As the global energy transition accelerates, copper’s role as an enabler of clean technology has never been more critical.
In Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s latest Mine to Grid webinar, industry experts emphasised the metal’s indispensable contribution to renewable energy systems, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage solutions.
With demand for copper expected to rise significantly, analysts highlighted how innovation is helping the industry adapt without exacerbating environmental concerns.
Benchmark analysis showed clean technology is expected to increase its share of copper demand, with renewable energy three to eight times more copper intensive than traditional technologies.
The experts say more investment and capacity is urgently needed worldwide to insulate markets from a future demand uptick.
Being one of the world’s premier copper jurisdictions, Australia is well-positioned to capitalise on demand forecasts.
There are many local copper projects coming through the ranks, including Coda Minerals’ Elizabeth Creek copper-cobalt project located within the Olympic Dam copper province in South Australia.
Elizabeth Creek is centred on the Emmie Bluff underground mine, which boasts a projected mine life of 13 years and a production target of 31.81 million tonnes at 1.81 per cent copper equivalent. These estimates were released in a December 2024 scoping study.
BHP’s Oak Dam deposit, located approximately 65km south-east of the Olympic Dam operation in South Australia, is emerging as a significant iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineralised system.
“Exploration undertaken to date has indicated the presence of high-grade copper and associated minerals that may be economically viable to mine,” BHP said.
“Further exploration is required to better define the resource and enable BHP to make decisions about possible future development activity.”
Queensland is also host to a number of advanced copper projects, including True North Copper’s Cloncurry project, Harmony Gold’s Eva copper mine and projects from the likes of Carnaby Resources and Transition Resources.
These complement Queensland producers such as Glencore, Aeris Resources and AIC Mines.
BHP is a significant producer from its South Australian operations, with the Oak Dam project accompanying the company’s Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and Carrapateena operations. BHP hopes to more than double its South Australian copper production by the middle of next decade.
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