1) The waiting for the permit sucks, but that's not the company's fault. Alkane Resources is in the very same situation re: their Tomingley plant (except they are already financed, and their SP still got hammered).
NSW gov seems to be understaffed at some critical chokepoint ...
2) The way to get HERA running is a big forward sale. Gold price is high enough for that. CR at the current SP simply does not make sense.