Copper has always been useful in the advancement of human life. Not only is it cheap, it has provided us the means to conduct electricity conveniently. Aside from conducting electricity, copper is used for green energy and sustainable future. Considered to be one of the three most useful metals in the world, it’s a multi-billion dollar industry and the mining industry are searching for more copper to mine as demands start to increase.
The quantity of this red metal, however, can no longer keep up with the increasing demands as mining companies have trouble looking for new mines. Given geological, political and environmental problems, the average lead time was observed to be around 20 years for new mines. Wood Mackenzie reports in a study that by the year 2028, there will be a 10 million tonne copper supply deficit of this metal.
One of the important factors to consider when mining a metal is its grade to maintain the integrity of the material process like copper forging. Copper Forging is one of the major copper forming processes that deforms the shape of copper bars under high pressure to achieve desired shapes and dimensions.
As observed by different people in the mining industry, the grades of these metals from different mines are dropping. Something the whole world should be alarmed about. Take Chile’s Escondida for example. As the world’s largest copper mine, In 2007, the copper grade was around 1.72% but it drop to half in the coming years.
In order to keep up with the world’s copper demands, mining industries must expand their mining sites soon. Recycling copper is also possible. See infographic below to get a summarized analysis of the recent problems in the world’s copper supply.
Source: Visual Capitalist
