If tiny exploration co's didn't go out and make deals to partner and/or otherwise fund drilling, there wouldn't be much of a mining industry. Big companies are desperate for new resources. We hear that all the time. Drilling a claim is not rare, and making a deal to fund the drilling is not rare. Just today, a big co announced a deal with a small explorer to fund drilling on previously undrilled copper-gold claims. The little co's geochem work seems to suggest the possibility of a large deposit. Sound familiar? So big co puts up drilling money, they agree to form a JV, and the claims get drilled. Big co did a similar deal on another claim just a few wks ago. There's a lot of activity out there, and little exploration companies are getting funded. So why has it been so so difficult to get a deal done for HM? Why?