What I am getting at is that either (a) they have a sizeable amount of recovered materials (i.e., gold, diamonds) on hand, or (b) they knew that their PRs were false when they issued the PRs.
You say there is only option (b) because there is no pot of gold under option (a). I am not a negative as you: (a) seems possible to me. But I want to know what not-(a) would mean, and I can only think of (b) as the not-(a) alternative.
Does anyone think that there is another alternative (c)?
I am an amateur at this, and it would be unwise to rely on my opinions without your own independent confirmation in consultation with an investment professional.