Yeah, this SQM business is nothing. Just something for the...

Yeah, this SQM business is nothing. Just something for the investment banks to wave around for a few days.

First it Macquarie and their oversupply nonsense in 2016/17, then it was Deutsche with DSO, and now UBS with Salar de Atacama. Most of us who have actually crunched the numbers will know that it is nothing to worry about. Demand will fully absorb any new SQM supply by the time it comes online. EV cars, busses, grid, home. No worries. It will even give us enough time to slip into the supply chain lol.

Having said that, this industry-wide correction was perfectly healthy. Bit nasty paper loss wise but I still maintain that we will be around 10c very soon especially since drilling is about to commence. From my understanding, G. Balfe and co. are already in Nevada waiting for the drill rig to arrive, having already completed site preparations. Timing is difficult to estimate but I do not expect it to take much longer than a week.

No need to get jittery guys. Not long to go.

Just looking to the future and the direct extraction route we plan to take. I suspect there will be some geographical consolidation of lithium assets. It is somewhat happening in Nevada. Pure Energy (PE) has already entered into a strategic purchase agreement with Advantage Lithium (AL) and Nevada Sunrise (NS). AL & NS effectively have sold their Clayton Valley claims to PE in exchange for equity (7mil PE shares total). Link here


This is a pretty good idea imo since it increases project size, improves the financial strength of combined company and pools industry talent. Who knows, RLC might even fit into all this someday.

But this does not mean we are relying on Pure Energy for our future. If we prove up a quality resource, there is a number of potential partners we can work with. Although none are in full-scale production yet, a few do have working pilot plants:
Enirgi Corp (testing in Salar de Rincón, Argentina)
Eramet S.A (testing in Centenario-Ratones Salta, Argentina)
POSCO (testing in Pozuelos Salta, Argentina)
Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. ( Clayton Valley Nevada, US)

Note* DirEx tech tested in Argentina doesn't imply incompatibility with U.S projects. Enirgi signed an MOU with Dajin Resources to share their direct extraction tech. Dajin operates in Teels Marsh and Alkali Lake, Nevada (having farmed out their Argentine assets to LSC). Enirgi will take 30% of post-issue Dajin's equity as consideration. Hence, the tech may be cross-compatible.

http://dajin.ca/files/press-releases/september-7-2017-enirgi-dajin-mou-press-release-final-2.pdf

Neometals is also developing a direct extraction technology too. Could also be a potential partner. Their process is pretty standard and is as shown below.



Interesting stuff and definitely worth a read for long-term holders.

p.s good to see buyers and sellers balancing.