Hey RR....I tend to agree that NOT wouldn't have started this takeover without a reasonable chance of success. BUT....what if we are wrong, and the takeover wasn't designed to be a success. I'm being a devil's advocate here.

Maybe the simplest reasoning is the answer....What does NOT want? The short answer is 'money'.....and some(me included) have suggested that they want it fast. This theory is tied to the hedge fund scenerio, where they want in and out as fast as possible...it's about quick money and not really about the exploration to mining progression.

What is the fastest way to 'money' for these guys? They need to flip NOT to a major for the big cash-out. To do that they need to attract attention to the ROF and NOT. They need a big drill hole result(game changer), or start a brush fire (takeover attempt) that will bring the attention of the media and possibly smoke out a major or two for a bidding war.

...this is 1 of an infinity of possibilities.

....cheers....sambone