3 ms·

Some more detail would be needed to determine what portion of that is feasible to extract. The USGS document you link, for example, estimates (before this disco

by mjn 14y ago

Some more detail would be needed to determine what portion of that is feasible to extract. The USGS document you link, for example, estimates (before this discovery) 38,000 tons of domestic reserves, but that is with a conservative definition of reserves that includes only those considered feasible to extract with current technology and market conditions. The total domestic reserves of lithium deposits known to exist were closer to 400,000 tons, from what I can find, i.e. only about 10% of domestic reserves are considered feasible to extract. How much of an impact this discovery has will depend on what proportion of that 228,000 tons ends up in each category.

to3m 14y ago
The "reserve" is usually what's feasible to extract with current technology, with the total amount of stuff present being the "resource". See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_resource_classification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_resource_classification. People often aren't particularly precise about the distinction.
- defrost 14y ago
  Indeed. So let's be precise. A Proven Ore Reserve is not all that is feasible to extract with current technology, it is all that which has been proven feasible. Emphasis on proven. Given a large resource area it's generally the case that only a partial area has been studied to the degree required to classify as Proven (often three or four increasingly detailed Technical Reports down the line). If the lithium deposits in the article have only just been found (that part is unlikely given they've gotten to the stage of having a rough estimate) then there's some way to go before they are sampled to the point of being feasible. Moreover if the deposit is split into portions it's probable that only one sub deposit at a time will climb the ladder to Proven. Investors would be watching for a gradual climb in the degree of Tech Report being released and poised to bet the bank just prior to the release of an Economic Feasibility Study, typically the first Prospectus to be floated (if it goes public) would be of the order of ~$50 million for a drill survey; a 'low cost' high risk evaluation. The penultimate Feasibility Study consolidates all the prior deposit evaluations and outlines the plant and extraction costs, paving the way for a 'big bucks' Prospectus to fund the major initial extraction capital costs.

by mjn 14y ago

to3m 14y ago

The "reserve" is usually what's feasible to extract with current technology, with the total amount of stuff present being the "resource". See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_resource_classification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_resource_classification. People often aren't particularly precise about the distinction.

defrost 14y ago
Indeed. So let's be precise. A Proven Ore Reserve is not all that is feasible to extract with current technology, it is all that which has been proven feasible. Emphasis on proven. Given a large resource area it's generally the case that only a partial area has been studied to the degree required to classify as Proven (often three or four increasingly detailed Technical Reports down the line). If the lithium deposits in the article have only just been found (that part is unlikely given they've gotten to the stage of having a rough estimate) then there's some way to go before they are sampled to the point of being feasible. Moreover if the deposit is split into portions it's probable that only one sub deposit at a time will climb the ladder to Proven. Investors would be watching for a gradual climb in the degree of Tech Report being released and poised to bet the bank just prior to the release of an Economic Feasibility Study, typically the first Prospectus to be floated (if it goes public) would be of the order of ~$50 million for a drill survey; a 'low cost' high risk evaluation. The penultimate Feasibility Study consolidates all the prior deposit evaluations and outlines the plant and extraction costs, paving the way for a 'big bucks' Prospectus to fund the major initial extraction capital costs.