What if they already have spoken to another party (Chinese anyone?) who's ready and waiting, at our door, for Teck decision of Yay/Nay?

I don't think so. Elmer told me less than 2 months ago that he would have to hire a company to sell this project if Teck walked. He has also said the DD takes a very long time and costs a lot of money with the staff involved and that no other company is going to put in the time and money before they know what Teck is going to do.

It has taken Teck about 8 months approximately since they downloaded the feasibility information and they have had the inside information on this project for many years. Another company coming fresh to the project would need a very long time. It could take up to a year (or even more.)