I very much doubt that MRT would sanction the commencement of drilling of a hole that would obviously not be able to completed before mid-May. Exploration without the cover of an exploration licence is illegal.
If NBD had been serious about a JV (and handing over the second tranche of $9.9 million) they could have entered into one long ago, especially knowing the limited remaining life of the licence. It is 4 months now since talks started and it's time to let go of the hope that they will still come to the party. I recommend a viewing of the film "Truly, Madly, Deeply" for those who have difficulty in letting go.
There go the Tasmanian oil and coal, East African oil and Kentucky coal. It's back to Malcolm's wonderful flare gas technology (negotiations with an unnamed party for a $300 million investment to start soon?) and the equally mysterious FASER cum Bose-Einstein condensate machine. Oh yea, and the $500 million odd damages award from Smart Win which some say is a virtual certainty.
One would imagine that they could drill at any point until the licence expires or renewed and expired.
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