Copper supply: responding to a global pandemic and lower prices Report

Insight 23 March 2020

Get this report

$1,050

You can pay by card or invoice

Share link

First name
Last name
Job Title
Company
Email
Telephone

Country

Message

Consent

Please keep me informed about Wood Mackenzie products, services and events.

Submit Category

For details on how your data is used and stored, see our Privacy Notice.

- FAQs about online orders
- Find out more about subscriptions

Report summary

The collapse of the copper price and the containment measures taken for the coronavirus pandemic are posing a significant risk to global mine supply and project development. How much mine supply is at risk and where will the price find support ? In this Insight, we summarise the key announcements to date, and place these mine disruptions into global market context. We also look at the supply responses in previous downturns and place some parameters around likely price floors. The analysis includes our estimate of industry costs at current oil prices and exchange rates.

Executive summary
Supply disruptions, directly relating to coronavirus
- What has happened so far ?
- What does this mean for global supply?
- Mine supply beyond 2020: Project delays put future supply growth at risk
Supply-side response to price
- Fuel prices and exchange rates have reduced costs, and the price floor

Tables and charts

This report includes 6 images and tables including:

Previous supply-side responses to lower prices
Historic copper price and copper mine cost centiles, C1 plus sustaining capex (2020 $)
Historic global mine disruptions and theoretical impact of Chile & Peru stoppages

Base case mine supply growth, 2020-2023 (before disruptions)
Highly probable & probable project deferrals: Q3 2008 project pipeline versus Q3 2009 project pipeline
Copper mine supply cost curve, C1 plus sustaining capex: 2019 and 2020 (Mark-to-market)