ORE Chart, page-241

I think a brine lithium operator producing 42k tonnes a year, with a LiOH plant in Japan and tied into Japan Inc through the Toyota group is in a strong position.

I think Olaroz is a tier one mining project with very high quality very low cost and very large quantities of lithium. There is every chance that lithium will be being mined at Olaroz in decades time and that it can continue to do so profitably even when lithium prices cycle is low. I also think Orocobre has significant exposure to a project of similar quality through Cauchari and Advantage.

I think the demand for lithium will be sustained for a significant period due to its use in batteries in vehicles and in energy storage.

So I remain positive about Orocobre in the longer term but am frustrated that current management is not up to the task and are not being transparent about the problems they are dealing with. So I can understand why ORE is being so heavily shorted.

Also it is possible to have an interest in hard rock lithium miners as well as brine lithium operators. But I do have concerns that the Chinese have got a squirrel grip on the hard rock sector and in time will just keep squeezing more and more. I'd rather be reliant on the Japanese and Toyota than the Chinese who are looking to overwhelm this market.