"Could that be a premonition of things to come for LBSR?"
I think the post-ZTEM studies at Hay Mountain have shown the mineralization in a skarn deposit much closer to the surface than initially thought - porphyry below that. Besides, copper-related veins were found and photographed at surface in JBs time at the helm.
See pictures No. 14 onward from here: https://www.libertystaruranium.com/747-2/