I think we should all put aside buy out predictions - all have been worthless and just gets people pumped up for no reason.
I would think we should see either a strategic partner shortly and/or an off take or two. Keep in mind that the off take numbers will not be made public but an off take with a big player lends instant cred to the project from a sales perspective.
There is a lot of shares held by insiders and those connected to them. I am sure they don't want to wait another year for significant news that will start to build the value. At some point even pressure from the inside starts to build.