Stockwatch Negative Slant (April 22nd)Chuck Fipke and Chad Ulansky's Metalex Ventures Ltd. (MTX), unchanged at 10 cents on 13,000 shares, has received all the permits needed for its planned bulk sample of the U2 kimberlite, 60 kilometres west of the Victor diamond mine in Northern Ontario. These are the permits the company applied for three years ago, applications that had been plastered with red tape since then. The Ontario government's insistence that Metalex talk to the local Indians was a part of the delay. (Local is a fuzzy concept when dealing with aboriginal issues: the Attawapiskat Indians live 160 kilometres east of U2, the Marten Falls Indians reside 150 kilometres south-southwest.) The Ontario bureaucrats also dithered about a comment from an environmental group that suggested a full-blown assessment would be needed. The government spent a full year deciding that the environmental assessment for the project was indeed adequate. Metalex "continues to work" with the two first nations groups "to complete an exploration agreement" for its proposed sample. As difficult as arranging an agreement with the Northern Ontario Indians can be, Mr. Fipke, chairman, and Mr. Ulansky, CEO, face an even harder time financing the bulk sample, which could cost up to $20-million dollars. Metalex had a financing in place three years ago, when Ned Goodman's Dundee Corp. (DC.A: $11.16) agreed to put up $51-million for a 51-per-cent interest in U2, a sum that would have taken the project through feasibility. Dundee dropped its option last summer, ostensibly citing the delay in getting the permits and the lack of a deal with the locals. Those factors undoubtedly played a part in the decision, but Dundee's dwindling cash reserves seems an equally important factor. In any case, Metalex now needs a new partner, or it will have to raise up to $20-million on its own. Mr. Ulansky says Metalex "is in discussions with several groups" concerning the financing of the planned test. Metalex has been unusually secretive about U2, but all signs suggest it has a grade of barely 0.1 carat per tonne. The company says the 10,000 tonnes of kimberlite are needed "so at least 1,000 carats of diamonds can be recovered for assessment." Further, an earlier test of several hundred tonnes of rock produced a diamond distribution profile -- Metalex never revealed the weight of its diamond parcel -- that pointed to a grade of 0.1 carat per tonne at best. That grade would be woefully inadequate in most circumstances, but Mr. Fipke insists the U2 diamonds are unusually attractive and therefore they should command a hefty price. His long-suffering believers hope Metalex will be in a position to start its big test early next year.