The competition, I believe, comes from the difference between investors (those who want to put money into well understood existing developments, or pre-development projects), and speculators who are willing to gamble on what may be viewed as something nearly akin to putting money in a slot machine that is only thought to be near paying off.  

In otherwords, no matter the types and numbers of minerals that are suggested to be present in economic quantities, there is a highly limited klastch of players in the house who are available to be enticed into the game.  That is the only issue.

Improving market conditions can only help, as evidenced by LBSR now having executed multiple confidentiality agreements in recent months, something it did not have earlier.  Meanwhile, "improving market conditions" does not mean as yet that the exploration market is on fire, it isn't.  So the interested parties are not under any pressure to move quickly, at least not until one presents an offer, which may then stimulate one or more others.

That's what I'd like to see, a bidding war among prospective partners.