I'm not Vette, but it seems obvious that, 1) if Tech believes that they have a "meeting of the minds" with Elmer and Ernesto concerning what the resource is, in general, and the economics of the mine building, there is a better than even probability that they could get the property for significantly less by acting early. While large companies don't usually do this type of thing because they want more hard numbers to show their shareholders, it does put them on the horns of a dilemma.
Probably better for us if they don't act early. But, you can never tell. Avoiding a bidding war is certainly in their interest. Avoiding a bidding war with several competitors is REALLY in their best interest. Acting early does not assure them of minimizing any bidding war, but it certainly could help since they have much more information than other prospective bidders now. That won't be true in a month or two.
Rip