Mining LandIt is interesting that one of the few and most successful exploration companies is trading right around book value. There are other such examples. Considering that the vast majority of companies are unsuccessful at proving up an economic ore body, funds which capitalise them are essentially 100% wasted. In other words, in this industry, one is very seldom fortunate, and fortune means breaking even. One might call this negative convexity. It view of this characteristic, it is a wonder the sector attracts any capital at all. One hopes that reason will eventually expel capital from the sector, but this only happens once in a blue moon, e.g., in late 2015 to early 2016, or at the turn of this century, when investors are rationally cautious, and prices are sensible. But the careless money always seems to come back at the slightest sign of life. And the trouble with a commodity business is that the poor decisions of competitors are a detriment to one's own business. There are so many factors out of one's control. Needless capacity increases and government action make it almost unmanageable.