On the topic of raising funds, let me speculate for a sec:

if you were a well-to-do attorney/mining engineer or guy with a medical products company and you had invested somewhat heavily in a start-up mining company...and about $500,000 was the only thing preventing that company from potential success...would you consider putting your own money in since you obviously have already shown a belief that the company could offer a very nice return on investment? I am wondering if this is a failsafe option here.