Given its versatility and importance for so many industries the global economy uses an increasing amount of it In 2018 worldwide copper consumption hit 23 6 million tons a year and should reach 29 8 million tons by 2027 While recycling old copper helps meet about 45 of global demand rising consumption requires continued development of new copper resources.
That rising demand has the potential to boost the price of copper in the future which could drive up the stock prices of companies that mine the metal That makes it an intriguing industry for investors to get to know With that in mind lets take a look at how to invest in copper stocks.
Copper is one of the most abundant metals According to an estimate by the U S Geological Survey the earth contains more than 8 1 trillion pounds of copper We have only mined about 1 1 trillion pounds of copper so far most of which is still in use due to its recyclability That leaves plenty of available copper resources to meet future demand.
The problem however is that only a small fraction of the earths copper resources are economically viable to mine at present day prices and using current technologies due to reserve quality For a copper resource to be commercially viable it needs to contain a high concentration of copper ore which is copper in its natural state Most top copper deposits contain between 0 5 to 1 of copper ore.
There are two main types of copper ore Oxide and sulfide Copper oxide is more abundant closer to the earths surface but is typically a lower grade ore due to less concentration Because of that mining companies need to extract and process more ore to produce the same amount of pure copper which is known as a cathode Copper sulfide deposits while less abundant contain higher amounts of copper However its more expensive to process copper sulfides making it less economical than oxides in producing copper cathode.
Many companies produce copper either as their primary focus or as a secondary product The five largest copper companies in the sector as measured by their copper reserves which is the known copper resources underground are on the following table.
Data source Southern Copper investor presentation Note Reserve data as of Sept 5 2019.
While all five of these companies produce significant amounts of copper only Codelco Southern Copper and Freeport McMoRan make most of their money on this versatile metal BHP Group and Glencore on the other hand are much more diversified miners Because of that BHPs largest profit contributor was iron ore in 2018 at 39 the total while Glencores top earner was coal at 33 of the total that year.
Investors who are interested in the copper mining sector need to learn several key terms to better understand the industry Here are five of the most important ones to know.
Jinduicheng molybdenum industry Limited by Share Ltd referred to as the shares of molybdenum is the largest in Asia Products and services The worlds leading molybdenum industry company executive director of the Association for international molybdenum units China Sustain development The company based on the present focus on the.
List of MOLYBDENUM mining companies with access to company profiles projects resources and reserves and technical analysis.
PolyMet Mining Corp engages in the exploration and development of natural resource properties It develops and operates the NorthMet project in Minnesota which hosts copper nickel cobalt and.
Molybdenum mining sellMining News Mining Companies amp Market Information Mining news and commentary from around the globe Daily updates on gold and commodity prices exploration mine development and mining comp.
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