Yeah, I think that is a fair call on capex mate, I just went...

Yeah, I think that is a fair call on capex mate, I just went mainly off a study that I thought would be similar, I feel I was being very generous though with the capex for the secondary processing. This is where I expect CLA to have a massive advantage vs competitors (pretty much all non DRC). So the end number I am still very comfortable with ($300m USD for 2mtpa).

My thoughts on the prices is just my opinion, the higher they go, the more projects will likely begin producing, so I kinda don't want cobalt prices to get too high, but think they may. Who knows. Anything with low capex, producing quickly to take further advantage of current high prices, with similar if not as good opex, will be very valuable to its owner/s and likely very profitable for more than a few years.

I agree with you about the autoclave points, I assume we'll end up with the something that can do the job the met testing says is best (much lower temp/pressure than HPAL) and these should cost a lot less than the HPAL required autoclaves and provide a much more reliable and easy to operate system. These savings should have a significant reduction on capex, perhaps provide lower overall opex and also have the benefit of a lower lead time for them which is a massive plus.


Hopefully this bloody JORC comes out soon with a decent number so they can get the pit design and associated mining costs and other related things completed soon. IMO the JORC won't be a major price catalyst (unless it is obviously too low for a decent scoping study or well above expectations to allow higher throughput possibly). Sure it would be good to have a large number, but it doesn't really change much long term based on the consistent results to date and known mineralisation strike length.

The scoping study will be the one that puts forward costs and profit numbers, these are what matter to the market and what will be judged most. Most people here are probably aware that our MD has experience investing in this end of the market and I trust that he knows what the market will be wanting to see and trying his best to ensure the company out-delivers this. I'm happy for a bit more time to be taken to make sure it is done right. Getting this done right will be beneficial for progress to mining and give us a more compelling case to show any interested parties we may be talking to.