Southport Mining Corporation Is Considering a New Mining Venture in Indonesia

question 40

Essay

Southport Mining Corporation is considering a new mining venture in Indonesia. There are two uncertainties associated with this prospect; the metallurgical properties of the ore and the net price (market price minus mining and transportation costs) of the ore in the future.
The metallurgical properties of the ore would be classified as either "high grade" or "low grade". Southport's geologists have estimated that there is a 70% chance that the ore will be "high grade", and otherwise, it will be "low grade". Depending on the net price, both ore classifications could be commercially successful.
The anticipated net prices depended on market conditions, and also on the metallurgical properties of the ore. Southport's economists have simplified the continuous distribution of possible prices into a two-outcome discrete distribution ("high" or "low" net price) for the investment analysis. The probabilities of these net prices, and the associated outcomes (in millions of dollars), are summarized below.
-What should the Southport do? What is their expected profit?

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Definitions:

Separately Excited

Describes an electrical circuit or device (typically in motors or generators) where the primary and the excitation circuits are electrically isolated from each other.

Compound

A substance formed from two or more elements chemically united in fixed proportions, often exhibiting properties different from those of the individual elements.

Electric Energy

Electric energy is the form of energy generated by the movement of electrons through conductors, and it can be used for a variety of applications including lighting, heating, and powering motors.

Commutator Segments

Sections of a commutator, which is a device used in electric motors and generators to reverse the direction of current.