I'm very curious to see how things compare to the 2008 PFS. I would be quite happy if we were able to hit the 2008 numbers. We've got a few things working for us and against us.
3 Year Trailing Metal Prices
In 2008, each tonne of ore had a value of $42.55 using trailing 3 year prices.
In 2012, this same ore has a value of $40.99 using trailing 3 year prices.
Grades
Our 2012 RE had roughly similar grades to the 2008 RE. I suspect our recent drilling will improve our starter pit versus 2008. The starter pit could provide a huge boost to the NPV.
Operating Cost
The 2008 operating cost was $12.49/tonne. The increased mill rate versus 2008 will lower our operating cost, but this effect may be somewhat offset by inflation over the past 5 years.
Capital Costs
The 2008 capital cost was $2950M for a 100,000 tpd operation. We've got the effects of inflation and the increased mill rate working against us. The bright spot is that 2008 prices were also at a commodity peak, so the inflation effect may be muted.
Metal Recoveries
The recovery rate for the various metals has changed since 2008. I don't think we have enough info to determine whether this impacts anything.
