AI-Driven Copper Boom Sparks Commodities Supercycle Fears
Copper prices have reached record highs, driven by the growing demand for copper in data centres supporting artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscalers. Experts say this is just the beginning of a new commodity supercycle.
Lion Selection Group's Hedley Widdup notes that the construction of AI-powered data centres requires massive amounts of copper, with each facility needing around 44t per MW of power.
Regal Partners' Charles Aitken predicts that copper prices could reach US$15/lb in five years, while Widdup compares this trend to the Chinese industrial expansion that drove the mid-2000s mining boom.
Australian miners are seeing the fruits of their labour as AI infrastructure is built out. Perth-based Kaoko Metals' Gerard O'Donovan points to the NextDC facility in his city as an example, noting that lines and lines of copper cable are being installed.