Friedland: The contradiction between copper supply and demand will exist for a long time

According to Miningweekly, the rapid development of data centers and electric vehicles, as well as re-industrialization, have promoted the growth of copper demand, but copper production lags behind, resulting in the global copper supply not keeping up with the growth of demand.

Trade wars and resource nationalism, as well as the possibility that the United States may impose further tariffs on refined copper imports, have led to an increase in copper prices.

This week, Robert Friedland, the founder and co-president of Ivanhoe Mining Company, analyzed the factors driving the demand for copper in the "Odd Lots" podcast program of Bloomberg News, and revealed the reasons why the world is facing the shortage of copper, emphasizing that copper is the driving force for the development of the next generation of global infrastructure.

He also analyzed the challenges faced by the new copper supply in the market, the significance of key minerals to national security, and the reasons for the increasingly complex global resource competition.

The world has a population of 8 billion. To maintain the global economic growth rate of 3%, realize electrification and develop electric vehicles, ... In the next 10 years, we need to mine copper equivalent to the total production in the past 10,000 years, but we in the industry think this is impossible.

Friedland also analyzed that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) has increased the demand for electricity, and also led to the growth of demand for copper. AI is an energy and copper-intensive industry.

He said, "As an industry, we can't use yesterday's technology to find and responsibly mine the copper needed for energy transformation. This is impossible. "

Friedland pointed out the impact of global warming and the high price of diesel.

In addition, friedland analyzed the impact of the Middle East war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on copper production.

He explained that the closure of the strait led to an increase in the price of sulfuric acid needed for copper concentrate processing. He found that 20% of global copper production needs sulfuric acid leaching.

"We really believe that it is difficult to get rid of this dilemma through innovation, which will be a very difficult process," he said.

"We need technological iteration and revolution, but it is not easy," friedland added.

source:https://geoglobal.mnr.gov.cn/zx/kydt/zhyw/202609/t20260920_10318186.htm