RE:KWG Future is the Patent...... Not necessarily ROF johnale, would tend to concur with your general overview of the current and continued ongoing challenges and opportunities related to the ROF - 1) without FN buy in nothing will get done REGARDLESS of who puts forward a plan and $$...2) KWG with the prospect of getting the patent proven and approved certainly has an avenue beyond ROF for economic and financial gain. But suggest the 2 are not mutually exclusive.
I bring to your attention the second part of the proposed partnership proposed by KWG. And I quote:
"The parties have also agreed to discuss at a later date the opportunities for equity participation in KWG subsidiary Muketi Metallurgical LP, which is prosecuting two chromite-refining patent applications in Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and USA."
If the patent is approved 1st, then the impetus for the Fns to get on board with the ROF would be greatly enhanced. IMO this would also mean that KWG would be less inclined to sell the rights to the patent therefore retaining ownership with a royalty income base. In addition, suggest the outright sale of KWG to the Chinese would not be embraced imo by the 2 levels of gov't.
IMO the best case scenario for KWG is the proven patent/process viability being confirmed first as the ROF, even if approvals and funding etc could be put in place to commence the ROF, would still be a few years away before the mining actually commence. Funding from the patent could be leveraged by KWG for funding to purchase more claims(rest of Bold/FNC and perhaps Probe, BMK) and even perhaps buy out NOT(now wouldn't that be ironical).
As a caveat to this, I know about as much or even less than others on this board as to what exactly is or will happen. Speculation is free and needs no DD...It is interesting though that over the last week or so there seems to be a PR push by NOT as many ROF articles have appeared with their name included ..notice however that the article in which the Mining Minute interviewed Coutts extensively about the history of the ROF, he never mentioned KWG even in passing as if they don't exist in the ROF. The animosity seems to be ever present between NOT and KWG.
GLTA