The interesting aspect to me is Zijin's environmental and human...

The interesting aspect to me is Zijin's environmental and human rights record is appalling.

CDL has not had enough drills and MET tests done on that resource to properly gauge the appropriate mine plan and processing units required and plant specifications. If you don't do the appropriate studies you'll end up with environmental issues IMO. Then again because that deposit starts at surface, i.e. CDL, I wouldn't be surprised if an aspect of that mine plan is artisanal mining practices (as per what the Chinese do for cobalt mines over there using child labour) and some dumping of waste in the waterways.

Zijin is a joke of a miner in the DRC.

CDL's resource is completely in the Inferred bucket - refer Ann in Post #: 71510881

I posted the following today in CXO - Post #: 75828792 - but will take out the key bits.



To put the above picture into context, you need Measured and Indicated resources to do feasibility studies, as establishing this resources base are more about geological confidence. Your subsequent feasibility studies, which essentially are preliminary studies around METS/economic factors in this Ann IMO etc get you into the reserve category, and it is reserves that you mine btw. This has not been done for CDL.

From the December 2023 AVZ Ann you can see all that resource is in the Inferred bucket, meaning more work still needs to be done to get the resource into the Measured and Indicated category before doing the feasibility studies - if Zijin thinks it can just roll up and start mining it, well that IMO is going to be an environmental disaster. Notwithstanding the resource has been stolen in the first place from AVZ.

I am not stunned that the (corrupt) DRC govt treats its citizens with (environmental and human rights) contempt by supporting a company that clearly has a disgraceful environmental record.



The below I took from Outcast on twitter but have seen this pic before.



Then again as I have implied here before, the Chinese need to steal resources as their own exploration companies cannot find fish in a fishtank full of fish. I am suspecting we are about to witness artisanal mining practices on CDL (unless Zijin can get a miner who knows what they are doing) because them and Comminiere haven't a clue IMO.

And btw, I don't detract from my previous posts of good luck exporting this out of the DRC given the resource has been stolen from AVZ in the first instance - Post #: 75740520.

I haven't seen much evidence of Zijin doing anything that moves the CDL resource from Inferred to the Measured and Indicated Category - you do that by more substantial drilling and assessment.

Roche, which was AVZ's focus, clearly has had the required drilling to determine the proven and probable reserves, and then done feasibility studies. It would have done the same for CDL if Zijin and DRC decided not to thieve. If the argument of the DRC is we want everything to be developed in the now, then they haven't a clue about markets either, which means too me developing Roche and CDL at the same time is to depress lithium prices by ensuring an oversupply situation in the market - meaning China maintains its dominance in downstream markets. This is a geopolitical strategy of the Chinese to maintain monopoly power, and if the west doesn't wake up they will be left behind in this growing industry. Another way to put this point - BHPB has hundreds of years of iron ore reserves and resources, but it doesn't develop everything at once. It develops resources as they are needed, not developing resources to flood a market.

All IMO