"Build and make a saleable product -- 5 years more best case

Who cares - POC"

Although there is logic to what your are saying- that the POC  5 years from now rather than the current POC is what will determine future profitability. But for a company to take advantage of that increased POC 5 years in the future, they obviously have to act now. So, while the current POC itself may not be the determining factor- the assessment of forces that are currently positively impacting the POC and causing it to rise now need to be taken into account  to project forward and decide whether or not to invest at this time. So, for example- maybe some of the current rise is due to production disruptions related to covid. They might assess that this wouldn't be a factor in the future (God- we hope not). Similarly, there may be other short term factors, such as labor disruptions that might be discounted. On the other hand- they might optimistically assess that the current rise is due to the current increase in demand because of  long term expansion of the US and Chinese economies. Likewise, they might project that there will be increased long term demand for copper as economies switch from carbon fuel based economies to more electrified economies- and that the current rise in the POC might be already the result of that process starting as well as others anticipating the same thing. The anticipation of a US infrastructure rebuild would also be in this catagory.  In the end- the current dramatic rise in POC might create a positive psychological environment that helps build momentum for investment in new projects. At least that's what can we hope for.