I'm pretty sure most holders know that there is a difference...

I'm pretty sure most holders know that there is a difference between doing business in ME and western countries, and took that into consideration before buying.

Having said that, a typical turnaround from exploration to production for miners is around 5 to 8 years. Alara began exploration at Al Hadeetha in 2012, so first production in 2019 would put it on par with most projects anecdotally.

FWIW i believe that offers of Finance have been made already but the Board are shopping around for the best terms before signing off.

If you are in a rush to offload, you could always contact the CEO and ask for assistance, i believe that he generally has had no trouble finding homes for off-market transfers of any size.