Yes, a formal deal has to be made public.  But what's important at this point is the number of CAs that hve been entered.  The other day the company as much as confirmed one, and said they were working on more that three others.

As Willy pointed out yesterday, CAs are not disclosable.  You can't know a company has one unless they say so, and then they can't tell you who the other party is. 

From what JB reported, it appears they have had serious talks with at least 4 companies recently.  Higher metals prices have helped bring us to this point, and should continue to do so.