The one thing that's puzzling is, why is Teck holding our Liard shares in trust.. if we are actively marketing our share of this project to other buyers, why wouldn't we want those securities in hand. The're a valuable asset and should be showcased as part of a sale. could it be Teck doesn't want or intend to lose that valuable asset. I'm sure thay also want the 2% we own in addition to the 25% they owe us...to me, it's the strongest indicator that Teck has a plan to get CUU in the future and deal with partners in an unhindered way.
When I last spoke to Elmer, I asked if we acquired our share of the Liard shares. He said they did not transfer those as discussions were ongoing and because there were some portions of the shares that had some language that would have been "difficult" to interpret how they would be divided up. The situation would have involved some contentious discussions among lawyers. I spoke to him recently, so he must have been speaking as if the current deal was already agreed upon and this is the reason why they were not transferred.
Now does that throw cold water on your speculation? Not necessarily, but its something to consider going forward. I think it was just easier for CUU to hold this in trust rather than go forward and start a legal issue. Also consider this: if another major comes in with an offer, then they can acquire this trust and wrangle with Teck for their fair share, rather than CUU doing it now.