Copper Craze: Green tech increases demand met by mining.

• Author: Simonelli, Isaac Stone
• Position: MINING

President Joe Biden's ambitious goal to reduce America's dependency on fossil fuels sets the stage for a dramatic increase in demand for the mineral resources necessary for green technology--especially copper.

Green tech, paired with increased electrification of people's lives and the urbanization of developing countries, is driving the long-term demand for copper, says Patrick Donnelly, vice president of corporate communications and development at Trilogy Metals.

Trilogy Metals has teamed up with Australian-based South32 to create Ambler Metals, a company focused on bringing online two potential copper mines: the Bornite Deposit on NANA Tribal land and the Arctic Deposit on Alaska state land.

"Certainly, mining has a bright future due to the need for metals for decarbonization, new energy infrastructure, alternative energy technologies, and EVs," says Lance Miller, vice president of natural resources for NANA. "Society as a whole needs to appreciate the amount and diversity of metals required for our present lifestyle and the demand of metals required to achieve the goals for a lower carbon footprint."

Copper has been at the heart of technological development for thousands of years, dating back to even before the bronze age. In the modern world, the metal's conductive properties lend it an irreplaceable role in nearly all forms of technology, including batteries, windmills, hydropower plants, and solar farms.

Miller points out that the standard combustible engine car requires about 49 pounds of copper, while an electric car needs more than 180 pounds.

"The pressure on copper just to provide the building materials for the electrical systems that are required in our modern way of life is very significant," says Mike Heatwole, vice president of public affairs with the Pebble Partnership.

In the United States alone, the total amount of annually discarded cell phones contain almost 2,100 tonnes of copper, according to the Minerals Education Coalition.

Annual copper use per capita worldwide sits at about 7 pounds, with Americans using closer to 12 pounds of copper per year. Experts expect annual per capita usage to continue to rise.

David Hammond, a mineral economist at Hammond International Group who works as a consultant for NANA, points out that even if copper use held steady--"no new technological demand or new uses"--annual copper consumption based on the growing world population would double by 2050.

"Unless people stop having kids, I think we're gonna need a lot more copper," Hammond says.

However, the pusn for an increased reliance on green technology in the United States and elsewhere will further increase the...