Eddie McGuire may have better things to focus upon these days as a media mogul rather than merely hosting his Millionaire Channel 9 TV show (or running the Collingwood Football Club for that matter).
But safe in the knowledge that a mineral commodities version of the prime-time quiz is unlikely to gain popular broader appeal, this week Strictly Boardroom brings you a MiningNews.net exclusive version of the show and in so doing tests your knowledge of the copper market.
There are prizes up for grabs too. Just like the real thing, the major prize is a cool million – although several copper entrepreneurs have done far better than that out of the recent bull run.
Perhaps the best example is Yong Keu Cha, who recently made the Times 2007 Rich List courtesy of his time at the helm of London-listed Kazahkmys.
Like the real thing too, the quiz moves from the easy questions through to the harder ones – although there’s no “phone-a-friend” or audience participation to help you.
As for the prizes, there are no safe havens in this version of Millionaire either – so to win anything you have to go right through and answer all questions correctly.
Given that the author has yet to bank a million in copper, the final question has been made particularly tough in order to avoid a payout (perhaps just like the real thing once again); with answers due on a postcard by this Wednesday.
What will be the currency denomination for the million-dollar prize? That remains at the judges’ discretion. The current favourite is Zimbabwean dollars (although the greenback is doing its level best to devalue quickly too). Here goes:
For $100: Which of the following is NOT a known by-product of copper mines?
(A) Molybdenum (B) Cobalt (C) Sulphur (D) Caesium
For $500: Which of the following countries produces the least amount of refined copper per annum?
(A) Chile (B) Albania (C) Australia (D) Belgium
For $1000: What is the approximate size of the global copper market per annum in million tonnes of consumption?
(A) 17.5 (B) 3.9 (C) 122.8 (D) 39.0
For $5000: As a general rule, where do the greatest profits currently lie along the mine-smelter-refinery copper value chain?
(A) copper concentrate production (B) smelting (C) refining (D) equally-shared
For $8000: What is the approximate copper price at present?
(A) $US2280/tonne (B) $US5200/tonne (C) $US8000/tonne (D) $US9000/tonne
For $50,000: How many potential copper projects globally are capable of producing greater than 100,000 tonnes per annum copper by 2015?
(A) less than 10 (B) 10-20 (C) 20-30 (D) greater than 30
For $100,000: Which major country had the greatest percentage rise in refined copper consumption in 2006?
(A) China (B) Italy (C) USA (D) Russia
For $250,000: High copper prices are driving substitution in some demand segments, notably in plumbing tube. Roughly how many tonnes annualised demand were lost to substitution effects during 2006?
(A) None (B) 100,000 (C) 400,000 (D) 1.2 million
For $500,000: Which of the following is the fastest-growing end use for copper since 2000?
(A) Air-conditioning tube (B) Ammunition (C) Electronics (D) Connector Strip
For $1 million: To the nearest cent, predict the weighted-average June 2008 three-month forward contract LME closing price?
That’s it folks – Answers to the $100 to $500,000 questions are given below – and they include a few big surprises: China is not always the right answer!
As stated above, answers to the $1 million question are due on a postcard to MiningNews.net editor Paul Garvey by Wednesday morning. As a booby prize, Strictly Boardroom is willing to buy a beer for anyone correctly answering all questions up to the tie-breaker (I trust in your honesty).
Good luck.
Allan Trench is Adjunct Professor of Mine Management & Mineral Economics, Western Australian School of Mines and is a non-executive director of Pioneer Nickel and Navigator Resources. He leads the copper analysis team at the CRU group (allan.trench@crugroup.com).
Answers: $100: (D); $500 (B); $1000 (A); $5000 (A); $7700 (C); $50,000 (D); $100,000 (B); $250,000 (C); $500,000 (B).
