I think your maths is a little suspect: where Xstrata had 50% of the project before, they now have 15% of AVB which is a bigger entity than the project and so not the same thing.
True, AVB will bear the exploration costs, however, AVB will accrue a far greater relative advantage from any finds.
Tricky bit will be developing this project without further capital raisings.. I expect they will put this project on the back burner for a while until the Vale money has come through and other advanced exploration projects have resulted in a stronger SP
BT
AVB Price at posting:
9.9¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held