Hi $unny
I'm not about to give any solid trading advice on this one since sure, it could get a lot worse, but then again they might just pull it off. When I think of this venture, I think of the trading ships of old - the promise of rich rewards for investors, but only if the ship makes it back.
There are lots of negatives regarding soverign risk; recent news is that the locals of Magia Yahan (the region with gold potential) held a meeting comdemming the actions of (& agreement between) the Puntlad Gov & Range as unlawful (aside from being really pissed by what is alleged to have happened there). Until the legislation that governs exploration & mining activities is emplaced these type of issues will continue (they did say they would be supportive of mining activities if the correct laws were enacted).
By their actions it seems the Puntland gov is fully committed to making this thing work, but Range could be playing with fire if the local admin does not act responsibly & instead forces things with a gun.
Then there's the recent seizure of Mogadishu by the Islamic courts & all the political shennanigans that have been and will continue to transpire. For the sake of discussion, while the Tran Fed Gov might not be viable in the long term, it seems Puntland might be able to exist in its own right (as it virtually does right now) - there are plenty of countries with current political/religous turmoil that are still mineral/oil producers - the money potential & strategic importance of energy reserves seems to be enough for the big companies to persist. So IMHO a significant test as to the viability of Range's operations is whether they can in the immediate future get either the NKOC or some other Co to sign on the dotted line - and in parallel the govs get their legislation in order. Signing should be a matter of days-weeks. Legislation, months.
I guess a small punt (that you'd be OK with losing - but then again, who likes that) might be in order, since what does it matter if you pay 2, 3 cents etc when in a years time it could be trading at many multiples. I wouldn't bet the house though - I haven't.