A Microcap Teaser Solution In Advance !!
(Australian stock exchange CLQ, OTC pinks CTEQF).
CleanTeQ is sure to be the answer to future teasers you will be reading about from resource gurus, To save you all the trouble of solving them, I decided to write this article.
My portfolio was grotesquely overweight in gold and silver positions, and in moments of anxiety I thought it would be a good idea to diversify and take a few positions in something other than gold mines, royalty companies, Mongolian exploration companies, and small-cap copper miners with major operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Thus I made a small speculation in CleanTeQ, solely on the basis that mining titan Robert Friedland was the Chairman, and CleanTeQ was the only resource company I could find that seemed to be in a position to mine scandium, a very rare metal that sells for a couple of thousand dollars a kilo.
My due diligence was so slight that I was embarrassed to emphasize my position to the readers at Stock Gumshoe. We are supposed to study these things a little more than I did for CleanTeQ. And after entering at 50 cents, the stock promptly dropped to 35 cents or so, making me glad that I did not look foolish by publicizing my position.
As the weeks went by, I started to find more information on the company that I should have found out beforehand. This was partly accidental, partly from other Gumshoe readers, and partly from new announcements and company news that occurred after I took a position. But the findings were all very positive, and because the company is so interesting I thought it warranted its own thread apart from the hard asset thread which I moderate.
I have a full long position and high hopes. And I thank Secretsquirrel, Griffin, Larry McKenna, and several others who helped fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.
Below are my findings, opinions, and summary on CleanTeQ Holdings:
BUSINESS MODEL CleanTeQ is a hybrid company based with three bases: scandium mining and production, cobalt mining and production, and water purification. This seems like an odd combination, but as you will see, it is not. It is a stroke of genius. And I will explain why we should care about scandium and cobalt.
(1) The company is starting production of the Syerston mine, the world’s only scandium mine;
(2) The company will also produce significant amounts of cobalt as a co-product to the scandium;
(3) The company has a large-scale water purification technology, which will target municipalities,
Industrial operations with waste water problems, and mines, which also have water problems
PROSPECTS FOR THE THREE SEGMENTS
(1) Scandium is a very rare metal that usually occurs in only small amounts that are not economical to mine. It is mostly available as a by-product and the market is opaque, usually between private parties. Scandium has very beneficial applications in aerospace, aviation, and technology, but has not been widely applied because there is not a sufficiently reliable supply of it.
(2) Cobalt is essential in many batteries. Lithium gets all the investment press, but a majority of the battery formulations need cobalt, which is rare compared to lithium. Cobalt has a similar supply situation as scandium, it is mostly a by-product and is not commonly a prime mining target in and of itself. But demand for the electric energy market is growing rapidly and cobalt demand is growing and will continue to grow accordingly. Supply chains on cobalt are iffy.
(3) Water purification is a pressing need throughout the world. Cities with lots of people, industrialized places with lots of factories, or mines with waste water, all have a real and pressing need for large scale water purification. I think most people can accept this premise of widespread demand without a lot of documentation.
HOW DO THESE SEGMENTS RELATE TO EACH OTHER ? I cannot get too technical about the water purification technology, but I will try to explain what I understand, and how it relates to the scandium and cobalt operations. They call it Continuous Flow Ionization. Ionization is not a proprietary technology per se, but CleanTeQ has developed a way to implement ionization in a continuous feed, automated loop that improves volume, improves economics, is reasonably priced for installation, and can be custom-modified to specific waste problems. It can be used in conjunction with other filtration techniques. Further, it can be modified TO EXTRACT CERTAIN SUBSTANCES from the feed waste water. This is done by modifying the resins that are used in the ionization process.
Now it so happens that CleanTeQ has developed resins that can extract scandium and cobalt from waste water. So they potentially will have commercial sources of rare metals from the by-product waste of their water purification process !
HOW CLOSE IS THE WATER THING TO REALLY HAPPENING ? It is happening. CleanTeQ has signed a memorandum of understanding with a major Chinese municipality to implement their technology. There is a joint venture, 55% Chinese/45% CleanTeQ. Once the first one is up and working, China has a mind-boggling potential for water purification. For their teeming urban centers and for their mining and industrial locations, shall we say the potential is very large ?
CleanTeQ has 100% of rest of the world. CleanTeQ is closed-mouthed about other commercial sources, but they let on that they have been in contact with the likes of GE, Dow, and other big hitters. They state a pipeline target of $100 million by 2020; I predict they will do much better.
HOW CLOSE IS THE COBALT THING TO REALLY HAPPENING ? Very close. Battery useage is soaring and is the strategic target of many governments, corporations, and environmental groups. Batteries need cobalt.
HOW CLOSE IS THE SCANDIUM THING FROM HAPPENING ? This will take a while because the applications are high tech, with long lead times, and there is only one scandium mine in the world (CleanTeQ’s newly commissioned Syerston mine). CleanTeQ intends to develop the scandium market by being a reliable source of supply, and by driving the price down.
CleanTeQ will have viable margins with scandium prices up to half of current prices.
To give you an idea, the Russians made a few MIGs with scandium/aluminum alloys. They were faster, lighter, stronger. An addition of 0.5% scandium to aviation aluminum strengthens the frame, removes the need for riveting, reduces weight, and makes repairs easier. . The Russians dropped it because of costs; and Boeing and Airbus will not use it without a reliable source of supply. But there is about to be a reliable source of supply: CleanTeQ.
WHAT ABOUT IP PROTECTION ? I believe the IP and know-how moat is sufficient. CleanTeQ holds a perpetual license from a high-level Russian research organization that provided some of the foundation technology. I am not a patent lawyer and a lot of the know-how will be proprietary, not patented. CleanTeQ has been at this for over ten years, I think the barriers to entry are sufficient.
MANAGEMENT Totally a plus. Robert Friedland is the Co-Chairman and CEO, he has 20% of the company, great credibility and clout with the Chinese, and an unbelievable track record in mining. Sam Reggall is the other co-chairman. I know little about him, other than from my observations of him on an Australian investment show that aired last week. He was impressive.
MONEY AND FINANCES I don’t think there is anything at all to worry about. Friedland must be worth billions, the Chinese are in, and the concept has enormous potential.
Sources: as I mentioned, information is scant. My sources were the CleanTeQ website, presentations and and interviews with Friedland and Reggall, and the sketchy information on the brokerage sites. Nothing you cannot find on your own.
Long CleanTeQ
This is a discussion topic or guest posting submitted by a Stock Gumshoe reader. The content has not been edited or reviewed by Stock Gumshoe, and any opinions expressed are those of the author alone.
Came across this while looking for something else. If posted previously apologies.
Pu Neng is a China-based, industry-leading vanadium-redox-battery (VRB®) technology developer and manufacturer that is 82% owned by HPX (an I-Pulse subsidiary). Pu Neng has the most advanced flow battery technology in the world – its proprietary low-cost ion-exchange membrane, long-life electrolyte formulation and innovative flow cell design set it apart from other vanadium battery providers.
https://www.ipulse-group.com/PUNENG
Amazing, Friedland has spiders everywhere, whatever web he is spinning, I like my chances putting my money next to his. He is building an empire for the future, I think he is on track to be the richest man in the world. He looks like the golden goose to me.
Ipulse has been a topic of discussion here albeit for their magnetic pulse technology. Puneng must be where RF has his interest in VRBs. There is not a lot of information on that page for VRBs so I went to their website only to find out I needed a translator installed in firefox. There are several things I’m looking for in a VRB installation 1. they use the electrolyte developed at PNNLthat adds 70% to capacity. 2. the controller on the battery does 3 phase electricity. The only company that I know of that uses PNNL electrolyte is Uni Energy UET in Washington unfortunately they are not public.
Thanks, interesting that Friedland is investing in a Chinese company rather than the other way round. In time their relationship might create some spin off opportunities companies we can invest in?
I know little about batteries or the storage of, but maybe it might be worth noting what they are doing over there….
Wiser heads can comment if anything to be added or gained here.
Information on storage batteries seems to be sparse. There are studies just initiated at PNNL this year on the USA electrical grid that I’m hoping will be a wake up call. Lately there have been several estimates on what a EMF attack might do to the grid and it is pretty devastating. The effect would be bad that North Korea could walk in and take over the USA. IMO the short term fix is storage batteries but even that might be soon enough. Thank you Politicians for doing your job.
Griffin…re: Information…compliments for trying to research the topic. Sometimes we can only get so far, and we can’t understand or evaluate the information when we find it.
On vanadium and other rare metals, I know very little about them, and less about their applications, and have no idea what new technologies will come and what materials they will need. But I know Cleanteq will be able to supply most of them.
SS…I had noticed Friedland’s involvement with Pu Neng, and their involvement with storage and vanadium. But like you say it is useless to us with respect to finding a company to invest in.
Except: Cleanteq, who will be able to supply vanadium or whatever other material is needed.
I know absolutely nothing about vanadium per se.
However CleanTeQ is so well positioned in every respect that it’s hard to pin down exactly what it is with so much going on, maybe its a technominer….
HPX or CLQ, Friedland must see them in different ways, bottom line we can only and have invested in CLQ, the recent 2.10 quote/figure is just the start. Looking forward to their positions maturing in China and also Africa over the coming months and years,
The Chinese think in years if not much longer and they are in Africa big time. Small world circle.
Squirrel,
IMO Friedland regards HPX as the Crown Jewels.
He wants to keep 100% control of it.
He doesn’t want pesky stockholders telling him what to do with it.
He doesn’t need capital for it, at least not yet. Maybe someday there will be an offering.
Our best chance of tagging along on HPX is in the companies that are utilizing the technology.
**
Concerning Pu Neng. Friedland thinks power storage technology will be important, and Pu Neng
is a leader. Their technology requires vanadium. Pu Neng will need vanadium.
Cleanteq can extract vanadium.
Doesn’t it make a lot of sense for Friedland to have a position in both Cleanteq and Pu Neng ?
Thanks, seems there’s a connection and a logic to Friedland by knowing you can supply your chain of companies and investments. Can only be a smart move financially and otherwise. Just the sort of stuff why the Chinese get involved.
http://www.cleanteq.com/our-markets/metals/
Squirrel, Friedland will have influence on the sourcing for Pu Neng. If Friedland has a significant position in Pu Neng, do you think he might be able to influence from whom they get their vanadium ?
In addition, he will have a front-row seat on new products and technologies that Pu Neng is developing, and he will have serious advance information about what materials will be needed for those new products and technologies.
Long Cleanteq.
No position in Pu Neng or HPX, because guys like us can’t buy stock in them.
Yes full agree and just confirms that CleanTeQ is the company to be in for us mere mortals who are reading this with forsight!
CleanTeQ is in fact so well positioned it’s simply mind-boggling…..
Truly mind-boggling.
You have to read every release carefully. Or, it may be better to just keep buying, and don’t look at it for a few years. That way you won’t be tempted to sell.
**
Soon there will be so many announcements, it will be insane.
For starters, by the end of this year, my Crystal Ball predicted their first
JV virtual-gold mine-from-waste-sludge recovery project will be announced
with a major gold producer.
And here I am getting all excited about the EUC waste dumps. It’s easy to forget
that there are ore waste dumps the size of a small mountain range over at Kipushi,
which Friedland controls 100%. These are loaded with zinc, silver, copper, germanium, and god-knows-what-else. The King Leopold mine was the world’s largest copper mine in the world before they switched it over to be the largest zinc miner in the world.
**
Digging waste ore
Since 19 hundred and 24
Leo’s got a pile of rock
That’s gonna be good for Cleanteq stock !
The Big Zinc is there,
With double the grade
Of any zinc mine
That Man ever made.
An ocean of copper is a very nice treasure,
And Ivan is taking a year just to measure.
The world is uncertain, the future unclear
But with Cleanteq and Ivan
There’s nothing to fear !
It would be nice to see a recovery deal of some substance, or multiple deals which cumulatively are of some substance. Even more, I’d like to see a big chinese water deal.
I love how Musk is featuring his technology with that 100 days or its free offer to solve that energy crisis in australia, and also puerto rico. If I’m Friedland, I go to Flint, and get the lead out of their water, or some crisis like that, and just fix it for free. Better marketing for the dollar then anything else you could do.
The Flint idea is great and would be the best PR move of all time.
For US marketing, I couldn’t agree more with your call-out.
I sent Cleanteq investor relations an email about it a while ago.
The trouble is that Friedland doesn’t really care too much about US publicity. He sees the action in other places as being more important, and he is not a publicity hound. Maybe he will do something in Flint two months before he wants to list on the NYSE or TSX.
**
As far as a big Chinese water deal, they already have one; but it was done a while ago, and nobody noticed. There will be more coming, but one can only imagine how complicated they are and how long they take to finalize. The projects on specific mining and industrial operations must be much easier to execute.
From what I’ve heard, china is shutting down some industrial and mining operations that aren’t fulfilling more stringent environmental regulations, and from what I heard, cleanteq has low cost solutions for these kinds of problems…… so I say, let’s get the ball rolling. More excited than impatient, the stock price is pretty much where I was hoping it would be at this point.
By the way, the up-valuation of the SP was very important timing wise, and any more SP rise in the next few months will also be great….. cause we have an impending dilution, and the stock price at time of dilution is materially relevant. If the market cap can catch up to the capex prior to dilution, that would be something, but I think that would look like CTEQF 1.35
I sent Cleanteq investor relations an email about it a while ago.
Excellent hn….
If I’m Friedland, I go to Flint, and get the lead out of their water, or some crisis like that, and just fix it for free. Better marketing for the dollar then anything else you could do.
Fantastic idea renbycage, top draw!!
One small problem with removing lead from Flint water.
There is no lead in the water supply.
In older sections the houses were connected to city mains via lead pipes and when Flint switched to taking water from the Flint river, which is acidic, they went cheap and did not add soda ash to neutralize it. That removed a protective layer from the pipes and allowed lead to dissolve into household water.
The solution now is in digging up all those pipes and replacing them with safe plumbing, which is what is being done.
Whole problem was caused by city council shorting water funds to cover their extravagance elsewhere. IMO
That is the fact of the matter and provable truth.
Re: Crown Jewels…I-pulse is the big diamond in the crown.
As valuable as they are, the jewels are not for sale.
If you go to page 4, figure 3, of the recent clean teq updated mineral source release, they have a bar graph comparing their cobalt/nickel ratio to all their peers, and basically showing their dick is twice as long as anybody else’s dick. However, they use KNP total for Ardea. If they used Ardea’s high grade cobalt zone, a deposit about half the size as cleanteq’s, and from which they will be mining their cobalt for the next 10 years, then Ardea’s dick would be just a long.
Yea that’s as maybe BUT AUZ goes on the width/girth being what really matters plus drilling the main hole to depth he he….
Btw very Long CleanTeQ and pleased regards AUZ but due to circumstances beyond my control.
Geological Priapism.
How did you get past moderation ?
Keep it clean, guys. If you are too crude you will put me in a tough spot as moderator. Better to talk about Beauty Pageants or Australian exotic birds showing their plumage, or gorillas puffing up their chests.
Or silvery, large, round and perfectly formed autoclaves. I can’t stop thinking about them.
Apologies hn, yes over the top.
From the dawn of time it has been kind of tape measure…btw
https://finfeed.com/mining/auz/australian-mines-management-attributes-rerating-clean-teq-comparison/20171018/
The AUZ release makes me laugh. They are clever guys. Of course the comparison is strictly on the deposit. I’m sure they didn’t bother to enlighten investors about other aspects of Cleanteq that might justify its market cap multiple over AUZ.
No matter. Strictly as a deposit, they have a point. But I already have Platina, and its market cap is even smaller than AUZ.
$EUC…European Cobalt…long…
I am considering an increase to my new position.
80% credit to Billville.
20% credit to Eagerbeaver, who posted one of their cobalt grades and was falsely accused by me of misplacing the decimal point. (“8% cobalt ? You must be mistaken, it had to be 0.8% or 0.08%.”)
**
In my opinion, besides the inherent risk of future cobalt prices and supply and demand,
the major negatives and their rationalizations are:
1. There are no drill results or NI43-101 reserves established.
–The available information persuades me that the deposit is a bonanza, and the company is taking steps to rectify the lack of compliant resource and reserve figures. The lack of these figures depresses the stock price and creates the current opportunity.
2. The geographical area of the Dobsina claim is fairly small.
–Grades rule. The claim is big enough. An old mine is there.
3. There is an indefinite, but surely long time to production, and we don’t know how it will be financed.
–This is a development project so some finance and construction risk must be accepted. The existence of large amounts of waste ore may make the time to production relatively brief. The property is on a mine site, so capex and time could be reduced considerably.
4. We don’t know where the money will come from.
–There are several deep-pocketed users with a few hundred kilometers who have a pressing need for the target commodity. Their involvement could accelerate the project.
–It is uncertain but I am not worried about financing. For example, a take-off agreement with VW would be enough for EUC to get financing from DB. The Germans have an industrial establishment with well-worn grooves in it.
5. The market cap of EUC is already pretty high for a developer.
–True. Can’t help it. But if the cobalt story is as we think, the value of the company is still multiples of current market cap. To wait for a drop in the price is unlikely to be a fruitful strategy.
EUC is a ticking time bomb with a short fuse.
I agree 100% with Williamstown.
$EUC is a high-upside speculation with above-average prospects of being a big hit.
Just my opinion. DYODD.
Regarding EUC, too bad it doesn’t trade on the pink sheets in the U.S. like Clean Teq (CTEQF). Do you know of any plans by EUC to do so, HN?
No. I know nothing about it other than what I have seen on the website and the news releases.
Checked a little bit on their CEO Tolga Kumova. That’s about it.
The grades are powerful and the location is ideal for the German auto industry…couldn’t be better. Even a location on German territory might be less advantageous than Slovakia.
I keep inadvertently slighting rubberworm. I apologize.
It was rubberworm who posted the link to the article about VW and cobalt bids, which were a disappointment to VW and made them extend their offer period for the bids to end of October.
This to me was conclusive evidence of the impending cobalt supply imbalance. It made me take EUC off my watchlist and put in a buy order, even though it is a pain in the neck to buy this security through my broker.
Thanks, rubberworm. And of course to Renby for the Blu-Vue goggles.
EUC HN who is your broker & how did you get EUC bought?
Charles Schwab has a “Global Account” module.
It must be opened as a separate account. You open it with USD and convert to the target currency, then trade. You are running commissions on both buy and sell, plus there is another broker in the target market.
It is a little unwieldy, and costs are probably not the best, but I did not want to go to a different broker for one stock.
There are probably better choices for trading foreign stocks. But since I want to have a long-term position, and not trade in-and-out, the higher transaction costs are not completely prohibitive.
Maybe another reader can volunteer a better way.
EUC.asx #Broker – Catice, Interactivebrokers.com and Schwab.com
Best2YouAlwayz – Ben
Responding above above and below: HenrdrixNuzzles Rocks! You are more than welcome Catice. Sharing and Caring in the Gummunity.
15 Life Lessons from Bruce Lee ★ Be Water my Friend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_J8wD0FCHA
https://www.stockgumshoe.com/2016/05/microblog-magical-music-mystery-mining/comment-page-3/#comment-4956558
Thanks Ben for this and ALL you do!
$EUC (ASX)…concerning point #2 on potential negatives, I missed this announcement:
http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20171003/pdf/43mwn99tvgfgdn.pdf
Concerning point #1, they started drilling on October 5, so news will be forthcoming within a few weeks,
unless they do a Garibaldi.
$COB.asx Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd.
CEO’s Letter to shareholders: https://www.cobaltblueholdings.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/COB_CEOLetter_27Sep17.pdf
2017 Annual Report released Oct 18th, 2017: https://www.cobaltblueholdings.com/download/2017-annual-report/
September 2017 Quarterly report released Oct. 18th: http://cobaltblueholdings.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/COB_Sept17Quarterly_18Oct17.PDF
The team: https://www.cobaltblueholdings.com/our-team/
Thackaringa Resource: https://www.cobaltblueholdings.com/thackaringa-resource/
Commodities: Cobalt: https://www.cobaltblueholdings.com/cobalt/
Sulphuric Acid https://www.cobaltblueholdings.com/sulphuric-acid/
Processing pathways: https://www.cobaltblueholdings.com/processing-pathways/
$CLQ/$CTEQF…maps with blobs on them
http://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/CLQ/01905558.pdf figure 4
A small point I noticed in the October 9 updated mineral resource for Syerston.
They present a map of the Syerston tenement and the extent of the mineralization, by mineral.
The high-grade cobalt and scandium zones are differentiated, with nickel occurs throughout and defining the resource boundaries.
It looks to me like the high-grade cobalt is in the center of the resource, and the high grade scandium is around the periphery of the cobalt. So they can start in the middle on the cobalt, and as they dig it out they will expose the high-grade scandium. This is very beneficial because there is immediate demand for cobalt, and only future expectations for scandium.
When they mine cobalt, they are doing also prep work for getting access to the high-grade scandium ore, for later.
Some guys get all the luck.
***
The map is only a two-dimensional representation, so my observation may be inaccurate.
However Cleanteq spends a lot of time explaining their mine management strategy and grade control,
and I suspect that this peculiarity in the resource geometry will enhance their economics, especially with respect to scandium.
In my opinion it also puts another obstacle in the way of any nearby primary scandium project.
How can you compete on costs, when Cleanteq is getting paid to mine cobalt to get at their scandium, and you are just moving rocks around ?
Kipushi/King Leopold, Ivanhoe, and Cleanteq: A Poem
This was at the bottom of one of my posts.
My feelings are hurt because Renby got more likes for his poem.
I’m hoping it’s because people didn’t go to the bottom of my post, which I can understand.
Digging waste ore
Since 19 hundred and 24
Leo’s got a pile of rock
That’s gonna be good for Cleanteq stock !
The Big Zinc is there,
With double the grade
Of any zinc mine
That Man ever made.
An ocean of copper is a very nice treasure,
And Ivan is taking a year just to measure.
The world is uncertain, the future unclear
But with Cleanteq and Ivan
There’s nothing to fear !
**
I like to put the good stuff at the bottom of the posts.
While researching graphene supercapacitors I came across A spinoff from Monash University, Melbourne called Ionic Industries, which has also made abreakthrough with using graphene in water purification, in conjunction with – guess who – CleanTeq. Yet another string to the bow!
http://www.ionicindustries.com.au/ionics-technologies/water-and-wastewater-treatment/
there is an option that is dated 9/18 I believe, for cleanteq to take a 75% position on any commercial production resulting from this technology. I can’t remember what cleanteqs obligation is under this option, I think it would be to fund it and take it into commercial production. Ionic is just another one of the great partnerships cleanteq is establishing, Friedland’s spiders are spinning a mega-web.
I think I remember they would fund their 75% worth.
Thanks, Shavian. One of our other readers ( Griffin or rubberworm ?) expressed enthusiasm about Ionic in terms of its connection with CLQ…I don’t remember how much info he posted, but you might want to search on the site for it.
BMR $No ticker….somebody was asking about BMR Battery Materials Resources. They are looking for Canadian cobalt, maybe other stuff too. Their website is under construction, and they are allegedly going to have an IPO in January. So there is not much info available from them.
I stumbled on something that is interesting about BMR, but it is completely useless, because we do not know anything about the IPO.
Specifically:
They have staked a very promising cobalt claim in Canada. There are a variety
of assays ranging fro grab samples, channel samples, and historical drilling.
Tremendous grade, whole number cobalt percentages. There are several magnetic targets. Hard to see that they won’t have a good project. There may be additional claims besides this one; as I say, I found out about it by accident, in a strange place.
Because you cannot buy BMR until the IPO, and we do not know what price it will be, the information is not actionable right now. And by the time you can act, the grade and sample information will be public…or at least, more prominently public than it is right now.
All I can say is that the claim that I saw has a lot of promise. It looks like a Canadian wilderness version of EUC. At a low price, I would jump; but we don’t know what the price will be in January if there is an IPO.
BMR Battery MINERAL Resources – http://www.4-traders.com/MINERAL-RESOURCES-LIMITED-6498955/news/Mineral-Resources-Battery-Mineral-Resources-to-Acquire-Subsidiary-of-Hexagon-Resources-23634298/
BMR Home under construction with limited info: http://www.batterymineralresources.com/ Complete with e-mail address for further information. 😉
They are paying with stock to be issued at the IPO.
Somebody’s putting a battery resource development company.
No opinion.
Thanks Ben, do you ever sleep?
The key here is the Co in Canada!, forget the rest, they’re minor.
#BMR ~ WilliamsTown, have you contacted the company?
zzz’ed eleven hourz yesterday… 🙂 Have a gr8 week and beyond! Besrt2ALL
Ben I haven’t contacted them as yet.
The forget the rest was to their other mining sites.
Hope they don’t litter up their holdings with a bunch of extraneous exploration projects for window dressing.
Ben never sleeps, bless him. If you go over to the biotech thread, you can prove it. He has at least one post every hour of the day, sometimes for weeks at a time. The metal threads are just for his part-time amusement when clinical trials in biotech are slow.
Love ya, Ben.
Thanks HN
You are welcome. Been looking at the MEI website,
some interesting stuff there. No opinion just yet.
$AUZ long – Liking our little Australian Dirt Speculations and Arbitrage 😉 here on this crisp Sunday evening in the good ol’ US of A. 🙂
http://www.asx.com.au/asx/markets/equityPrices.do?by=asxCodes&asxCodes=auz+clq+euc+jrv+ncz+pgm+arl+mei+cob
Those Aussies on HotCopper think AUZ’s cobalt grade at Sconi is .11% when it is really .06%
Some of that Australian dirt is going to be paydirt.
Another autoclave use if CleanTeq plans fall short. We might get a group rate. :
http://www.minyanville.com/mvpremium/cremation-goes-green/
I just happened to check CleanTeq CTEQF’s stock price. Does anyone know the reason for the high volume and sudden volatility in the stock? It could, of course, present us with another buying opportunity.
CTEQF closed at 1.03 to match CLQ closing at 1.32 earlier today, nothing to see here, the OTC price had gotten out a little ahead of its leader and just fell back into line.
There was a sudden spike in volume. I should have picked up some more but wasn’t quick enough before the market closed.
Bacteria have laid down on seabeds many of the metals we cover here.
Mined from layers of shale {former mud} or brought to surface by volcanoes after subduction below continents as magmatic deposits or reefs.
https://www.emsl.pnnl.gov/emslweb/news/how-bacteria-produce-manganese-oxide-nanoparticles?utm_source=Google%2B&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=HL-MnOxideNano
…and let’s not forget the molecular radiation mavens out there. Here’s an article on XRF, one of the new detection technologies being used:
https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/industrial/spectroscopy-elemental-isotope-analysis/spectroscopy-elemental-isotope-analysis-learning-center/elemental-analysis-information/xrf-technology.html
$FEXXF…going long…this is a nickel speculation that I have decided to take a position in. Reasons at the bottom of a lengthy post on the hard asset thread.
If you missed it and are interested here is the link:
https://www.stockgumshoe.com/2017/09/microblog-gold-silver-copper-and-hard-assetsfall-2017/comment-page-3/#comment-4956872
Nickel is a crossover material, legitimate topic for the Cleanteq thread or the hard asset thread. Didn’t want you to miss it if you tend to stay here on the Cleanteq thread.
CLQ (long), PGM (long) ASX
Visual Capitalist has published an excellent graphics breakdown of raw materials in li-ion batteries that identifies possible supply chain bottlenecks. http://www.mining.com/web/the-critical-ingredients-needed-to-fuel-the-battery-boom/
Thanks, BTL. Very nice to hear from you.
Maybe someday you will change your call letters to MTL, for “metal” or Mining Tech Long .
$FYI Cobalt Miners News For The Month Of October 2017
by Matt Bolhsen @sa
Summary
Cobalt spot price news – Cobalt spot prices rise slightly.
Cobalt market news – Auto manufacturers have turned their focus to the raw materials needed to feed the EV boom.
Cobalt miner news – “Updated mineral resource confirms significant increases in cobalt grade and contained metal at Clean TeQ’s Syerston Project.”
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4115844-cobalt-miners-news-month-october-2017?uprof=46&isDirectRoadblock=true
Lots of good information here from the automotive EV market to MIT comment on cobalt and lithium.
CTEQF, ECSIF, PEMIF, PTNUF, long
xpost
Griffin,
Thank you for posting this so quickly. I like Bohlsen’s reports. Did you see the part where he says First Cobalt, FTSSF, announces “high grade vein style mineralization containing up to 9.22% cobalt and over 5,300 g/t silver found in muckpiles throughout the Cobalt Camp”? Their resource is in Canada. I see that Bohlsen is not long First Cobalt but he holds Ardea, ARRRP. He is not long CTEQF, though he must know plenty about it and reports on it regularly.
Long CTEQF, ECSIF, PTNUF
I’ve got to be quick to beat Ben. ;-] I’ve been watching First Cobalt and I’m on there mailing list but haven’t been posting their updates, that could change. Bohlsen may not be long for the reasons I”m not long $FTSSF or $ARRRP no money. I liked what he had to say about eCobalt FS. I sell 1/2 my position to get into the #2 biotec. On the Cobalt grade vs Resource size did you notice Idaho Cobalt, I believe that is eCobnalt. This should be a link to the “high grade vien”;
https://firstcobalt.com/2017/first-cobalt-receives-positive-mineralogical-results/
CTEQF, ECSIF, PEMIF, PTNUF, long
Griffin,
Yes, you did well considering that Ben works 24/7.
Thank you for the link. First Cobalt’s (FTSSF) announcement of up to 9.22% cobalt in a vein exceeds European Cobalt’s 8%, (EUC.ASX) and that’s saying something. I’m making sure to be careful about decimal points. You might want to post this link as a new discussion. And no, I didn’t notice Idaho Cobalt. I will check it out.
Ardea Resources (ARRRP) was recently recommended by Doug Casey as a speculation.
I see we are both long eCobalt Solutions. I thought if is was good enough for Travis J., it’s good enough for me.
“[Bohlsen] is not long CTEQF, though he must know plenty about it and reports on it regularly.”
If you are a reader of his, why not ask him why ?
He may have seen something we are missing.
It can’t hurt to ask him his reasons.
HN, Good idea. Why not? I usually read the links but will sign up and then ask him the question.
More from Eric Sprott
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4NpFloNT9c
It was recorded a few months ago but he has a lot of observations that have general applications. This is a billionaire who is mainly in gold and silver stocks.
**
An interesting sidelight on cosmology…he says the theory behind the Novo geology is that way back, western Australia was connected to South Africa. So they think it is possible a similar Witwaterstrand-type of district may be there.
Haven’t followed Novo, or even heard of it til this week.
Food for thought, and an opportunity to consider more realistic and reasonable ways for EV’s to become everything they can. I certainly have reason to believe EV’s will play a huge roll in our future, just not as certain of how that will happen. I do not agree with everything written in this Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) article, I tend to agree with several important points:
https://fee.org/articles/china-has-essentially-doomed-its-electric-car-industry/?utm_source=FEE+Email+Subscriber+List&utm_campaign=28d061de05-MC_FEE_DAILY_2017_10_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_84cc8d089b-28d061de05-108359549. I question that China is an answer to any of my hopes for lasting economic growth and development. In fact I view China as a huge obstacle given the way Chinese enterprises pay their bills and hide behind whatever it is they are hiding behind for protection. Then there is the IP theft concern. I do not know what to do with what I know concerning the Chinese markets and political condition, it is a bit much for a simple type like me to process although I try. Best.
Our estimation of China need not get into our assessments of their politics.
All we really need to do as small private investors in the metal space is assess realistically what their policy and intentions are, and see if we can find a way to get in the path of it.
What the Chinese want to buy…you want to own it. What the Chinese want to sell… you want to be out of it.
***
I am also wary of Chinese protectionism in their financial markets, also their
attitude towards IP protection. I do not have any positions in Chinese-listed companies. But that has no bearing when I see their plans for EVs and alternate energy, and their years-long spending spree on hard assets, funded mostly by dollars we send them for TVs, flip-flops, and the contents of Walmart and Home Depot.
We thought “free trade” was great idea. But it really doesn’t work when the other side does not play by the same rules. Frankly I wish our government had the financial interests of the country at heart, to the degree that the Chinese government looks out for Chinese interests.
We basically bought a lot of consumer stuff for low prices, and lost our industry, jobs, and economic power in exchange. This is what we traded for short-term consumption and profit, and it was enabled by the great social and economic theories propounded in our universities.
We all fell for it.
I think you are right to be confused by the Chinese pushing the EV market in China. I do think they will not ‘loose face in China’. They have already cut their subsidies to the EV market and have replaced it with tax incentives to the buyer. How the Chinese market will impact the world EV market is an open question. The Chinese are pursuing the EVs for much the same reasons as the western world. SMOG has become very bad in the large Chinese cities were as in the western world the ICE has been required to meet emission standards for the last fifty years. The one glaring error that the author from your link makes is trying place western thought on an Asian company. I think the Asian company will more likely try to what works for them in the bigger picture.
The Chinese are going towards non-ICE transportation. Even a fraction of their vehicles going this way will have a huge impact. This is a government policy that is not just gaining ground in China, it is also being encouraged in Europe and the US. So the politics don’t matter a whole lot. There are going to be huge increases in demand for battery materials.
The mix of battery types and technology may change. But we know the direction. The governments and big industrials will go that way and paint it as a wonderful green movement, regardless of whether it is a real net energy saver or energy consumer. They will also use tax and regulatory policy to move things along.
From the point of view of the Chinese government, it makes perfect sense.
Their people are upset by air pollution,really upset. And it is not in Chinese interests to be dependent on foreign oil. It’s a totalitarian government of technocrats. What else do you need to know ?
HN, that reply was actually meant for Dougj34. I’m not going to argue that the expansion of the EV market is not a good ting . Who is pushing the expansion I’m sure that I care we do know what materials are involved as investors. I wish I had a better idea of the “view of the Chinese government” but it has been 40 years since I delved into the difference between Western and Asian thought or maybe more apropos Philosophy. The difference does exist, Hermann Hesse wrote a few on books on the subject and received a Nobel prise in the the process. I think as an investor we should be aware of the difference to have a better idea of Chinas direction.
When you see Chinese companies taking equity in foreign miners, you know that this has been approved the Chinese government. When you read about gold retail stores
popping up all over China, you know the government approves of their citizens acquiring gold. When you see Uber giving up in China, you know the government doesn’t want foreigners taking cash out of their economy. And so on.
Their philosophy is well reflected in the actions they permit to Chinese business interests. When Zijin takes an equity position, it is not like Eric Sprott acting as a private Canadian citizen.
$Batteries
John Goodenough (yes that is his real name) and his colleague Maria Braga, have developed a solid glass electrolyte. This would be instead of the liquid electrolyte used in lithium-ion batteries. Apparently this has a much longer life cycle.
Whether it really works is open to some discussion according to its skeptics. Could be a game changer.
If it is electrolyte then I think it means it would supplant lithium.
Do you know the materials in the glass ?
What materials they use for the anode and the cathode ?
Just filing patents so not sure info in public domain.
The census seems to be that we are 5-10 years away from any meaningful change in battery material. Despite the shortage of Cobalt the only immediate change there is use less.
Here is what I found.
They use an annealed glass matrix as an electrolyte.
Glass mats defy the formation of dendrites because the anode never reacts with the mats.
They use fiberglass sheets as the electrolyte matrix and electroplate them with metallic sodium as the anode.
They pack the remaining cavities with carbon
$CTEQF…meanwhile, back at the Ranch, Cleanteq is up 8.5 cents in early OZ trading.
More possible competition for batteries by using Hydrogen but also of potential benefit to CleanTeq in supplying boiler water and using waste heat.
https://scienmag.com/electronic-entropy-enhances-water-splitting/
Ideal sites for such plants would be in tropics near water and transportation. Desert ground would be fine. Australia with China as market,
North Africa with Europe as market etc.