That's an excellent point about Ludin. I hadn't heard of this. There's a jurisdiction risk with Chile. Maybe the risk is exaggerated a little, but you'd much rather be in Australia or Canada than anywhere else. I've been a little apprehensive about Hillside due to our 0.50% grade of copper. It's certainly much better than the proposed 0.25% Caraval project in WA.
Every article I read tells me of an upcoming shortage, lack of recent investment, huge demand with decarbonisation, China, etc. The bull case is obvious and yet seemingly overlooked by politicians and unhinged climate activists. I almost hope there's a recession and the copper price crashes. I'd love to load up on Rex cheaply, although the real risk is trying to be too cute by selling and hoping to buy back later. Not my style. I keep chipping away at my Rex holding. Adding a bit more every few weeks.
However while re-reading South32's annual report yesterday (a little light reading over Easter) I focused on their prized Sierra Gorda mine in Chile. The report reads: "Ore grade processed (%, Cu) 0.42)". If I'm reading that correctly, it's less than our Hillside project.
BHP realised with OZ Minerals, as did Rio with their Mongolian purchase, that buying such projects doesn't necessarily save money, but it saves at least a decade when all the exploration, feasibility studies, and permitting has already been done. It allows them to quickly overcome years of under-investment. Hillside is long life, near infrastructure, in Australia, and ready to build. I'm pretty confident it either gets built by us, or we get bought out. Our market cap would be pocket change for Sandfire, Glencore, S32, etc.
RXM Price at posting:
26.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
