The World Desperately Needs Copper Supply

We’re in desperate need of copper.

The U.S. wants to reduce emissions by up to 52% over the next several years. (Source 5) Europe wants to cut CO2 emissions by up to 55% by 2030. (Source 6)

In an effort to make that happen, countries are pushing for millions of electric vehicles.

Even major automakers are creating massive fleets of electric vehicles. General Motors just announced it’ll boost global spending on EVs to 435 billion through 2025.  (Source 1) Ford Motor Company just announced its sales of electrified vehicles expanded 117 percent in June, capping off a new first-half sales record on sales of 56,570 vehicles. (Source 2)

By 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world could see up to 145 million EVs on roads all around the world – less than 10 years from now.  (Source 7)

Unfortunately, there’s just one tiny problem.

We don’t have enough copper supply to meet demand.

Coupled with infrastructure plans, clean energy demands, a gap in copper supply, and pent-up demand for electric vehicles, and the world needs all the copper it can get its hands on.

Worse, according to Hellenic Shipping News:

“Like gold, fewer and fewer large copper deposits are being discovered, and the time between discovery and production has lengthened over the years as costs rise. S&P Global Kevin Murphy called last decade “dismal” in terms of new discoveries. Of the 224 copper deposits that were discovered between 1990 and 2019, only 16 were found in the past 10 years. Although the earth’s surface still has an abundance of the red metal, most new deposits are of low grade.” (Source 8)

It’s no wonder then that the price of copper has more than doubled over the last year.