permit to mine, page-26

Mudguts why does the answer have to be complicated.

To put it in every day terms, why pay a bill until you have to. You pay it as late as possible and I'd have thought given the published timelines (the one's I'm trying hardest to believe) that this is the latest they can pay the bond to have the PTM in place if they want to make good on their forecast of preliminary construction beginning in 2012. My reading of announcements around the guarenteeing of PEN type A options being exercised is that the money is ear-marked for these early construction activities so there's no real requirememnt for a funding agreement until we are ready to start serious construction. The timing of that I'm less inclined to take management's word on and believe there's probably a year to play with while NRC goes through the SML permitting procedure.

On another tangent I haven't seen anyone take the line of reasoning that the NRDC will use the PTM public comment period as a first strike opportunity to begin delaying the project. Given that we know they're already gearing up for ca court battle once the SML is issued I find it hard to believe we won't see them at least try and get a hearing on the PTM and hence push back the start of construction and possibly put the frighteners into prospective financiers. If I shared their goals I'm damned sure I would yet most posters here give the impression that having a PTM in hand in 8 weeks is a fait accompli.