The Metal Bulletin had an article called “Why Robert Friedland is bullish on copper”.

Mr Friedland is a North American international financier and major player in the junior mining industry as well as executive chairman of Ivanhoe Mines.

Recently he invested $1.2 billion in a project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, so it is no surprise he is bullish on copper, especially with just a vested interest.

Nonetheless the outside factor that drives his confidence comes in the form of electric vehicles.

The Metal Bulletin quotes investment manager U.S. Global Investors who say that the electric vehicle industry needs up to four times the amount of copper (along with aluminum, cobalt, nickel, platinum and scandium) traditional cars need and whose demand is expected to grow so much that, by 2027, 1.74 million tonnes of copper will be needed to meet it (the current demand is of 184,000 tonnes).

China is the main consumer of the world’s copper, with imports reaching 17.35 million tonnes in 2017. China is forecast to become one of the largest EV manufacturers in the coming years, thus increasing its copper needs even more.

As well as increased demand, there could also be supply disruptions such as those caused by labour negotiations in Chile – the world’s No.1 producer.

Copper has been on the up since May 2017, reaching $7000 a tonne for the first time in three years.

China’s imports climbed to 17.35 million tonnes in 2017, up 2.3 per cent from the previous year.

Mr Friedland said people are going “to need a telescope to see copper prices in 2021.” 

He will directly benefit but if he is right, this is excellent news for Mount Isa too.

The Queensland government is pushing ahead with the Queensland Electric Super Highway (QESH) with new charging stations meaning motorists can now drive EVs from Coolangatta to Cairns.

It would be nice to stretch the QESH out west to the home of the copper driving the industry – Derek Barry