Why unfortunately? Because every time this company releases a positive PR the PPS seems to drop.The resource estimate is out for Minera Andes' Los Azules property (linked right here) and the headline number is 11.2 billion Lbs contained copper. A very tasty number, and if the back-in agreement goes as planned, Minera will keep half of that and develop the mine with Xstrata.
However, looking a bit deeper into the numbers, there are more positive things to note. Let's concentrate on what I think is the the main one, namely the prescence of a potential starter pit deposit of higher grade copper that will allow any development a flying start revenues-wise. With 93MT at 0.97% copper, the assumed 100ktpd production facility (a 100,000tpd production facility is a requisit for Xstrata to earn its 50% project buyback), it would give Los Azules a ballpark potential production of 700m Lbs Cu for the first three years or so (well....year 2 and year 3 would get those numbers, as year one has also the commissioning rigmarole to go through). The quick'n'dirty ballpark mathematics works like this:
100,000tpd = 36.5MT per year
0.97% of that is copper = 354,050MT copper
90% Cu recovery = 318,645MT copper
converted into Lbs = 702.49M lbs copper
(as for the 93MT starter resource, that would get burned away in 2.54 years at fullspeed production)
0.97% of that is copper = 354,050MT copper
90% Cu recovery = 318,645MT copper
converted into Lbs = 702.49M lbs copper
(as for the 93MT starter resource, that would get burned away in 2.54 years at fullspeed production)
So with a potential 2Bn lbs (or so) of copper to sell in the first three years, capital payback doesn't seem to be a problem (and that's putting it mildly).
Bottom line: let's see how MAI.to stock reacts to this news. In a world run by logic and common sense it should fly, but that's assuming an awful lot about this market.