2017 was a year of tremendous accomplishment for Clean Teq Holdings in every respect.
We saw remarkable achievements in mine construction, in finance, and in market development, with landmark contracts in every business segment;
We saw a complex business appear as if by magic, including business offices on four continents, and the launch of business website in the water division;
We were informed of superb existing and newly-formed strategic partnerships,
with the likes of Airbus, Peng-Xin Mining, Chinese state and power entities, Chinalco, and Multotec;
We were witness to a major off-take agreement with a leading battery manufacture;
We learned of an astute acquisition of a controlling interest in a VRB business by Mr. Friedland;
We learned of deep and valuable research and development support at prestigious universities and manufacturers;
and we became sure of unseen low-cost manufacturing contacts and alliances.
And oh-by-the-way, we got a listing on the TSX.
The company inspires confidence and optimism. Robert Friedland has a deep long-term strategy, and he knows what he is doing.
I am not sure what is more impressive: His strategic vision, or his managerial talent in executing it.
Clean Teq is a company that is worth following. It is by far my largest position.
There are a lot of companies with good concepts. But Clean Teq has a deep and brilliant strategic concept which is at the heart of major world trends; a revolutionary technology; and a management that executes flawlessly.
**
GOING FORWARD: SUITABLE TOPICS FOR THIS THREAD
1. CLEAN TEQ HOLDINGS, CLEAN TEQ WATER, and their interests, or related companies.
2. Miners and producers of COBALT, VANADIUM, SCANDIUM; also nickel, zinc, graphite, lithium, rare earths, silica, and manganese.
3. WATER PURIFICATION, especially when tied into mineral extraction therefrom.
4. “TECHNO MINERS” and other innovators in mining and material extraction
See notes below on thread and topic overlaps, which are unavoidable.
**
One year ago this week, I wrote an article on Clean Teq Holdings. It was a speculative company, but
one with a visionary and proven leader, dramatic potential in specific, attractive commodities,
innovative methods and IP for mineral extraction, and big ambitions in water purification.
Clean Teq Holdings defied easy categorization, and continues to do so.
One year later, Clean Teq has not disappointed. Clean Teq has exceeded all reasonable expectations.
**
If you need background on Clean Teq, I refer you to the predecessor of this thread: “Scandium, Cobalt,
and Water Purification: Clean Teq Holdings”, where you will also find the guidelines and rules for this
thread; and to the Clean Teq and Clean Teq Water websites, which warrant close examination.
OUR BIAS AND BASIC VIEW
This thread is for those who believe in the coming EV wave, light weighting of transport, and most importantly,
in the importance of energy storage and batteries of all scales;
and also, it is for those who believe that the disruptions caused thereby will be rapid.
Because of this opinion, it follows that the existing viable battery technologies and the materials needed
for them are important. We anticipate rapid change; we subscribe to the Tony Seba “Disruption Scenario”,
that suggests disruptiv changes are occuring faster.
If you disagree with the Disruption Scenario, or the eventual proliferation of EVs,
that is fine; but please do not debate it on this thread. The thread is for those who believe in the future of battery power,
and in the immediate opporunities in commodities related to batteries and energy storage.
We will be able to see in shortly whether we are right or wrong in this belief.
If it takes longer than we think, we will complain about ”being early.”
My perspective is for the next five years. That is “long term”. This is not a trading thread.
Occasionally short-term opportunities are appropriate to call out,
but short-term trading is not the emphasis here.
On the other hand should restrain ourselves from too much attention
to developments and materials for technologies that are likely to take longer than five years to have an impact.
We are looking for investable ideas, not 10 year forecasts on the Future of Civilization.
So let’s keep it down on hydrogen fuel cells and molten salt batteries for a couple of months.
**
NOTES ON THREAD AND TOPIC OVERLAPS
Our assumption is that Li-NCM, VRB’s, and zinc batteries are going to be the main battery formats purchased,
installed or contracted for in the near-term, hence the commodities needed for them are of interest.
New battery technologies are better discussed on the #batteries thread ,
unless they involve a vertical commodity/battery producer.
We are interested in what is going to have an impact in five years.
For example, if you are convinced that Google is about to conquer the world with a molten salt battery,
then come on over here and recommend Morton Salt as a buy-out candidate.
But debate whether molten salt batteries have a future, and when, on the #batteries thread.
News that shows increasing penetration on solar are relevant,
as they confirm the importance of large-scale energy storage.
But we would like to know who is getting the contracts and what type of battery they are using.
There is going to be some unavoidable overlap. Nickel and manganese sources are swing metals,
sometimes they may be better discussed on the Hard Asset thread as base metals.
If you make a post on the wrong thread, don’t worry too much, there are
no fines or jail time. I do it myself all the time and I understand it can be confusing.
You can also use Travis’ new cross-reference gizmo.
Long $CTEQF $CLQ Clean Teq Holdings
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.
$ECSIF – eCobalt Announces C$26 Million Bought Deal Financing
http://www.ecobalt.com/news/news-releases/ecobalt-announces-ccad26-million-bought-deal-financing
IMO the shares and warrants didn’t go cheap.
$ECSIF long
$AUZ…anybody see anything on an offtake announcement ?
The halt was supposed to be lifted Wednesday.
$AUZ.asx – request for suspension until the 16th: https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180214/pdf/43rkkxnjct776b.pdf
#NT…casually looking around, my preference for zinc as a good contender in the grid storage sweepstakes has been strengthened; this is not a jugular vein issue as zinc is a widely produced base metal, but it gives added confidence in $IVPAF because they have the world’s highest-grade large zinc deposit (Kipushi Big Zinc in DRC), also in MGX and TECK.
Long $IVPAF, long $MGXMF
No position $TECK but former long and considering re-entry
Also I get the feeling that copper is being somewhat ignored. Not a lot of press or excitement on it and copper prices have come down to $3.10 or $3.15. There is going to be a lot of copper wiring needed for all these installations and charging stations.
The storage technologies and the solar panel technologies may have a lot of new developments and competing formates; but copper does not seem to have as many
competitors as a metal that will be in demand.
While I am long Ivan and MUX, considering a big cap copper producer; Southern Copper is high on my list.
Nickel took a quick dip, looks like all that did was tighten the rubber band, now it seems poised to make a run at $7. Very bullish for this sector, though the stock prices aren’t responding to these dramatic cobalt/nickel price increases quite as dramatically as I would have liked. Last 8 month nickel price increase is equivalent to gold spiking to $2000, what would that do to the gold stocks? It isn’t like these stocks haven’t moved at all, most of them are up sharply over the last year, but at the same time, they are not presently sitting at their recent highs, despite the cobalt/nickel prices both sitting at multi-year highs and rising. If the trend continues though, its just a matter of time, getting to production is a slow laborious process, but value goes up at each stage of de-risking.
Nickel, cobalt, gold, zinc…even lead…all looking good.
Copper made a move today also, and silver getting near $17.
Checked the one year charts. On a one year basis, every single non-ferrous base metal is up significantly: zinc, lead, copper, nickel, even aluminum…to say nothing of cobalt.
In precious metals, Gold and palladium up also.
Silver and platinum are the only decliners.
We’re all waiting…….. to find out what’s going on with AUZ.
Well, at least Clean TeQ and Ardea are up slightly on the ASX at the moment.
Long $CTEQF, $ARRRF
$AUZ…they are waiting for the counterparty to sign the deal.
The counterparty may not sign it.
Yea well anything is possible but we’ll know soon. IMO it’s going to great! But I’m holding large…
Remember BB who is a straight forward honest bloke said he had lots of offers but was looking for a *partner* for the right deal to move this forward and had 9 potentials from the last few months raise. This bloke is smart IMO, note IR answered your email immediately hn as he is always available and sees the company shareholders as part of the team. I like that a lot.
Now I hold both CLQ and AUZ in substantial numbers and am very happy with both.
CLQ is more advanced for sure and I cannot fault in any way their business model. They are a technology mining company, the new breed out there.
GLTA on whoever you hold.
Wifi not working so sent from phone and type hard to read so exscuse any errors.
Squirrel, something is wrong at AUZ. They put a voluntary halt on the weekend, it is now Thursday in OZ and there is no announcement, with trading supposed to resume a day later.
They may have jumped the gun. Interesting that the BMW announcement said “Contracts ready to be signed”…but supposing BMW is the counterparty, maybe they just don’t want to sign and AUZ misread their intentions.
I wouldn’t put it past the Germans to hold up AUZ for some last-minute contract modifications while AUZ is hanging out there with there with a premature announcement. They don’t care if they make AUZ look foolish. Maybe BMW or whoever it is was negotiating with another cobalt supplier, and a last-minute deal with somebody else is better than the $AUZ deal.
Who knows.
Wouldn’t it be comical if AUZ put on a trading halt thinking they had a deal, and at the last second somebody else came in, cut BMW a better deal, and announces it on the day AUZ is supposed to get all the glory ?
If I were Robert Friedland, I would have said to BMW:
“Listen, Mr. Bavarian Metal Bender. You go get the very best deal you can. But before you sign it, bring it on over here to Clean Teq and I will beat the pants off of it, AND deliver the stuff faster than the last guy you negotiate with.”
Yea good one hn, all makes sense but Friedland might have other deals pending. All is good with AUZ, time will tell.
No need for any competition between the two as both can win here. To me BB is honorable in his actions so far and deserves success. Has the goods in tbe 3 grounds. CLQ has a great team and building fast. I hope AUZ follow. Big difference in their SP’s remember….
They don’t need to beat anybody’s deals. That Clean TeQ will have off-takes for most of their product by the time they dig it up is already a forgone conclusion. They can sit back, and see who wants it the most, and who brings the most to the table. I assume they will get a big batch of money from someone to finish the mine financing in exchange for a percentage of the company and its salt.
The AUZ guy supposedly has said he had something like 9 offers, and they were holding out for the best deal. I think it would go without saying that all 9 also would be talking to CTEQF, and probably more. One of the reasons I’m fat with CTEQF and ARRRF is I know the product they are making is like pizza. You can sell as many as you can make, and looks like the town is going to get progressively short on pizza, and so we will find out just how much someone is willing to pay for a pizza when they all are fighting for the last pie.
renby…if AUZ had nine potential off-takers, wouldn’t you think the 9 potential clients are talking to other cobalt suppliers also ?
renby…I agree they don’t have to. But in some cases an off-take agreement might actually enable a competitor to get financing for their project.
There could be a real strategic value in denying a big deal to a competing developer, because by doing so Clean Teq would be delaying the competitor’s ability to finance their project quickly.
You may be a friendly competitor with RF. But I wouldn’t want to be on his “enemies” list. He could amuse himself by making sure he beats every one of your off-take offers, just for the hell of it.
Look for the AUZ announcement after the close in AUZland. If not, you are right, something is wrong, and the AUZ people will be screaming, crying, and spontaneously combusting. Waiting with bated breath to see what happens.
renby…it’s gonna be real interesting, for sure.
Statements from BMW suggest they want to lock up 10 years supply. If that becomes a contract, that would be precedent setting, if you want a deal with Clean TeQ, that would be the minimum length of commitment, but they could be looking for deals that are “life of mine”..
Yes Who knows, some thing wrong?? Who knows again. I said before would be very surprised if it’s BMW. That’s just Internet Chinese Whispers. I have no. idea who? BB has been road showing HK etc etc and my guess FWIW is leading Asia way. I’d add that I’ve not seen any suggestions from AUZ it might be anywhere let alone BMW No leaky ships on this one….
Great Times for all in this sector IMO.
Lets focus on the vanadium plays now.
I mentioned previously i now hold speculative Longs positions on AEE, KRC and SRI.
Squirrel…a BMW news release last week said “contracts [in cobalt and lithium] were ready to be signed” and in the same week AUZ put on the trading halt because of “imminent take-off announcement.”
I just hypothesized that the two might be related.
Just a speculation, no Chinese whispers.
I would just note that if an off-take agreement is on the point of being signed involving AUZ then this is almost certainly before the partner has received any samples of purified Cobalt and Nickel (II) Sulphates from the miner. There is nothing on AUZ’s website to indicate that they have definitely been sent out yet. I thought such samples would have to be sent out to potential off-take partners for assay, before binding commitments were entered into. Am I wrong?
You missed it, they sent out samples; they have a demo plant. They mentioned it in a news release. What they do not have is a production autoclave.
I wandered over to Hot Copper, there is a frenzy of excitement over the trading halt on AUZ.
The company looks like it is botching up the announcement. Trading was supposed to resume whether or not an announcement was made, and did not. No resumption of trading, no announcement.
Hi HN, Yes, I know about their processing plant and reported my attempt to estimate the length of their autoclave in this thread. AUZ reports being on schedule with the January commissioning of the plant and plans to deliver samples to potential off-takers this month.
https://australianmines.com.au/application/third_party/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Off-take-samples-on-track-for-delivery-in-February-from-demonstration-plant.pdf
I have not seen a definitive statement that such samples have been delivered. Also, I thought that potential customers would wish to have their samples assayed to determine their purity before entering into a binding off-take agreement. I have checked for press releases. Perhaps I missed one.
Negotiations must have been going on with SK for at least a month so I’m beginning to think that SK was satisfied with having some Sconi ore samples to analyze instead of purified Cobalt and Nickel (II) Sulphates.
Sorry, I meant to say pilot or demonstration plant above. But, it is clear from AUZ’s website that they intend to have their full processing or production plant also near Perth in Western Australia so they will have to truck their ore completely across country from their mines in Queensland and New South Wales.
$ARL.asz – Drilling confirms continuity of cobalt and nickel
https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180215/pdf/43rlh2gnhpnrjk.pdf
$NCZ.asx halt ’til 20180219 pending material supply contract #Zn: https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180215/pdf/43rlpqpq594767.pdf
If there are going to be trading halts every time an off-take agreement is going to be announced, there are going to be a lot of days where we cannot trade !
Yes, and that would be great HN if we already hold strong positions in the companies affected.
if you go to page 6 of Ardea’s 12/17 quarterly report, it gives you a diagram of the flow sheet. Its an HPAL set up, and they remove the scandium first using…. ion exchange.
$ARRRF….Thanks, Renby. Later on in the same report they state that the Board has approved a drill program that will provide the basis for a DFS. So they are moving along.
They also have quotes for all CAPEX items.
No position, favorably inclined
Yes, it’s interesting Renby that Ardea’s Scandium circuit is optional, and presumably dependent up0n demand for it at the time. And unlike Clean TeQ, they don’t show ion-exchange as their means of concentrating and purifying their Cobalt and Nickel salts.
https://ardearesources.com.au/downloads/reports/arl_qa201712.pdf
Long $CTEQF, $ARRRF
Beaver, you are correct, their present circuit uses tried and true methods from 3rd and 4th generation HPAL operations for the cobalt and nickel. They are looking at their options for by-products, which include high purity alumina, platinum, manganese, and a couple of other goodies, I think with their acid leach process they might be able to get them all.
Long $CTEQF, $ARRRF
Nobody’s giving any credit for scandium yet so you might as well keep the expense of the circuit off your forecasts.
ARRRF–NP….SA Article… https://seekingalpha.com/article/4147021-ardea-resources-update?auth_param=31pjh:1d8b2hm:1ed71967d35d78f173df15950ffbec82 ….Cowboy
Rumors and news…news in Germany that Daimler-BMW-VW have combined to purchase a Norwegian cobalt mine (Borealis); rumors in OZ that $AUZ has an offtake with a South Korean battery maker that supplies Daimler.
I just noticed this on Hot Copper but I don’t have a link to the original report.
“Australian Mines gets South Korean giant onside.
by Stuart McKinnon.
The binding deal covers 12,000tpa of cobalt sulphate and 60,000tpa of nickel sulphate with prices to be linked to London Metal Exchange.
The West understands the agreement provides an option for SK to buy 19.9% stake in Australian Mines for an investment of 65 Million dollars.
Auz products destined for SK’s newly developed electric vehicle plants in Hungary and Korea.”
The “West” here probably refers to The West Australian.
Apologies if this info turns out to be incorrect.
Stuart McKinnon is a mining reporter for The West Australian. We’ll probably have more info soon. Details of the deal may be being checked out by ASX and authorities.
Here is the newspaper report.
https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/auz-announcement.4021921/page-146?post_id=31098958#.WoYg0iOZNsM
SK Innovation is the South Korean partner. They are a chemical company and a refiner, which raises the possibility that AUZ’s soft ore could be sent directly to them for refining. This is just speculation on my part.
http://eng.skinnovation.com
This is what I mean about AUZ news management.
A situation has been created that makes the frenzy out of control.
AUZ goes into a trading halt, to be lifted Feb 16.
Then a “leak” outlines the deal a day or two before trading is to resume.
AUZ says they will make an announcement or resume trading Friday.
Friday comes, no announcement, no trading.
Late in the day instead of an announcement, AUZ posts a presentation of their “Korean partner” on their website.
Resumption of trading is scheduled for Tuesday 2/20.
Meanwhile everyone on Ozland is going nuts with suspense. The deal is good for AUZ but my god the frenzy around the thing is off the charts.
“The deal is good for AUZ but my god the frenzy around the thing is off the charts.”
To me sounds like good PR, but then again I’m far from certain any of it was planned. Sometimes things unfold and you wing it from there. I’m just going with the flow, letting it unfold.
I think it’s good news for CLQ and other mines, after the DRC which few companies will really put their business through as to unreliable now, never mind later. So best to lock in supply now while you can.
CLQ has its own plans for the future and its not in doubt it’ll be very successful.
The insane comments of the last few days are mind boggling amusing and tonight will be no doubt be no exception!
GLTA.
The article was a leak during the first halt. It proved to be substantially true.
The deal is very helpful to AUZ but there are some questions about the deal than cannot be answered, and SK has not yet committed any cash to build the mine.
AUZ has to parlay a $5 billion dollar offtake to hard finance, since cash from the offtake does not come to them until after the mine is operating. Still some hoops to jump through for AUZ: samples, finance by 2018, construction by end 2020 or SK can walk.
No downplaying the importance of the deal but there are some holes. Plus cannot buy AUZ anyway til it comes off halt.
For a year I’ve been saying anybody in Australia producing nickel and cobalt sulphate will basically sell out the stuff long before the first salt precipitates out from their mud circuits. Now you have a company selling out 7 years in advance who haven’t even started building their mine. LOL. That’s why 3/4 of my portfolio is in clean teq and ardea. If you just project the numbers, what the market cap of these stocks are vs the value of what they have in the ground, under conditions of exponentially increasing demand starting about…… now.
Yes, and what do you think of the idea of AUZ selling their soft ore directly. It is certainly very easy to dig up judging from their photo of operations at their aptly-named Sconi Project.
https://australianmines.com.au/sconi
I don’t think they will sell the Sconi ore; I think they will use the off-take to secure financing.
I think you’re right HN as long as the situation in the DRC doesn’t get completely out of hand. If there is a serious disruption in cobalt sourced from the DRC, then automakers and battery companies would need to greatly accelerate the flow of battery metal compounds from non-DRC suppliers, perhaps by refining the ore in their own jurisdictions, especially if it is friable and easy to manipulate.
& eagerbeaver just don,t believe for a minute DRC will stop exporting its Oil, Cobalt, Copper etc. Having worked all over africa that is just not a realistic scenario. Even during the Biafra war( Nigeria) the oilbusiness continued to work. The military are not a fools they will protect their assets and the flow of income you can be sure. Btw there is no subsitute for DRC Cobalt they have already cornered this market by the size of cobalt deposits where they are sitting up.
pieter132…a realist. I think there will be a lot of leakage out of DRC and a two-tier cobalt market could come…cobalt for people who don’t care, and
“ethically sourced” cobalt for people who care.
The Chinese could use dirty cobalt for domestic production, bought at cheap prices; and export ethical cobalt at high prices for the uppies who want the label on their cars that say “child labor free”.
I also doubt that the Russians will care. Or the muslims.
Suits certain parties well. The people buying dirty cobalt get low prices while the idealists pay high prices for labels that make them feel good.
Pieter…to your point there was a release today about an Oz explorer snapping up a high-grade cobalt project in DRC.
$AUZ…100% of Sconi production, 7 years out…with a six year extension.
If the newspaper report is accurate, it is a deal that will get them financed. They will use the off-take to persuade the lenders. But they gave up 20% of the company in an option at not much over today’s price.
$AUZ no position
“Introduction to SK Innovation – AUZ’s partner in Sconi Project”
This has now been posted for investors on AUZ’s website.
https://australianmines.com.au/application/third_party/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Introduction%20to%20SK%20Innovation.pdf
Instead of the announcement we get teased about the partner with no details about the deal. It is a great partner but the details of the deal are important, and they failed to make the announcement as promised. Extension on the trading halt until Feb 20.
It was for 100% of their product for 7 years at the going product price [and with an option to renew]. 20% buy in option for something reasonably close to 20% of present market cap value. In other words, Sconi is now off the table for anyone else, closed for business til 2025, and 2032 if they pick up their option. So the music is playing, one seat has now been taken, I don’t know how many seats are left, but there seem to be a lot more car and battery companies then significant cobalt suppliers.
I’m so impressed with the simplicity of AUZ’s Sconi operation.
https://australianmines.com.au/sconi
1. Dig up rich, orange-brown Queensland earth.
2. Load into hopper.
3. Fill bag at base of hopper.
4. Load onto truck.
5. Repeat multiple times.
6. Drive off.
Now the question is where to? It is not clear where AUZ’s full production plant will be built but it will certainly take years to complete and they may have to truck their ore long distances to be processed. Meanwhile, they could head to the nearest port and a South Korean bulk carrier. Either way, they have hit paydirt.
Where is the autoclave. Digging is simple but it is inefficient to ship dirt and rock. Clean Teq will shovel the dirt onto a conveyer that goes to the plant.
$AUZ.asx $CLQ.asx etc. #Autoclaves
Don’t you think these multi-BILLION dollar automobile and or battery companies can come up with a used autoclave and have it sent where they want it, when they want it?
Yep, in answer to HN below. 😉
There is no need for them at this time.
This whole tsunami is just beginning, imho.
Sure. They COULD. Clean Teq did it.
But would you bet on that happening ?
Now I know nothing about autoclaves but found this interesting –
Fabrication of the first Autoclave was completed in the record time of 5 months and the second followed 3 months later
http://www.accesspetrotec.com/2017-kwinana-nickel-refinery-nickel-reduction-autoclaves/
If you have enough muscle you can move mountains, this all of course assuming the SK innovations deal is a done deal.
SK innovations is a 120 billion company with even bigger ambitions.
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/19978-ready-competing-global-players-sk-innovation-invest-1-trillion-won-ev-battery
Long AUZ.
Great info. Access Petrotec gives a road map of how to get decent-sized stainless steel autoclaves fabricated in a hurry.
Don’t get too excited. Look at the size of the ones that took five and eight months. They are nowhere near the size of the equipment needed for the volumes being talked about.
When AUZ says they are on order and they give a delivery date, I will pay attention.
The autoclaves are a very valid point hn, maybe they can use the CLQ on the weekends or ship the raw ingredients. Seriously if SK wants the goods it surely would help in getting them.That or BB already has them ordered as a priority from Korea/China or are there perhaps others around like CLQ got through I believe RF’s network.
You got to think this is being dealt with, would it not be addressed in the O/T deal?
Squirrel, I doubt very seriously whether anything has been ordered yet.
They are months away from financing, and they are not going to make commitments on long lead time items for a theoretical mine. Only a guy like RF would do that.
They can go with smaller autoclaves but it still takes a while.
Bell is working full-time on the Big Deal. He has his hands full. I am not being critical.
It is just that I think time frames for earliest production will slip with AUZ, and be fulfilled with Clean Teq. Whatever else you want to say about them, AUZ spins their public announcements.
Squirrel believes in AUZ as he has stated, and I believe they will do OK and be a good investment.
I saw the acrimony over AUZ on the HC site and debating AUZ and CLQ, hope we don’t get that here. There are only a few top cobalt projects and AUZ is sure one of them.
Squirrel, best to you; and you know I am sincere.
Perfectly willing to take a position in AUZ if the price is right…but the thing is still on halt.
There is a chance of all hell breaking loose on the cobalt supply front any day. It is only 10 days until the AUZ news is out and the halt is lifted; but I really don’t want to wait another two weeks to flesh out my positions.
Thanks hn, appreciated and know you mean it.
With the help of SK I think AUZ should be a good one. Locking down supply will be the issue with others now in safe territories.
I have my cobalt covered and moved onto vanadium with AEE and KRC, both on the ASX. Lots of info on HC for anyone interested. Of note was KRC just came out of a halt and jumped afterwards by 28%.
HN, The two autoclaves in question were ordered for BHP Billiton’s Kwinana Nickel Refinery that refines Nickel Matte from their Kalgoorlie Smelter. The Kwinana plant uses an ammonia-leach process and has a capacity to manufacture 65,000 tonnes of nickel metal a year.
I’m assuming that someone has done the Math to determine the ideal size of an autoclave for a particular project, in order to maximize the overall efficiency of the operation. It may be the case that an autoclave could be either too small or possibly too big for a particular project. Does anyone have figures for this?
eager—which two autoclaves ? The Clean Teq ones were taken from a Vale project in the Pacific. Each one by itself is sufficient to produce the volumes specified in the Sunrise projections.
Take a look. Clean Teq autoclaves:
http://www.mining-journal.com/feasibility/news/1178012/clean-teq-jumps-goro-autoclaves
BHP little autoclaves…took 5 and 8 months:
http://www.accesspetrotec.com/2017-kwinana-nickel-refinery-nickel-reduction-autoclaves/
BHP autoclave
http://www.accesspetrotec.com/2017-kwinana-nickel-refinery-nickel-reduction-autoclaves/
HN. I was referring to the two autoclaves fabricated in India in a rush order by Access Petrotec for BHP Billiton’s Kwinana Nickel Refinery. Sorry, I should have been clearer.
Those BHP autoclaves are an order of magnitude smaller than the ones needed at CLQ or AUZ.
We are talking 66 tons versus 600 tons.
I don’t mean to be stubborn but this is a real concern of mine concerning a position in AUZ; and Clean Teq, whom I trust, has stated that they have a three year lead time.
If AUZ can get the autoclaves in one or even two years, they will be in a virtual tie with CLQ for production; if it takes longer, they will be second.
Many people do not think the time difference will make much difference, but I feel that it might be important.
HN.. It would be good if there was a simple formula for determining autoclave size needed for a particular project. Perhaps there is one. The Kwinana Refinery has the capacity to manufacture 65,000 tonnes of nickel a year but they may have more than the two relatively small autoclaves operating and the processing of nickel from nickel matte may be fairly straightforward. With respect to very soft ores that are basically earths, the extraction of salts by HPAL may proceed faster that it would from ground rock. So autoclave through-puts could vary considerably depending upon the nature of the ore and the minerals to be extracted. Now if the ore at Syerston is relatively soft, Clean TeQ’s enormous autoclaves may be able to process it easily and be idle the rest of the time unless their capacity is rented out. I’m sure RF has a very good idea of how they will perform. Hopefully someone long in AUZ will ask the pointed questions about their plans re autoclaves and other heavy equipment.
You cannot size the ‘claves by metal production. They have to be sized by tons of ore processed per year.
They are available, you can do it by dimensions and weight but more impoortantly by volume of through-put per year. Offhand I think the ones needed for the volumes needed at Clean Teq’s are about 30,000 tpa, and are about 600 tons each. The AUZ figures imply something about that size.
The BHP autoclaves cited were 66 tons.
One thing I read about SK Innovations is that they have their own investment bank, whatever that means? Also I imagine any financing is within reach. AUZ’s BB was looking for partners, he stated that clearly, to take not just Sconi initially but the other 2 areas all the way in due course.
On the personal level of seeing how BB has conducted him self to shareholders he replies quickly and is viewed in very high regard. I think his demeanour would have helped getting the deal in place.
We dont know the actual deal details yet or how the market will respond but I’m very positive about this deal going forward and wont be selling any shares for a quite a time yet.
Funny think is I bought into this for a number of reasons which looking back barely add up. Namely I liked the name, seemed simple and the biggest with Australia as the country and Mines as what it is. It was very cheap 1.639 cents AU which meant I could buy millions of shares instead of one or two hundred thousand or less usually. And finally it was next to bordering on CLQ which could only be a good sign and hold that as my main long term conviction.
Both companies have great futures, CLQ is a very unique class act for sure with AUZ the new kids on the block so to speak….
Long CLQ.
Long AUZ.
Squirrel…I see the SK deal as mainly giving AUZ the wherwithal to get financing at reasonable terms.
SK bank may or may not get involved; with SK promising to buy 100% of off-take, AUZ should be able to get financed from somebody. So their timetable on financing is greatly improved and I would be the first to concede that.
But project financing does not solve the autoclave problem. For one thing, I do not yet see cash changing hands from SK to AUZ. AUZ has to order the stupid thing, it will not appear by magic and it takes cash. And I don’t think they can wait to hope a used one appears somewhere…they need to get started and cannot spend three or four months looking at chemical yard sales. Maybe they have one lined up; maybe not; but if not, they will need to fish or cut bait with an order.
The due diligence on the Goro autoclaves bought by Clean Teq took months, plus a couple months to rig and ship. It was new, unused. Like I say, maybe AUZ will luck out; but that is a speculation and I would not count on it. They bought the demo plant autoclave new; the production one will be way bigger and will take longer.
Thanks appreciate your response, with the autoclaves being essential would not SK be aware of this and not do a deal unless AUZ /BB had satisfied them or SK knew a way round this issue, assuming they cannot wait up to 3 years which seems very unlikely.
To me if I was doing the deal the lack of the autoclaves being sorted is a deal breaker unless I’m missing something here?
If anyone is long $AUZ they should ask:
“Is the autoclave for Sconi on order, and when will it be delivered ?”
**
I am not saying it cannot be done faster., ot that they cannot find one. I am saying that until proven otherwise, $AUZ cannot support a claim of production earlier than the delivery of the autoclaves.
#Autoclaves – I took your suggestion to go autoclave shopping in the summer. Even “spoke” with Arch1 a couple of times about it. Had two companies writing asking for dimensions, uses, etc. There are many such devices in all shapes and sizes. Have a look.
Bet there may be several in the DRC, of all places, that may be sitting idle for the time being. 🙂 Have a great weekend and beyond ALL! 🙂
Ben…the size needed is about 600 tons. Where could I find one for sale ?
There many sizes but one of a certain size is needed, and it is a very large one.
What are the advantages / disadvantages of processing in small vs. large batches?
Obviously the ore can be processed in a device the size of a microwave oven for samples…
Long both $CLQ.asx and $AUZ.asx
The demo plant that is running is pretty large and is working on Sunrise ore.
Flippa01 on HC is a very knowledgeable bloke in this area. 2 v recent post regards autoclaves.
Including delivery time it would normally take 18 months min from design and ordering and 8-10 months to install and connect to systems.
There is a “but” with that timeframe, SK is as many people are saying is a massive conglomerate. Part of this conglomerate has a construction arm that I would say may be able to build this autoclave/s. SK did all the pre-fab steam pipework and boiler build for the Inpex power station in Darwin. I dare say take they would get the whip out and give a push, S Koreans are fully aware of the standards that equip like this are to be built too. They have massive module yards everywhere.
Part of the reason I was saying earlier in a post that I was waiting to see the details of the OT/partnership was to see if SK would be the EPCM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Management) of this project. When Gina Rheinhart was putting funding together for Roy Hill Iron Ore project ,Posco (another S Korean conglomerate) became 15% partner and were originally going to be the EPCM of project before Samsung C&T undercut them in the tender process.
I have seen your posts on the CLQ site regarding this clave lead time issue, CLQ did hit lotto getting those claves for the price they got but it also forces their hand in designing, these are big claves for the stated throughput in the PFS (2.5MT/yr). Also the IX system they are using for extraction is a major procure and build, much more time to construct this than the CCD’s that AUZ will be using. At Goro the longest timeframe in construction was the refinery area using Resin in Pulp (IX) the claves and acid plants were ready before refinery.
Both of these plants will not be in production before 2020 I would say towards the end of the year.
But this is not a competition in timeframe, both companies will be fully aware of detail and time these complex plants take to design, construct, commission and put into production and so would their prospective customers.
###
As I stated in my post neither plant would be in production until 2020 probably towards the end of the year.
As to compression well how long is a piece of string for the clave to be expedited. But the lead time is no problem with the HPAL circuit as there is massive amounts of prep work to do first. Site offices to be set-up, land to be cleared and levelled, underground services to be installed (sewerage,water,power), civils to be constructed ,which is all the grano work (concrete) for structures to be built on. Just in concrete work there is thousands of cubic metres of reinforced concrete to prepare and pour. The civils component of construction is the longest part of job.
The peripheral/associated part of the HPAL circuit can be built while waiting for claves. Just the refractory work in the flash tanks takes a few months to install and cure once flash tanks are built.
CLQ has as I already stated has a longer construction time due to the use of IX instead of CCD’s. Also the added burden of having the huge associated Hydrochloric acid tanks that the IX columns use to flush and also the HCL reclaiming circuit, as the HCL can be reclaimed to save money on reagents. The sulphuric acid in HPAL cannot be reclaimed so is neutralized.
Once again there is not a hope in hell either plant will be ready before 2020.
Flippa is a real expert. His point was, that neither CLQ nor AUZ had any chance of being operational before end 2020, not just because of autoclaves but because of other construction issues that are always present in projects like this, and apply to both projects.
He refused to give CLQ any time advantage at all in terms of speed to construction.
While I greatly respect his expertise, on this point I do not think he is being objective. How can it be that they are even in time to production, when Clean Teq has been prepping and working on details since last summer, and the SK deal just hit the news wires this month ?
Clean Teq has financing leads, advance lead time equipment, they have hired key people, they block and mining plans. The AUZ fans say ‘SK is powerful, they will put on the full-court press and AUZ will make up ground.”
Trouble is, I do not see that level of commitment yet from AUZ. Maybe it will be there. But we haven’t seen it yet.
Not badmouthing AUZ. They are playing the hand they have decently. But I am just not persuaded yet that they are neck-and-neck with CLQ, no matter if the projected BFS dates are close.
Between the two, the chances for Clean Teq to surpass expectations are greater than for AUZ to meet
them. Just in my opinion. And AUZ shareholders.
should do well, AUZ has cobalt.
Also, in fairness, Flippa identified other issues with CLQ that should be considered:
He was concerned, based on his experience in the field, that Chinese industrial equipment was inferior (making the assumption that CLQ will source in China).
He was also concerned about a partnership with the Chinese; also concerned that the new CLQ processing will have problems, as in his mind it is “unproven.”
These are reasonable concerns but I am not especially worried about them.
Any chance his opinions had a direct effect on recent downward pressure?
$XYZ please mister xyz police! 🙂 Ha, TIA
$CLQ up 15.88% at 1.35AUD 23:40 🙂
Squirrel, AUZ should answer if asked.
For me, it makes no difference, I do not like how management handles their public investors.
But if you are considering AUZ, I suggest it might be beneficial to clarify the situation on the autoclaves…unless you do not care about their time to production.
SK has no cash into AUZ that we know of. When AUZ goes on line, they buy all the cobalt; when and if they want part of the company, they are in for 19.9% @ 65 mil.
No risk for SK. If AUZ is late on production no harm is done to SK.
I looked ast the off-take by year in the SK-AUZ deal.
Just looking at cobalt:
year 1 1000 tons
year 2 8000 tons
year 3 12000 tons
In other words there is enough lead time for a monster autoclave, they could get by with a smaller one at first.
The autoclaves are one important lead time item but there are others.
The very fastest time to build would be about 24 months, but that is with everything a “GO.” I infer this because the production date is end 2020 earliest, and the deadline for securing finance is
end 2018. Two years.
Squirrel…my guess is that in the negotiations they are
ballparking reasonable time frames for mine construction. I doubt they are getting into specific lead times for specific pieces of equipment.
They have a two-year allowance for construction from time of financing to opening. It’s tight but conceivable. December 2020 is the date on that.
They could get faster if they got the financing done faster; or they can just push off the timetable when necessary.
As an amateur, looking at the participants, what I think is likely to happen is that Clean Teq will be faster than promised, and AUZ will be slower.
They could still be in production within a year of each other: Cleanteq late 2020, AUZ late 2021.
The posters at Hot Copper love him. All credit to him for his deal. And AUZ could be a home run.
If he can produce and deliver a 600 ton autoclave in a year I will be very impressed.
Good for you, you are looking at at least a 10-bagger soon. Maybe even on Tuesday.
Renby…yes, selling out the deposit, 4 years before they can get it built, for seven years after commissioning and another 6 years after…at terms and discount that are unknown and kept shrouded in secrecy. They are ensuring that subsequent deals, potentially including their own at Thack and Flemington, will get better; Sconi is off the table.
They were impatient to move their mine forward. I do not criticize AUZ for the deal, they needed it and it moves them towards construction; as I see it, they can now probably get Thackaringa and Flemington off the ground someday.
They seem to be in a hurry and the SK deal accelerates things for them. Trouble is, as a potential investor, we really don’t know what they gave away for the deal. Their investors may be disappointed when the truth comes out…but it is years away, because the full off-take doesn’t kick in until 2022 or 2023 at the earliest.
No position AUZ
$JRV.asx – Nico Young Infill Drilling Commences
https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180216/pdf/43rmljxgrrtfmz.pdf
#Best2ALL!
$AUZ deal with SK…The outline of the deal as described is pretty straightforward; but the details need to be scrutinized and are not availbale yet.
As reported:
1. SK makes a commitment to take 100% of the offtake for 7 years.
The benefit on this is mostly to SK, and for an off-take they pay nothing until there is actual production. No producer should have trouble selling their cobalt sulfate at market prices during this time. So AUZ gets what they would have anyway, but SK gets supply security for…nothing, so far.
The benefit to AUZ is that the commitment can be used to get financing. This is not insignificant, and frankly I think it is the major benefit to AUZ.
2. SK gets an option to buy 19.9% of AUZ for $65 million. Usually with an option, there is a strike price and a premium. The strike price is $65 million, pro-rated over the allocated diluted shares. But so far there is no premium being paid to AUZ for granting the option.
In other words, what does AUZ get for granting this option ? What does SK have to pay for the luxury of having this valuable option ? So far, we do not know. Maybe they are paying something; maybe not. If there are payments, some may think it s a good deal for AUZ, others might disagree,
***
As I see it, so far SK has no skin at all in the game. They are not “partners”, they are customers for the off-take, and conditional investors if it suits them.
They are worried about supply and have 100% of Sconi if it goes into production. They are only going to pay for what they were going to need anyway. And the option is an option, and we don’t know what if anything they are paying for it.
Just as it stands, it is a reasonable deal from AUZ’s perspective. They get collateral in the off-takes for financing, and market prices for 7 years on their offtakes. The ball is still in their court to get the mine built.
I didn’t see any type of JV mentioned for building the mine, though I suppose SK could get involved if they chose to.
The deal also moves up the timetable for Sconi financing. In my opinion the autoclave comes into play here. Maybe they can get one faster than 3 years; maybe not.
**
To me the whole sequence of events stinks of the same sentiment management that turned me off about AUZ way back when. They break their word on the press release, and build up investor frenzy and excitement. Their management of the situation looks like it is deliberate…extended trading halts with a “leak” in an Aussie paper before the weekend; then instead of a news release, a glossy pitch on the counterparty on the website.
A lot of people are falling for it. Maybe the stock will spike; who knows.
HotCopper is full of people spruiking that CLQ and AUZ have similar deposits. Don’t they do any research in Aussieland?
No reason they both cannot be winners, both are in the right place regardless of me holding both. There will be comparisons towards CLQ as it is ahead, fine by me and in some ways it’s very healthy competition….
GLTA who hold either.
I forgot to mention yesterday that AUZ had hired Medea Natural Resources, now also Medea Capital Partners, of London, UK, to assist with and possibly head up the negotiations with SK and any other parties interested in doing an off-take. Apparently, Medea has a good reputation..
http://medea-nr.com/experience/
Both should do very well. If I were satisfied about the AUZ lead time to production I would re-consider entry. Their off-take moves up their time to production because financing is now very likely achievable. The price next week should be interesting.
Looks like AUZ just released their ‘non binding’ binding offtake announcement.
Glad I’m with CLQ!
Management is everything.
AUZ announcement released by ASX , Feb. 19, 2018.
Off-take agreement term sheet with SK Innovation for 100% cobalt and nickel production from the Sconi project.
https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20180219/pdf/43rppmdhc3bbnh.pdf
A lot of guys there like to trade short-term. Lots of attention to technical short-term stuff.
Monash University/CLQ.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180209170720.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29
Science Newsfrom research organizations
Water filtration breakthrough using metal-organic frameworks
Researchers discover efficient and sustainable way to filter salt and metal ions from water
Date: February 9, 2018
Source: Monash University
Summary:
With two billion people worldwide lacking access to clean and safe drinking water, new research may offer a breakthrough solution. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a next-generation material with the largest internal surface area of any known substance, can be used to capture, store and release chemical compounds — in this case, the salt and ions in sea water.
FULL STORY
With two billion people worldwide lacking access to clean and safe drinking water, joint research by Monash University, CSIRO and the University of Texas at Austin published today in Sciences Advances may offer a breakthrough new solution.
It all comes down to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), an amazing next generation material that have the largest internal surface area of any known substance. The sponge like crystals can be used to capture, store and release chemical compounds. In this case, the salt and ions in sea water.
Dr Huacheng Zhang, Professor Huanting Wang and Associate Professor Zhe Liu and their team in the Faculty of Engineering at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, in collaboration with Dr Anita Hill of CSIRO and Professor Benny Freeman of the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, have recently discovered that MOF membranes can mimic the filtering function, or ‘ion selectivity’, of organic cell membranes.
With further development, these membranes have significant potential to perform the dual functions of removing salts from seawater and separating metal ions in a highly efficient and cost effective manner, offering a revolutionary new technological approach for the water and mining industries.
Currently, reverse osmosis membranes are responsible for more than half of the world’s desalination capacity, and the last stage of most water treatment processes, yet these membranes have room for improvement by a factor of 2 to 3 in energy consumption. They do not operate on the principles of dehydration of ions, or selective ion transport in biological channels, the subject of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Roderick MacKinnon and Peter Agre, and therefore have significant limitations.
In the mining industry, membrane processes are being developed to reduce water pollution, as well as for recovering valuable metals. For example, lithium-ion batteries are now the most popular power source for mobile electronic devices, however at current rates of consumption, there is rising demand likely to require lithium production from non-traditional sources, such as recovery from salt water and waste process streams. If economically and technologically feasible, direct extraction and purification of lithium from such a complex liquid system would have profound economic impacts.
These innovations are now possible thanks to this new research. Monash University’s Professor Huanting Wang said, “We can use our findings to address the challenges of water desalination. Instead of relying on the current costly and energy intensive processes, this research opens up the potential for removing salt ions from water in a far more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable way.”
“Also, this is just the start of the potential for this phenomenon. We’ll continue researching how the lithium ion selectivity of these membranes can be further applied. Lithium ions are abundant in seawater, so this has implications for the mining industry who current use inefficient chemical treatments to extract lithium from rocks and brines. Global demand for lithium required for electronics and batteries is very high. These membranes offer the potential for a very effective way to extract lithium ions from seawater, a plentiful and easily accessible resource.”
Building on the growing scientific understanding of MOFs, CSIRO’s Dr Anita Hill said the research offers another potential real-world use for the next-generation material. “The prospect of using MOFs for sustainable water filtration is incredibly exciting from a public good perspective, while delivering a better way of extracting lithium ions to meet global demand could create new industries for Australia,” Dr Hill said.
The University of Texas in Austin Professor Benny Freeman says, “Produced water from shale gas fields in Texas is rich in lithium. Advanced separation materials concepts, such as this, could potentially turn this waste stream into a resource recovery opportunity. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with these distinguished colleagues from Monash and CSIRO via the Australian-American Fulbright Commission for the U.S. Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Science, Technology and Innovation sponsored by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).”
Thanks for posting SS. Another new tech for mining and water purification. This makes about 4-6 new techniques for mining and purification of which none are currently being used that I know of. They all seem to be using membranes or ion to remove unwanted or wanted material from water. It will probably take a few years for one of these these new techs to shake out as being the better.
“I refer to the #Fosters write-up (attached) & West Australian article on $AUZ & note a variation. The agreement announced today is for SK Innovation to acquire 669m shares at 0.12 per share. Therefore $80.2m for 19.9%. Thus valuing AUZ at $403m or 15c per share or >4 x $JRV #ASX ” ty https://twitter.com/alexlewit/status/965479428162662400
JRV ASX, Ben does this mean that compared to AUZ it’s undervalued ?
As these deals happen in the future, valuations will fluctuate considerably, depending upon the terms of the deal.
Interesting times ahead, just imagine what FR will negotiate – with his contacts – for CLQ, your mind boggles.
$JRV.asx np – That is my interpretation, Williamtown.
Shall put some more recent links up today for others to assist in DD.
This type of chart is useful but Clean Teq will ALWAYS appear overvalued,
because the criteria is very narrow.
Clean Teq has a lot more going for it than cobalt.
The othe mines always show these charts crying
“Look here, we should be valued at X , because look at Clean Teq !”
What they conveniently forget to include is Clean Teqs potential in water, virtual mining, environmental remediation, IP and research, and partnerships with top-rate Chinese companies that will ensure that they get the business.
They discount the fact that Clean Teq is sailing towards production and will be in operation by 2021, or even 2020, while nobody else is going to be online before 2021.
They also do not realize that Clean Teq will knock everybody’s socks off in 24 months with a scandium offtake deal with the largest aluminum company in China. Etc etc.
My suggestion is, when you look at these charts, IGNORE Cleanteq. Clean Teq is a tech company.
Just keep all the mining grinders together, you are looking for a #2.
$JRV.asx, $CLQ.asx, $PGM.asx, $AUZ.asx…
Few graphs comparing AUSTRALIAN #Cobalt plays
Cheapest to most expensive as listed on above graph
$WCN- NO JORC
$CGM- Cheapest with JORC
$N27- NO JORC
$CNJ
$BAR
$PGM
$CLL
$GME- Probably Cheapest per lb Co JORC
$JRV
$AUZ
$MLX
$CLQ
ty https://twitter.com/sstraussss/status/963577354969690112
20180124 – $Jrv sitting at a market capitalisation of $118m with their Nico young project holding 167.8Mt @ 0.59% Ni and 0.06% Co.
$Clq Sunrise holding 101Mt @0.59% No and 0.13% Co.
JRV is planning an infill drilling program during 2018 to focus on upgrading resource.
1+1 = 2? ty https://twitter.com/Pete_Angelo92/status/956428973407313920
$ARRRF/$ARL Long. Where does Ardea fit in?
Ardea is fourth from the right on the graph, between JRV and AUZ.
Long $ARRRF, $CTEQF Maybe I should look into GME and JRV also.
eb, thanks. Not sure why I missed it.
20180214 $JRV.asx $EUC.asx – Replying to @AsennaWealth
It’s funny that the underlying commodity is flying yet sp of some fell hard. $JRV under 56c issue price for recent placement. Seriously cashed up! $EUC sounds like adit refurb almost completed & will see the real value when they can start drilling from underground with $21m cash
ty https://twitter.com/EvanCranston/status/963896864406777857
AUZ no position…while AUZ has re-entered my thinking, the volatility likely tomorrow presents a problem. It could go all over the place.
I will probably wait til the dust settles. The important thing is that their timetable and fundamentals have improved significantly on account of the deal. AUZ shareholders are jubilant.
It would be a ridiculous time to consider buying into AUZ now, IMO. What do you think their upside is after they already sold 100%?
They sold 100% of Sconi production. There is pricing upside. The Koreans have an option at 12 cents and AUZ still has other projects.
ARRRF still top pick, better value than AUZ which is up 40% on news.
it is just that AUZ has made up a lot of time with a big offtake. AUZ can probably be in production by mid-2021…if all goes well.
No position AUZ or ARRRF favorably inclined
The Hot Copper guys had worked themselves into a frenzy during the trading halt. “18 cents… 20 cents… 30 cents”; “gonna get a new car”; “we’re gonna be bigger than CLQ”…
“CLQ holders gonna jump ship”, etc. etc. . Jubilation.
One guy came on and said it was the biggest mining news ever, then mistakenly asserted that AUZ would have the $65 million in the bank on Tuesday from the option exercise, said you better get on board you ain’t gonna ever be able to buy cheap again.
The crowd loved it, he got over 200 “likes”.
Less than thirty-six hours later he is dead wrong with all the other cheerleaders. The SP couldn’t even make new highs and you could buy it for 11.5 cents less than the price on the Korean option.
#InteractiveBrokers – HN, is your account ready to go now?
Current #AU positions because Dr. Hardin asked… PIL, CLQ, EUC, FZO, COB, AUZ, ARL PGM.
$AUZ projects: https://australianmines.com.au/project
IB open but small money. Going slow.
Very sound logic. Management at $JRV extremely capable in a sector where true understanding by management within sector remains scant. Let’s not forget the royalties, equity holdings and cash backing. Could emerge as a sector leader. Watch this space. #cobalt #EVJulian Babarczy added,
Carlo Chiodo
@cdchi1
Replying to @Pete_Angelo92 @0
And management of the same high calibre as CLQ after the appointment of Bryce Crocker and the two guys he subsequently brought in.
ty https://twitter.com/BabarczyJulian/status/956463497809821696
JRV ASX, Ben I own and topped up in the fall recently.
2018 should be a good year, undervalued IMO, does have good management
Aussie cobalt…this week’s takeoff announcement by Australian Mines is important but we will not know market reaction til the end of the week. Trading resumes Tuesday and there is likely to be some very volatile action.
AUZ in my opinion must be gievn strong consideration because the off-take accelerates their time to production. They got a 100% take-off from the Sconi property and will be able to use it to get financing.
I eliminated AUZ from consideration a while ago because I did not like their IR and felt they were very manipulative of sentiment. I still have misgivings on that issue, but the new deal gives them a lot of lift and leapfrogs them to likely production by 2021.
IMO CLQ will still beat them to full production by 12-24 months.
I do not know all the cobalt juniors but of the ones I know, AUZ has muscled into at least a tie with ARRRF. So depending on your appretite I would rank as follows:
1. Cleanteq
2. AUZ/ARRRF
3. ARRRF/AUZ
For long shots I still like EUC and PTNUF
My longs are Clean Teq and EUC. I would be comfy adding any of the others but at the moment my priorities would be AUZ or Ardea.
One thing about AUZ. The deal is with a powerful counterparty SK Innovations.
Allthough AUZ trumpets it as a “partnership”, it is a little short of that. The “partnership” is metaphrical, SK has not given cash for equity and there is no JV.
What it is is a customer off-take for 100% of Sconi, an option to buy 20% of the company, and some technical assistance.
AUZ must get the financing by end 2018. They probably will because they are now clearly only the second cobalt mine that can be counted on to be on-line by 2021.
And if all goes well, AUZ is in a good position because they have several other projects that they would presumeably be able to bring on board with their new counter-party
CLQ release binding deals – others release fluff.
Love CLQ.
Quiet…quiet…then BOOM.
PR stocks are best avoided HN. Obviously you can see through the smokescreen.
Long CLQ
I was set against AUZ for that reason but the Korean deal will probably get a mine built. It’s likely better to buy Ardea and wait. AUZ couldn’t get above previous highs.
Speaking of hype.
On the “Terms Sheet” released by AUZ there are things like “Confirms AUZ’s leading position”
and AUZ owns 100% of Sconi”.
How are those things part of a “terms sheet” with SK ?!
**
On the day they were supposed to announce the deal, instead of the details and the resumption of trading, AUZ posts a presentation on SK, saying “MEET OUR NEW PARTNER.” Partner, my ass. They got an off-take customer and gave an option on 20% of the company. They got NO CASH FOR EQUITY, and the option holder has not exercised. And the option price is insufficient to build a mine.
It was a good deal under the circumstances but it is misleading to investors to say ‘SK is a prtner”. It is a metaphor, as is their constant comparing themselves to CLQ.
**
When I was first researching cobalt, on one day I saw a news release from Clean Teq and a news release from AUZ on the same day.
The Clean Teq news was that they had acquired autoclaves needed for Sunrise for $8 million..
The AUZ release was that the Prez was attending an investor conference in Hong Kong.
Which activity would you prefer to see in a company you have invested in ?
I don’t see any ‘deal’. It’s a non binding term sheet of which CLQ would have plenty, but DO NOT release.
Chalk and cheese.
Think you’ll see it in a very short time, CLEARLY you are someone with little faith. fair enough. Put simply SKI are serious as are AUZ, it’ll work out UNLESS AUZ ground is kangaroo sand.
The deal is not final, but I think it will happen. Just the AUZ way of spinning things as much as possible;
or, after the halt last week, they had to go public with something, even if it is not final, because their followers were going to have hear attacks without news.
John, Love CLQ, BIG Long holder, before getting into AUZ. AUZ is just fine, usual hype expected re SKI. Does not make it far from a dud, far from it as stated by many including hn. Absolutely NO reason why both will not succeed, in fact they will, final SP irrelevant.
The market takes a view, you know what? it doesn’t interest me at all even when selling. In the case of these 2 it’s hold long time obviously, just look at the EV market. Btw management on both are great imo, both are trying their best to bring all potentials to fruition EOM.
Side note: hn over the last few days has analysed this deal more than most have appreciated (elsewhere). Not easy by anymeans but serious respect is due. We here are gifted…!!
Squirrel I agree AUZ is a better long-term play.
The SK deal helps them a lot and in my opinion means they will get the mine built. The deposit is good.
But man, the way they play their own followers is disgusting.
One other thing: I checked out Benjamin Bell, the AUZ leader who is adored by the HC crowd. The only mine on his resume on the AUZ site is an inactive nickel project in west Australia, the Blair Mine.
So here is a guy with no built mine success to his credit, and the AUZ fans are bashing Clean Teq.
What a joke.
Squirrel, I meant AUZ is an improved long-term play now that they have the offtake.
Not that they are a better long-term play than CLQ.
Sounds like American politics…
This is though not very actual news still intresting for those intrested in Cleanteq,
water waste management is a huge global industry
http://www.ionicindustries.com.au/ionic-features-in-cleanteq-annual-report/
If posted apologies:
CLQ and AUZ lead the way, with lots of room for others….
http://www.mining.com/web/future-automobile-innovation/
Story by Jeff Desjardins
Courtesy of: Visual Capitalist
Since the invention of the internal combustion engine, there have been many incredible innovations made in the auto industry.
Manufacturers created new body styles and market segments, automatic transmissions and power steering were introduced, and safety features such as airbags made passengers much safer. Computers were even added into cars to optimize performance and provide GPS for navigation purposes.
In short, vehicles got cheaper, lighter, stronger, safer, cleaner, faster, and more luxurious.
But despite this, there is a strong case that the biggest innovations in the auto industry are yet to come.
A new era of automotive innovation
Today’s infographic comes to us from Evolve ETFs and it explains the many forces shaping the future of automotive innovation.
Unlike past periods of innovation in the industry, the coming years will be particularly interesting because many of the changes will come from outside of the traditional workings of a car.
Automation and the shared economy will change how the entire commuting model works. Meanwhile, an increased penetration of EVs will have an impact well beyond the engine, as charging infrastructure needs to be added, battery supply chains need to be created, and as legacy auto parts become obsolete.
While these transitional changes take place, the auto market is expected to jump from $3.5 trillion (2015) to $6.7 trillion (2030) in total size – and a whopping 30% of the revenue will come from new services that don’t even exist today.
The aces framework
The future of automotive innovation will hinge on four major technologies: automation, connectivity, electric power, and the shared economy.
This can be simplified into the acronym “ACES”:
A: Automation
Perhaps the most obvious and fundamental change facing the auto sector is the rise of autonomous cars.
Not only does this technology have implications on major manufacturers and suppliers to the auto sector, but giving the cars the ability to self-drive will have an impact that extends well beyond it, as well.
The passenger economy, which will come from relieving people from the driver’s seat, is expected to be a $7 trillion industry alone by 2050.
C: Connected
New cars are already taking advantage of increased connectivity today, and it will soon be the norm even in lower-end vehicles. This added networking unlocks new features such as infotainment, enhanced safety features, and diagnostics and analytical tools.
E: Electric
In just seven years since its IPO, Tesla was able to leapfrog Ford in market valuation. Yet, this is still the very beginning of the EV revolution.
Many countries have announced regulations to curb gas or diesel fueled vehicles, and EVs are expected to hit 41 million global sales by 2040.
S: Shared
The shared economy is the result of technological factors, but also societal ones. However, when combined with automation, sharing presents a fundamental shift to how commuting and transportation will work in the future.
With autonomous and shared cars, current commuter inconveniences such as traffic and parking will be reduced considerably – and it’ll make catching a ride to your destination far cheaper, as well.