My opinionI have been really tied up and so was only able to catch up on this board's postings to-day. My opinion is that we should all re-read Brumells "Best to Relax" and Shooter's "the real question". In terms of a buy out at this stage Shooter alludes to the fact that if we use a legal definition of ore reserves we do not have any yet. That does not mean that this is not now the best pgm exploration project in North America (my opinion), nor that the potential is very large. But, to look at from the point of view of Amplats, they can pick up another 30% of RV by buying out pfn at -- what price per share? and how many shares o/s? Compare that with what they have paid to date for 60 or 70%. As for someone else buying PFN at this stage - they get only 30% of the play and Anglo will be calling the shots. Not too many majors would be interested (IMO).
As for Amplats losing interest and sitting back? No way! I am sure they recognize how good this play is. I am sure they are still interested in diversifying geographically, and would put this into production as soon as feasible in their minds. I think it was Brumell who pointed out the new interest in and theories of pgm deposition in Canada. I am sure PFN/Amplats, if not the leaders, are in the vanguard of knowlegeable pgm explorers, in a sector that is still heating up.
My opinion is that when things are going up people tend to think they will go up forever, and the reverse is true. Charles points out that $700 is a d--- good price for pd. But I would bet there are many others who look at $700 being a lot lower than $1100 so have lost interest, and figure that the pd metal play is over. I am not one of them.
I continue to be perplexed with the stock price. It seems every news release we get better results but the price goes down (maybe due to pd price drop????). However if the next results are so-so Bernard could be right and we see .62. I would not like to see that, nor poor results. And I will be pleasantly shocked to see results that are spectacularly better than what we have seen to date. But--- the metal is in the ground and just like cream rising to the top, eventually the share price will reflect the potential of the property. As Brumell says "Best to Relax". Consider this a long term investment (6 months or a year???) and if you are long you will not miss the boat!
Good luck to us all!