(Who needs to go to university for 4 years and get 25 years experience...I'll giving this to all of you for free).
Number One rule in business: always keep your options open. I have seen many "sure thing" deals go sideways at the last possible moment. CUU should have kept drilling last summer. Why? ...because it would have signalled to Teck that we're aren't @#$-ing around, and it would have given us an extra card up our sleeve in case, just in case, our relationship with Teck goes sideways. By not drilling, we then commit ourselves to relying on Teck's goodwill. (Frankly, it makes me nervous knowing that someone else [Teck] is controlling my destiny).
Wouldn't it be much better to have had additional drill results available for outside parties to review, in case someone (other than Teck) asks? If Teck tells us to go pound sand, what are we then going to do? We then have to go drilling this summer, meaning that it may be yet another year until someone else looks at us.
With regards to the "120 days", I think it's bull-hit that we should drag this on any longer. Look, this time limit wasn't imposed yesterday. Both parties have been well aware of the 120-day limit. There is absolutely no reason why both parties wouldn't have 99% of their ducks already lined-up by today. In my experience, deadlines are good: while it sometimes feels like you have a gun to your head to get everything done, they at least provide a framework that both parties to the deal can work with. It forces any outstanding issues, good or bad, to come to the table early, and it forces both parties to resolve these issues one way or the other. The alternative? ...things simply never get done.
I've worked a lot on projects for the U.S. government (and its various departments, including Defense). I like those guys: "...here are the rules...this is what we expect. You need to do it our way. You can't deliver? ...fine, we'll look somewhere else".
I agree that it's always best to be on amicable terms with the other party but, on the other, that doesn't mean you always have to bend down (or bend over). Feel free to show a little bit of backbone here, Elmer (...'cuz at the end of the day, Teck is going to do what's best for Teck shareholders, don't kid yourself). As they say in The Godfather "...nothing personal, just business".
