RE:I Did Not Hear That True JR didn't flat out state he wouldn't sell the company, but notice the only option he emphasized going forward was a deal with a private equity firm as the primary source of initial capex funding. The other components of funding the project he mentioned won't bring TLG anywhere close to the $1B USD initial capex number (approx. $1.36B CAD at the current exchange rate of $1.00 CAD = $ 0.73 USD). Now, maybe he's playing possum by publicly informing current producers that he's got a private equity deal brewing to perhaps put pressure on them to offer a superior JV agreement or maybe even a generous takeout offer, and of course JR could change his mind even if this currently isn't his strategy, so retail investors don't know for sure. Just my impression based on what he did say about the project and how great he thought it was - sounded to me like a guy who wants TLG involved in the building of the mining operation and the cashflow he's expecting once the mine is in production, but of course, with JR you never know - he may be over-hyping the mine in the hopes of selling.
If he does end up getting the money from a private equity firm in exchange for joint ownership of the company, it will be TLG that will execute the mine build. Private equity firms buy companies in whole or in part, but don't tend to run the operations of the company going forward, so this will almost certainly be the responsibility of JR and his team unless JR steps down as CEO and someone else is brought in as CEO to pick up the ball and move it forward.