing was confirmed, but we theorised later that Posco/GM were probably the companies they have been speaking to the most..
Then Sal had to run as well, ending our time at the office..
It was quite a sombre mood when we finally left.
We felt a little flat, deflated, almost like the feeling you have when leaving a funeral.
This whole experience particularly hurt the dude.
As I said, he has previous relationships with them and,
to be treated with a lack of hospitality, was a shock and completely unexpected.
We walked out past the double doors a little unsettled.
.But that feeling would not last forever, for the very next day was going to completely flip the mood, and the narrative....
(20min delay)