Eventually, they negotiate new terms which are more favourable to them, because the claims are "worthless" !

Further to my earlier post, this already happened to our West Timmins JV claims back in 2007:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/West-Timmins-Gold-Project-Exploration-Update-TSX-WTM-750146.htm

Beach Property

West Timmins Mining and Probe Mines Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:PRB) announce that the terms of the Beach Property option agreement, originally announced November 8, 2005 (See Sydney Resource Corp. news release 05-22), whereby the Company can earn up to a 70% interest in the Beach Property, have been amended as a result of due diligence investigations by WTM. The Beach Property is located immediately northeast of the Timmins West project and adjacent to the Northshore Property.

Under the revised terms of the Beach Property option agreement WTM may earn an initial 55% interest in the Beach Property by making a single cash payment of $25,000 (a decrease of $30,000), issuing 325,000 common shares of the Company (a decrease of 75,000 shares) and completing $1,000,000 in exploration expenditures on the property (a decrease of $1,000,000) prior to June 30, 2010. The terms and conditions of the Second Option, to earn an additional 15% interest, remain unchanged.

Ten drill holes have been completed to date on the Beach Property testing geological and geophysical targets. Hole BE-05, drilled in proximity to the sediment-volcanic contact along strike from the Timmins West discovery, intersected a broad zone of anomalous gold mineralization returning 26.85 metres grading 0.23 g/t gold between 123.3-150.15 metres. This intercept is interpreted to represent 115% of true thickness. No other significant assays were returned from the drilling on the property. Drilling is expected to resume on the Beach Property within the next two weeks.

FANTOMAS