COPPER
Surging prices excite copper bulls A record market for copper is giving junior Australian miners a major opportunity to capitalise on. Anthony Fensom writes. Superior started a major drilling program in September.
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oaring prices have sparked excitement among copper bulls, with the red metal hitting record highs amid low stockpiles. Known as “Doctor Copper” for its ability to predict global economic activity, the metal has enjoyed rising demand as the world economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. On October 15, copper for delivery in December hit a record high on New York’s Comex market, touching $US4.781 per pound ($US10,518 per tonne, or around $14,200) on the back of a global energy shortage and as stockpiles hit a 47-year low. London Metal Exchange warehouses reportedly held just 14,150 tonnes of available copper, in an industry that consumes around 25 million tonnes a year. Production from Chile and Peru, the
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world’s two largest copper producers, has also dropped due to disruptions including the suspension of output from Peru’s Antamina mine due to protests. Although prices have since eased to below $US10,000 on fears over China’s property sector, analysts point to the increasing green demand driven by ‘net zero’ targets of major economies, together with the infrastructure spending plans of the Biden administration in the United States and other economies. Analysts Fitch Solutions project that green demand from the power and renewables sector as well as autos will each account for 7.9 per cent of total copper demand by 2030. It notes that renewables are “12 times more copper intensive” than traditional energy systems, while an electric vehicle
contains around five times more copper than its internal combustion engine rival. “With its significant use in solar photovoltaic panels, wind power generation and electric vehicle production, copper will be the key beneficiary of the energy transition,” S&P Global analysts Aline Soares and Mitzi Sumangil explain in a November 2 report. “We forecast global copper demand from solar and wind energy generation to reach 852,000 tonnes in 2022 and the growing electric vehicle market to account for 1.1 (million tonnes) in 2022. “In addition, we expect rising demand due to expanding electrification infrastructure and upgrades to telecommunications infrastructure, particularly in China and the U.S.” NEW DRILLING For copper explorers such as Brisbanebased Superior Resources, the timing could not be better. On September 17, it announced the start of drilling at its Bottletree copper prospect, with four diamond core holes totalling 2300 metres planned. Located around 210 kilometres west of Townsville, Queensland, the company describes Bottletree as its “most exciting copper prospect.” “Bottletree is a standout copper target, both in terms of its size and grade potential and is a key part of the company’s copper strategy,” Superior managing director Peter Hwang says. The company has also established an exploration target for its Wyandotte copper prospect, with a resource definition drilling program and mining studies planned. The prospect has not seen any exploration since 1975. Superior also aims to deliver a JORCcompliant resource at its Cockie Creek copper prospect by year-end, which is seen having the potential to host a significant