We should not forget that CUU is not the only junior that has agreements with TECK. The message sent is to all juniors not to expect SP multiples as an offer. Like any rule, there are also exceptions and I fully believe CUU will be one of them for reasons explained here many times over.

Good point Iletea. It really depends on how badly Teck wants it. Do they want to control this area which could give them revenues for decades and capture those profitable commodity price spikes?

Besides that, in negotiations, one never comes to the table to show how hungry one is. Good example is when I go to buy a new car. Do I go and tell the salesman I liked all these features? Do I go and tell the salesman I really like the moonroof and the fact I will save on gas due to the milage etc. etc. If I want to purchase it at a good discount I am going to highlight all the negative features I can, what I don't like etc. etc. and then Í'm going to pretend I'm going to walk out the last minute. ( This tactic always works to get a bigger discount ). However, if I really like to buy it and the salesman is not going to budge on price then most likely I'm going to meet their price.

Imho, I think Teck is playing the same game. Don't let it fool you.