Keep in mind also that in the early years there is a double bonus ie the strip ratio will be far less than 3:1 due to the near surface nature of the resource and the mining costs should be far less than $3.40/tonne as the cycle times will naturally be shorter compared to hauling material from say 250metre depths.
It is likely that should Cudeco go straight into ore extraction at surface the mining costs will be below $1/tonne on Day 1.
On the flip side however, once you pass your average depth both the strip ratio and mining cost will escalate.
Naturally the low early mining cost model is ideal for payback of plant and infrastructure and perhaps some joy in the share price/divvies.
And before our friends carve me up, I fess up to a background as an Earthmoving Contractor.
Best of luck to fellow shareholders.
Cheers - Surfydad
CDU Price at posting:
$2.08 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held