Copper Needs $332 Billion in New Mines to Avoid Deficit, BloombergNEF Says
BNEF says new copper mines need $332 billion in investment to avoid shortages that could slow electrification and push up prices.
- On Tuesday, BloombergNEF released its Transition Metals Outlook 2026, stating that $332 billion in new investment is required for copper mines to prevent a massive supply deficit by 2050.
- While supply concerns for nine out of ten energy transition metals have eased significantly, copper remains the sole exception requiring urgent capital to avoid a looming shortfall through 2050.
- Global copper demand is expected to jump 61% to nearly 46 million tons by 2050, with electrified transport alone driving a 244% surge in demand to 11.4 million tons.
- Opening new mines takes an average of 17 years, meaning a projected 20 million ton deficit could persist for decades and slow deployment of EVs and BESS.
- China continues to dominate global refining for eight of the ten materials studied, raising supply security concerns for the West, according to Martin Tengler, Head of Metals and Mining at BNEF.
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Reformatorisch Dagblad
Copper mines worldwide need $332 billion (€296 billion) in new investments to prevent future copper shortages, research firm BloombergNEF calculated. A copper shortage is expected to emerge as early as 2028. Demand is increasing, while miners are struggling to compensate for declining production from existing mines.
Copper Mines Need $332 Billion New Investment to Ease Shortfall
Copper Needs $332 Billion in New Mines to Avoid Deficit, BloombergNEF Says
While nine out of ten key energy transition metals are back on track to deliver sufficient supply by 2050, a total of $332 billion of investment is needed in new copper mines to avoid a looming copper deficit that could slow electrification, BloombergNEF said in its Transition Metals Outlook 2026 on Tuesday. In recent years, supply of key energy transition metals has improved considerably, with the exception of copper, which is still expected t…
BloombergNEF forecasts a copper supply deficit equivalent to 44% of demand by 2050; the deficit is expected to begin in 2028, and prices have broken above the April trend line.
Copper supply deficit could reach 44 per cent by 2050 - Australian Resources & Investment
Stacks of refined copper cathodes readied for dispatch. Image: Jose Luis Stephens/stock.adobe.comGlobal shortages of metals critical to the energy transition are expected to ease significantly over coming decades, but copper remains a major exception, with a looming supply deficit requiring $332 billion in new mining investment. BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) Transition Metals Outlook 2026 forecasts that nine of the 10 materials studied will have suffici…
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