Mertondale had not had any significant work completed for nearly...

Mertondale had not had any significant work completed for nearly 10 years, mainly due to access
issues.
NTM which became DCN and then GMD never had any problems with access issues. They managed to drill, define and begin mining on their HUB project just north of Mert 5. All of which is on the Mertondale Pastoral lease.
Maybe they just got on with it instead of using every available excuse to do as little as possible. Current management look to be more proactive, perhaps Delphi has sent that message down the line.