TECK forced into a corner by CUUThe continuing delay by TECK/CUU to release their 2019 joint venture work results about Schaft Creek can only mean good news for CUU shareholders. I for one am very disappointed at the more than five-month wait that we have had to endure, but key information given on Agoracom by Lynn Ball in writing on April 23rd (see previous post below mine) and some on-going issues with TECK are all pointing to having TECK being forced into a corner by CUU. And that is excellent news for the value of Schaft Creek because it means the endgame is near for this project. 1) We are being constantly told that TECK and CUU cannot agree on a joint press release yet and that TECK is withholding information that CUU wants published. One can only assume that the value of Schaft Creek today after the 2019 work program is much more higher than 2013 if TECK is so not inclined to publish it. 2) Why? Because if the new value of Schaft Creek is above the 2013 NI 43-101 report, TECK or CUU have 30 or 45 days to prepare and issue a new edition of the NI 43-101 report and that could cost up to a million dollars. 3) Naturally, CUU would want TECK to do the work because they have all the engineers and the expertise to create a new NI 43-101 report at a lesser cost than CUU. Also, the value and prestige of a new TECK report would be much more credible than a NI 43-101 report issued by CUU. Finally, CUU does not have the money to do it, period. 4) This comes down to the current issue of why the basic joint venture work program data is not yet released. Well, it would definitely attract way more attention to Schaft Creek and bring possible new buyers of CUU's share to the table, something that TECK might not be interested in at all! This shows how important the press release has become to CUU's management because they want the true current value of Schaft Creek to be made public, and all shareholders should support this. It might at last put Schaft Creek into play on the market. 5) Rumour has it that the CEO of CUU seems to have sent back initial drafts of the press release to TECK at least five times since January 2020. He appears then to be fighting for us, the shareholders, and forcing TECK into a corner to release all the key ingredients of the 2019 work results. To be fair to both parties, those results usually come in a 300-page document and to summarize it into a 2-page press release can be challenging! But the delay shows how much is at stake now for both firms. 6) Based on all this, we can presume that TECK must have upgraded this contentious file to a higher level of its engineering staff and they should be looking at it with more seriousness at the moment, like an upcoming development satellite project. This is good news too. 7) Could we expect a decision by TECK in the next 3 to 4 months about Schaft Creek? It is not outside the realm of possibilities as soon as the results are out and a new NI 43-101 report is commissioned, or not. TECK might decide instead to buy CUU's share and get over it with. 8) So what is CUU wanting now? If you followed this saga since 2011 or earlier, you understand that the board of directors at CUU and especially the majority shareholder Ernesto want to maximize the potential of the sale of Schaft Creek to its full value. We might have another round of exploration if they deem it certain that way more value can be added to the mine, or they will finally be satisfied with the 2019 results and proceed with a sale. Newmont would be a great partner but also TECK could replicate what it did with QB2 and buy CUU's share, then sell half the mine to a Chinese or Japanese consortium. Whatever TECK chooses, CUU is now forcing TECK to make a decision about it. 9) The Van Dyke report is due around May 9th or so and this will be fun to read too. 10) I wanted April to be exciting and it did not happen because of TECK and the COVID-19 delays. Let's hope that May will compensate for it big time...