Extracting it is polluting but its consumption is necessary in large quantities for the production of electric cars, for energy transport and also for the development of artificial intelligence. But instead of growing, supply will begin to decline due to a lack of investment in new mines
More and more copper is needed for the ecological transaction, but precisely because it comes from a particularly polluting type of extraction there is growing environmentalist resistance to extracting it. It is also this loop that explains the price boom: plus 30 percent in two years, 18 percent in two months, and on Friday the barrier of 10,000 dollars a ton was crossed for the first time since 2022, despite the fact that between 2010 and by 2024 production has increased by 8 million tonnes. But only if it reached 12,000 dollars, according to analysts, could the 150 billion dollars needed to search for new deposits be found. Meanwhile, one effect of the situation is the sensational offer of 39 billion dollars by the Australian mining giant Bhp Billiton for the purchase of the South African sister conglomerate Anglo American – De Beers: Anglo American is in particular the global gold giant, and its diamond subsidiary De Beers. In particular, he wrote the famous advertising slogan “a diamond is forever”. The operation has significance for the copper market that Anglo American controls in Chile and Peru, and would allow it to reach 10 percent of global supply. The rest, perhaps, could have been unpacked.
It’s a fictional story Ernest Oppenheimer, a young German Jew who emigrated to London to train as a technician in the selection of precious stones who, sent “in the field” to South Africa to “cut his teeth”, with Napoleonic style set up his own business, founded the Anglo American Corporation Limited in 1917 to extract gold, and became so rich that he even managed to buy the diamond giant De Beers. Thus giving life to a twin empire which, after a succession of heirs and trustees, is still in the hands of the same family. His nephew Nicky Oppenheimer, South Africa’s and Africa’s third richest man, formally renounced the vice-presidency of De Beers and Anglo American in 2012 but remains their main private shareholder. However, there is also a 7 percent share in public hands. The giant played a key role in piloting the process of ending apartheid, and is still a pillar of the South African economy. The South African government would therefore have given a firm no to the proposal, which was also considered offensive due to a value judged to be low.
Large quantities of copper are needed not only for the production of electric cars, but also for energy transport networks to new power stations, and for the construction of new data centers by technology companies. Infrastructures, the latter, which will be fundamental to continue with digital development and also to be able to continue progress in artificial intelligence. In the past, China has been able to provide and in the last decade has covered 40 percent of the necessary increase in supply. But due to lack of capital to invest, it is estimated that it will fall to 16 percent in the next five years.
According to the International Energy Agency, the copper market grew by 50 percent between 2017 and 2022 and is close to $200 billion. The amount of copper consumed worldwide has doubled in the last 20 years. According to the consultancy Cru, a further 4 million tonnes will need to be extracted between now and 2030 to meet potential demand. But instead of growing, supply will begin to decline starting in 2027, due to a lack of investment in new mines. Rich mineral deposits are increasingly scarce and their exploitation is increasingly expensive and slow. It could take 10 years to raise funds, obtain permits and overcome growing hostility from local populations. The current drought also threatens production at half of the mines in operation, warns Britain’s PricewaterhouseCoopers.
