Realizing that Argonaut-Madrone would rather liquidate than throw good money after bad, Energy eventually gave in.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break

Argonaut and Madrone could walk away in part because they had so little skin in the game.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break

Also starring is tenor Giuseppe Filianoti as Jason, the famous Argonaut who fathered Medea's ill-fated sons.

NPR: Motherhood and Murder: Cherubini's 'Medea'

But under the Energy term sheet, those warrants would then bounce back to the Argonaut-Madrone holding company if Solyndra became defunct.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break

"The DOE really thinks politically before it thinks economically, " Steve Mitchell, an Argonaut managing director, wrote to Mr. Kaiser on December 7, 2010.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break

That gave Argonaut-Madrone 99.9% control of the net operating losses.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break

Among the largest underlying components of GDXJ, in trading today B2Gold Corp ( Toronto: BTO) is off about 0.3%, Torex Gold Resources Inc ( Toronto: TXG) is down about 0.5%, and Argonaut Gold Inc ( Toronto: AR) is lower by about 0.5%.

FORBES: Noteworthy ETF Inflows: GDXJ, BTO, TXG, AR