MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. The demand for copper will outpace the supply in the long run since brownfields are close to the peak of production, greenfield discoveries are few and the low-carbon economy is expected to consume increasingly more copper," founder of USM Holding Alisher Usmanov wrote in his article being part of the Davos Agenda.
USM comprises Udokan Copper, a company implementing the project of Udokan copper deposit development.
"Copper is often called "the new gold," "the new oil" or even "the metal of the future" because of its indispensable role in the low-carbon economy and high-tech industries like telecommunications, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and carbon capture and storage," Usmanov noted.
"Long term, copper fundamentals are strong and demand will most likely outpace supply in the years to come," the businessman said. "More demand from clean energy technologies will also come in tandem with increasing demand from construction and manufacturing," he added.
At the same time, "maintaining an increasing copper supply in line with rising demand may hit a stumbling block. Existing copper mines are reaching peak capacity with few new deposits being discovered, while the lead time between discovery to production has increased significantly recently," Usmanov noted.
The global copper deficit can be avoided by investing in exploration and greenfield projects, developing technologies to increase extraction and productivity, and developing and expanding scrap copper recycling technologies to increase supply, he added.