Stowaway, you are quite correct and thank you for alerting me to my error. The announcement I was thinking about- dated June 5, 2008 - refers to "mining approval process initiated". In that sense 18 months plus is probably no big deal, particular given legitimate GFC-related delays.
While with a few exceptions the NSW central west seems to be a bit of a dead zone for mineral development generally, I hope your punt pays off.
Apataki
