At the risk of sounding like I'm defending Elmer (which I am not), I can't imagine Don Lindsay saying anything like, "we are close to a deal" or "negotiating with potential buyers" for Schaft Creek on such a call. I did listen to it myself to get a sense of the tone and actual wording used to see if any clues could be gleaned. Don neatly sidestepped the question to emphasize that Schaft is close to Galore which also has lots of gold. He then deferred to an underling (some VP, can't remember the name) who fumbled out a mumbled answer that Schaft is early stage and not much is going on there.

My interpretation of this was they were caught off guard by the question. Good on whoever asked it!

Their response could be interpreted as a downplay as in Teck doesn't give a rat's *ss about Schaft. It would also be consistent with a deal in the works and Teck keeping their cards close to the vest, which we are all hoping for.

The part I don't understand is why it is taking so long. Teck foot-dragging to get a lower price is surely at play. But if Elmer started openly promoting Schaft then this would be a perfectly fine and legal promotion he SHOULD be undertaking. Why is this not being done I don't know.

K