We can always count on you for some interesting insights, Prospekt. I wonder if your guests could sense your distraction and see the cogs turning in your head until you finally sat down to type out that post? ;)

Ultimately I hope you are right. If Teck tries to lowball EE, I sincerely wish for him to tell Don Lindsay to take a walk and then send the heavy equipment back out to Schaft Creek for an extensive drilling campaign in 2013. And yes, advance the environmental assessment further while we're at it.

The question is not whether EE has the financial resources to do this, it's more a matter of whether he's willing to wait another year for a bigger return, providing the drill cores bear out what we're all expecting. We'd all be be forced to choose to wait along with him, of course, either that or bail out.

I, for one, would hunker down for the long haul if it means we could actually realize $5 a share or better down the road.