The World Will Need 10 Million Tons More Copper to Meet Demand
- Supply gap looms as mines become trickier and pricier to build
- BI analysts warn of possible dearth of mine projects from 2025
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Within a decade, the world may face a massive shortfall of what’s arguably the most critical metal for global economies: copper.
The copper industry needs to spend upwards of $100 billion to close what could be an annual supply deficit of 4.7 million metric tons by 2030 as the clean power and transport sectors take off, according to estimates from CRU Group. The potential shortfall could reach 10 million tons if no mines get built, according to commodities trader Trafigura Group. Closing such a gap would require building the equivalent of eight projects the size of BHP Group’s giant Escondida in Chile, the world’s largest copper mine.