Very simple answer to this question Winenut.
1) Groundhog requires significant amounts of capex for infrastructure (hundreds of millions) - it is isolated. Elan on the other hand is not isolated and doesn't require significant capex for infrastructure.
2) The high grade anthractite market is not established, it will require time and effort and money to build. The high grade coking coal is very well established. As Max says, if he can get the product out of the ground, he can sell all of it in an instant.
3) The above means that ATU can extract coal from Elan much more quickly and well much more readily, meaning cashflow can be achieved much more rapidly. Groundhog on the other hand, will require partners with deep pockets, along with lengthy periods building a market for high grade anthracite, these things take time and a company in ATU's position has almost zero leverage.
If you took the time to listen or view Max's recent presentations, he answers your question pretty clearly.
The fact is, the company needs cash. And as I stated in another post, they need $10m. That finalises the Elan acquisition (which is an absolute must) and it gives them the funding for the summer drill campaign. Once they're in a position to do these things, I expect that the concurrent IPO of the Riversdale project (next door to Elan) for somewhere around $200m (and anticipated in Q2 of this calendar year), will provide a significant catalyst for share price re-rate for Atrum as it will provide a clear valuation read through - the caveat to this is, they need cash first, without it, we're in big trouble.
ATU Price at posting:
10.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)