North American Tungsten Corporation Ltd NATUF

APT vs tungsten ore concentrate

[upmarkets]

Max , have a coffee and shake out the cobwebs. ( re ore conc vs APT ) APT is just a processed, value added, more concentrated intermediate product from WO3 concentrate from the mined ore ( do a web search on the process) The APT is a easy to ship powder - more useful to tungsten metal processers/users An article I read recently noted that NTC used to ship a major portion of its ore concentrate to 2 US plants for processing ( one was Osram in Pennsylvania) So one must buy some WO3 conc before you can make valued added APT So logically their prices move in tandem according to world output and demand ( ie if no ore then there is no APT or in other words when APT is in demand then plants need ore conc to process) The number of mines ( tonnage output) and the output of APT plants need to stay in balance Analogy: If fertilizer manufacturers had demand for fertilizer then the price of potash from the mine would go up also) Building an APT plant may be rational if the cost of processing ( eg with native costs and low taxes etc ) is competitive with existing world APT plants. The only plants to stay cheaper will be in China if they can keep their currency low w r t US. Also as US dollar falls against other currencies ( and Can Dollar holds low ,in 0.83 area, then US and Native plant can be competitive also Also NTC/Kaska will save on the weight of shipping the likely heavier WO3 concentrate out of the area Regards U