"The mud slid into the Grasberg Block Cave mine (GBC) in Indonesia, the source of around three percent of the world's copper. Two people died in the September 8th accident, and five remain missing. The mine's operator, Freeport-McMoRan, suspended operations at the mine, and yesterday advised that while the incident only impacted one of the production blocks at the mine, it also damaged other infrastructure at the site."
"Copper is marvelously conductive, which is why it's used in almost all electronic devices, It's also useful in many of the technologies used to replace fossil fuel as an energy source. Analysts therefore predict worldwide demand for copper will double to 50 million tons a year by 2035 but also feel miners will struggle to deliver. That prediction, by the way, came before the AI boom, which by driving demand for millions of servers has likely increased hunger for copper."
Hardware price rises have been driven by a pandemic-driven supply crunch, global inflation, tariffs, and surging AI-related demand. A mudslide at the Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia killed two, left five missing, and led Freeport-McMoRan to suspend operations after damage to a production block and other infrastructure. The company expects Q4 copper and gold sales to be "insignificant" versus prior forecasts. Copper prices jumped three percent to $10,300 a ton from about $8,900 at the start of 2025. Copper demand is expected to double by 2035, recycling interest and telco cable reclamation are rising, and consumer price effects may lag.
Read at Theregister
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