zirconium market improving, page-12

@angelus

1) I agree on the gold side. Which is why I cursed a lot when they sold their hedge. OTOH, they sold it with a nice profit, and I am pretty sure the POG will at least see 1500 again in the coming months. That's when they should do a massive forward sale imO. If we get ~ 1400 out of it, it's good enough for a bread and butter project ...

2) Even at current prices, the DZP will be hugely profitable. If we hold capex down around 800-900 mio (quite likely imO), the DZP will be able to repay that within less than 3 years. And then it will go on producing for 50+ years. So even from a short term perspective, the DZP should be a winner for any strategic partner. In the long run, it's a no-brainer. You can bet your posterior that ShinEtsu will take the long view. They don't want to depend on China for HREEs (just as Thyssen doesn't want to depend on niobium from Vale).