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A "Hard Carbon" Anode (made from Graphine) is needed for Sodium Ion Batteries as the Sodium Ions are too large to be absorbed by a Graphite anode.

Oman is among the big winners economically whist the Hormuz is closed.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hormuz-closure-divides-fortunes-middle-eastern-oil-states-2026-04-06/

Anum - Certainly a strong possibility that Oman is the bidder. On the other hand, if Kore is not sold and has to obtain finance for the development could Oman remain an investor if the finance were not Sharia compliant?

Ironveld (where Dr. John Wardle is Exec Chair) looks to be facing challenging times at the moment. It has recently raised money at a large discount to where the shares were trading before 2nd January (when its shares were suspended). Dr. Wardle may be signalling to his Ironveld shareholders that he is now fully focused on managing Ironveld at this time?

Weird coincidence - the Midweek Takeaway guys did a feature on international arbitration cases last night.

"The episode features Andrea Cattaneo of Zenith Energy, alongside discussion around Panthera Resources and wider arbitration-linked small-cap opportunities."

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-sunday-roast/id1593750832

Ilika is not intended as battery maker, although it has made batteries to prove its tech. Battery makers need huge capital for their Giga Factories etc.

I don't know the detail of the Indian example, but its often political. Ultimately, the settle/contest decision will be made by a leading politician. It may be beneficial to contest if they won't be around (e.g. after the next election) to face the outcome (see GreenX vs. Poland). This is especially the case if the settlement cost is a significant sum (N.B. Poland continues to delay, despite Donald Tusk now being in power and admitting the case is lost).

Morocco have engaged a competent legal and technical team for the Arbitration. Having now seen EML's claim and the basis on which its made they will advise Morocco on the chances of EML's success.

Given that 1. EML's funders (for the arbitration) have a good record picking winnable cases and 2. The Arbiters are all top class (so little chance of a crazy result), there must be a high chance that they will advise Morocco that they will not win.

Further Morocco: 1. Have a record of settling cases, 2. (IMHO) want the asset for OCP. 3. Will still be in power when the arbitration has gone the distance. and 4. Can easily afford the settlement fee. The chances of a deal are high (IMHO).

Correction $1.215 Bn

The advantage of waiting until this point is that EML has had to be more reasonable about the size of its claim (reduced from $2.2 Bn to $1.125Bn).

The key question is, did Morocco frustrate EML's project because they want it for themselves (for OCP the Government owned entity which controls all fertilizer manufacture in Morocco)? If they do want the project they will deal, because that's the only way they get to use the asset now.

If they wait for the judgement then they will pay compensation, but they don't get the project (because the Arbitration process can only award monetary compensation).

Tantalite prices in March trading at approximately US$200–210/lb is about a 90% increase on year end values in Dec 2025.

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2791031-ta-prices-surge-on-capacitor-demand-tight-supply

Arcadia is in the middle of a potential deal with Hongkong Xinhai Mining Services Limited, so probably related to that. The headline from Arcadia's announcement of 27 April is worth noting:

"Recent market reports indicate a significant increase in tantalum prices, with European tantalite prices in March trading at approximately US$200–210/lb (25% concentrate)."

D Symons - Vanadium prices have approximately halved since 2022 due to oversupply, so there is little point in taking the Airijoki vanadium project further. The write off is a "non-cash" adjustment to Balance Sheet values, and reflects what we already knew.

Market Cap was 8/4/26 BTW, now its £13m +

Re: How cheap this is (if Jennings can make progress):-

FWIW - Money owed to KZG for Aftan is:-

US$9.2 million in outstanding principal

+ US$1.6 million in accrued interest up to 8 October 2024

+ Further interest accruing at 20 per cent per annum on the outstanding principal from 9 October 2024 until full payment

Balance at 8/4/26 is therefore: $14.20 million = £ 10.76 million

Market Cap of KZG is currently £7.72 million

Jennings has taken over at a point when there are several deals to be done; HMS off-take, possible partnership on 2A and the Tantalum & Lithium assets. I see Jennings staying as MD until these things are resolved. Taking a negligible fee for the role is a signal that he views this only a temporary position. If he gets this done successfully, the reward will not only be in the added value to his shareholding, but also his reputation will be enhanced opening doors for Catalyse Capital as an active investor is other Critical Minerals businesses.

The Hebei comment is interesting. If the asset is now of a much higher value, there may be scope to let Hebei have a minority percentage of the asset if they will drop their legal attempts to challenge the arbitration?

It could be because the price is exactly between the bid and the offer (as some were on Friday) or because the trade is reported late, so the comparison to the current bid and offer prices might be misleading.

I wouldn't confuse a few articles on Bloomberg with research. The Economics will dictate the reality. The Iran / US conflict will raise costs for many and in response they will spend less. The demand for vehicles will fall dramatically, this will finish some manufactures such as Stellantis. Demand for used cars will rise, demand for cheaper cars will rise, the demand for cheap Chinese EVs etc. will rise, demand for more expensive EVs from Tesla et al. will fall. Tesla spending big on AI, robots and taxis not on new cheaper EVs.

The success of Ilika will not be determined by JLRs EV sales but by how "good" its batteries turn out to be (good meaning cost of manufacture, performance, safety etc.). They need to be as good as the competition. There are some firms who have spent huge amounts (40 or 50 times Ilikas investment) to develop their SSB's, and they cannot afford to fail. The first sign that Ilika's offering might be a licensing deal for the technology or a strategic investment from a major battery competitor.

Whilst I'm sure that car firms that have EV's on the market now will sell more cars (BYD etc.), after only 2 months its too early to see if "car manufacturers accelerating their EV development programmes". Short term, the market for new cars of any description will be very difficult.