Barrick Chief: M&A Unlikely to Address Rising Copper Shortage

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Mark Bristow, President and CEO, Barrick Gold Corporation warned that mergers and acquisitions are unlikely to address looming copper shortage by contributing to growth in supply. He underscored the need for miners to make boosted investments in exploring for and developing new deposits.

The global copper demand is predicted to witness twofold surge to touch levels of 50 million tonnes per annum by 2035. The predicted demand surge will be mainly driven by boom in renewables, electric vehicles and emerging artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. The lack of new mines under development is feared to result in future shortage of copper, Barrick Gold chief said.

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The proposed development of the Reko Diq project in Pakistan, in which Saudi Arabia has declared interest in taking significant minority stake, will support the company’s strategic goal of boosting copper production. The “super pit” expansion at Lumwana mine in Zambia is also being identified as a major contributor to copper output growth, he noted.

The prices of copper have recorded surge by more than 20% since mid-February this year to touch levels of $10,000 per tonne- the highest level in almost two years. The prices are projected to rise further to reach $12,000 per tonne by end-2024.