This is a great interview. I love how calm and matter of fact Evans is. I highly recommend everyone listen to the 8 minute interview, but if you're not so inclined, I'll offer a few takeaways that stood out to me.

First, the two new native groups who have joined the lawsuit and have filed a new injunction request are more loosely connected to Thacker Pass than the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, who has not joined the lawsuit. The first group, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, is a recognized tribe and is about 300 miles away, (the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe is about 40 miles away). The second group, calling themselves Atsa koodakuh wyh Nuwu (People of Red Mountain) is an unrecognized group that would not qualify for US Government consultation, and is closely affiliated with the “extremist” environmentalists (Evans’ word) in the main lawsuit. 

Second, under the expedited process, all briefings related to the main lawsuit are to be completed by mid Dec, and a final ruling should be expected by end Jan 2022. I hadn't heard the mid-Dec deadline before.

Third, he offered the first clue that I am aware of as to a timeline for the Phase 2 expansion in CO. He said that because the contractors will all be mobilized for the completion of the Phase 1 construction, rather than demobilizing them, just keep moving forward. So we should see efforts to expand into Phase 2 as early as Q3 of 2022. 

Finally, he commented on the Opex for Thacker Pass, which, although slightly more expensive than the industry standard, will be compensated for by the fact that they will be able to produce lithium carbonate, hydroxide and metal there, so they have great flexibility. 

Every time I listen to Evans I get re-energized about this company. He instills confidence in management, to be sure.