The goal of mining

[BTGmoderatorDC]

The goal of mining companies is to discover the richest, most accessible sources of the ore they mine. Their success in reaching this goal, however, is not the sole factor determining the financial success of failure of a particular company. Profits for mining companies are largely dependent on prices determined by the global supply of a given ore, not the amount of the ore supplied by any one company.

Which of the following inferences about mining companies is best supported by the information above?

(A) Discovery of a new source of ore could result in a financial loss for some mining companies.
(B) Mining companies should not invest in locating new sources of ore.
(C) Mining companies are consistently profitable as long as global supplies remain stable.
(D) Mining companies need to offset fluctuations in global supply by discovering new sources of ore.
(E) Mining companies cannot be profitable if the global supply of ore they mine increases.

What is wrong with option E?

OA A

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

The goal of mining companies is to discover the richest, most accessible sources of the ore they mine. Their success in reaching this goal, however, is not the sole factor determining the financial success of failure of a particular company. Profits for mining companies are largely dependent on prices determined by the global supply of a given ore, not the amount of the ore supplied by any one company.

Which of the following inferences about mining companies is best supported by the information above?

(A) Discovery of a new source of ore could result in a financial loss for some mining companies.
(B) Mining companies should not invest in locating new sources of ore.
(C) Mining companies are consistently profitable as long as global supplies remain stable.
(D) Mining companies need to offset fluctuations in global supply by discovering new sources of ore.
(E) Mining companies cannot be profitable if the global supply of ore they mine increases.

What is wrong with option E?

OA A

If profits are largely dependent on prices of ore, one can deduce that simply discovering ore won't necessarily lead to more profits. This is what A is after. (And notice how squishy and noncommittal the language is. "could" result for "some" companies.)

E is far too sweeping a judgment. They cannot be profitable? Even if they're unprofitable 99.99% of the time under such conditions, that statement would be untrue.