is higher grade copper coming .., page-12

The US dollar thing is a bit of a crock. ~30% of the base metal price rises over the last 5 years are due to US dollar weakness. A weaker dollar might mean higher costs but it also means higher revenues. The US dollar provides them with a natural hedge of sorts.

I randomly picked an analyst report and came across JBWere with long term price forecasts of $2. My point is that any analyst assessing this project will conclude that it is uneconomical in the longer term unless costs are significantly reduced below what they regard as a long term base price. That is why it is important for them to keep the focus on how they will reduce costs -- particularly given that they alluded to much lower costs only a few months ago.

If people start thinking this is not a long term proposition then it impacts on general sentiment.