Hansix's reason for why JP "left town" seems possible, but not anything that can be readily substantiated. Hans said,

"His blind-siding US through his massive share dump as he left town through information that HE knew but WE did not (through his personal discussions with DW), caused ship Tyhee to take on massive amounts water, B&S provided the buckets and pails to right the ship."

What I can substantiate is what JP told me. Jim wanted Webb to stop drilling and sell. Only then would he be bullish on Tyhee. Webb didn't, so JP sold.

I believe that Jim thought a buyout at an attractive premium was an acceptable endgame, even though he once said that it'd be preferabe over the long-haul, in terms of shareholder value, for a junior to go into production on its own. As you know, Kimber is gearing up for production. This suggests that Jim's "Big Picture" has changed. He had been looking for Kimber to be acquired by now since he thought "ALL" juniors would be.

Perhaps JP was indeed correct in his forecast of junior buyouts, just wrong on timing.

Now, it just may be a question of price.