2017 was a year of tremendous accomplishment for Clean Teq Holdings in every respect.
We saw remarkable achievements in mine construction, in finance, and in market development, with landmark contracts in every business segment;
We saw a complex business appear as if by magic, including business offices on four continents, and the launch of business website in the water division;
We were informed of superb existing and newly-formed strategic partnerships,
with the likes of Airbus, Peng-Xin Mining, Chinese state and power entities, Chinalco, and Multotec;
We were witness to a major off-take agreement with a leading battery manufacture;
We learned of an astute acquisition of a controlling interest in a VRB business by Mr. Friedland;
We learned of deep and valuable research and development support at prestigious universities and manufacturers;
and we became sure of unseen low-cost manufacturing contacts and alliances.
And oh-by-the-way, we got a listing on the TSX.
The company inspires confidence and optimism. Robert Friedland has a deep long-term strategy, and he knows what he is doing.
I am not sure what is more impressive: His strategic vision, or his managerial talent in executing it.
Clean Teq is a company that is worth following. It is by far my largest position.
There are a lot of companies with good concepts. But Clean Teq has a deep and brilliant strategic concept which is at the heart of major world trends; a revolutionary technology; and a management that executes flawlessly.
**
GOING FORWARD: SUITABLE TOPICS FOR THIS THREAD
1. CLEAN TEQ HOLDINGS, CLEAN TEQ WATER, and their interests, or related companies.
2. Miners and producers of COBALT, VANADIUM, SCANDIUM; also nickel, zinc, graphite, lithium, rare earths, silica, and manganese.
3. WATER PURIFICATION, especially when tied into mineral extraction therefrom.
4. “TECHNO MINERS” and other innovators in mining and material extraction
See notes below on thread and topic overlaps, which are unavoidable.
**
One year ago this week, I wrote an article on Clean Teq Holdings. It was a speculative company, but
one with a visionary and proven leader, dramatic potential in specific, attractive commodities,
innovative methods and IP for mineral extraction, and big ambitions in water purification.
Clean Teq Holdings defied easy categorization, and continues to do so.
One year later, Clean Teq has not disappointed. Clean Teq has exceeded all reasonable expectations.
**
If you need background on Clean Teq, I refer you to the predecessor of this thread: “Scandium, Cobalt,
and Water Purification: Clean Teq Holdings”, where you will also find the guidelines and rules for this
thread; and to the Clean Teq and Clean Teq Water websites, which warrant close examination.
OUR BIAS AND BASIC VIEW
This thread is for those who believe in the coming EV wave, light weighting of transport, and most importantly,
in the importance of energy storage and batteries of all scales;
and also, it is for those who believe that the disruptions caused thereby will be rapid.
Because of this opinion, it follows that the existing viable battery technologies and the materials needed
for them are important. We anticipate rapid change; we subscribe to the Tony Seba “Disruption Scenario”,
that suggests disruptiv changes are occuring faster.
If you disagree with the Disruption Scenario, or the eventual proliferation of EVs,
that is fine; but please do not debate it on this thread. The thread is for those who believe in the future of battery power,
and in the immediate opporunities in commodities related to batteries and energy storage.
We will be able to see in shortly whether we are right or wrong in this belief.
If it takes longer than we think, we will complain about ”being early.”
My perspective is for the next five years. That is “long term”. This is not a trading thread.
Occasionally short-term opportunities are appropriate to call out,
but short-term trading is not the emphasis here.
On the other hand should restrain ourselves from too much attention
to developments and materials for technologies that are likely to take longer than five years to have an impact.
We are looking for investable ideas, not 10 year forecasts on the Future of Civilization.
So let’s keep it down on hydrogen fuel cells and molten salt batteries for a couple of months.
**
NOTES ON THREAD AND TOPIC OVERLAPS
Our assumption is that Li-NCM, VRB’s, and zinc batteries are going to be the main battery formats purchased,
installed or contracted for in the near-term, hence the commodities needed for them are of interest.
New battery technologies are better discussed on the #batteries thread ,
unless they involve a vertical commodity/battery producer.
We are interested in what is going to have an impact in five years.
For example, if you are convinced that Google is about to conquer the world with a molten salt battery,
then come on over here and recommend Morton Salt as a buy-out candidate.
But debate whether molten salt batteries have a future, and when, on the #batteries thread.
News that shows increasing penetration on solar are relevant,
as they confirm the importance of large-scale energy storage.
But we would like to know who is getting the contracts and what type of battery they are using.
There is going to be some unavoidable overlap. Nickel and manganese sources are swing metals,
sometimes they may be better discussed on the Hard Asset thread as base metals.
If you make a post on the wrong thread, don’t worry too much, there are
no fines or jail time. I do it myself all the time and I understand it can be confusing.
You can also use Travis’ new cross-reference gizmo.
Long $CTEQF $CLQ Clean Teq Holdings
This is a discussion topic or guest posting submitted by a Stock Gumshoe reader. The content has not been edited or reviewed by Stock Gumshoe, and any opinions expressed are those of the author alone.
$CTEQF the old thread will remain open until the week-end.
#Link to Volume for your convenience: https://www.stockgumshoe.com/2017/02/microblog-scandium-cobalt-and-water-purification-cleanteq-holdings/
Scandium, Cobalt, and Water Purification: CleanTeQ Holdings
$CLQ $CTEQF…This edited duplicate post is appropriate as the kick-off for the new thread.
CLEAN TEQ scandium alloy development agreement with Chinalco
A while ago there was a news release from a scandium developer that brayed about an “off-take agreement” with and R&D company to develop applications. The R&D company had no visible ability to buy anything and it was clear they were going to try to make samples or prototypes.
In that situation, sceptism about whether the R&D/development deal would ever amount to anything would be justified.
**
But the Clean Teq-Chinalco situation is way different. The R&D company is the research arm for Chinalco, a top Chinese aluminum producer. And they are working with a top Chinese research university.
**
Think about what the guys at the aluminum company are saying to themselves:
“Drat. Those guys in the steel industry have been getting all the transport business since forever because our product, aluminum, isn’t as strong as steel and has some other drawbacks. It’s hard to repair and can’t be welded.
But gosh aluminum is so much lighter than steel…it would fit right into this fuel-saving thing. Less weight, less fuel. Even if our plate is more money, we could sell the aircraft companies because they are going to cut their fuel bills in half.
IF ONLY we could just figure out a way to make aluminum stronger, and weldable…then… OH MY GOD, we could get our aluminum into all those planes, trains, busses, and cars. Trucks, too. IF ONLY we could find a way ! How much more business we could do !”
Enter Clean Teq with scandium, and Friedland with his impeccable credentials with the Chinese establishment.
No wait…even better…enter JIANG ZHAO BAI, co chairman of Clean Teq, who IS the Chinese establishment, and who OWNS half of Clean Teq.
Do you doubt even for a moment that Chinalco is not going to go all-out on scan-alu alloys ? And who do you think will get their business on scandium ?
$CTEQF, $CLQ…some thoughts on equipment and lead times
I was thinking about the “speed” factor in major technological disruptions. One of the characteristics of these major disruptions is that their adoption is occurring at progressively faster rates than they have in the past.
As a follower of Clean Teq, I have the opinion that their technology is disruptive to the mining business.
Mines take forever to build. A fast one is seven years from discovery to operations.
Having seen a few of their visuals, I think Clean Teq is about to collapse the time needed to set up a techno-mine extraction facility.
***
Why do I believe this?
Most of the core equipment is the same, regardless of the mineral target. They have big tubes and cylinders and U tubes, but they are all pretty much the same except for their size. In the animations, there are groups of these objects with framing and scaffolding around them; they are not even enclosed in buildings. The rest of the installations aside from the big cylinders look like ordinary stock steel.
The key difference from installation to installation is going to be in the special resins and chemicals selected for the target, which go into the tubes, and the chemistry, electronic equipment and programs that are going to monitor the process, which will be different from facility to facility.
Also, since the likely target installs are on existing mine sites, the equipment for blasting, excavation, trucking, and digging equipment is already there at the site.
And in mant cases, such as when processing waste ore, the feed material is ready to go and does not need to be blasted out of the ground a mile below where people are walking around.
**
The installations are modular. Clean Teq could have a small stock of the critical volume components in the most demanded sizes, pre-manufactured on hand and ready to ship.
The lead times to manufacture the gear will not affect the time to construct the installation,
since the new production would be to replace on-hand inventory held in stock. The one they need for the new contract is already made and ready to go.
The electronic gear and the programming for operations are likely going to have the longest lead time requirements. The electronic brains are in non-descript rectangular sheds in the animations; and they can be monitored from a distance. The control center for Sunrise is going to be miles away at their “regional operations center. But the point is, the actual time needed to build the physical processing plant will be collapsed.
I imagine that lead times on resin development can take a while; but they are compiling a recipe book for this, so as time goes by the lead times will be reduced to resin manufacturing lead times, with exceptions for new recipes.
In short, when the Clean i-X technology is employed, I believe the new installations
are going to be installed and operational with blazing speed compared to conventional mines; and that the installed base using the technology will grow explosively after acceptance.
.
$CTEQF $CLQ Clean Teq Valuations
This is an edited duplicate post from the old thread.
I doubt will will see an anlayst or professional valuation in the next three years that accrurately values Clean Teq.
The professionals are too conservative.
Which analysts have expertise in mining, water purification, battery technology, and mineral extraction ?
Who is qualified to put a value on this company ?
Does such an analyst know what the margins are going to be, in any of Clean Teq’s segments other than mining ?
Does anybody know what the costs are, of the equipment and resins that are going to make up the costs of Clean Teq installations ?
Does that person knows what is going to happen in the scandium, cobalt, and nickel markets, and what prices will be ?
Does the analyst know which aerospace companies are going to use scan-alu alloys, and when ?
Does he know what resin formulas Clean Teq has, and what contracts Clean Teq is going to get for mineral extraction in Africa and in China and in Australia ?
Does he know what water purificiation contracts are going to be announced ?
Are there any conventional operating statements from Cleanteq, based on full operations and sales, on which to base an opinion of future profits ?
NO. THE ANALYSTS DO NOT KNOW. Nobody knows.
No matter how prestigious the name on the letterhead, they do not know.
But people will still listen to them, and they will be cautious because they do not want to look foolish to their constituencies, their editors, or their bosses.
“I doubt we will see an anlayst or professional valuation in the next three years that accurately values Clean Teq. ”
Sloppy typos. Sorry, re-wrote quickly from the old thread.
Kipushi and Clean Teq…an answer from Ivanhoe Mines
Mr. Trenaman courteously answered my inquiry about intentions to install a Clean Teq facility at Kipushi. He sidestepped the direct question of the announced Multotec contract, he did not even refer to it.
I can live with that, and will not press the question, as his answer is totally satisfactory as far as I am concerned:
(Edited)
“Kipushi…does not have a water (quality) problem…Ivanhoe will employ a DMS and concentrator to recover (the high grade) zinc and copper, silver and germanium from the (mine)…
When Ivanhoe begins to treat the tailings at Kipushi, the Clean Teq process would be an ideal solution.”
**
Yes. It would be an ideal solution. Perfect. When Ivanhoe begins to treat the tailings.
After they are up-and-running getting high grade zinc, copper, silver and geranium. From the DMS and concentrator. Clean Teq would be an ideal solution then. For the tailings. When they get tailings.
**
Not too many dots to connect on that one.
First things, first. The mine is not operational yet. Who wants to hear about tailings processing on a mine that is not operating yet ?
We need to keep in mind that Ivanhoe and Clean Teq have pretty different perspectives. An install at Kipushi for tailings is a pretty important development from Clean Teq’s perspective; but it is not so important to Ivanhoe.
Ivanhoe is getting zero market recognition for Kipushi right now. They’ve lost close to billion in market cap over the DRC news, mostly on account of copper. They have bigger issues to address than a contract to process tailings at a mine that is not yet operating.
From Ivanhoe’s perspective, a processing install for tailings at Kipushi is not a big deal. It is a detail to be taken care of after they get the mine running.
Cobalt and nickel prices continue to increase as can be seen here
http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/cobalt/
and yet the stocks of CleanTeQ and Ardea, companies with rich deposits, excellent prospects, and in a very safe jurisdiction, are currently being beaten down. You would expect the exact opposite, even more so with the current challenge facing DRC cobalt and nickel miners. CleanTeQ and Ardea should be in the sweet spot IMO and I have been adding.
Long $CTEQF and $ARRRF
$CTEQF, $ARRRF. Eager, how many, outside of the gummie community really understand the value of CleanTeq and/or Ardea? What an opportunity to add.
Indeed deanbob!
deanbob…$IVPAF, $CTEQF….Not to minimize the risks in DRC, but Ivanhoe has no cobalt exposure in DRC; whereas Clean Teq is expected to be a major cobalt producer, and is tucked away safely in Australia.
So a political disaster in the DRC will be a bonanza for Clean Teq, with respect cobalt.
Ivanhoe naturally will get wrapped up in adverse events in the DRC.
But the worse things get in the DRC, the better for Clean Teq.
**
My worry a while back was about Ivanhoe’s copper. If DRC goes bad, besides any losses on Ivan, I would not have any copper exposure myself.
My solution was to reduce my holdings in Ivan and go looking for copper investments in other jurisdictions. The exploration play did not work out, Cordoba Minerals; the drill results were not good enough, I took a small beating and exited.
The other was McEwen Mining, which has a terrific PEA on a Los Azules, a great Argentine copper deposit I feel pretty sure is going to get built; and we have the cover of a gold company. Nobody thinks of Mcewen for copper,and the price is in the dumpster.
In passing, the bloodbath in DRC may not be over; but I added a little Ivanhoe today at $2.54. Not enough to double up; but I have to practice buying when other people are panicked.
Long $IVPAF, $CTEQF, $MUX
No position $CDBMF
I doubt that anyone in here has reason to think I am not high on commodities, and especially those commodities related to
developing energy storage technologies. HN and all have made a super strong case for Friedland enterprises and the approach that is being taken to achieve enterprise goals. As investors I hope all will pay close attention to bond markets and interest rates. The relationship between bond markets, interest rates, and every market in the world is of critical importance to know about. I am deeply concerned re the effect even minor upward adjustments in interest rates will have on global bond markets. I have no doubt the resources needed to satisfy energy storage needs will be huge during the coming years however I have serious doubt that a major economic downturn can be avoided. As a result, social unrest may not be guaranteed, but the probability of global social unrest exists. Pay attention to what the insiders are doing, selling several fold more than they are buying, and other indicators that suggest a very big change is likely in the not too distant future. Far too much debt has been accumulated at very low, short-term rates, to be ignored. Once that debt is turned over and scheduled with higher interest rates, we (that would be you, me, and all the other “little people”) are in serious trouble IMO. So when you are loading up I hope you will keep our current economic conditions in mind as there is a strong potential for some super buys to manifest soonly. I am not an insider, I do not even know any insiders personally, but I can see indicators that suggest we are in for a shock. What has been written here is an opinion that I would be unable to forgive myself for not sharing if TSHTF the way I see it coming. Much of my information comes from Gregory Manarino, Lynette Zang, James Corbett, and the Agora folks among others, the official bond charts are most helpful too as trends are meaningful. Best.
The question is, what do we do now ?
If all the bubbles burst at once, and we have the current system, the currency liquidy will all be concentrated in the hands of the government and central banks, who can generate as much of it as they want while the rest of us see our stocks, bonds, and real estate get vaporized.
The people who can print money or create it with computer keystrokes will have a great time buying up everything.
Form a plan HN like you have considered re shorting. Or hold onto cash for the day those great buys become available. Keep positions balanced (of course we all have our favorites that are hard to resist), keep physical metal holdings at a reasonable level relative to total assets, keep a supply of tools (hammers & nails) that you know how to handle, maintain a stockpile of foods, purchase land if you can, and form a strong community of trustworthy people (is that an oxymoron?). We could be facing difficult times that will last years. I encourage people to decide what is important to them and act accordingly. Pay down as much debt as possible and don’t trust the bankers with your hard earned cash, they are busy creating all the reasons and means they need to keep it IMO. Basically just take steps to protect yourself, I think our situation is a defensive one that will benefit from a strong offense. There is nothing easy about what is transpiring in our world, it is manageable though if we step outside the box. I have been thinking about what China is doing in Africa and in its homeland, there are some excellent examples to be found in that culture (I cannot remember thinking this way about Chinese strategies before recent times). Best.
All good suggestions if one is worried a real breakdown. But we do not want the thread to turn into a survivalist forum. There are plenty of those already, this is not the place.
Shorting, I have been considering but I am not familiar with the sectors in which I would select targets. Possibly a different thread subject.
That’s right, my apologies.
Commodity risks…it is easy to forget but the commodity sector can get badly hit in an overall deflation. A lot of bubbles could burst all at once.
Such an event could happen. My opinion is that in that case one wants to hold real assets that at least have some instrinsic value. If everything goes down the drain,
then the cash not vaporized in stocks and bonds, and gold, silver, real estate and other real assets will at least have some value relative to the other stuff.
$CTEQF Scandium in the coming DFS…per John and the CLQ resource estimate
John called it out and I checked. I was in error, Scandium will be included in the DFS as a by-product of nickel/cobalt production.
“The DFS will incorporate scandium oxide by-product recovery from the cobalt-nickel circuit with a nameplate capacity of 80 tonnes per annum Sc2O3. The option remains open to expand scandium oxide production up to approximately 170 tonnes per annum by installing a dedicated scandium recovery resin-in-pulp circuit as part of the flow sheet, for a relatively modest capital investment.”
It remains to be seen if they explode the DFS by including the potential of the second autoclave. What we have seen so far is that they are using only the capacity of one autoclave in their figures. They give a soft reference to this here, by noting that capacity of scandium could be doubled from 80 tons to 170 tons. This is presumeably by bringing the second autoclave on line; the figure in excess of a straight double is because they presumeably would run ore that is richer in scandium through the second autoclave, since scandium would be the reason for using it, in the 170 tpa scenario.
It remains to be seen whether they will showcase full-out scandium production in the DFS. It appears that at the present, the only thing they have decided is that the first autoclave will be a cobalt/nickel circuit. They are not saying for what purpose the second autoclave will be used for.
I have a hard time thinking they will just let the second autoclave sit idle. But I also think they will not mindlessly dump scandium on =to the market. They have the option of adding the second autoclave for cobalt or nickel; and they can withhold or stockpile scandium, or sell more, depending on their off-takes and market conditions.
Since these are speculations on future conditions, Clean Teq will not discuss them in their public statements, other than to say “expansion is a possibility”. So the decision that is public right now is that the study capacity is X; and that the autocalves each individually have a capacuty of X+, , which is sufficient to fulfill the production plan in the PEA, and “expansion is a possibility”.
If cobalt goes crzay they will process cobalt-rich ore in the second autoclave.
If scandium is more attractive than Nickel or cobalt, then they will process scandium rich ore in the second autoclave instead.
$CTEQF…scandium…
One thing I would bet on, and I literally mean I would make a wager on this,
is that Clean Teq wll sign an off-take agreement on scandium with a major European or Chinese company before they go into production at Sunrise. In fact it will probably happen within weeks of the DFS.
Airbus and Chinalco are obviously the odds-on favorites.
Another catalyst to look forward to.
#no ticker…Cobalt and vanadium
I feel that between Clean Teq and the solutions offered by the readership, we have several good positions to take advantage of the anticipated boom in cobalt.
I am also comfortable with alternatives discussed in most of the other target metals in the energy transformation….copper, zinc, nickel, lithium (even though I am not in any lithium), PGMs. And with Clean Teq, we have the prime scandium play, even though scandium is only tangentially related to the energy developments discussed.
The points I feel weak for me are graphene, which I consider a tech play and not a resource play, and vanadium. From the standpoint of commodities, vanadium is the elephant in the room.
While I have a position in $SRI, and am looking at Vanadiumcorp, I do not feel either one is solid enough and sure enough to count on. Given the potential in solar and VRB, finding investment opportunities in vanadium is priority.
There are lots of picks now that can distract in a number of sectors, but for myself I think it is best to be careful and make sure I can make a move if and when a great opportunity arises in vanadium or VRB.
Developments at Clean Teq, Sparton, or another Friedland masterstroke, could solve this problem for me. I have raised a little cash and will keep my eyes open for opportunities.
It may be boring, but Clean Teq is a good place to hang out if nothing else compelling presents itself. Boring can be good.
Hi HN; #noticker This is a shocker! Dr KSS and Travis had a falling out.
https://www.stockgumshoe.com/2017/11/microblog-discussion-page-for-arch-therapeutics-arth/comment-page-1/#comment-4971957
Thank you for the cross-forum link. I don’t follow the ARTH thread and that is certainly a news worthy twist of events around here. What a mess.
Yeah! That is really really too bad!! Oh well, guess I’ll use this site more for metals research now.
Hi HN #PGM.AX Platina Resources (ASX: PGM) is an ASX-listed scandium, cobalt and platinum developer based in Australia. I don’t know if this company has been discussed before; I couldn’t find the prior thread. Their mine is close to CleanTeq’s less than 7km from Syerston. Won’t that present problems?
http://www.asianmetal.com/metal_cron/2017/index_lunshi_mosig_en.shtml
$PGM $PTNUF yes it is a problem if they are serious about building a mine.
Platina has been discussed in a lot of detail, search using $PTNUF in the search bar. It is very cheap for the metal in the ground, but no one here has expressed the opinion that they will get to market with metal quickly unless they are bought out….like by their neighbor Clean Teq, for example, or by a competing battery or cobalt end user. I also floated the idea that Clean Teq might dramatically increase their reserves cheaply by acquiring Platina. But everyone who has expressed an opinion here thinks it is pretty unlikely that a mine will get built there in the near future, or ever.
I think It would be way better for them and their shareholders to sell their ore to Sunrise, if they could make such a deal. We also speculated that the CEO and founder was terminated over disagreements about how to proceed.
The former CEO Mosig looked completely set on developing a real operation.
All explicit opinion is that it is a decent in-the-ground prospect. Renby feels that others are superior from this angle, and so do I. However I consider it a little higher than Renby does, on account of its proximity to Sunrise and its very cheap market cap. It is a real estate and metal-in-the ground speculation.
It is not a top, top speculation; IMO it is a decent one if you can have four or more positions in the space and are patient enough to wait for a transaction.
I had a position and exited. In cobalt, I agree with Renby that $ARRRF is a good second position; and for location, grade, and a chance to get taken over, I prefer EUC. So for me, Platina is no better than fourth position in cobalt and worth far less risk capital than the others.
$BMR / $BM1 . Just got their update. WOW!!! Grades at McAra are extremely impressive. best I have seen to date.. This is going to be huge! Iron Mask next,,, Now I am confident this will be the Co stock to have in 2018!!!
https://twitter.com/Investie1/status/958939789742387202
A compelling presentation from Gary today – company has taken a little longer to get to this point, but what was clear was the depth of geophysics and geochem that underpins the exploration program. We should expect very high drilling success rates and even higher Co grades!!
https://twitter.com/BabarczyJulian/status/959019904723664896
Lots of activity coming near $MEI’s ground in Canada, expecting some drill results from (currently private) Battery Minerals which has adjacent ground and which should be IPO’d by @HunterCapital1 in the next couple of months. #cobalt #ElectricVehicles https://twitter.com/BabarczyJulian/status/951693832814452736
$BMR I suggest caution on $BMR. It has been created to appeal to people like us. It looks like battery investor bait, they are getting ready for an IPO.
Even assuming everything is for real, I suggest one looks at where they are at time-wise and compare to known sources.
Speaking for myself, There is no way I would do an IPO on a mining exploration prospect when I can buy Ardea and dozen others today. There is going to be enough IPO hype coming as it is. A lot of frenzy and excitement will be created over a project with a lot of deposit risk and years ahead to production. I would prefer to see experts believing enough in the thing to put up a PP instead of the public.
$MEI is next door to BMR’s deposit and there is nearly as much reason to be optimistic over MEI as there is BMR, with respect to the cobalt.
Ben, the quote you posted appears like it is your opinion. Is it ?
$BMR $MEI no position
IPOs…I might consider an IPO on a great VRB company or techno-miner; but on a mineral exploration play ? Not me. I’ve made enough and expensive unsuccessful picks on them without the added hype of an IPO in a “hot” category.
I took a chance on some exploration picks because of Robert Friedland and his possession of new toys in mineral detection. But the drilling results were poor for both Fjorland and Cordoba after magnetic and seismic surveys. Even Friedland has not solved the problem of efficient mineral detection. It is hard to know what exactly the rocks are like 1000 meters under your feet.
I am sure improvements will be made. Friedland is intensely intereted in improving mineral detection, but even his gear is not infallible…yet.
$BMR $$CTEQF If you want some WOW, take a look at the autoclaves Cleanteq has delivered to Australian port for the Sunrise cobalt-nickel-scandium project.
They weigh 600 tons, have explosively bonded titanium lining, and take three years to get from time of order, which presumeably requires a cash deposit of a couple million dollars. They are the size of submarines. They are ready to be installed at Sunrise.
BMR may have a great IPO sometime next year. But Clean Teq will be shipping cobalt before BMR has a feasibility study.
CTEQF– Long….Podcast concerning Congo taxes from John Kaiser…. https://www.howestreet.com/2018/02/02/congo-launches-cobalt-tax-grab/ …Cowboy
Lots of talk on Scandium and CTEQF on here too. Along with batteries…Cowboy
My ears are open when Kaiser speaks, he is just about the only guy who presents sobering perspective on cleanteq as an investment. But I really don’t get him at all here. He makes it seem like the company can’t mine cobalt and scandium together, which is exactly what the company has said they plan to do. Yes the high grade scandium is not the same ore as the high grade cobalt. So they will be mining the low grade scandium from the cobalt pile, as a side product. What is hard for him to understand about that? They’ve already guided exactly how much scandium they will produce, and also how much scandium they could produce if they decided to give scandium its own circuit, which they will do if the market justifies it. For him to say it was the dumbest announcement ever, what is he thinking? Because they will team with a big aluminum company to explore scandium applications means they are giving up cobalt? What’s that man thinking?
I’m with you on this renby. I will promise you RF has his plan in place….Cowboy
Cowboy, have you seen recent news in DRC on civil unrest ?
Just wanted you to be aware of developments there, you said you have a big position in Ivanhoe.
I am more worried about civil war than Congo’s mining code.
I have HN. I got out of some when this news came out, and eased out of some more today. I made good money,just not what it could have been of course ! I will ride the rest through RF’s speech this week. I rolled some of this over to CleanTeq today. Can’t resist the price…. Cowboy
OK just wanted to be sure you are aware of the situation, it has gotten worse in the last two months.
Renby, I agree. Kaiser seems to think they can produce either scandium, or cobalt/nickel.
He does not seem aware that scandium production was allowed for in the Clean Teq study as a by-product…that’s the same mistake I made that John corrected.
I also do not understand his attitude on the Chinalco agreement.
He seems to have a prejudiced view of Clean Teq. We all have our weak spots. But he is paid for his research and opinions.
JK obviously backed the wrong horse hence his why his resentment towards CLQ?
Could be, the last podcast of his that I listened to gave rise to that thought. I think he likes $SCY.
Kabila ready to hand over power in Congo ?… http://www.africanews.com/2018/02/05/kabila-ready-to-handover-power-set-to-name-successor-in-july/ ….Cowboy
http://www.cleanteq.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/171123_Questions-and-Answers_Clean-TeQ-Sunrise.pdf
$ARRRF Down $.24 on the Australian exchange today. Seems like a great buying opp if someone has cash available. I don’t unfortunately.
long with small position and quite underwater here.
$CTEQF…scandium…I came across an interesting news release while looking for the terms of the royalty that Clean Teq will pay to Ivanhoe Mines for Sunrise.
The news release below is from a 2014 press release. It was therefore issued prior to the time we have been following the company but has interesting information on scandium that is still relevant, especially in connection to the recent Chinalco agreement.
“Technology – The Key to Unlocking Value in Scandium Extraction
Clean TeQ’s [proprietary technology has been developed] for the extraction and purification of base and strategic metals. While not common in the western world, ion exchange technologies for the recovery of metals have been used extensively and successfully for many decades in the former Soviet Union.
Between 2004 and 2008, the application of Clean TeQ’s technology for metal recovery…was developed…with BHP Billiton through an A$8 million investment.
Clean TeQ’s unique[ process was proven to extract and concentrate nickel and cobalt…at a much lower cost than conventional routes.
…Clean TeQ has applied its technology across a number of industrial applications. .. it has worked closely with the titanium dioxide industry to develop a cost-effective alternative…to recover scandium from titanium dioxide…
This work… culminated in the delivery of a scandium recovery pilot plant to a large Japanese titanium dioxide producer….
….Subject to successful piloting and agreement on commercial terms, a review of the options for full scale development in Japan will be undertaken.
Clean TeQ believes that its…technology provides a significant capital and operating cost advantage over conventional …processes.
While the process for recovery of scandium oxide from primary mine production will have its own specific flow sheet, Clean TeQ believes the foundation technology and ionic extraction and purification chemistry of the process will remain the same.
[…]
About Scandium
Scandium is a [metal] often classified as a rare earth element. [It confers] exceptional alloying properties for the production of light-weight, strong sheet and component metals (particularly aluminium). However, its uptake has been severely limited by its relative scarcity in mineable economic concentrations. [Scandium] “is devilishly difficult for mother nature to concentrate.”
All scandium produced in the world today is a by-product from the extraction of other elements, usually uranium, nickel and cobalt….There is no primary mine production of scandium anywhere in the world today. The lack of secure supply has led to significant volatility in pricing…
The absence of reliable, secure and long term production has limited commercial applications of scandium in most countries. This is despite a comprehensive body of research and a large number of patents which identify significant benefits for the use of scandium over other elements. Key growth markets include:
– Strengthened aluminium-scandium alloys for the production of cheaper, lighter and stronger aircraft.
– Scandia stabilized zirconia has a growing market demand for use as a high efficiency electrolyte in solid oxide fuel cells, such as those produced by Bloom Energy.
– High performance athletic equipment, such as aluminium baseball bats, bicycle frames and lacrosse sticks.
– A ‘conditioner’ in mercury vapour lamps to enable light to be emitted that closely resembles sunlight.
In 2010 the European Union identified aluminium-scandium alloys as one of the five most critical emerging technologies in the automotive engineering and aerospace industry …China has also placed a high strategic priority on securing scandium supply….
Market Development
The lack of any reliable supply of scandium has been the limiting factor in development of this market. However, this has the potential to change rapidly…
Clean TeQ is confident that [Syerston/Sunrise] it will have the potential to develop the world’s first primary source of scandium oxide….with reliable, cost-effective supply…[particularly… [for the aluminium] industry, where low prices, systemic over-capacity in smelting and low growth in new applications could be overcome by radical change to] the performance characteristics of the metal….”
***
Four years later we see the results of Friedland’s foresight in the construction of Sunrise, and in Chinalco agreement, the announcement of which an industry analyst has characterized as “stupid”.
HN- noting the BHP investment, are they involved with Cleanteq?
Hedy… I do not know of an ongoing arrangement. Some time ago I saw that the license had reverted to Clean Teq. This is a little puzzling and could be interpreted in a negative way.
All it means to me is that BHP and Clean Teq may not have seen eye-to-eye about what to do at the time the research was completed.
Metals were in a bear market, so it might not have been a priority for BHP;
and Clean Teq may not have wanted to restrict itself to BHP and may have felt long-term it was premature and not in their interest to enter into a licensing agreement with BHP on terms that were acceptable to BHP.
So far most of the activity we have seen from Clean Teq has not been with
miners, although little by little there have been a few deals. They have been “mostly “downstream” from actual mining operations…in after-mining clean-up or with manufacturers of finished product, like Easpring or “”upstream” with R&D like with Airbus and Chinalco.
Even at Kipushi, the indications are that a Clean Teq install would be for tailings, it will not be for primary extraction; and here, Friedland is in control of the mine.
In one interview, Friedland discussed the difficulty of dealing with miners because they do not want to give up any control over the operations at their installations.This may have been an issue with BHP, although of course I am just speculating about it.
However control over the mine site was definitely one factor in Friedland’s decision to do Sunrise on his own; he did not want to cede any authority or decisions to another party, it is vital to have a success on it, and the only way to get total control this is to open your own mine where you are calling the shots.
My take on the situation is tha Friedland is relying solely on Sunrise to establish Clean Teq technology as a primary extraction method. Sunrise is the showcase to demonstrate conclusively the advantages of Clean i-X as a primary extraction method, and he does not want any interference in making it a success from BHP or anybody else.
Thanks HN
Nice find HN ….Cowboy
Hedy, Cowboy…I appreciate your feedback.
Are we supposed to get excited about scandium in golf clubs ? Sure, I want to hit 350 yard drives like Tiger Woods, but there is one other very important group of scandium applications that is not mentioned:
Military weaponry.
This is unsaid, but when you start talking aerospace and aviation, it really doesn’t need to be made explicit.
Clean Teq understating their potential, as usual. Just think of where steel is used and ask if a lighter, stronger material would be desireable.
https://t.co/7bG2xhsOUQ
MGXMF–Long….Critical Investor Q & A with MGX Minerals CEO Jared Lazerson… http://www.theenergyreport.com/article/2018/02/06/the-critical-investor-q-a-with-mgx-minerals-ceo-jared-lazerson.html ….Cowboy