I did some research on the cost of mining and processing a lb. of copper and they range from a low of $1.16 to a high of $1.40.
There are 2 kinds of copper mines, open pit and underground. Open pit is clearly the cheapest because it is basically a dig, load, haul and process operation. Construction workers and truck drivers are a lot cheaper than miners working underground.
Another mining company I am following is an underground mine with some 11 miles of tunnels. Like the Chloride Copper mine, it was also closed in 1996. That company has already spent $11 million and they still have a lot to do. Just test drilling, mapping and venting the tunnels is expensive. They need to grade and maintain a Forest Service road to haul the ore down a mountain to be processed somewhere and they have yet to identify where.
The previous mining company used the old Magma Copper mine (BHP) at the bottom of the mountain but that was all destroyed around 2006. The nearest place I have found for them to process the ore is a 70 mile trip from the mine. Now I would guess their costs will be higher than $1.50!
The value of the copper reserves has not been included in my estimated market cap. Let's figure 8,000,000 of ore recovered from the tailing piles with a profit of $2.25 and add that to the market cap and what should the SIRG value be along with the price per share?
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