This week saw BHP’s last attempt to acquire fellow miner Anglo American fail. The negotiations had lasted six weeks, the offer prices were hiked twice, and yet the deal broke down. Because BHP only wanted Anglo’s copper operations. The deal, although failed, put copper in the spotlight—on the scene of resource scarcity.
This might be because peak demand is too close around the corner. BHP’s chief executive said recently that boosting copper supply to a degree that would ensure meeting demand by 2030 would require $250 billion in investment. But according to Clareo’s Bryant, “peak demand, starting roughly in 2035, does not last for the life of a major asset so there’s no incentive to build new supply that will only be needed for a fraction of the life of an asset. In short, demand has to flatten.