While the clean energy transition in the AI era is accelerating, unexpected challenges are emerging. It is a serious shortage of copper. According to industry experts, the mining industry is facing extremely ambitious goals to solve this problem.

Robert Friedland pointed out that the total amount of copper that should be produced in the next 18 years will be comparable to the total amount of copper mined in the last 10,000 years. The rapid development of AI technology and the demand for copper, which is necessary to build clean energy infrastructure, have reached unprecedented levels.

Such a sharp supply-demand gap could lead to a "copper supercycle." Price fluctuations are expected to spread throughout the market, having a significant impact on industrial electrification and energy transition businesses. For industries promoting the transition to clean energy, how to respond to this copper supply challenge will become an important management issue.