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“ Investors are increasingly looking for a sustainable portfolio, a dynamic

which has only accelerated and increased by the pandemic, climate
change and governmental shifts to de-carbonisation and net zero emissions.

The delay in Codelco’s expansion of its El Teniente operation in Chile is
symptomatic of the copper industry’s problems in matching demand

Short-term growth:
ecutive Michele ting to exploration, the situation is un-
Five mines ready to start in the next two years Brulhart told likely to change in the near term.
Paydirt. “Inves- “This is an industry where there have
Project Company Capacity
tors are increas- been no important discoveries for some
Kamoa Kakula Ivanhoe Mines Inc 500,000 tpa ingly looking for time,” Arriagada said. “The copper in-
Quellaveco Anglo American plc 300,000 tpa a sustainable dustry has a tremendous challenge to
Spence-SGO BHP Ltd 185,000 tpa portfolio, a dy- respond to [coming] demand.”
Quebrada Blanca Teck Resources Ltd 316,000 tpa namic which has The response to date has been lack-
Udokan Udokan Copper 130,000 tpa only accelerated lustre and even when exploration is un-
and increased dertaken, the outcomes are far from re-
by the pandemic, sounding. Rio Tinto Ltd made headlines
costs, allowing lower grade orebodies to climate change and governmental shifts when it announced its Winu copper-gold
be developed, SMI’s analysis showed to de-carbonisation and net zero emis- discovery in WA’s Paterson province in
that factors such as tailings, access to sions. 2018, however further work has failed to
water social challenges such as poverty “There has been a definite increase in replicate the early excitement.
and land pressures, environmental chal- interest and questions from customers “There was a lot of hope around Winu,
lenges and infrastructure challenges – predominantly automakers and elec- but it is perhaps smaller than expected,”
were prominent among undeveloped tronics companies – who are actively Wiggers de Viers said. “Rio Tinto has
projects. engaged in the supply chain.” hinted it would develop it in stages with
“Projects [with these factors] could Barnes envisages a time when cus- the first stage only producing 35,000 tpa
likely remain dormant for decades to tomers pay a premium for greener cop- copper; that is not a Tier 1 project.”
come, putting increasing pressure on per. The lack of exploration success
supply/demand assumptions,” Valenta “Boliden is already promoting a sus- among majors has thrown the spotlight
said. tainable low-carbon copper cathode, on the mid-tier and junior sectors. Sol-
The Samarco tailings dam disaster in produced from either e-scrap or hydro- gold plc sparked a furious bidding war on
Brazil and the Juukan Gorge caves fi- power and it is working,” he said. “They the back of its Cascabel copper porphyry
asco in Western Australia have already are getting a premium because consum- discovery in Ecuador. The London-listed
led most investment funds to redraw risk ers are willing to pay more for a prod- junior is now heading towards develop-
profiles around ESG issues and copper uct with a lower carbon footprint. Similar ment, with BHP and Newcrest Mining Ltd
miners are under increasing scrutiny. branding is happening elsewhere and as major shareholders and several other
In recognition, the industry has estab- the future is sustainable cathode.” players hovering.
lished The Copper Mark, a standards or- Further restricting the development With options limited, majors are on the
ganisation tasked with certifying copper pipeline is a lack of exploration success. hunt for the next Solgold, with ASX-listed
miners, refiners and smelters in respon- According to S&P Global Intelligence juniors the most likely candidates.
sible practices. data, there has been just one Tier 1 “I think a lot of the mining companies
“Its creation is a reflection of the indus- copper discovery in the past five years have been caught short with their devel-
try’s general commitment to responsible (2016-2020), down from 15 in the previ- opment projects and they need M&A,”
practices,” The Copper Mark chief ex- ous five (2011-2015). Xanadu Mines Ltd chief executive An-
With majors still wary about commit- drew Stewart told Paydirt. “There is a

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