Sentiment Analysis of the earnings transcript to help figure out if there are any bullish or bearish sentiments that could be gathered from it. We're doing ML and AI based analysis on the earnings call to get some more insights.
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| Statement |
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| And as we grow, all of those new projects and new plants create new productivity opportunities |
| We've set up their own incentive programs, and I think we're on a good path |
| We either stress test it, we pressure test it with our customers, with other suppliers, people in the market, both on a global basis and locally with teams that we have, and we've got to build better capability to do that |
| I mean, we built a number of facilities in China and operated, and there's a machine in China that's just very good at this |
| So that's what we're trying to do to get through this period that allows us to be efficient and preserve our growth profile |
| We still have the final get the, not have the final qualification tick from a couple of our customers, but we're producing on spec material that meet our customers' specifications at about 50% rates so we think we'll be able to accelerate there |
| So we think we're very capable of building out and supporting this energy transition as a company and with the strategy that we have |
| It's the best mine out there |
| We think we're as good as anyone at building conversion assets and we've done that on multiple continents around the world |
| So I mean, why are, the question is, why are all the new lithium hydroxide plants outside China struggling to reach capacity? Kent Masters I think China is good at this |
| We've had the world-class resources |
| And I think that's a well-worn path |
| We've allowed them more degrees of freedom strategically |
| The last one's been very busy for Albemarle obviously, navigating this dynamic in the lower lithium price environment and trying to balance growth opportunities with prudence |
| We've had to now, now we're gone back and we're training the workforce kind of more or less from scratch for chemical processing, going back to fundamentals, and then we're starting to get momentum around that and building that up |
| And also, is there some potential down the road with your Talison and Greenbushes partners to maybe make those operations more efficient too from an OpEx point of view? Kent Masters Look, there's an opportunity to make every operation we have more efficient |
| It's an interesting decision |
| So we've gotten help now |
| I mean, if there's a win-win, we would look to execute on something like that |
| A - Kent Masters Thank you very much. |
| So I want to preserve optionality by keeping them, again, if I have that flexibility |
| So customers, suppliers, cathode makers, battery makers, OEMs all the way through to the mine and understanding and piecing all that together and we've, historically, we've had that information but maybe we put a little too much weight on one piece of it versus another and it's just about getting better at managing all the data that's out there |
| We think that's the way to get lower cost resources without paying a fortune for them for the future supply, but we have to be able to afford that |
| Thank you |
| So it's, there's just a little lag there probably not as efficient as we should be as being able to pivot within the joint venture but we're working with our partners to become more efficient at that |
| And so that's where that supply-demand fits and if we get a little more growth and a little less supply, we think prices will bounce |
| We felt the last time we went through that; we didn't get the price that we liked, and we thought it was a great asset |
| Joel Jackson How might you be able to build better capability for visibility? Kent Masters I think it's about having people on the ground locally and talking to all the people in the supply chain |
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| It seems to be a lack of liquidity in many of them |
| So ultimately, our cost position would be more difficult, and we believe in the long-term growth profile of this business |
| I think we just -- we underestimated the workforce |
| It's a challenge at the moment |
| You took some pain by slowing down or maybe stopping things from other permitting in the US Mega-Flex plant |
| That's particularly challenging in the West because capital intensity for conversion is higher |
| So, I think it's a challenge at the moment, but IRA is not enough on its own, it's not doing it |
| It's come out slower than we had anticipated and we have to see how that happens |
| Joel Jackson Do you think the industry at the point where maybe we need to have a little more pain for a little while to maybe cut a little more production, cut some projects out of it |
| So I think it's challenged at the moment and we need price recovery in order to support that |
| So that's just going to make that more difficult |
| Joel Jackson And talking about if enough supplies come out of the market or not, we've seen Greenbushes, your partners have cutbacks in production recently |
| Once you shut down a plant, it's more difficult to get it back |
| Mega-Flex plant, what would make, like what has to happen for that to get restarted? Kent Masters I mean, I have to have a view of investment economics, right, that we see that, and it's difficult to see that with the prices today |
| And then to restart them later would be very costly |
| So we have projects that are very near finish, and if we were to stop them, it'd be very inefficient from a capital project standpoint |
| It's a matter of, it's a little slower, I think it's probably, you can't turn on a dime |
| We expect that to go much faster, but we have to prove that |
| And we probably underestimated just the workforce, take COVID aside, just the chemical processing workforce, people that were skilled in chemical processing capability in Australia and to start up those plants without help |
| If we can't do that, we'll have to get -- it’s more draconian from a CapEx standpoint and very inefficient from those future projects |
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