Copper: reserves and production of the metal essential for energy and technology
Copper is often referred to as "Doctor Copper" because its price is an indicator of global industrial and economic growth. The reason is simple: it is an essential metal for energy and for the production of advanced technology. Its electrical conductivity makes it essential in almost every modern good, from cars to household appliances to electronics, so if the price rises due to greater demand, it means that the world's industrial activity is growing. Which are the world countries with the largest reserves of the metal and which produce it most? Here is some simple information, but useful for understanding the global criticalities from the point of view of logistics and raw materials.
According to 2021 data, the five countries with the largest copper reserves are:
Chile: Chile has the largest copper reserves in the world, with an estimated 200 million tons. Metal mining contributes significantly to the Chilean economy, accounting for approximately 10% of the country's GDP.
Peru: Peru is the second largest copper producing country in the world, with an estimated 87 million tons of copper reserves. The mining industry is an important sector of the Peruvian economy, with mining accounting for a significant portion of the country's export revenues.
Australia: Australia has copper reserves estimated at 86 million tonnes and is a major copper producer, with most of the country's production coming from mines in Western Australia and Queensland.
Mexico: Mexico has copper reserves estimated at 38 million tons and is a major copper producer, with most of the country's production coming from mines in the state of Sonora.
Russia: Russia has copper reserves estimated at 30 million tons, making it one of the largest producers in the world. Most of Russia's mines are located in the Ural Mountains region.
However, reserves do not mean production, even if some countries make good use of the deposits. Data on the largest producers as of 2021 were as follows:
Chile: Chile is the largest copper-producing country in the world and produced about 5.7 million tons of copper in 2020. The country's copper production is mainly concentrated in the northern region, particularly in the Atacama Desert.
Peru: Peru is the second largest copper producing country in the world and produced around 2.2 million tonnes in 2020. Production is mainly concentrated in the Andes mountain range.
China: China is the third largest copper producing country in the world and will produce about 1.6 million tons in 2020. Production is mainly concentrated in the provinces of Inner Mongolia, an area rich in mining, Yunnan and Xinjiang.
United States: The United States is the fourth largest copper-producing country in the world and produced about 1.3 million tons of the metal in 2020. Most of the production comes from mines in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Montana.
Congo: The Democratic Republic of Congo is the fifth largest copper producing country in the world and produced approximately 1.3 million tonnes in 2020. Production is mainly concentrated in the Katanga region, which is home to some of the largest deposits in the world, exploit ti since the colonial period.
The life span of the world's copper reserves depends on several factors, including the rate of consumption, technological advances in mining and the discovery of new deposits. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the world's identified copper resources totaled approximately 2.8 billion tons as of 2020, with an additional estimate of 1.6 billion tons of undiscovered resources.
Based on current consumption rates, the USGS estimates that the world's identified copper resources would last for approximately 50 years. However, this estimate does not take into account any future technological advances that could lead to the discovery of new deposits or more efficient ways to extract copper from existing deposits. Also, the consumption rate of copper may change due to various factors, such as changes in industrial demand, switching to alternative materials or recycling of the mined material. So these estimates can easily be falsified.
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The article Copper: reserves and production of the indispensable metal for energy and technology comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/rame-riserve-e-produzione-del-metallo-indispensabile-per-lenergia-e-la-tecnologia/ on Sun, 30 Apr 2023 10:00:18 +0000.