Hi probing, I don't think P/E is very relevant in the valuation....

Hi probing, I don't think P/E is very relevant in the valuation. It's more dependent on resources the company controls. This is best valued using discounted cashflow (DCF).

For example, imagine buying a company at P/E of 15 when it only had 3 years mine life remaining, and no prospect of more!

To give two examples, I own OXR and PSA. OXR trades at P/E of 332. PSA traded this year at P/E of about 4. The difference -- OXR has enormous reserves to mine and projects coming on stream, PSA has a few years worth of income, and needs to find more.