Hello Huesos,
Yes, they could have proven up an economic open pit system by now, IMO. Not to mention the high grade system.
I'm not sure about the extents of the high grade system either. They have shown that the structure housing the high grade gold does extend about 7 km and that drill results and/or channel samples of high grade are found 5.6 km apart along this structure. But, whether the high grade gold is continuous for that distance, now that would be a stretch. I do believe if they include recent drill results in the earlier 43-101 they would be well over 1 million oz. of gold (indicated and inferred).
It seems the underground and surface showings at Jersey Emerald are just too extensive for this small operator to adequately develop on its own. They need help via a JV, IMO.