Great point & to expand - if the govt. wants to lock you in at $850. why not ignore signing at this time, just continue exploration until things are more favourable. Oct./09 gold is already at $900.!! Even to get ARU to production is more than 2 years away. To sign now would be exactly the same mistake made by Barrick, Newmont & others, that is, locking in future production at todays prices . They are still paying for these mistakes!! I'm sure all metal companies are aware of this folly by the majors & will expect a united front in negotiations with Ecuador to receive fair treatment or bring Correa's mining plans to a crashing halt. Come to think of it, almost like Cdn. natural gas, if the price is too low make it "shut in". ARU can have "shut in" gold & copper until price prospects improve!! I think we can win this one!!

Regards

Joltin