ozblue, An important part in getting an explorer to a miner is...

ozblue,
An important part in getting an explorer to a miner is money and plenty of it. That is what is a standout as far as CuDeco in respect of the junior explorers of which CuDeco was once one. CuDeco is in a strong monetary position with the $105 million bank loan and only something like 230 million shares on issue..
Wayne McCrae may require to use some of it , all of it or none of it. To have that $105 million at his disposal speaks volumes . The bank would have done due diligence on the Rocklands project before committing to such a large sum , must have been convinced of the worthiness of the project and the ability of CuDeco to repay the loan.
As for a comparison with SFR, I am confused by the overnight raid by OZ Minerals to secure 19.9% and not proceed to a takeover.. Surely they would not want to be a passive investor. It is not the norm for big miners like OZ limited. I think I read somewhere that the mine life of SFR is only a few years off unless they make further finds. CuDeco has a mine life extending over many decades with what has been found to date .
If you had been reading posts going back some years ,you would be aware that the topic you now raise has been discussed many times. The former Queensland Government was blamed for the time delay in getting mining approvals through as compared with that of the West Australian Government. The current Queensland Government has promised to cut red tape and speed up approvals. Whether this is happening is not known to me.
The logistics manager for CuDeco has worked in both West Australia and Queensland and has been a strong critic of the Queensland system as compared to the West Australian one.
If the system has not been fixed in Queensland , it does not bode well for other companies endeavouring to expedite early starts to mining.