A silver mine can yield $11,000$ ounces of silver at a variable cost of $$32$ per ounce. The fixed costs of operating the mine are $$44,000$

per year. In half the years, silver can be sold for $$48$ per ounce; in the other years, silver can be sold for only $$24$ per ounce. Ignore

taxes.

a$.$ What is the average cash flow you will receive from the mine if it is always kept in operation and the silver is always sold in the

year it is mined?

Note: Leave no cells blank. Enter $"$O$"$ wherever required. Do not round intermediate calculations.

Answer is complete and correct.

b$.$ Now suppose you can costlessly shut down the mine in years of low silver prices. What happens to the average cash flow from

the mine?

Note: Do not round intermediate calculations.

Answer is complete but not entirely correct.