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BHP Sees Trend Reversal In Copper Growth, Warns Recycling Won't Be Enough

BHP (NYSE:BHP) expects global copper demand to grow by around 70% to over 50 million tons annually by 2050. The mining heavyweight released a new study pointing out the issues of the current cycle, including aging deposits and a less healthy pipeline of potential mining projects.

The detailed report shows that copper's average annual demand growth was 3.1% over the last 75 years, but it significantly slowed down to 1.9% in the 15 years leading up to 2021.

The firm now expects a resurgence and growth of 2.6% through 2035, driven by three categories: traditional economic growth, green energy transition (renewable energy), and digital developments (data centers).

Three Pillars Of Demand

Emerging markets are also expected to play a role, as improving living standards drives copper demand. China and India, two of the world's most populous nations, provide a strong case for this scenario.

For example, despite China's massive copper consumption in the past two decades, its per capita stock of copper is still only half that ...