How valuable is the global Copper market?
Copper has long been a highly sought-after commodity. Over the years, the metal has been used in jewellery products, fashion accessories, and currency. More recently, it has been a staple in everyday electrical items such as household appliances, lightbulbs, generators, and wiring. After all, its natural abilities make it ductile and a fantastic conductor.
Newer industries
Recent revolutions in the global transport industry have increased the reliance on copper. For instance, it is a critical component in electric vehicles (EVs). Within this sector, it is deployed in areas such as charging stations, electric motors, batteries, and inverters.?
Notably, it takes up to eight times more copper to manufacture an electric car than combustion units. Thus, with this rise in demand, copper’s market value is set to soar.?
The global copper market size was valued at $291.1 billion in 2021. The electrical and electronics segment represented just under 40% of this share in that year.?
Significant growth forecasts
The copper market is projected to grow to a whopping $446.7 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9% between 2022 and 2030.
The Asia-Pacific market represented 67% of the market share in 2021. However, the North American market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 45.1% between 2022 and 2030.
Economic expansion, increasing urbanisation in emerging nations, improvement of communication infrastructure, and technological advancement are all contributors to the copper market’s growth. In practice, copper cabling/tubing and copper alloys are increasingly being used in residential and commercial builds.?
“Furthermore, copper & copper-based compounds are widely employed in a wide range of applications that are quite beneficial in everyday life. Brass is the name given to copper alloyed with zinc. Bronze is a copper as well as a tin alloy with trace metals such as aluminium, manganese, & nickel,” Acumen Research and Consulting shared in a report.
“Copper can acquire new properties when alloying elements with the other metals, allowing it to be used in particularly specialised applications. Copper's chemical, physical, etc aesthetic properties make it an ideal material for a wide variety of industrial, residential, and high-technology purposes.”, the report said.
Across the globe
While regions like the Asia-Pacific and North America are dominating copper deployment, #SouthAmerica remains a stronghold in copper mining.
Last year, #Chile mined 5.2 million metric tons of copper. This number is more than double the activity of Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the highest copper mining nations behind Chile. The pair mined 2.2 million metric tons each in 2022.?
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Torq Commodities constantly analyses the growth of the copper market closely. Our head of metals, Bill Garner , oversees this department, and he is noticing numerous opportunities related to the metal.
Looking ahead
Swift annual production increases are set to occur in numerous countries, including #Canada, #Mexico, and #Zambia, where consistent copper projects are anticipated to spur the expansion of the market. Moreover, Peru's copper mine output is expected to grow further, supporting South America’s grip on the field.
The demand for copper shows no signs of slowing down amid the ever-growing shift to electric vehicles, both on the ground and in the air. By 2030, EVs could make up 44% of all passenger vehicle sales. Additionally, by 2040, they could account for 75% of all car sales.
Copper is also an essential component of an aircraft. Its high conductivity and corrosion resistance makes it an excellent choice in the manufacturing of planes.?
With the aviation industry turning away from fossil fuels, electric flight will be a major feature in short-haul operations while airlines rely on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrogen fuel cells for long-haul service. Therefore, copper will still be a prime entity in air travel in the near future.
EVs are also an essential part of government policies due to net-zero initiatives. Taking all these factors into account, the market value is expected to continue rising throughout the 2030s and 2040s.
Still, there are significant challenges to meeting requirements. Primarily, the number of newly discovered copper deposits is falling. Moreover, the time it takes to go from discovery to production has been increasing amid rising costs.
Forbes recently highlighted that Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly spoke with L. Oyun-Erdene, the prime minister of Mongolia, last month. The details of the talks were not fully disclosed, but it’s worth noting that Mongolia is a copper-rich land, with the fourth-largest copper mine in the world. The mine is jointly operated by Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government.
“In May, Rio Tinto announced that production had finally begun at the mine, which sits 1.3 kilometres (0.8 miles) below the Gobi Desert,” Forbes added.
“With access to this copper, perhaps Tesla is planning to build a metals processing plant in Mongolia? This would make sense, as the company maintains a factory in Shanghai, China.”
So, there are substantial copper sourcing and deploying operations occurring all across the globe. As a result, it’s unsurprising that the market is set for considerable growth in the coming years.