I remember the MoM lads analysing a conference call that IGO had recently @Chagsy, a month or two back - I think it was their strategy day presentation in September - and they (IGO) were talking about searching for some more JVs to enter into, in different metals. I remember coming to the opinion at the time that the strategy they were outlining was not one that I liked much, particularly as they seem happy enough to partner with Chinese companies like Tianqi which may muddy the waters in terms of future lithium sales to the USA or Japan or anybody else who wants to rely less on Chinese controlled companies or even part-Chinese-owned suppliers.

IGO are also happy to be the junior partners in JVs, for instance they only own around one quarter of Greenbushes (49% of TLEA which owns 51% of Greenbushes, with Albemarle owning the other 49%) and 49% of the Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery (100% owned by TLEA which is 49% owned by IGO) and there have been some massive problems at that refinery, which brings into question just how much expertise Tianqi actually have if they can't get a hydroxide refinery running at capacity within a period of years, i.e. well beyond their original estimates.

Point is, IGO want exposure to these metals but are happy to take non-operating junior stakes in these JVs and leave the decision making to others, so in some respects IGO have chosen to NOT have too much control over their own future.

An example of where these JVs can impact your decision making capacity is MinRes' recent decision to put Bald Hill (spod mine) on C&M despite it having lower costs than Wodgina and Mt Marion. That decision is explained by Bald Hill being the only one of those three lithium mines that MinRes own 100% of. Wodgina is 50% owned by Albemarle who previously owned 60% of both Wodgina and Kemerton but now, following multiple changes to their joint venture agreement, MinRes and Albemarle own half each of Wodgina, and Albemarle owns 100% of Kemerton. That deal that Chris Ellison made to relinquish MinRes' stake in the Kermerton lithium hydroxide refinery for an increased stake in Wodgina spod mine and a massive cash payment from Albemarle was another smart move by CE because he could see just how much trouble ALL of the lithium refineries in Australia were having, and he realised that MinRes might have to take a massive write-down on Kemerton soon, as Albemarle did shortly after increasing their Kemerton ownership to 100%. However, MinRes only own half of Wodgina and that means that Albemarle have to agree before they can mothball Wodgina again. MinRes' third spod mine, Mt Marion, is once again only half owned by MinRes with the other half being owned by Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. (Ganfeng), another Chinese lithium company, so again MinRes can't mothball Mt Marion without Ganfeng agreeing.

The reason why these larger global vertically-integrated lithium corporations often want to keep producing lithium in Australia from these JVs even when the costs are higher than the price of spodumene is because they have offtake agreements and they need the spod for their refineries and/or because they have to supply a certain amount of lithium to other parties under existing contracts, so their decision making has other inputs than that of companies like IGO or MinRes.

That's why JVs have drawbacks or downside, especially when you're the junior partner, as IGO seem to always be.

Peter Bradford, when he was leading IGO, had a more sensible strategy I thought, although he also made his fair share of mistakes, however Ivan Vella has inherited a company with a perfect storm of headwinds, including being exposed to both nickel and lithium at the worst possible time, and then having to make massive writedowns on the Western Areas assets that IGO acquired for far too much. Real issues with their DD on WSA actually, but that's old news.

I'll have a look at IGO occasionally @Chagsy but I'd want to buy them AFTER the metals they are mining - or are directly exposed to - start rising at a decent clip, not before. And even then, only if they represented the best exposure to those metals, and I doubt they will, purely because they are junior partners. It's like buying Gold Road (GOR) for gold exposure - non-operating partners at Gruyere and owners of 17.85% of De Grey Mining (DEG). While GOR own half of Gruyere, a producing gold mine, and have cash, and DEG shares, they don't actually OPERATE any mines, so they are really passive players in gold, as IGO are in lithium. They have exposure, but very little in the way of control. Not sure if you need a highly paid Board and management team if you don't operate any assets to be honest. All they need to do is make wise capital allocation decisions, and IGO have a poor track record of that to date.