RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:webinar stuff For those interested, a response from IR clarifying what was said at the last webinar (regarding copper + tin extraction):
"You are correct; we separate the materials into non-metallic (light) and metallic (heavy) fractions. The metallic fraction is sent to smelters and we are paid for the copper, silver, palladium and any residual gold remaining in the concentrate. Tin is also a component of the metallic concentrate and represents a value of approximately $600 per tonne. However, smelters do not pay for tin. We feel that is lost revenue opportunity, so in 2019 we commenced a R&D effort to recover the constituent metals in the metallic concentrate separately. We found that we needed to first remove tin to access the copper. In early 2020, we announced the initial success of our tin recovery application and we continued developing that application toward commercialization. Once we complete that process we will incorporate it into our facility operations and commence on developing/commercializing copper recovery.
So, although we now recover copper as part of the metallic concentrate shipped to smelters, our ultimate goal is to bypass smelting as much as possible by separating each payable metal. Each metal stream can then be sent to the most appropriate refiner which drastically reduces shipment costs, treatment charges and fees. Each progressive step in this direction is a stage in process development and margin improvement. We are currently in stage one and expect to hit stage two in Q3 2021."
Bolded text has been added for emphasis by me.