Get ready for a 'very frightening' copper crunch

While there may be an easing off of copper prices in the short term due to big copper mines coming online, economist Patricia Mohr said demand from energy transition is going to overwhelm in the medium- to long-term and drive prices higher.  

On Friday Mohr recorded Kitco Roundtable with Mining Audiences Manager Michael McCrae and Kitco correspondent Paul Harris. Mohr was formerly with Scotiabank. 

Teck’s QB2 project is expected to begin by late 2022. Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula operation started in 2021 and is ramping up. Kamoa-Kakula is expected to hit peak annual copper production of more than 800,000 tonnes this decade. 

Despite the new supply, electric vehicles and renewable energy plants require a lot of copper, and existing copper mines are ageing. 

"[After] 2025 you're going to see a global drop in supply, which will be very frightening because global demand with EV sales is moving ever higher. [Demand] is going to be extremely strong," said Mohr.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Modifed QB2 and Kamoa-Kakula to make start dates more precise.