Ivan Glasenberg, chief executive of Glencore, said on Tuesday there was a widening gap in supplies of the metals needed to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, but stopped short of predicting a so-called supercycle.
Glasenberg told the Qatar Economic Forum that copper supply needs to increase by 1 million tonnes a year by 2050 to meet expected demand of 60 million tonnes.
"The world is currently consuming 30 million tons of copper a year. Under current conditions, we need to produce 60 million tons of copper a year by 2050," he said.
"If you look at the last 10 years, we have only increased copper production by 500,000 tonnes a year. Do we have a project in hand? I don't think so. "I think it will be very difficult to achieve that."
The share prices of many mining companies have doubled in the past year as developed economies put in place supportive policies to deal with COVID-induced inflation.
Commodities as a hedge against inflation means their prices will remain strong.
At the same time, the transition to a low-carbon economy and the flow of stimulus funds into infrastructure are fuelling demand for raw materials.
Demand for copper for renewable energy and electric vehicles is increasing. Copper prices hit a record high above $10,000 in May before falling back by about $1,500.
The nickel and cobalt markets face similar shortages over the next few decades. Glasenberg said nickel supplies would need to increase by an additional 250, 000 tonnes a year, compared with growth of 100, 000 tonnes in previous years.
He expects nickel demand to rise to 9.2m tonnes a year from the current 2.5m tonnes.
