question re company accounting, page-5

think about a mining project that consists of a lot of shallow pits which would each be mined over a short (say 2 year period) - it may help conceptualise why overburden pre-strip costs should be viewed as a production cost and not a capex cost

irrespective of accounting treatment, 'capex' in my mind captures infrastructure only (eg processing plant)

who cares if you can produce gold at a $500 op cost if it cost you $1,500 an ounce to move the dirt on top? (extreme example)