I don't think what you stated is exactly accurate.
The reason I monitor the Copper price is because obviously CVV is building a Copper mine. The potential for Copper shortages on the international market in the coming years are openly known. As i understand it, the demand for Copper is increasing significantly and the Copper supply is not going to be able to keep up. This supply/demand relationship is playing out in the uptrending Copper prices. An uptrending Copper price is obviously relevant to CVV's project.
You said CVV needs to be "above $US 4.00/lb to be turning a profit", but i don't think that is correct.
The Pre-feasibility Study did use an assumed price of $US 4.00/lb (as shown in below screenshot), but at that price the NPV is calculated to be $2 billion dollars (PFS details shown directly below).
Pre Feasibility Details for 100% owned Caravel Copper Project:
- Project NPV increased to A$2.0B
- Project payback reduced to less than five years.
- IRR increases to 21%
If the price of Copper increases above $US 4.00/lb, then the NPV goes up significantly (as shown in below screenshot, about $1 Billion for every $US 0.50c/lb increase in Copper prices).
However, if the price is a bit lower than the assumed $US 4.00/lb, then the NPV will also reduce, but that does not mean that the project is not profitable.
As I mentioned above, the potential for Copper shortages on the international market in the coming years are openly known, and if today's Copper price is at about $US 3.90/lb (up again today, and shown in below screenshot), then it is arguable that the Copper price will be well above the price assumed within the PFS of $US 4.00/lb when CVV is ready to produce Copper (in the above screenshot, CVV also state that the price of $US 4.00/lb is a "modest assumption" and that "there is significant scope for upside on these prices").
So accordingly, there exists a likelihood that by the time CVV is ready for production, the Copper price will be well above $US 4.00/lb, and that for every $US 0.50c/lb increase in the Copper price, the NPV for the project will also increase by about $1 billion dollars (as shown in above screenshot).
(20min delay)