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Circular economy to play ‘increasingly larger role’ in copper supply over coming years

15th March 2021

By: Simone Liedtke

Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

     

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The demand for copper – primarily driven by the transition to low-carbon energy and technologies, electrification and electric vehicles (EVs) – is expected to double to an average of 60-million tonnes a year by 2050, Glencore Recycling global commercial lead Kunal Sinha said during a conference last week.

With the mining projects pipeline currently at a supercycle low, owing to a lack of, or delay in, investment in new mines, Sinha questioned whether the mining industry – from a supply perspective – would be able to keep up with the demand.

It is for this reason that he suggested copper recycling and the circular economy would play an increasingly larger role over the coming years, as the circular economy may be able to fill the estimated 40% supply gap left by the mining industry.

From an emissions perspective, meanwhile, Sinha highlighted the drive to address the net zero pledge and target by 2050, adding that while there was a lot of research available, “you can’t get to net zero by 2050 simply by resource efficiency and low-carbon energy”.

A lot of the pledge’s success will include the circular economy, of which copper will play a large role in both meeting the pledge, while simultaneously fulfilling copper demand requirements.

Commenting on the increase of copper demand, Aurubis CEO Roland Harings agreed that a “certain portion has to be provided by primary sources (mines)” and that the circular economy “will tap into the huge pool of copper that will be installed in infrastructure [for example] in the world”.

To copper’s benefit, the material does not lose its properties and can be modified back into the best properties available, or those which are needed, he added.

“I’m much more optimistic from a circularity point of view, that there will be material available, and we will find a way to meet the demand for our society.”

Sinha, however, lamented that the recycling of materials, like copper, was often still referred to as “scrap” or “waste”, which deterred potential recyclers and investors from exploring the circular economy industry.

Referring to these materials rather as “post-consumer resource materials”, he suggested, would help encourage more investment, though regulatory frameworks and policies would also continue to have a large role to play.

“We need to stop calling it scrap or waste and start calling it post-consumer resources,” he averred, noting that partnership and collaboration between government, regulators and policy markets would need to “work on adequate policy frameworks to help with the movement of these materials to recycling facilities” so that the materials could get there faster and cheaper, without being overburdened by paperwork or red tape.

COVID-19

Despite copper experiencing a short-term supply block at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, Spain-based La Farga CEO Inka Guixa said the commodity’s recovery was “quite parallel to the demand reduction”, meaning that the recovery was in line with the demand cycles experienced.

The reduction in copper demand was mainly experienced in the second quarter of the year, she added, with a recovery at the end of May.

However, from a more global perspective, Sinha believes the pandemic has “brought out the resiliency of companies and the industry” as the sector quickly recovered from initial uncertainties once it was designated, in most countries, as an essential service and continued operations.

Following clarifications on regulations and measures for the industry, Sinha said good flows were seen internationally, and Glencore Recycling, for example, managed to both meet its targets while building up an inventory during the pandemic.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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