From what I have gleaned, Rubicon's business model is to find highly prospective areas, lock them up, and then find expert JV partners to explore & unlock the value - and IF they prove up worthwhile deposits well then it's all on and the JV partner tips in more for (in our case) 70%.
I also think that for Exco to spend $100k over the ensuing 12 months sounds like a pretty good deal if the tenement is as good as it sounds. At least we get the option to check it out, pull out some cores from the (hopefully) high cu% areas to figure out if there is a business case to tip in the extra $900k for 70% & move forward.
I find it interesting the land has been previously off limits., so in essence it's virgin territory.
Proving up another CDU here would be very nice imo.
Anyways, just my 2c worth into the mix. (:
EXS Price at posting:
18.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held