RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:3/share here i comeYou are probably right that it was just dumb luck that prevented management from doing an M&A over the past few years at possible higher valuations. However, with hindsight, it's easy to say the company should have hedged. Few companies hedge these days, particulary when they have such big margins to begin with, and most mining investors usually want exposure to higher prices. Companies that don't need to protect their margins to survive, like NSU (which has enjoyed cash production costs of $1-1.20/lb), generally don't hedge commodity prices, unless it's a requirement of a project financing. If you're a Capstone for example, with Cu production costs of almost $2 per lb, then you're more likely to have hedged when the Cu price was $3.25, or $3 or $2.75. You would be a hero now.
NSU has high zinc grades and with by-product credits, should be able to product Zn at a pretty low cost going forward, especially if there are no deleterious elements for which they would be penalized. They will continue to produce cash from Zn operations, just as they did with Au and Cu. As far as Capex goes, that should be about done now as the Zn plant nears completion soon. Future sustaining capex should be smaller especially in the next few years.