Incisive questions and I will try to answer them. I encourage you to go direct to TLG for clarity/certainty.
My interpretation of MT’s view is that he would not wish to offend the Swedish government (therefore LKAB) so he walked a Boutros Boutros-Ghali line of political common sense. At first, LKAB seemed the ideal partner, but reservations began to emerge. LKAB was the first and richest girl he met at the dance, so to speak. So now he tells minnows like me LKAB is still important. I think the Sami are more important to TLG’s smooth progress.
Fact: He did not mention other miners.
Your question about EU funds is an excellent one and I wish I had asked it of him.
Fact: He did not mention sources of funding. He did say there was no shortage of funding options and they were not contingent on LKAB’s involvement.
As for slow decisions, my interpretation of the discussion was: forming JV’s and other agreements was slowed down to frustrating levels by having to run every proposal through the bureaucracy.
Fact: yes he said has fielded calls from many of his biggest investors telling him they were buying, not selling on that day.
Interpretation: His most valuable supporters believe in him and are not worried about the LKAB exit from that particular agreement.
I hope this helps.
TLG Price at posting:
$1.60 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)