Surging Copper Prices Reflect Growing Race to Lock in Available Supplies
The start of this month saw the price of copper surging past $13,000 per metric ton. This comes after strong demand from electric vehicles and AI data centers drove prices higher by 40% in 2025. John Meyer, an analyst at SP Angel, argues that the red metal’s prices need to increase even more to encourage miners to generate substantial new output. He explains that many mines have exceeded their intended operating capacity for years, with operational setbacks at major mines globally only strengthening concerns about tightening supply. An example of this is the mud rush event at the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, which saw seven miners trapped underground, with two later confirmed deceased. Over in northern Chile, hundreds of…
