RE:RE:DEF. NR by March 03 My understanding only.....
A mining company wants to develop an ore body on land where they hold mineral claims or leases.
So they prepare a PFS to present to shareholders and potential lenders and investors. The study lays out the location of the ore body, the environmental concerns and government permits required, the access to the mine site, the physical and labour resources available, the quantity of the reserves, the projected revenue from developing those reserves, the capital costs to develop and operate the mine, a cash flow presentation and an economic evaluation of the project.
The reserves listed must be proven and probable, not measured and inferred.
Before the PFS is released, I expect that E3 will have a NR announcing the size of the ore body.
In regards to the CAPEX and OPEX outlays, I believe E3 will want to select a DLE provider before issuing the PFS. The effectiveness of the extraction and CAPEX and the royalties could vary widely from one system to another. For example, the SLI plant will cost 1.3 million USD, whereas the initial E3 plant would be substantially less. If E3 uses their own proprietary DLE, no royalties would need to be paid.
To my way of thinking, I would not release a PFS until I knew which DLE method would be used, how much lithium would be produced and whether royalties would need to be paid. E3 hasn't released the test results of the 2nd DLE tests or chosen a DLE supplier.
I'm afraid the PFS is not that close to being completed let alone released.
The December NR stated that the PFS would be released in the first half of 2024.
I think that it is unrealistic to expect the PFS to be released in the first month of 2024.
This is a big project....let's wait for E3 to do the required work.