$21.64 Billion = ZeroThis is a closely paraphrased excerpt from a recent research report on ML
“By acting as its own General Contractor, Mercator Minerals expedited the construction of its 50,000 ton per day mill, saving perhaps up to one year of construction time and, combined with existing infrastructure benefits, appears on track to build the mine for $189 mm rather than up to $600 mm that it might have cost”
At $535 million, the current market capitalization for Mercator Minerals is considerably below the replacement cost of its new mill.
The proven, probable, measured, indicated and inferred resources published by Mercator shows that Mineral Park contains 3.0 billion pounds of copper, 797 mm lbs of moly and 80 mm oz of silver. Thus, the market is saying that its 21.64 Billion Dollars of contain value is, essentially, worthless!
Doing the math:
797 mm lbs of moly @ $15 equals $14.68 Billion
3 billion lbs of copper @ $2 equals $ 6.0 Billion
80 million oz of silver @ $12 equals $ 0.96 Billion
Conclusion: For all intents and purposes, the competition is essentially dead. Since mines traditionally leverage the value of their deposits to facilitate development, the market is saying that, as a general proposition, development elsewhere is IMPOSSIBLE.
After all, Mineral Park, one of the most spectacular deposits in North America is deemed to be, essentially, worthless.