"I do not think in the least that the realization came to both at the same time"

I do believe this one deserves a little discussion, Ed.

You have to accept that these guys, regardless of what may be said on these forums are not dummies, So let's assume we are talking about 3 individuals sitting around the table, maybe sipping on a cold one, one each from NOT, PRB, and CLF

The CLF guy would really like to sew up the known chrome, and has done so except for one chunk known as Black Creek. They are uncomfortable proceeding with their plans when this little bit in the center belongs to someone else. It only has a limited value though, and to chase it would mean offering something to both NOT and PRB, as they are joint owners. The maximum value they place on it could be only 50 mill max and that would certainly not be enough to interest NOT. PRB, on the other hand has several other interests, and doesn't really see further exploration on their ROF properties as good sense in the short term, and knows that a 50mill price tag on what they have is very enticing.

Now enter NOT, who isn't really interested in the chrome, as they are drilling proximal to eagle1 and hit something very intersting 10 days ago, and are having a hard time keeping it under the radar. They also don't know if CLF actually has the means to try to take them out and surely don't want it to happen at today's prices.

All it would take is for one of them to mention a possibility, and they could easily all understand that if NOT ceded it's rights to Black creek, which it doesn't really place much value on, and PRB ceded it's rights to the other jv properties, which they don't really value too highly, while CLF let it slip that they had 50mill left in the kitty, they could do a deal pretty quickly, and each of them could walk away figuring they really did a number on the other two.

The above scenario could answer all the rumors out there.

CLF is in the takeover mode again.

There is a regional event in motion.

NOT has a deep hit in the Eagle1 area.

The above is all speculation, with no concrete evidence to support it, Some readers may find it offensive. TFIC

Best regards

K