I'm trying to pull together my thoughts into a cohesive statement, but am failing.

So here are some random thoughts.

For one, the wording of this NR is revealing...if they were being careful about how it was written. They've said that Merit Consultants will be performing a peer review. (One question I have is, clearly the Feasibility has to be completed in order for that to happen so how can withholding it be justified.) From what Skibum says it appears that Merit would more likely be employed to give a cost estimate surrounding the timeframe of actually starting to construct the mine. That is, not so much an academic exercise in examing whether the costs are reasonable as what would it cost to start building the mine in January 2013 for example. It might even be the initial preparation for doing so, i.e. lining up equipment purchases etc.

Then there's Matt Bender, who is "Senior Study Director for Newmont Mining Company, responsible for early stages of project engineering and economic studies." (I think this is him.) What I find interesting about this part of the NR is they say: "Copper Fox will be performing its own internal review to be led by Matt Bender." How is this an internal review by an outside contractor, vs. the review by Merit? Why "it's own" internal review. Who else is the Merit for, except our own purposes?

Further delays are disappointing but this does seem unplanned. Why would they all of a sudden start with the outside reviews? They have had ample time for many weeks to have parts of the feasibility reviewed. Everything but the sensitivy analysis was supposedly finished at the beginning of September. Why now? My assumption this is part of the due diligence.