Robert Friedland, founder of Ivanhoe Minerals, predicted at the first Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that even if incremental demand from electrification is not taken into account, Global copper supplies still face a "significant shortfall".
Mr Friedland says the world is entering an "electric Everything era". There are eight or nine elements on the periodic table that are very important for electrification, copper in particular.
He predicts there will be more than 20 million electric vehicle charging stations worldwide by 2030 and copper consumption will be more than 2.5 times what it was in 2019. The plug-in electric car uses 109 kilograms of copper, five times as much as a standard internal-combustion car.
"Now we're talking about electric trucks, which use copper and have to be pulled by trucks," he said.
International copper prices have been strong since the start of 2022, rising to $10,000 / tonne again this week.
"But the world economy hasn't even really started to go electric," he says.
He predicts that world demand for copper will increase tenfold by 2030. Mine copper demand is as high as 700 million tons. Even without electrification, it would take only 22 years to consume 700m tonnes of copper.
"Where can I find so much copper?" "He asked. "Those of us in the industry are scared that there are not enough mines in the world to meet the demand for electrification."
He predicts that even on the most conservative estimates, the world will need to invest at least $240bn over the next five years to meet expected demand.
Production of not only copper but also nickel must continue to increase substantially to meet demand.
Mr Friedland cites Goldman Sachs's prediction that metals markets will enter a supercycle over the next 20 years. "The world desperately needs a lot of battery metals to combat climate change," he said.
