My19sixyNineZ wrote: Dragonsmyth7 wrote: Dear 69,
You are trying, I will give you that. But the numbers you quoted are not the ones DOD is looking at and they have nothing to do with Ucore getting the second half of the award. The ten million for start up money. Look you have an opinion with a crazy schedule basic on production numbers. So much ore or concertrate products so much oxides. Pip has a opinion that only the stockholders are going to get stuck with the bill for the first stage, the 2000 TPA. Rod has an opinion, Farm has an opinion and other that post on this board. I have opinion, but I have just a little edge over the others when talking about DOD. I servered in and working for the US Navy for thirty plus years. When you work steel that long you get hurt. I have enough broken bones to prove that. About a year before I retired I was stuck on light duty. I thougth I was going engineering, instead I end up in legal. Doing tech review of suppliers/vendors contracts. Courtesy of a long boat ride with a lawyer with a long talk on why the contracts they were writing was not working and making more work for the government workers. Next thing I know they are writing contract using my suggestions.
Of the things that Ucore put out that has to do with the testing they are doing for DOD. The two things that count are the speed of RSX and the reason why it took Ucore so long to commission the Demo plant. We know that RSX take about a week start to finish vs SX taking six week to do the same run. The reason for the long time to commissioning. 51 separations or slices with one to five comtrollers that have to be tweeked and then tested to see if it is the best setting for that controller at each slice. Right now Ucore is testing the HEAVY rare earth sample to find the best settings for each of the controllers, in each of the set of controllers for each slice or separation. Not to product the volume or weight of oxides but oxides that meet a specific mill spec. They started in December and should be done tweeking the setting by June, maybe sooner. Who knows.
The schedule you quoted was for the first stage of the production plant not for testing in the Demo plant.
Do I think they will make it to the deadline in June. They have ten million reason to try really hard.
Dragon
Sections drectly from the $4m agreement, on DOD website:
5.4.2.5 (24-month ARA) – Final Project Report
_______
9.
Follow-On Production
Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 4022, if competitive procedures were used for the selection of parties for participation in the transaction for a prototype pilot and the participants in the transaction successfully completed the prototype project, production OTs are authorized and offer a streamlined method for transitioning into follow-on production without competition. Potential follow-on production contracts may be either sole source, based on successful completion of the prototype project within the scope of this document, or competed at the discretion of the Government.
It is anticipated that upon successful completion of the prototype, a follow-on production OT agreement or FAR based contract may be issued to the vendor without the use of competitive procedures. Successful completion will occur when the prototype has been
validated and is accepted by the Government.
__________
The "proto-type" project has far more aspects than "just" seperating the REE's.
The entire supply-chain related to RapidSx $4m project....cradle to the grave....aka:
feed sources, alloys, magnets, disposal...everything, will need/get, "validated" by DOD, before considered "complete".
Like Ucore said --- project is to continuously run thousands of hrs from sourced feedstock. Raising Rapids TRL level to qualify for a follow-on funding. It's too exactlly the requirement in the Agreement.
But says it right there in DOD PDD --- Final Report within 24 months.
Ucore's report will be far, far more inclusive than just RapidSx performance-- it's all-inclusive of every player, etc...so it can all be DOD vetted & every company meeting the TRL required.
Then...potential follow-up for production.
Black n white....not an opinion