I also find this odd. I mean 3 months for drill results, even for CUU, is long. Interestingly Elmer mentioned there might be a delay as such results "are not under his control".

From the "Hoping Against all Hope Dept." this delay and then the Christmas break would be the perfect cover for negotiations. The results from the drilling were presumably in long ago. CUU has assured they would release the results "once they had been received". Such results would be material to CUU, warranting a NR. If the results haven't been formally "received" then this opens the door for negotiations with the results in hand, not officially shared with CUU.

As has been noted here, Teck will receive $1B in cash from Fort Hills when the sale closes next month. Teck's new CEO Jonathan Price looks to be "righting a wrong" (as proposed by Golfyeti) on the original investment in Fort Hills vs. Schaft Creek.

Mr. Price can get away with paying a premium for SC and blame Don Lindsay for the CUU starvation strategy that not only didn't work but backfired in that they now have to pay that much more for CUU's portion of SC because the deposit has been further developed, copper has risen, and the value of the carried to production clause negotiated under Don's watch. Jonathan's desire to go big on copper justifies the move now, as he makes his stamp on Teck's direction:

https://www.mining.com/web/tecks-new-ceo-looks-to-tap-cash-from-coal-to-fuel-copper-expansion/

He can further justify the pain now to the Teck board in light of anticipated rising copper prices (before next upcycle, also proposed by Golf), and the big tax incentives just announced by Can/US governments.

JMHO.

K