A recent study published in SEG Discovery emphasizes the urgent need for copper prices to at least double from current levels to incentivize mining companies to invest in new projects. This is essential to meet the world’s rising demand for copper, driven by economic growth and global efforts toward clean energy transition.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, Cornell University, and the University of Queensland, points out that the problem isn’t a lack of copper in the ground, but the slow rate at which it is being mined. Two major factors are pushing demand to unprecedented levels:
Copper production is expected to grow significantly between now and 2050, with more copper to be mined in the next three decades (905 million tonnes) than all of human history so far combined (784 million tonnes). However, this won’t be enough. Meeting “business-as-usual” global economic and population growth requires about 1.75 billion tonnes of copper by 2050.
In the March 2025 episode of METALS100, Elmer Stewart, President and CEO of CopperFox Metals (TSXV: CUU) , provided updates on the company’s development, shared project details, and discussed their share price trends. Copper Fox is a Canadian exploration and development company focused on Tier 1 copper projects located in Canada and the United States. The company recently announced that it closed non-brokered private placement for $0.205 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,500,000.
Adding the demand from electrification and de-carbonization makes the challenge even more overwhelming:
By 2050, global copper demand is projected to grow at 2.2% annually, from 24.4 million tonnes per year to 50 million tonnes. However, supply from mining will grow only 1.9% annually, from 20.4 million tonnes to 37.1 million tonnes. Over half of the world’s known copper reserves could be mined by then, and the clean energy transition would need twice as much copper as economic growth alone.
To address the supply gap, mining capacity must grow by an additional 16.7 million tonnes annually through 2050. This would require:
However, the costs of developing new mines are soaring. Recent mining projects in Latin America show a capital intensity of $23,000 per tonne of copper, far higher than historical averages. At current market prices ( 10,230/tonne), copper mining expansion is unfeasible. The study concludes that prices must exceed $20,000 per tonne, more than double current levels, to make new mines viable.
