Lithium dropped from $80,000 to $10,000 a metric ton, and lease bonuses went up. Landowners got more sophisticated, attorneys figured out the game, and the companies still signing deals were underwriting on a 20-to-30-year horizon, not the spot price.

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What you'll walk away with:

• Why lithium lease bonuses climbed while commodity prices cratered
• How uninformed early leasing created 1-2% royalty terms that are now getting busted in diligence
• Where the Smackover fairway is heading as the market shifts from land grab to consolidation
• What renegotiation looks like for operators who signed at peak terms

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Why it matters: If you're working the Smackover today, the rules of the game have changed. The terms that got signed during the rush are about to get tested, and understanding how we got here shapes how you negotiate going forward.