According to a January 5 th report by Mining Weekly (an important source of information for the international mining industry), copper prices are expected to decline in the next few years due to weakening fundamentals with the average dropping from $9,285/ton in 2021 to US$9,200/ton in 2022. Given the slight decrease of 0.9%, it is expected to further decline to US$8,700/ton in 2023.

  After hitting an all-time high in May 2021, international spot copper prices remain high. Though the fundamentals are expected to decline from their previous highs due to the impact of decreased demand in China and the start of interest hikes by the US Federal Reserve, longer-term demands provide support for copper prices. Entering 2022, news of turmoil in Kazakhstan surfaced which highly concerned the international market regarding the potential effects of this on the copper supply. This also explains why copper prices are stimulated to remain consistently high. Due to this, it has become difficult for copper prices to fall back to a level of below $5,000 per ton in 2020.

  Since long-term demands have arisen from the global wave for net-zero carbon emissions, it should therefore spur growth in new energy industries. This includes electric vehicles, wind power and solar power – all of which use more copper than traditional industries. According to a report by Mining Weekly, it is estimated that copper demands from renewable energy will increase from 1.9 million tons in 2021 to 2.1 million tons in 2022, an increase of 10% due to the expansion of renewable energy capacity.

  Traditional cars would need about 8-22 kg of copper. When transferred to a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle or an all-electric vehicle, the amount of copper doubles to 38.5-89 kg. Moreover, charging piles for electric vehicles would also require a lot of copper to cope with high power outputs. As such, electric vehicle sales are expected to grow from 3 million in 2021 to 15 million in 2030. As electric vehicles have gradually become mainstream, all signs point to copper needs becoming under-supplied once again.