@Kevo88 no I am comparing with Bacanora Minerals, i.e. BCN listed on the AIM (formerly also in Canada) but with a (huge) mine in Mexico. If you are into INR/GSC you should really know about the efforts of BCN and LAC in the same area (lithium from clay)! BCN has a pilot plant producing lithium carbonate since since 2016! There are certainly differences between the input materials (and political circumstances) in Australia, Mexico, and Nevada but the principle for the three is very similar. And the progress since I started following them in 2015 has not been all that much. Basically Western Lithium merged with LAC and decided to focus on the brine, not the clay. BCN had an agreement with Tesla (just like PE (Pure Energy, brine in Nevada next to ALB/Rockwood had) and was supposed to be producing somewhere in 2017.... So I think there is some proof out there that for the moment lithium from clay is not considered viable, or at least to high risk for financing.
The "still not proven" remark I made is based on the fact that BCN has been shipping a lot of material to potential customers (since 2016!!) but none of that has resulted in an offtake agreement with any battery maker. They only have some deal with Hanwa but since that is basically a reseller of the product and not a user it does not say much about the usability in batteries.Like INR BCN does have a great looking DFS. But the market does not seem interested in the product nor does the market seem to want to finance it. What could be the issue is that currently the majority of the lithium market growth is in China. And China clearly prefers to get hard-rock spodumene and make their own carbonate and/or hydroxide. Over time this will change and maybe then the lithium from clay becomes more interesting and more viable. E.g. BCN and/or INR directly delivering to Tesla. But for now this is clearly not the prevailing business model.
ps. You may also want to check out Cypress Development Corp (CYP in Canada) as they are also into this now.
