Copper

South America dominates the global mining industry. Chile is the world’s largest producer of copper followed by Peru. China is the world’s largest consumer of copper, nearly 50% of globally produced copper finds its use in Chinese factories. China is also the third-largest producer of red metal.

The Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile or Codelco is the world’s largest copper producing company. Codelco produced 1.73 million tonnes of copper in 2020. Australian mining giant BHP Group with 1.72 million tonnes of copper produced in 2020 ranks second in the world.

Copper demand is expected to remain moderate with the world moving towards battery technology. The price trend seems to support the current rise in demand, but commodity prices are highly cyclical in nature.

Investors should pick copper miners who have good exposure to produce assets and also have reserves/resources for future feedstock, operating at a low cost. As the world is fighting climate change and environmental concerns are being given top priority, investors should look at the ESG record of the company before investing in any mining company.

Investing in mature copper miners will also provide dividends with decent dividend yields.

To leverage the bullish copper market, there are two ways through which investors can get exposure to the copper market. The first one is to buy a stock in a copper mining company and the second is through Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs which deals specifically in copper.

Investors can pick major or miner copper players depending on their risk appetite and funds available with them. Some of the major copper miners listed on the ASX are BHP Group (ASX:BHP), Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), OZ Minerals Limited (ASX:OZL).

There are no pure-play copper ETF on the ASX. There are a few listed in the United States:

1. Global X Copper Miners (COPX)
2. United States Copper Index Fund (CPER)
3. iPath Series B Bloomberg Copper Subindex Total Return ETN (JJC)

Australia is among the top producers of red metal. The copper-producing centres are concentrated in South Australia and Queensland. The Olympic Dam copper-uranium-gold deposit is the largest copper mine located in South Australia. Mt Isa copper-lead-zinc deposit is another large deposit in the country.

Most of the copper is mined from underground mines in Australia. Copper ore is mined using the traditional method, which involves breaking the ore and bringing it to the surface for crushing. Then the ore is ground finely before being sent for treatment through the flotation process.

Some of the major copper deposits in Australia include Emmie Bluff, Cadia Valley, Mount Elliott, Northparkes, and Mount Gordon.