Good question. I guess whoever designed that graph is the best...

Good question. I guess whoever designed that graph is the best one to answer that. Actually I think the chart shows that the SP does reach a new high when in successful full production; it's more the in-between stages of approvals, financing and construction that knock the SP down. CXO is actually a very bad example of the process, since they performed quite well in the two years prior to production. It seems to have been a bit of a reality check in terms of likely performance going forward that has rattled the market. Certainly, though, emotions and hype play their part in the exploration phase. Just look how AZS are performing at present, and WA1 earlier in the year. And of course PMET over the past year.