Hi John,
A great bullish post!
Yes there are a few stories re Rick Rule and his purchase of MTR. One was that they offered to take part in an earlier raise but couldn't get in. Another that they preferred MTR for various reasons which I won't go into! Suffice it to say that want a big part of the JV and we know how excited Rick is about what he sees as a potential global copper district in the Kalahari, Botswana.
I did put that question to him in an online Q&A so I know how strongly he feels about the JV. The £3m purchase into MTR was ringfenced for use on Bots only!
Re the need for a bigger processing plant, I fully agree. I put this Q to JH at a UK event way back in Nov 2016 and he told me not to worry. The plant is modular and bolt on, so could end up as big as you like.
The fun would really begin if several new T3-style deposits were found in the T3 Complex, with a big cat thrown among the pigeons if T4/T20 strike good copper later in the year. That would need a processing plant of its own being over 100km away from T3 pit! A nice problem to have.
Just thought of an amusing tale from JVR last week. He said he much preferred the ease of RC drilling over DD . DD drilling is of course slower and requires a lot of water. They often have to drill new boreholes near the drill collars to feed the rigs. Recently they'd drilled several holes and this had attracted thirsty elephants to visit the drilling areas.
JVR said it was bad enough having to fence off drilling areas to protect the drillers from packs of lions, but elephants were a real pain to get rid of !
