Yes, I figure ORE is friendless because it was well along the...

Yes, I figure ORE is friendless because it was well along the development path when the masses discovered Lithium, and the earlier stage investments (and Galaxy's Lazarus act) offered higher risk, higher reward.

And there was (and still is) the curious anti-brine sentiment. There is a lot to be said for having control of the process all the way through to the refined lithium product. I smile every time I see someone write about battery grade spodumene - not all spodumenes will be good for making battery grade lithium but it doesn't follow that there is such a thing as battery grade spodumene (unless there is some excitingly cheap (but heavy) new battery chemistry out there...). Things may get interesting for the hard rock guys soon - I see North American Lithium has shut down temporarily because the converters are awash with spodumene and prices have retreated from 800 USD/t to 600 in the last few months. Interesting times.