I'm not sure we even have the full benefit of hindsight just...

I'm not sure we even have the full benefit of hindsight just yet. I think it may be too soon.

What guarantee is there that the SP would have passed or even made it $0.03 on the back of the Bonanza resource announcement anyway? Perhaps the SPP offer has helped create support at 2c and 2.2c (depending on whether we're talking ASX or NZX).

I think NTL has a lot of mum-and-dad investors that don't have a spare $15,000 laying around and they need to sell some or all of their holding to be able to participate in the SPP. I think your statement that "there could've been quite a few new well-heeled shareholders keen to take it (the SPP) up" raises a valid point, but it's something we'll never know for sure and can only speculate on.

Another thing to consider is that there was always going to be traders selling on the back of the Bonanza announcement. With a lot of existing shareholders scratching around trying to scrape together $15,000 to participate in the SPP, unless there is a lot of new or big buyers driving up the SP it's no surprise that the SP has settled at the SPP issue price.

Unless I can buy on-market at a considerable discount (say 1.7c or maybe 1.8c) I'll be applying for my full allocation under the SPP. I get some bonus options and I contribute to the company's objective of expanding and expediting the bulk sampling project, among other things.