copper price, page-31

VYR, Curiousone,

The pit footprint is rapidly diminishing ( think about it - the deeper they go, the quicker it diminishes).
It also becomes harder to work (despite the favorable strip ratio) due to using the machinery in a confined space. Mining of the open pit is due for completion mid next year - there is no benefit to stringing that time frame out, in fact the sooner the better (if there is no ore left to excavate) as that puts a massive dent in mining costs ( without talking about any "commercial"drive to go under the pit- not yet confirmed) and we then rely on processing stockpiles until (hopefully) another source of ore is confirmed.
Yes, they should be making very good income now and in the near term, yes they have (thank goodness to great decision making) excellent hedging in place. - Still, there is little " buffer" room, and future plant feed needs to be found asap.
A previous poster referred to management not moving on multiple fronts at a fast enough rate - It is my belief that they are doing as much as humanly possible to achieve the best possible outcomes. It should be remembered that (unlike a previous time in a Sydney office with multiple staff on payroll) it is now the CFO and CEO at head office - yep, guess who's been organising all that stuff (too many initiatives to list) on so many fronts with multiple stakeholders over the past couple of years to save this company from going under .
Fingers crossed for some exploration success and also for the PHES outcomes.
GLTAH. Foyt