I think Harte are Pi$$ed off at Appian because a) they feel they provided them with every opportunity to make a solid offer, but they didn't commit to anything until November; and b) Appian had discussions with BNPP without Harte's involvement to obtain BNPP's support in relation to a potential offer. BNPP gave them nothing so no offer was made.
You would have to think they would have some kind of partnership in mind. New Gold? If there was another miner out there who is interested and has the cash, they'd be better of making a direct offer for the mine under the SISP. It would be crazy to not make an offer but buy it outright from Appian at a premium. I'm guessing the only interested parties are the four that submitted offers earlier in the year, one of which may have been SLR.
SLR Price at posting:
$1.62 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held