Grade is king for Delecta in Nevada cobalt play, page-12

While much is made of a big discovery in mining, having the right geology, drill results and management team mean less to a potential acquirer if the exploration company hasn’t properly claimed and consolidated the properties. Understanding the distinction between patented and unpatented mining claims in the United States is essential knowledge for mining stock investors.

Delecta's find in the Goodsprings area is a patented mining claim. And that is Good!

In the United States, the importance of staking claims goes back to the California and Nevada gold rushes of the 1800s and the Mining Act of 1872. While there have been a lot of changes in how mining claims are staked since then, the central principle holds: the owner of a mining or oil and gas claim in the United States owns the minerals or hydrocarbons below the surface.
In many other countries surface rights can be bought and sold, but the minerals underground belong to the state. For instance, in Canada some mineral rights are privately held, but the vast majority are owned by the government.

That can make a big difference for an exploration company because if the mineral rights are privately owned, the company does not have to go through the same rigorous and time-consuming permitting process as when the mineral prospect is controlled by the government.

https://investingnews.com/daily/res...ing-claims-united-states-patented-unpatented/