Despite the current softness in global copper prices and an expected market surplus next year, a lack of copper mines under development could undermine the pace of the energy transitions, according to top copper industry executives. Analysts say that increasing copper inventories signal weakening demand amid slowing global manufacturing, and are potentially anticipating recessions in developed economies.
copper producer Freeport-McMoRan. “Now it’s not just price. It’s these other factors that really are going to limit how quickly we can develop supplies,” Quirk told the Financial Times. In its Q2 2023 earnings presentation this summer, Freeport-McMoRan said that a looming gap in copper supply is expected by 2035, as low-carbon technologies would drive a massive growth in metals demand.