Copper is heading toward a supply crunch, and the world cannot fix it quickly. BloombergNEF’s latest metals outlook says the copper market could slip into deficit as soon as 2028, as producers struggle to replace the output of mines that are wearing out. In plain terms, the outlook describes a market where fewer tons come out of the ground each year while electrified transport and other uses keep pulling more in.
The harder part is the timing. A new copper mine takes about 17 years on...