SANTIAGO, April 20 (Reuters) – The world’s appetite for copper to build most electronic devices will exceed supply over the next decade and imperil climate targets unless dozens of new mines are built, executives and analysts said this week at a key industry conference.
The forecast lays bare the growing tension over where and how the world can procure metals for the green energy transition, including copper, one of the best electrical-conducting metals that is widely used in motors, batteries and wiring.
“If we don’t have enough copper, it could seriously short circuit the energy transition,” Jeremy Weir, CEO of metals trader Trafigura AG, said at the World Copper Conference, the industry’s largest gathering since 2019.
While global supply is expected to jump 26% to 38.5 million tonnes annually by 2035, it will likely fall 1.7% short of demand, even with increased recycling, according to data released this week by the International Copper Association (ICA), an industry trade group.
For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/copper-industry-warns-looming-supply-gap-without-more-mines-2023-04-20/#:~:text=SANTIAGO%2C%20April%2020%20(Reuters),at%20a%20key%20industry%20conference.