#copper
I keep seeing this Wood-Mackenzie chart in every copper presentation. I started my career in 1994 when the market was about 10Mt and Sumitomo embarked on a massive attempted copper market squeeze.

#copper
There are copper projects out there, of course, and they are all raising capital and advancing feasibility studies. But I strongly contend that there are not enough and they cannot be built in time to meet expected demand.

#copper
10 years of below trend copper exploration has consequences.
My very strong view is the only way out of this situation is for the copper price to go to a level where demand is substituted or destroyed.

#copper
Speaking to a copper concentrates trader yesterday and a Chinese smelter just paid a Treatment Charge of $10 for a spot parcel. (TC's are the allowance that miners pay smelters to turn conc into metal.) Historic average is closer to $70.

#copper
Only way the smelter can make money on a $10 TC is if the copper price goes up - this smelter clearly gambling on that!