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INVENTORY
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
INVENTORY [Text Block]
4.

INVENTORY

Inventory is as follows:

    September 30,     December 31,  
    2011     2010  
Current Assets:   (unaudited)        
Copper in process $  3,204,022   $  4,142,922  
Finished goods   16,322     43,813  
Material and supplies   555,533     498,864  
    3,775,877     4,685,599  
Long-Term Assets:            
Stockpiles and ore on leach pads   7,312,890     10,228,475  
Total Inventory $  11,088,767   $  14,914,074  

The Company’s inventories are carried at the lower of average cost or net realizable value. Copper in process and finished goods inventories are valued using the average cost of production and include all costs of purchase, conversion costs (direct costs and an allocation of fixed and variable production overheads) and other costs incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition. The Company considers only those costs that are consistent with its estimate of costs to be incurred at a normalized production level, currently estimated at 25,000,000 pounds per annum, as inventoriable costs. Costs incurred in excess of this standard are expensed as incurred as abnormal costs which are included in costs applicable to sales within the condensed consolidated statement of operations. Accordingly, during the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2011, the Company expensed $3,038,489 and $9,012,899 respectively, of abnormal production costs due to the underutilization of plant capacity. During the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2010, the Company expensed $2,849,091 and $4,675,851, respectively, of abnormal production costs due to the underutilization of plant capacity.

The current portion of copper in process inventory is determined based on the expected amounts to be processed within the next 12 months. Inventories not expected to be processed within the next 12 months are classified under long–term assets as stockpiles and ore on leach pads.