Copper Is Critical

Copper Sourcing Strategies in Focus: New S&P Global Report

In support of CDA, S&P Global has released a comprehensive report examining the U.S. copper landscape. This study scrutinizes key copper sourcing strategies while identifying both opportunities and challenges within this critical sector.

S&P Global is renowned for providing actionable intelligence to governments, businesses, and individuals.

TBC

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2024 Copper’s Updated Critical Mineral Supply Chain Calculations

As copper continues to meet the threshold for inclusion based on the very latest available data, we need to give copper the credit it is due now to enable the copper industry to provide the essential inputs that copper provides to our national defense and economic security.

Copper and the Critical Minerals List

With its release of the 2022 Critical Minerals List, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) relied upon data from 2018 which was already considerably out of date. The world has changed dramatically since that time as the demand for copper has accelerated. The Copper Development Association engaged an analyst to update the copper supply risk score with the most recently available data through 2023. With the new data, and because of skyrocketing imports into the U.S., copper’s supply risk score in 2023 is up to 0.488 and the four-year weighted average score is now up to 0.456 – both above the USGS 0.40 threshold for inclusion on the list. USGS must therefore include copper on the 2025 Critical Minerals List.

Import reliance of copper is

On the Rise

US net import reliance is up from 29.6% in 2016 to 41.2% in 2023 – increasing the trade exposure risk

S&P Global says net import reliance will grow to 60% in 2035 without new domestic production

Despite its clear criticality, dramatic uptick in import penetration, and the increase in productionby adversarial countries, copper was not included on the 2022 U.S. Critical Minerals list.

Supply disruption potential of copper is

On the Rise

Foreign adversaries China, Russia & Iran accounted for 52% of all non-U.S. global refined copper production in 2023, up from 42% in 2016

Copper's USGS supply risk score is

On the Rise

The result of these is that copper’s USGS supply risk score has grown from .334 in 2018 (timeframe when USGS last calculated scores) to .488 in 2023

– well above the .40 threshold score to be added to the list.