So will they or won't they? Will China concede to 20%-plus price increases for iron ore, or will the country continue to insist on paying no more than a single-digit raise? And what will CVRD (NYSE:RIO) do if that's the case? Does it dare call China's bluff and take the risks of selling more iron on the spot market? Or will it perhaps try to carve out a dual-market pricing structure -- one price for China and a second one for everybody else?

Questions, questions, questions.

Well, here's what we know. CVRD had another strong quarter to open this year. Revenue rose about 50% as the company boosted production growth for most of its products with higher realized prices. Looking specifically at iron, we see that the company boosted iron ore output by almost 18% from last year and took in 66% more on a per-ton basis.

And while production costs continue to rise, the company is staying ahead of them. In fact, adjusted EBIT (a proxy for operating income) rose 68%, while adjusted EBITDA rose 64% this quarter. Operating cash flow grew as well, though some of the growth was sucked away by foreign currency movements.

It's this cost structure at CVRD that keeps me enthused about the stock. If my math is right, it's one of the lowest-cost miners in the world, with costs per ton well below the industry averages in iron, alumina, and copper. So that does give CVRD a relative leg up on rivals like Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP) and BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) in iron, Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and Alcan (NYSE:AL) in alumina, and Phelps Dodge (NYSE:PD) in copper. It should be noted, though, that it doesn't produce an enormous amount of alumina and copper yet. Hey, even Warren Buffett says marginal production cost is important in judging the management of miners.

What I like even more is that CVRD missed analyst guidance with this quarter -- not really because of anything management did wrong, but because of the impact of weather (heavy rains) and foreign exchange. So now the stock has softened a bit, even though the markets for industrial metals are still quite firm. There are plenty of reasons to be nervous about buying a metal producer this late in the game, but if you believe global growth will stay on target, CVRD might be one to keep in your sights.

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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).