The actual cost of building a Tier 1 copper mineThe headline capital cost of Kamoa is USD 1.4 billion. This is indeed the pre-production capital expenditure required per the Kamoa PEA. However, according to the study, peak funding is USD 3.6 billion. So what precisely is the meaningfulness of the pre-production capital? Would one make the argument that theoretically, having completed the concentrate phase at a cost of 1.4 billion, the blister phase could be delayed or prolonged to limit the capital expense with a view to sustaining positive cash flow? It is all somewhat academic. The exploitation of an elephant copper deposit comes with an elephant price tag. That the market is valuing a century of copper reserves at less than zero is evidence for Alan Greenspan's proposition that the yield curve for risk assets is as steep as it has ever been. Granted, he could be held half responsible for this phenomenon.