An Ode to Copper

Mining investors feeling the pain have been offered a rare spot of relief, intentionally or not, by a copper mining company in Canada.

Shareholders in Toronto-listed Copper Mountain Mining have not had much to smile about as of late: shares fell 8 per cent on Monday and are down 63 per cent this year. Since 2011, they have dropped by more than 90 per cent. But as the company gets squeezed by gold and copper prices, it has still dug the resources out of its investor relations department to finance the recording of its own corporate song (hyperlink: http://www.cumtn.com/s/index.php?id=154&vid=204#pagetop).

First picked-up by eagle-eyed commentator Otto Rock, an independent mining analyst who publishes the Peru-based blog IKN, the song is a gentle ditty in the depths of a bear market. “Anything is possible!” its chorus blares, in a North American drawl that swings from husky to breathless shouting. “Anything is possible at the Copper Mountain mine, where the impossible gets done every time.”

North America’s mining scene is famously promotional: every mine is world class and every geological anomaly is a mine just waiting to happen. “You will need a telescope to see how high the price of platinum will go,” mine promoter Robert Friedland promised two years ago, before platinum resumed its current downward slide.

Copper Mountain’s latest video however, which was first released in June, surely ranks as one of the worst pieces of corporate promotion of all time. “We take care of our own,” it whispers, over photos of an all-white mine rescue team in red hard hats, emblazoned with the Canadian flag. “Man or woman, the rock don’t care, our Canadian spirit will surely lift us there.”

Surprisingly, Copper Mountain is not the first company to pay for its own corporate song. Accountancy Ernst & Young recorded “It Was a Happy Day” after a team-building event in 2001, whilst Starbucks, known for playing music intended to hurry customers through its stores, published “We Built This Starbucks” in 2006. “Say you won’t slow down, or rest at this place,” it runs, after an intro that is strangely inspiring.

On Tuesday morning, Copper Mountain did not return questions about how much the video and lyrics had cost the company’s investors. Its filings however show that in total, it spent C$6m on corporate G&A last year, equal to an unspectacular 2.3 per cent of sales. Nor did a company spokesman respond to questions about the song’s nationalist overtones.

“While the ball mills roll, our Japanese friends need more,” one lyric reads, as overhead shots of diggers and snaps of mining ceremonies complete the media assault. Some of the lyrics are sadly inaudible, thanks to a backing track of trucks and crumbling rock, but below is our best attempt at a transcript of the full song:

Anything is Possible

Anything is possible!

Anything is possible!

Four hundred strong, we make Princeton home

And we don’t need no [inaudible], we take care of our own

Man or woman, the rock don’t care

Our Canadian spirit will surely lift us there

Anything is possible

At the Copper Mountain mine

Where the impossible gets done every time

Anything is possible

Anything is possible

Against all odds we make copper from ore

While the ball mills roll, our Japanese friends need more

From the open pits, the mighty trucks roll on

Putting safety first, they’ll be home before long

Anything is possible

At the Copper Mountain mine

Where the impossible gets done every time

Anything is possible

Anything is possible

For generations these mines have held strong

The wise investor knows when it’s time to hold on

Anything is possible!

Anything is possible!

At the Copper Mountain mine