Sum,

The big drills are needed to pursue geological formation that is defined but remains open at depth. The probability of extending E1 deposit I believe has more certainty then finding something new at AT12. I agree with you that we are going to have surprises when we drill. The landscape can change on a dime if we or anybody else hits big. Unfortunately, that stuff is all blue sky until we make a hit.

Noront told us that we would be drilling deep on E1 but they took too long to make this happen. My gut feeling tells me that they new well in advance of the FN blockade and decided to hold off on the large rigs until this issue is settled. Why? If Noront had successfully deployed large drilling rigs at this point they would be paying big $$$ to have them sit addle in Northern Ontario for many months. If this is the case then I'm glad Noront held off on getting the deep drills diploid.

rosehill