NeoS

Interesting way to look at this from a different angle. I will play the devil advocate role with a few comments/question.

- Presumably, your scenario would involve PRB paying the lumber people with PRB flow-thorugh shares (8.5M @ $3.10/s = $26M, assuming the land deal is worth $26M). So. PRB gets the lands and the lumber people get 8.5M flow-through shares.

- The other entity: AEM in your scenario, but it could be G or somone else with deep enough pocket. This entity would take the flow-through shares off the hands of the lumber people and pay them $26M which is taxable, but with benefits under the flow-through provisions.

- In the end: PRB gets the lands, the lumber people "invest" $26M worth of lands under the flow-through scheme for 8.5M shares, which in turn are sold to an entity whi has $26M cash handy for 9.9% PRB.

- One question, your post says "AEM will continue to let Probe prove out the deposit with the $26M". Presumably, this is just a coincident that this $26M is the same number as the other $26M that the entity pays the lumber people (money in their pocket, not PBR pocket). So, could I rephrase it as follows: "the entity, which could be AEM, G, or others, would wait for PRB to prove up the deposit with their current cash position (~$29M, just to make it different from $26M).

If the tax people allow this then I would say brilliant, some people have imagination and creative math.

- BTW, I would go along with a $7.00 buy-out for Borden Gold, but the rest: remaining cash, the lands, chromite, etc...stay in PRB_NewCo which is spun-off and distributed to current PRB shareholders, for a repeated performance in the East Limb and/or elsewhere, and the sale of chromite (say ~$100M/75M, or $1.33/s).

goldhunter