Tend to agree with your posts.
For avoidance of doubt, because AVZ's deposit is low iron and consistent throughout, and also is a high grade deposit, I see its product more likely been used in the lithium hydroxide market (where brine deposits cannot adequately compete at this stage as well as, generally, low grade hard rock deposits which I went through in embedded posts in an earlier post on this thread talking about hydroxide itself). I also posted today the mix in lithium demand, where hydroxide is starting to increase its share of total lithium input (battery) demand.
Furthermore, in my earlier post of today the actual reason why I mentioned technical grade lithium, and Greenbushes, is technical grade lithium for its end markets must have a low iron content. What many don't understand is technical grade lithium can also be used for chemical grade purposes, meaning low iron equates to lithium hydroxide production and better batteries. Now chemical grade lithium cannot be used as a substitute for technical grade lithium because of its higher iron content for say the ceramics/glass/grease markets and to be frank the actual difference between technical grade and chemical grade lithium is simply iron content in the concentrate as there is not much other differences between the two concentrate types.
I suspect if we could track Greenbushes customers that they would be producing lithium hydroxide, but in any event the quality of the Greenbushes deposit lends itself to it because Tianqi and Albermale, the JV partners in Greenbushes, are both respectively building in WA their own hydroxide facilities near Fremantle and Bunbury port respectively from recollection (using Greenbushes spodumene as feedstock).
Now, my feeling is that AVZ's deposit is essentially near par to Greenbushes so AVZ's resource can also serve the hydroxide market. Furthermore, as more of Greenbushes low iron deposit moves to the hydroxide market for battery production, and given the extent of reserves AVZ has, I think AVZ has also the added bonus that because of its large scale resource it can also target the typical applications of technical grade lithium as well (glass and ceramics) thus giving it the potential for another revenue stream outside supplying chemical grade lithium to converters, who then make either carbonate or hydroxide for the battery market.
Lets see what the DFS says, but I agree this certainly will be developed in time. The question simply is will that happen in the period 2022 - 2025 or after that a sI keep reflecting on.
All IMO
Expand
