A large factor in this deal is the age of EE & ES neither have another decade left in them to enjoy there riches.

I'm not entirely sure about that.  Its all up to Ernesto so it doesn't matter how old Elmer is.  Maybe Ernesto  thinks he could live to 110.   When you are as rich as Ernesto is already, and has been all his life a multi-multi-millionaire and near billionaire over the last decade, is yet another $500 million in the bank going to change your lifestyle? And allow you to enjoy something you were denied as a near billionaire?  I don't think so.  I don't think he needs a dime from this investment to live his life any way he wants.   That's why I think he is in no hurry, especially now in the face of metal prices rocketing straight up and serious and credible talk of super-cycles and even extreme scarcity for copper over the coming years.
I was hoping that we could get CU over $6 this year and AU over $2,500 and that is where I think the opportunity cost of further delays become economically excrutiating to Teck and they then decide to play fair.   jmho