I heartily recommend the book "The Investors Guide to Penny Mining Stocks" by Bishop. Amazon has used copies for under $10. Although the book is a little dated, and deals mostly with gold mines, it has some excellent chapters on the stages in bringing a mine from exploration to production. It might help deal with the process here.
I'm still long on Delta, but it's been an interesting ride. Remember, the most you can lose is 100%, but you can make a lot more than 100% if the mine gets into production (a process that can take several more years, by the way)
- Pete