Copper Market

Copper applications / transition economy

As one of the few metals that can occur in a directly useable form without ore processing, it has been used for millennia by early humans and civilisations throughout the world for casting and alloy purposes. A conductor of heat and electricity, and core constituent of various metal alloys, copper is a key component of industry, from electrical wiring, construction, and Electric Vehicles.

These properties are now more important than ever as governments and companies alike move towards Net Zero, turning away from a reliance on hydrocarbons and look to renewable sources of energy most of which require the storage of electrical energy.

Electric Vehicles use up to five times more copper than internal combustion engines and the exponential rise in their production has led to an expectation that demand will only rise, prompting analysts to predict the start of a multi-decade commodity super cycle.

In 2016, copper price US$2.14/lb; 2021 – copper price US$4.3/lb; Goldman Sachs estimate that copper price could reach US$7.5/lb by 2025

Global copper long-term outlook