policy of hedging 50% at us$1.45/lb copper, page-6

Stu,

If I recall correct they were only planning on hedging 50% about three months in advance, so that they were never again caught badly by PPP, when what they had already mined and delivered dropped drastically in value months later and they owed money back to their offtaker.

If my understanding is correct then the impact on us should not be too bad, with the effect merely being a delay of about half of three months before we see the benefit of the LME price rise. The June Q prices received will be good, but will dissapoint those expecting LME prices. But so what, current quarter prices even with hedging are likely to be close to LME prices as things look atm.

Above all we need to be forward looking. The whole capital structure of the company changed last month. Imho therefore it will be best to rule a line in the sand at 30 June, looking at the balance sheet then, and only looking at cash flow and profits on a forward basis. It is still valid to look back at the costs over prior quarters, they will still tell a valid story.

Just my opinion for the weekend,
EL