@nutteeeI think what's most frustrating for shareholders is that...

@nutteee

I think what's most frustrating for shareholders is that we're now at this tipping point. We're ready to play an important role in Europe's green industry, but have been kneecapped by a comatose system. This, all the while China is expected to rapidly grow their European EV marketshare to 25% this year, up from 19.5% last year. Something has to give and fortunately change is coming, but whether or not the new regulations will be implemented effectively remains to be seen.

It's a delicate situation for a foreign mining company. Prematurely involving the government would have been perceived as undercutting the planning monopoly. There was also a chance that a handful of more moderate council members could have flipped their decision in favour of Talga, so allowing events to unfold more naturally was probably the best option.

Summer in Sweden starts in June. A decision by the government on the detailed plan within this time frame may not upset the timeline any further, especially if you consider the current unknown with the Supreme Court and then the usual time required for agreements to become binding/FID to occur. By this point, the CRMA will have entered into force and strategic projects may already be selected. I believe it's almost a certainty that Talga will be selected as a strategic project; this basically guarantees a positive decision from the government regarding the detailed plan. The Ministry of Infrastructure will simply cite that the project is not only of national importance, but strategically important for Europe too.

Here is a speculative timeline pieced together with both confirmed and unconfirmed dates that were posted by the NIMBY lawyer.

• 8th of April, Kiruna Municipality will meet to say no to the detailed plan for a final time.

• (Unconfirmed) Also sometime in April, the EU plans to issue information about the application procedure for companies regarding the CRMA.

• (Unconfirmed) The CRMA will enter into force on the 20th of May and come into effect immediately in member states. This would mean that it should enter the Journal around the beginning of the month. A first meeting will then be held by the newly created CRMA Board, with representatives from all member states. This is the first opportunity for companies to apply as a strategic project.

• A decision from the government regarding Talga’s detailed plan will likely occur in Summer, which in Sweden starts in June.

• Changes to the Minerals Act enter into force on 1 July 2024.