They have recently taken a few similar roles where they work for...

They have recently taken a few similar roles where they work for shares rather than cash.

This is largely due to the terrible state of mining services and equity capital markets for the small miners
(i.e. they can let their teams slip away or takes shares in lieu of cash).

Probably they have their pick of several projects so the fact that they have chosen this is some comfort, also they are aligned with shareholders as they share both the up and downside.

Just makes me a little more confident they will get the job done but obviously still a high risk play.