There are a few things about spodumene you should know. The...

There are a few things about spodumene you should know.
The price of 1000 plus per t are spot price (auction) single delivery. Contract price (is formula based) regular shipment to a customer is below 1000 at present.
It takes about 8t of spod to make 1 t of chemical.
There are about six types/grades of chemicals. There are hydroxide and carbonate, then there are battery grade carbonate and battery grade hydroxide. They are all different with different prices. Carbonate and hydroxide are used in different types of batteries.
The 1-2% spod from drilling is the deposit. The 6% is concentrate. The mine process the deposit to around 6%. The percentage is the amount of lithia within the concentrate. For each 0 1% out is around US$10-15 less per t to the contract.
The leftover from the processing is called the tailing. This contains a small amount of lithia that can be processed for cheap chemicals used in a variety purposes like lubricants, paints, cosmetics and ceramics.
Not all spod deposits and deliveries are equal. Not all spod deliveries go into making batteries.
The chemical producers take spod at a certain size. If the rocks are too small or dust, the small particles are rejected by the machine, meaning more waste and less chemicals. If the particles are too large, they need more work, adding cost to the chemicals.
The plus for CXO is the company looking at battery grade hydroxide, meaning the rocks are good quality with less impurities needed for batteries.
The company has been given backing by the government with 30 plus known ithium pegmatites and funding. It's also about to build a mine now and not years from now.