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@antelope: only for lithium prices higher than today's.
I'm going by:
"FASTMARKETS MB LITHIUM HYDROXIDE MONOHYDRATE: MIN 56.5% LIOH2O BATTERY GRADE, SPOT PRICES CIF CHINA, JAPAN & KOREA, $/KG (MIDPOINT)"
https://www.lme.com/Metals/Minor-metals/Lithium-prices#tabIndex=1
===[
DATE PRICE (US$ PER KILOGRAM)
28 May 2020 9.75
22 May 2020 9.75
14 May 2020 9.75
7 May 2020 9.75
]===
It's stood up a bit better than the LCE price over the past few weeks:
"FASTMARKETS MB LITHIUM CARBONATE: MIN 99.5% LI2CO3 BATTERY GRADE, SPOT PRICES CIF CHINA, JAPAN & KOREA, $/KG (MIDPOINT)"
https://www.lme.com/Metals/Minor-metals/Lithium-prices#tabIndex=0
===[
DATE PRICE (US$ PER KILOGRAM)
28 May 2020 7.50
22 May 2020 7.50
14 May 2020 7.50
7 May 2020 8.00
]===
I thought we'd already proven up an economic and efficient extraction process.
Observer842, I hope you mean $14,000 ? Which I thought was the current Hydroxide price, this will undoubtedly go up with demand .....
The way I see it they might as well do something to try to lower the OpEx whilst waiting for demand to force the lithium price up. As @Fingers noted, it's unlikely the first tonne will be sold for less than $14, which pessimistically could imply a bit of a wait. Personally I'm optimistic prices will recover soon...
It all sounds like a great ploy to hold the SP down and enable a cheap takeover offer.
If Dorfner have achieved an excellent process why would you spend two years trying to find a different process??
I bet an offer comes in soon .....
This worries me. I do not want to see the management of this project thrown in the direction of former East European block miners like Diamo who may not fully understand the profit motive or the urgency. On another level I do not want to see novel Czech processing get selected ahead of what Dorfner have achieved on our behalf unless we are certain that it is at least equal if not superior. In my opinion the Germans will have a significant part to play in the development and future of Cinovec. I don’t want the two nations to get into a pi**ing contest, they are mutually reliant in automotive at the moment. The Germans have plenty of ore on their side of the border, they could easily use their money to develop this with Poland as a parts production base and assembly in Germany..... sounds risky go down this path if that’s what CEZ plan
Thanks @Rpks. That article was dated May 22 2020. It included related links which aren't premium. This one caught my eye which confirmed the 2023 date in a few places:
"CEZ is entering the second phase of lithium mining exploration. He solves how to get it out of the rock" (March 27, 2020)
https://www.idnes.cz/ekonomika/podniky/cez-lithium-tezba-cinovec-krusne-hory-geomet.A200327_092133_ekoakcie_fih
===[
"The results of our research, which we consulted with domestic and foreign experts, show that the project can be profitable for us. The project is a potentially very interesting opportunity for our company Severoceské doly, which is the largest mining company in the Czech Republic. However, we must first test the procedures tested in the laboratory in pilot operations, ”said CEZ CEO Daniel Beneš.
...
ENA analyst Jirí Gavor told CTK today. He pointed out, however, that this is a complicated deposit with higher costs for mining and subsequent separation of lithium. "Nevertheless, I welcome the fact that the state has taken this opportunity - after all, German neighbors are doing the same just outside the border," he added
Finlord analyst Boris Tomciak also described today's decision as expected. "Lithium mining will not start until five years later. A significant increase in the number of electric cars on the roads is expected from 2025 and the demand for batteries will be huge. From an economic point of view, mining should be profitable. At the same time, the Czech Republic will be self-sufficient in this metal, which is important in the long run, "he said.
...
According to CEZ, the second phase of the project, which is to last until about 2023, will include, among other things, technical verification of the production process in pilot plant conditions and in pilot test lines. The rock will be investigated in off-site test facilities. A final economic and technological feasibility study will also be prepared.
]===
Perhaps it's common knowledge, though if not, I don't blame Keith for not mentioning it! :-)
Ob.
https://www.idnes.cz/ekonomika/domaci/lithium-tezba-doly-cinovec-pegrimek.A200521_191541_ekonomika_ven
Unfortunately, this is paid content ...
That's extremely interesting @Rpks. Thanks for sharing. Presumably if successful this new process will reduce the OpEx considerably. However, a final feasibility study in 2023 is a bit of an explosive (but realistic) revelation for impatient AIM... Got a link and a date for that article?
We are preparing a unique furnace for lithium tests, revealed the head of Severoceské doly Pegrímek
Severoceské doly from the CEZ Group will test a new method for separating lithium from the mined rock in cooperation with the Institute of Chemical Technology. The excavated rock must be crushed, ground, magnetically disintegrated, ie separated by cinvaldite. The process of recovering lithium from cinvaldite follows. There are several methods for this - for example, the plaster method. It consists in heating the concentrate containing cinvaldite to temperatures of only about 900 degrees, mixing it with additives and then leaching and subsequently separating the lithium. However, we do not want to go down this path. We will test other methods based on melting the concentrate, where the mixture is heated to a high temperature of 1,500 to 1,700 degrees and alkali metal chlorides are released. Lithium is obtained from them. This method is dealt with by the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, primarily by engineer Nguyen Hong Vu, who has a patented method. We agreed to work with him. By-products in the form of clinker can be used as a raw material in construction, for the production of cement.
Mr. Hong at the Institute of Chemical Technology made a small furnace about a meter by a meter in the laboratory, and there he performs experiments on samples in the order of decagrams. We need to test it on a larger amount of concentrate to be sure of this process and to be able to rely on it during the construction of the production plant. We therefore negotiated with the investor, CEZ, two years to carry out field tests. After a discussion with experts from various fields, we managed to negotiate cooperation, when the ICT and the cement workers want to build the kiln with the aim of using it for testing and other innovative combustion processes. Such a facility has no analogues in the conditions of the Czech Republic or abroad. It is a furnace into which you can place hundreds of kilogram samples, and scientists will use modern instruments to measure and study ongoing processes. There is such a synergistic effect with the partners that it is very likely that CEZ will not even participate in the construction of the furnace. The furnace will stand next year, where, I will not say.
We want to drill some parts of the deposit to know exactly where to mine. A final feasibility study (2023) is completed at the end of the pilot tests. We want to go the way of the most modern technologies with the use of special wheel mechanisms. In that case, we would at least use foreign experts to introduce these new technologies. As for the workers 'and masters' professions, I believe that we will find suitable ones in the region. Just this week, Seven stopped the last remnants of deep lignite mining at the CSA quarry in the Most region. The dismissed employees are highly qualified miners.