Sunday pre-action discovery application and appeal discontinuance, page-33

Let's break this down for you
The only words you need to take note of is from paragraph 2, and in red below - ignore the rest.

"Since the appeal was instituted on 6 May 20221, the Company continued to engage with its
external legal advisers regarding the appeal, the appeal’s forensic and legal benefit to the
Company and the Company’s shareholders, and the weighing up of the benefits and the
costs of the appeal against all relevant legal and commercial factors. Further, in this period,
the Company and its external legal advisers have undertaken considered legal analysis of
the Supreme Court of Western Australia’s decision published 31 March 2022"

In other words, it wasn't worth the effort of pursuing.
If there was something suspicious involved, then yes, it would have been worthwhile to continue with the appeal proceedings.

This was a simple cost benefit analysis.
Go with the cheapest option.
IF there was some risk of compensation, then it would be less than the cost of continuing the appeal process.

There is nothing to see here, folks.

This was not a wasted 3 months, as you suggest.
If the appeal did go ahead then that might have turned off potential investors.
Who wants to get invited into an ongoing sh1t fight? Nobody.

With legal analysis revealing there was nothing to hide (and therefore no wrong doing), our reputation has not been tarnished, and the process of attracting partners and investors remains unaffected. This is especially true for future domestic projects - remember FMG and Sinosteel are half way through a rapid evaluation of unlocking WA's Midwest region with rail and Oakajee port development... which in turn unlocks our Peak Hill deposit. Maintaining a clean reputation is essential.