Ann: AVL in Strong Financial Position to Complete DFS, page-49

Understand where you are coming from btw and recognise these tests are also critical to your plus or minus 10% in a DFS, and for entering Offtakes etc (which will be the positive here in the next few months IMO).  I also understand these tests will also add some meat to some of the previous MET tests especially IMO the now outdated MET tests for the oxidised layer which were done back in 2015/16 from recollection - with many of these old MET tests forming a basis of the SS and subsequent PFS for estimating recovery rates etc.  Let’s hope the new MET work increases the recovery rates in the oxidised layers towards the fresh and transactional layers because that would be huge for the IRR itself (given the oxidised layers are likely to be the first producing layers here).

 My problem though remains that AVL previously had an expected production start time of 2019/2020 from recollection and also entered into a MOU with WinWin back in July 2018 (noting that Win Win needs are much earlier than 2022 as I previously posted).  It is obvious delays have happened here and that these future tests are a fundamental to embedding the DFS component parts in terms of cost, and before that hopefully then resulting in Offtakes before the DFS. Yes I am aware of go-slow Chinese practices also from past experience, but at the heart of the issue is been proactive and not putting all your eggs in the Chinese basket (i.e. AVL should also pursue non-Chinese players as well because that also gives the Chinese a hurry up when there is an evident demand/supply imbalance in future as is the case with vanadium).

Like you, I also do see getting to 99.5% as symbolic in any event as I posted in the past because the main demand over the next 10 years IMO is steel. Let’s hope AVL gets these tests done ASAP so that we can move on and get the DFS done (and hopefully have Offtakes signed as well in due course).  In hindsight not having this pilot MET work done in 2018 was probably a sure sign that the previous production start date was not realistic IMO.

Volume today was interesting, so will be interesting what unfolds next few days.  

All IMO IMO