Resource investors are trained to focus on the obvious signals. They study drill intercepts, assay grades, and commodity prices, then attempt to determine what a deposit might ultimately be worth. Yet some of the most revealing information in mining arrives long before a resource estimate is published. It appears in the structure of a transaction, in what sophisticated parties agree to accept, retain, or defer when a deal is signed. Cash creates a clean exit. Equity, royalties, and staged earn-ins preserve exposure to future upside. The people closest to an asset often reveal their ...