<Anybody has an idea how vanadium price can impact DML's earnings???>
The Colorado Plateau mines which feed Dennison’s White Mesa Mill produce uranium/vanadium ore with average enrichments of about 0.20% U3O8 and 1.20% V205. So a ton of ore contains 4 lbs of U3O8 and 24 lbs of V2O5. At the current prices of $90 and $17.50, the V is worth more than the U, $420 vs. $360!!!
DML’s stated goal is to produce between 3 and 4 million lbs of V2O5 in 2008 from White Mesa which just restarted last month following a shutdown for refurbishment. Just looking at the increase in V2O5 price over the last 6 months, $7 to $17.50, the incremental market value of say 3.5 million lbs is $36,750,000.
I doubt that earnings estimates have caught up with the price increases of V2O5. However, backing out the price they pay the contract miners under their toll milling fee schedule (approximately ½ the incremental market value) and conservatively assuming all 2008 production comes from toll milling, I figure at least $18.4 million should fall to DML’s bottom line for 2008.
Of course a more interesting question IMO is what is the impact on the earnings of BRD and EFR, which is, in large measure, why I have been loading up on EFR and BRD in recent weeks. Someone keeps giving away BRD shares. I seem to pick up 1-2,000 shares daily, the last batch at $.465.
Regards
SMH |
