Well, there's some light entertainment in the above. Taking the...

Well, there's some light entertainment in the above. Taking the theoretical maximum grade for an accessory mineral and hypothetically extrapolating it to a bulk composition of 3.5mt.

Fantasies aside, all the wannabees looking at non-spodumene lithium source rocks will need to do their own upstream processing to a point where the chemical manufacturers will take it. The only hard-rock mineral form where I have seen Chinese interest for off-takes is by spodumene concentrate. This is because the Chinese have domestic processing capacity and experience for it. Follow the money.

Basically, the alternative hard-rock minerals (excluding clays) are not going to happen, ever. That is, unless alternative exploitation of any of those minerals proves itself to have significant cost advantages over existing production sources, including brine.

So have fun while it lasts.