"We have been contacted..."

That's just repeating old news, and not too surprising. More than lkely these companies are Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Groupo Mexico/ASARCO, who control Silverbell (NW of Tucson) and Mission-Pima (SSW of Tucson). Another possibility is Freeport (FCX), though I think this less likely.

At this point, it seems none of these companies have made site visits to Hay Mountain, though information may have already been exchanged for non-disclosure agreements.