1. Waiting 5 or 6 year to get their hands on it cheap and missing out on the lithium boom would be economically unwise.
2. Once the EV production kicks into high gear, there will be far too much interest in the Manono deposit for someone to pull this off. Even the Europeans would have likely worked it out by then. Consider that today, most production is already accounted for in offtakes even before the mining has begun. Demand is only going to increase.
Thus, a more likely scenario is these companies worrying that someone will offer a buyout first.
AVZ Price at posting:
24.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held