there are two ways a company goes into production. One they put...

there are two ways a company goes into production.

One they put down hard cash setup a plant and start selling product to buyers.

The second like in this case is you have a proven resource, you find someone who wants to buy that resource, you then sign a BINDING agreement with them to supply that resource, you then spend money going into production to meet the requirements of that binding contractual obligation to supply.

Both have risk but option two has less up front risk.

To say TON may not go into production defeats the purpose of them exploring, finding a buyer, getting a committed order from that buyer! You don't do that unless you are committed to move forward to a production goal!