Ann: China Pit Scoping Study Finalised, page-43

Wheat and Barley are 2 different grains. But they are both grown on similar situated land, use similar fertilisers and can both be harvested by the same combine. They are near substitutes

Farmers change crops based on prices. Which one will make more money relative to the inputs

Zinc is used heavily in batteries and galvanizing, copper is going to be used heavily in electric cars (apart from the battery, all the cabling is copper) Think of the electrical networks of the world. All those galvinised towers with copper cables strung from them. Additionally, mines per se, use similar equipment, similar explosives, similar concentrators, similar transport

For your dollar of investment which one is going to make more money? Copper relative to zinc has just dropped 25%, many of the big miners are betting money on copper and to a lesser extent zinc (South32/Arizona purchase)

Whether we like it or not we're buying future earnings, based partly on the future prices of commodities such as Zn and Pb. Zn booms are short lived, as the world has effective capacity to bring on new supply. We practice comparitive advantage everyday in the things we buy, if we didn't people wouldn't understand things like the property market, or "hot suburbs"

I can't predict the future, but here is one fact. If the current cost of production doesn't cover all the costs of producing something, either we give up using it or the price rises. The price of mining Potash doesn't cover all the costs, i doubt half the world's population are going to give up eating food

Zn and Pb aren't going to set the world on fire but there is real money to be made mining Zn, just don't overpay for those future earnings