Australia hasn’t had a major copper discovery in over a decade, but growing global demand suggests we need to rapidly fast track exploration.
The last big copper discovery in Australia was by Sandfire at DeGrussa in Western Australia in 2009. And while a spectacular high grade find at the time, it only lasted till last year before ceasing operations.
New finds both here & overseas could soon be crucial. Bloomberg says that while a glut in production this year will see supply outstrip demand in the short term—particularly given China’s patchy recovery so far—they predict that 6M metric tons of extra capacity could be needed by 2032.
By all reports Australia has the second largest copper resources in the world—behind Chile—but is still not in the top 5 of the largest producers globally. The top state for copper production is South Australia, home to 4 operational mines and with nearly 70% of the country’s ‘economic demonstrated reserves’, but other states & territories also look promising, including the West Arunta region spanning Western Australia & the Northern Territory.
According to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, Australia has about 15 projects within its pipeline out to 2026 that could collectively produce 503.5 kilotonnes per annum. It will take up to $8.87B in new capital investment to get them online though, but mined production is still expected to grow at an average rate of 3% going forward, reaching 927,000 tonnes in 2027–28.
Exploration will be key and, luckily, is looking fairly robust. In 2023 it was reported that copper exploration expenditures in the country rose to AU$176M, a 30% increase from the equivalent quarter in 2022. It can’t come too soon. Glencore just announced it will close all copper mining operations in Mount Isa, Queensland — one of the biggest copper mines in Australia by 2025.
It’s one reason that ICAA’s next deep dive study for Net Zero Copper Mining will be on Discovery, a cutting edge look at how to improve our understanding of copper ore bodies & how to find them.
