Assuming stable growth in copper demand, the world is lacking investment in new mine projects amid expansion in smelting capacity, with a large gap seen in the mined copper balance over the next decade, according to Anglo American's base metals chief.
While copper consumption is expected to grow by an annual rate of around 2-3%, there will be demand for 7 million tonnes of refined copper emerging by 2030, Ruben Fernandes said at Fastmarkets' Asia Copper Conference in Shanghai on Wednesday November 20. The conference is part of Asia Copper Week (ACW), which takes place over November 19-22.Following a rapid expansion of Chinese copper smelters over the past few years, China is currently home to around 60% of global copper smelting capacity, and new smelters...