The interesting thing here is that he bought options not shares....

The interesting thing here is that he bought options not shares. Only a small purchase, however he must see the options currently as better value than the heads. IMO they were bought to convert rather than trade.
As for comments re conflict of interest, I don't see any. Results are not back from the lab so they are unknown by all. As long as he bought not knowing the results he's OK.
It is known that rock chip samples are due but not what they are. The lab could have the results tomorrow. Who knows?
Also note that the date of purchase was Monday 19th May, 4 days ago.