North American Lithium - Revisit, page-247

FINALE-

PART 15

Johnny- Um, Patri...I think it was the Patriot...

My heart skips a beat....

Me: What........the Patriot guys.....Ken...was it ken???? Are they here??

J: No, at the other terminal, they are flying out...there was a Troy, but that is all I can remember.

Wow.... I said to Split- Can you imagine?
Can you imagine we bumped into Ken???...I would have hit him up straight away....It was almost fate.....
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So almost a sliding doors moment.... we could have left Quebec with a lot of new connections...and planted the seed for a new CEO!
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We then headed off with Johnnie, who dropped us off at the Old Port, where he had booked us into the Vieux Port Steakhouse for a few beers and a great steak.
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The car trip back was quite relaxed after the Patriot close call and was mostly focused on finding us a good place for dinner.
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Even at dinner, I think the long day we had was starting to wear thin, and we were quite happy to keep it light and enjoy our steaks.
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It was getting on, so we headed back to the hotel for maybe one more beer and to hit the sack...

Unfortunately, the bar in the hotel was closed, so we headed out to maybe find a quiet place for a drink and a final chat.
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I know it was a long day and we were quite tired, but it was our last night together so a couple more beers could not hurt...right?
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Tipped off by a bellboy in the hotel, we managed to find Mclean's pub and sportsbar, and 53 beers later finally got back to the hotel.

The conversation focused on what we had seen that day, what the team were doing right, and the optimism we held for NAL's future, with a focus on the rebirth of the carbonate plant.
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We had seen and learnt a lot.

The gaps I had in my research over the years mostly filled, and my worries about the difficult orebody we have to deal with were calmed, knowing that the team had such great

leadership and were doing a fantastic job managing the challenges.

Indeed, Brett's vision for the company was being realised, and what he had started was well and truly on track and progressing well.

We still harboured our doubts about the board and takeover risks, but the operation was the star, the standout.

The board, we can work on and in time try and ensure that the best people for the job end up in the positions which matter.
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But for the moment, the wheels of production continue to turn and gather momentum.
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Sylvain will have this plant sorted by year's end, and if he continues with the same drive, energy and focus to bring his baby, the carbonate plant online, it will ensure the future of NAL and indeed the future of Sayona.
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We met up the next morning, to say our goodbyes.

Split was the first cab off the rank to depart.

I didn't get a lot of time with him, as I misunderstood our meeting time, thinking 930, rather than 0900, but still had enough time for a final talk and to see him off in his Uber.
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The dude and I hung around for a few more hours.

I was in a daze by this stage, trying to debate, the details of our first sale and PLL's first 15000 shipment, probably purchased by the same trading house and going to the same location. As I said though, i was heavily fatigued and jet-lagged by this stage, the pace of the last 3 days finally overcoming the excitement

and adrenalin that had been keeping me going over the last 72 hours.
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Then it was time for the dude to head off.

We made sure we had each other's details and said our farewells, looking forward to the day when we could meet once again, and celebrate Sayona's success,

Hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

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I was last to leave that evening, having sometime to myself to reflect on the crazy 3 days I had spent with my new friends.
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Highs and lows, the good and the bad of it, we were able to see for ourselves and experience together what this company was, what it currently is and what it could be.
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Sayona has so much promise and could be a behemoth in North America.

It probably is already well on its way to being just that.

The concerns I raised with Brett feel like they were tabled an eternity ago.... but they still remain.
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And now with Brett's departure, or execution, or however you would like to frame it, the plans and roadmap he had put in place, are balanced precariously on a knife's edge.

The proverbial sword of Damocles, eerily suspended over Sayona's future, held in the balance, and entrusted to a couple of old hard rock guys, who have never been involved in chemicals and may alter the strategic direction of the company, to its own detriment and possible demise.
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So now, who knows where this could go?
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But what I do know, is that we have a voice and with it, the ability to institute change.

With such an elevated level of retail investor ownership, I do not think I have been involved in a company where the little guys had so much say.
We can organise and mobilise quickly, and have various platforms available to us.
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To push the board to go outside their comfort zone and do what is right for the shareholders and for the company.

Indeed, for a lithium company to survive and prosper into the future, vertical integration is mandatory.

While stand-alone Chinese converters start folding due to the lack of, or expensive supply, the integrated producers will become the tour de force in the lithium specialty chemical business.
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We cannot allow them to rest on their laurels just pump out spod, while coasting to retirement with their fat paycheques and freebie shares.
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They need to do what is right and we need to let them know it, loud and clear.
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And the AGM will be a great place to start..... .