Why A Looming Copper Shortage Has Big Consequences For The Green Economy

Copper prices have surged in 2021. The base metal remains in high demand, much thanks to its need in green energy projects and electric cars. In May 2021, commodities analysts at Goldman Sachs called copper ‘the new oil.’ That’s because electric cars need several times more copper than their gas-powered counterparts. And power grids getting electricity from wind, solar and hydro sources also need copper-much more than the industry is currently producing. Here’s how copper became so important to the world economy and the green energy revolution.
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Why A Looming Copper Shortage Has Big Consequences For The Green Economy

[@fakhruddinnalawala5451]

Silver is a better conductor than copper. The correct way to state it would have been "copper is the best affordable conductor we know."

[@gbxmusicchannel3836]

CNBC is a crypto pushing network. Silver and real money is their biggest enemy but it will win in the end because the whole economy is in a big bubble and will at some point pop.

[@akaMyThought]

Biden wants $15 minimum wage, I hope he doesn't pass that crap because the U.S. economy will tank, a gallon of gas will be 6 bucks and the all the prices of goods and food will double. Just something to have a good conversation about, I like everyone's opinions on this thread ^^

[@silverhawkscape2677]

@@akaMyThought Exactly. Everyone wants a 15 dollar wage except if you run a business and realize you wouldn't earn enough to say open.

[@Yawehplaneswalker616]

@@gbxmusicchannel3836 I don't think there's enough silver in the world to replace all the copper conductors.

[@bustex1]

@@akaMyThought Lol? My local McDonald’s is hiring at 13 now and the menu prices…wait for it…. Did not change at all. You know how much Burger King and McDonald’s employee start at some EU countries? 20 an hour when converted to usd. The menu is about 0.30-0.40 cents more expensive when converted to usd.

[@CarthagoMike]

*Jeff Currie:* _"Copper is the single best conductor of electricity known to physics."_ *Silver:* _"You can deny my potential, but you cannot deny my value."_

[@jesscast5122]

What??? those are Stupid Statements. Platinum Gold Silver Copper Brass Bronze in that order...........................

[@aperamic7148]

@@jesscast5122 way to try and ruin a good joke. And silver is more valuable than copper so he wasn't wrong. Meowwwrr

[@fbcvxbnfgdgh]

@@jesscast5122 Price doesn't mean better conductivity. Silver is #1, Copper is 2nd, gold is 3rd. How are you so confidently incorrect?

[@MrKnutriis]

@@jesscast5122 What are you trying to teach us here? "Stupid Statements" LOL.

[@jesscast5122]

@@fbcvxbnfgdgh LOL it's YOU who is Incorrect and IGNORANT. I never said anything about value. Ever heard of "Noble Metals" and their PHSYICAL properties?? Why don't go and Study something and come and argue when you are better prepared...............

[@W1DO]

If Goldman Sachs are predicting higher prices it means 1 thing. They own a lot of copper and would like to sell it to retail investors for a massive profit.

[@wayneanderson8034]

The money to be made in copper miners was late last year in to early this year. By the time big investment banks recommend something, it has already made its run & they are looking for suckers to be the last buyer.

[@scarlet_phonavis6734]

or they're about to do a little diamond warehousing

[@darkesco]

Translation: "Run out and buy copper securities, the rich will be dumping it soon"

[@cupbowlspoonforkknif]

My thoughts exactly. I think the economy is about to crash again.

[@Kodakcompactdisc]

@@cupbowlspoonforkknif I think it needs to.

[@TripReviews]

🤣 yep! Make a video in an attempt to spread the word and drive the price up then the rich can dump it quick for a buck! Wouldn’t be the first time or last time would it? But if so then maybe.......

[@joshnizzle]

Nah copper is definitely only trending up in the next 5 to 10 years

[@JojohnWick]

Buy physical copper, store in your garage 😊

[@samallon9492]

Jeff Currie should check his periodic table. Silver is a better conductor than copper.

[@smarkwick7814]

I think they mean economically/non precious conductors

[@owenbruce4120]

Copper is a good thing to possess... stats are a bit skewed...

[@ahamedramadan8030]

Good luck bud. Try to build a house by replacing copper stuff with silver. I wanna see how much it breaks your bank.

[@gerrychen]

@@smarkwick7814 Probably, but then he shouldn't have said "The absolute best conductor of electricity known to physics as well as the periodic table", which is an overly grandiose, objectively false statement. Also consider e.g. superconductors, which are "known to physics". Not to say we should be using silver in our wires, but just that I think people should be more careful making these easily verifiable, objectively false claims. Even just using "most practical" instead of "best" would have been great.

[@zapfanzapfan]

Silver was used instead of copper for electromagnets in the Manhattan project during WWII because copper was in short supply. They borrowed a few thousand tonnes of silver from the treasury.

[@jaynecobb3701]

"copper is the best conductor". I disagree. I would argue that Leonard Bernstein was the best conductor of all time.

[@maka8551]

They never said it was the best

[@jaynecobb3701]

@@maka8551 2:12 "they never said it was the best" is not true.

[@ajaywhite9103]

Ba dum crash

[@samadamms3432]

Bernstein is dead, so he's no longer a viable conductor, I know you'll find that "Shocking".

[@jaynecobb3701]

@@samadamms3432 "was" the best conductor

[@badlybent1959]

High voltage transmission lines are made of aluminum and steel, not copper.

[@jesscast5122]

Only when the US was running out of copper and all cables were made out of Alum. then US found the "world's largest deposit of copper" in Chile in the early 70s President Allende refused to sell the "National Treasure of Chile" and Was MURDERED by the US, Put up a Puppet Regime (pinochet) and Viola!! The US had all the copper it could PLUNDER...............

[@ThePowerLover]

@@jesscast5122 As a Chilean, stop with the lies pls!

[@jamestheotherone742]

@@jesscast5122 Wrong. The US opposed him and worked to over throw him because he was a Marxist at the height of the Cold War. The closest you are to truth is that Allende was going to "nationalize" (ie steal) the assets of US and other companies in the country.

[@RyanMcCoppin]

@@ThePowerLover What James is saying is on Wikipedia. That's all I can speak to it. The US at least encouraged the coup.

[@ThePowerLover]

@@RyanMcCoppin Allende made a coup first...

[@VJJBodhi]

Side note, Jeff Currie, ummm copper is not “the single best conductor,” silver is. Copper is, however, cheaper.

[@zspacecaptain8228]

Superconductors

[@maka8551]

They never said it was the best

[@Chris-cv1ll]

Gold is better then silver…..

[@VJJBodhi]

@@Chris-cv1ll if you are talking about conductivity when you say “better” just look it up. Silver defines conductivity. Number one. Then copper then gold at number 3.

[@Chris-cv1ll]

@@VJJBodhi had to look up why gold is used in electronics…turns out it’s because they are great for small currents and long term use (corrosion resistant) we use copper because it’s between the best of both worlds (high conductivity and high corrosion resistance)

[@hizzlemobizzle]

Why does this feel more like an advertisement for copper rather than news coverage?

[@DOPAMINE23]

Glad I wasn't the only one who felt like that

[@JaeBrazen]

Do you love Doctor Copper? Call while supplies last!-but wait!-there’s more!

[@pixxelwizzard]

@@JaeBrazen It's not sold in any store!

[@anggasurbakti8269]

It's cnbc, they give news coverage while advertising the news subject

[@kongwee1978]

Wall Street is preparing to short copper market.

[@Foreheadsnatcher]

I like how CNBC used their own news channels as references.

[@jonathanwoo9829]

Exactly, imp the numbers are underestimated deluberately to drive up prices.

[@AZOffRoadster]

New to CNBC? Manipulating the market is why they exist. Just ask Jim Cramer. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH7YdpypaMesj5Y

[@user-mw1cm1kl3s]

Source : TRUST ME BRO

[@RoyBrown777]

CNBC has mates that ask them to raise or lower a stocks value, whatever they say, do the opposite. They advertise to retail to invest or sell a stock, while their mates do the reverse to manipulate the market.

[@baylinkdashyt]

Seems worth pointing out here that *most* of grid-scale electric distribution is aluminum, not copper.

[@SafeTrucking]

Just beat me to it! Heavy duty industrial equipment is now being built with Al conductors too. Welders for example. It's 1/3 the price and very low embodied energy to recycle - only about 5% that of refining from ore. Copper is a bit more expensive to reprocess.

[@Shadow__133]

Al is 39% less conductive but 70% lighter. Not sure if it can substitute copper in all applications or what the ramifications of using more Al would be (soda cans, airline/automotive industry etc).

[@teardowndan5364]

@@Shadow__133 You can only substitute aluminum in places where size is of little to no importance. If you need to make transformer or motor windings twice as large to accommodate aluminum instead of copper, you need a motor or transformer core that is also twice as large to fit that wiring and eddy current losses in the core will double. With the core being twice as large and dissipating at least twice as much power, heat has more distance to travel to get dumped into the environment, which means everything will be running hotter and further increase losses. It gets even worse when you consider that making the core twice as large to accommodate larger windings reduces its inductance, which means you need to offset that by either making the core even larger to add turns or pick a core material with higher magnetic permittivity which usually both mean even higher eddy current losses. If you want efficient power conversion, you usually want the smallest practical core for a given amount of power in a given operating frequency range, which means we'll be relying on copper for those until we discover practical room-temperature supra-conductors to enable even smaller magnetics.

[@stephancasas]

@@teardowndan5364 if you have a larger core in a transformer does that, by extension, also degrade the power factor of the load on the other end?

[@Shadow__133]

@@teardowndan5364 Thanks for explaining that 👍 Far from my field (I drive things made of aluminum).

[@danielm6341]

"Copper Goes Green" - I see what you did there.

[@HangTimeDeluxe]

Ha! I was looking for this comment!

[@austinhernandez2716]

And it's #2 copper

[@batmanlives6456]

It’s just a shame that green ain’t clean!!!

[@sockpuppetbitme]

And clean coal is??? GET OUTTA HERE You Scoundrel! :(

[@orderofthephoenixwright4821]

@@sockpuppetbitme he probably meant green copper ain't clean copper. As clean copper has a reddish color while over time it becomes green in color due to its highly reactive nature.

[@Tore_Lund]

Goldman Sachs: "Copper is the best conductor known in the periodic system". This is the reason he became a financial analyst, he didn't pay attention in science class. My EV has aluminium busbars copperplated where they connect to real copper! Guess the industry already knows it has to reduce its dependancy on copper, to protect themself against price hikes.

[@ricois3]

Silver is the best conductor

[@Evan-xm5ei]

Aluminum is an alternative but it doesn't meet automotive standards naturally. Aluminum has low tensile strength and lower conductivity. There's a few companies who have proposed solutions one being Sumitomo but the Aluminum wiring has to be converted to a strong alloy to meet automotive standards. In addition, Aluminum isn't as conductive and with more electricity being ran through cars with EV that will require a strong conductor. Current solutions are smarter architectures Aptiv has one of the big options for that and Tesla. Its very unlikely we will see alternatives for copper in near term. They use Aluminum wire harness on some ICE cars for weight saving but are all high end. Now general electricity. Copper is best conductor. It is the best conductor for industrial purposes which a financial analyst is looking at. Its not brittle and very versatile for electric needs. We do need alternatives but just because something has high conductivity and optimal does mean its cost effect for industrial purposes. Some future options are nanotubes and aluminum if they can improve quality/conductivity and tensile strength of aluminum but the price needs to be lower than typical copper applications which will be hard when you have some much value added transformation. To conclude we need recyclable options and less exportation then spend back adding to the value chain. Domestic recycling, and reusing needs to be top priority for all countries. This will likely have to be subsidized for the near term.

[@8BitNostalgia]

Actually silver and copper both only have one valence electron. Making them similar if not the exact same at conducting electricity and heat. I believe it's something negligent like 8% better at conducting electricity which is only needed for the most sensitive equipment. Took me 2 seconds to Google that.

[@dethrophes7283]

@@Evan-xm5ei there is also lots of work on ceramic based superconductors. There is a fair chance that in 10 to 20 years they could change these dynamics.

[@ricois3]

@@8BitNostalgia They're on the same periodic column, yeah, but silver is the benchmark for conductivity, being 100 and copper 97. They're similar, but silver is better

[@Mic_Glow]

"copper is the single best conductor known to physics as well as the periodic table" First of all, if it's known to physics, obviously it's on the periodic table, no need to mention that. And it's not the best conductor. Silver is. Nanotubes are even better (known to physics but can't be mass-produced yet) and stuff like superconductors has literally 0 resistance... not at room temperature, but arguably they are the "best conductor"

[@szymongolac7853]

True, but its well below the room temperature, the HTSC (High-Temperature Super Conductors) work at the temperature colder than atleast 138 K (which is around -135 Celcius degrees or for american friends -211 Fahrenheit). Therefore they have to be cooled using liquid nitrogen. They are also very fragile and very difficult to produce. That's why they are not of common use and they won't be for a while.

[@sugarly69]

Gold is the best conductor. Just really expensive. Used in the most sensitive and precise of electronics like satellites

[@Shaun.Stephens]

@@sugarly69 Untrue, both silver and copper are better than gold. Gold's advantage is it's very stable and doesn't react with other elements easily.

[@jonathanbuzzard1376]

@@Shaun.Stephens Correct more specifically unlike copper or silver it does not oxidize so is used for contacts on connectors.

[@kobilica999]

"copper is the single best conductor known to physics" bismuth enters the room

[@ScrapPalletMan]

We street scrappers call it "Red Gold". I make a living filming my journey intercepting copper and other scrap metal destined for our landfills and sending it to the scrap metal recycler. We're hiring! The streets need more scrappers. ✌️🙂

[@Bart-Did-it]

They are called travellers not scrappers lol

[@ScrapPalletMan]

@@Bart-Did-it basketball 🏀 ??

[@Bart-Did-it]

@@ScrapPalletMan one of my fave films Matt and Tray. Yes !! Red gold I have nearly 6 tons of copper been collecting since I was an apprentice . Most of it is now stripped bright wire will cash in when it’s at its hight middle of next year and buy Gold lol

[@ScrapPalletMan]

@@Bart-Did-it nice. I try to turn it in as quick as I get. I don't keep it longer than 30 days, I want it to be back into the market and turned into new products.

[@Bart-Did-it]

@@ScrapPalletMan I admire your passion I would like money only way to get to the end in comfort is money. the world has to many products 90% poison the earth we are recycling just my opinion so not to bad .

[@oby-1607]

My nephew works in a copper mine and they just got a 35 year renewal of contract. Good job security for him.

[@SirTorcharite]

Maybe if he's a automated labor servicer. Mining companies are one of the biggest investors in R&D for advanced robotics. They can work 24/7 365 under the worst possible conditions and in the event of a structure failure in the mine the bots can stay buried till the most opportune time. The same situation with humans and you have to immediately change plans from business to saving lives and avoiding lawsuits. It's not just mining but all dangerous occupations that requires an employer pay high insurance costs while running high risks of legal trouble or workers comp claims. After the dangerous jobs are filled bots are coming for all the jobs not requiring creativity or humanity. Prepare now for the future is nearly here.

[@curiousguy9544]

Once copper rises sky high the next big thing will be Silver. Start stocking em folks.

[@sharoncrawford7192]

Been saving my copper pennies. Have a copper bracelet from the 70s.

[@gamingtonight1526]

Wouldn't bother. Why would we need copper in a collapsed civilization in 15 years, because we haven't dealt with the climate crisis?!

[@linmal2242]

@@gamingtonight1526 There will be plenty of scrap everything once the war is over ! So many nukes !

[@Joda30088]

It will be silver first then copper

[@bigmike4419]

I’m a scrapper and this is good news for me to clarify scrappers are not theives we take apart garbage and metal objects to sell the metal, I’m now focusing on copper and have been stocking it up for months

[@mp5wes]

Almost a month ago, it was looming rubber shortage, now copper. Won't be surprised if a video comes out, "how the earth became a hollow shell"

[@hoon3y534]

the only way it will reach such a state is not through true shortages, but refusal to reuse what we throw away. And not by the consumer but rather the corperation who has the means to invest in such methods of material gathering. too bad thats "too expensive" to many, and theyd rather have their false shortages be a means to milk the people of their value of labor dryer than the sahara desert

[@mp5wes]

@@hoon3y534 it wouldn't matter, by that point we'll all be working in the Elon Musk slave mines

[@grogery1570]

That sounds like some thing out of an L ron Hubbard book, in fact it was! The humans won in Battle field Earth by using a nuke to blow up the enemy planet which only worked because it was a hollowed out shell from all the mining!

[@mp5wes]

@@grogery1570 and us exploring the stars is just another excuse to hollow out another planet resources. Now that reminds me of Dead Space

[@aleksandersuur9475]

Well there is a shortage of all sorts of things, not directly because of covid, but because the change in consumer habits it has caused. There are sectors of industry that frequently halt all operations and generate nothing but losses and there are other sectors that can't service the unprecedented surge in demand. It's not like it's impossible to mine enough copper to meet whatever demands needed, but you can't do it overnight on short notice, takes years to develop new mines and build manufacturing capacity in factories. There isn't a fundamental shortage of resources, but supply can respond to change in demand only so fast.

[@diannagerik2477]

I work in a copper mill in Mississippi. And we are so short-handed employee-wise that those of us who are here are literally working ourselves to death. Can't seem to keep employees. Marketing parts due to be long work hours and lack of time off. The new hires that come in don't want to spend 7 days a week 12 hours a day in this place. A lot of them have families or even lies that I'm sure they wish you continue to be a participant in but for people like me rather than my job supporting my life my job has become my life. 7 days a week 12 hours a day trying to keep up with the demand. There is light disregard for safety and health concerns here OSHA in the fire marshal turn a blind eye or in the event that company does get cited for an infraction they simply pay the fine and keep on going that the expense of the lives of the people that have sacrificed theirs. Call the advancements we had today in technology and the amazingly brilliant genius minds that exist out there surely there's an alternative produce at least close to the desired results as copper... As far as Kentucky electricity what's wrong with water?

[@brothermine2292]

The tight supply of copper reminds me of business attempts to provide "just in time" inventory, which is supposed to improve efficiency & profitability but, judging from the empty shelves I often see at grocery stores, doesn't work very well.

[@brothermine2292]

@@ant7891 : True, but from the perspective of their customers, the products they want to buy aren't available. Obviously, that's less profitable for both seller and buyer than when the product is available for sale. Flawed (in other words, real world) JIT inventory systems are more profitable for the seller than traditional overstocking, but not as profitable as a perfect JIT inventory system would be. The tight supply of copper strikes me as being like a badly flawed JIT inventory system...profitable for the sellers, tough luck for the consumers. Perhaps someone will invent a carbon "alloy" that's highly conductive and durable. That could solve two problems... the other problem being where to sequester the Earth's excess carbon.

[@zedzed5276]

@@brothermine2292 it has worked for 20 years and just this past year it has been a problem. they will go back to it once things settle back down.

[@brothermine2292]

@@zedzed5276 Your over-reliance on pronouns (it, they) to save yourself a few seconds of typing time makes it difficult to guess what you were trying to say. What did "it" refer to? Who are "they?"

[@zedzed5276]

@@brothermine2292 just in time inventory management and factories.

[@brothermine2292]

@@zedzed5276 : That wasn't a complete sentence. What were you trying to say?

[@JD3DOESIT]

Copper isnt the "best". Its the cheapest easier to implement into everywhere... just like silicon and sand being everywhere... not the "best" just more convenient.

[@smitajky]

But there has been a lot of use of Aluminium wiring due to its low density and low cost. It can have longer unsupported spans. If some current uses of copper were replaced with aluminium then it frees up existing supplies of copper for those tasks where it is essential or highly desirable.

[@definingslawek4731]

@@smitajky Thanks for the info

[@rclearyable]

@@smitajky I thought the main issue was that aluminum wiring is inherently more dangerous i.e. connections are much more likely to become loose etc and therefore lead to heat generation and arcing. Now my personal experience is with regards to residential wiring structuretech.com/aluminum-wiring-2/, I accept there is probably many applications where it could be used safely.

[@maka8551]

They never said it was the best

[@JD3DOESIT]

@@maka8551 hit up the 2:10 mark of the video and press play. My statement stands.🤦🏾‍♂️

[@ThePine26]

How tf is there a shortage of we have only mined 12% of it throughout all of human history? Why can't we just mine more of it

[@raymondlangille2886]

Because the price needs to rise to make it more feasible. Just like every natural resource, profit has to be in it in order to extract it.

[@ccxcxv]

the easy to get copper is near the surface. but in order to get more, you need to go even deeper. Thats the expensive part.

[@ThePine26]

@@raymondlangille2886 I put that comment up right before they explained why there is a shortage.

[@ThePine26]

@@ccxcxv I don't understand why that is a problem. It's not like we don't have the technology. Right?

[@MrKnutriis]

@@ThePine26 It's not a problem to dig deep but it is more expensive. Have you ever seen a copper mine - they are huge. Bringing the ore up to the surface takes huge equipment and lots of energy.

[@My_handle_1]

Did that woman just say, “because you have more motors in the batteries in an electric vehicle”? She doesn’t know what she’s talking about

[@saintracheljarodm.holy-kay2560]

And add too the problem of e-waste not being recycled in so many states, amongst other things. Plus China wanted repayment and wanted copper as payment. Along with the fact that copper mixed with zinc makes brass, and nearly all ammunition is made with brass casings, so you have a huge amount locked up in that product, with open ranges copper bullet and copper based casings left on the ground all over the USA, and anywhere there was military conflict. Not to mention all the copper wiring tied up in airplanes , just sitting there in all those surplus storage air fields, and decommissioned missile silos. And navel ships, decommissioned. And the large amount in USA currency. Alot of copper locked in limbo!

[@farticlesofconflatulation]

I have 2 five gallon buckets filled with pre-1982 Lincoln copper cents. They really add up!

[@sumeetsharma2879]

@@farticlesofconflatulation that copper would be of more value than the coin itself 😶

[@whereswaldo5740]

There is a very large recycling of brass. By military and there are range rats scooping brass all the time. Sometimes while it’s still hot. Much once shot brass is reloaded and resold or used at indoor rental ranges and where classes are given. There is a brass shortage for casings currently. And very interesting China wanted paid in copper.

[@FinancialShinanigan]

The next six figure job: Copper Thief

[@Mountain413]

Next GTA heist, Construction Site Copper Pipe Heist

[@8BitNaptime]

@@Mountain413 Was about to say that wiring theft on unfinished houses is common...

[@Jakob_DK]

Please look at the pricing first.

[@bjorn3923]

@@8BitNaptime that’s little money real G’s kno the best way is to steal entire coils from ungaurded worksites

[@richardshipe4576]

Just like Diamond Joe from The Onion

[@BobBob-kr5wr]

I love how a small group of speculators can magically create a supply crisis.

[@christianfourie4784]

But doesn't it make sense in a way?

[@ElsonFernando78]

Nice how you know how much copper is extracted daily in the world today, where it is used. And then how much and how long would take to improve these production numbers. Of course you know that, otherwise you wouldn't be saying this is fabricated without knowledge, only to sound smart

[@ladedalounge]

My mom always saved all her silver coins and then as a teen cashed in all her paychecks at the post office for silver coins. When she passed....I am telling you she was right. Told me before she passed too early to save pennies before 1983 as one penny from then and before.....well look it up.

[@fredholley6248]

@@ladedalounge Been rolling pre 82 pennies for a good while now.

[@W1DO]

@@fredholley6248 1983 was when your currency left the "copper standard"

[@jondotcom8706]

Copper is definitely going up, unless is goes down 🤣

[@JeremySoo]

2021: *Exists* World Resources: *Shortage Time*

[@neeljavia2965]

Majority of it because of supply issues.

[@BeardedDragonMan1997]

@@neeljavia2965 source ?

[@yonatanbehar3322]

@@BeardedDragonMan1997 covid 19

[@BeardedDragonMan1997]

🤣🤣

[@neeljavia2965]

@@BeardedDragonMan1997What source? Dude entire world is talking about it. CNBC themselves have tons of videos on it.

[@OneBadAxeMF]

One thing that there doesn't seem to be a shortage of these days is reporting on a constant stream of "impending shortages" 🤣

[@joecummings1260]

Back in the seventies we start using aluminum wire for house wiring, it only took a few years and a whole lot of fires for that idea to flop. Aluminum works okay for service entrance cable, and some larger circuits were you have large properly designed lugs for the connection points. smaller sizes like you would normally find in Romex wire used in houses, the connections are very troublesome. We tried aluminum wire back in the seventies and it led to a whole lot of fires. Aluminum has such a bad reputation now,that most electricians won't even repair a circuit that used aluminum wire, they just tear it all out and replace it with copper. It's not worth the liability

[@meawreg]

i just encountered a really old house with AL/CU taps that caught fire.... it's no joke, dont mix it!.

[@MrBrelindm]

As someone who works installing data cabling, I recycle old cabling that we replace and also the falloff pieces from new installations. Just before the Great Recession happened scrap yards were paying $1.20 per pound for insulated communications cabling. Right afterwards the scrap price crashed to 50 cents per pound. It has only recently begin to climb again towards the dollar per pound mark.

[@jayhaddan7927]

Not true. That would be silver. Most reflective, most conductive, and best thermal properties

[@maka8551]

They never said it was the best

[@azjaguar]

Copper is the single, largest position that Goldman wants to dump into a buying frenzy. The problem is generating the "buying frenzy" from speculators at double the price of yesteryear!

[@PCLinke]

Intresting. but wont that be illegal ?

[@willengel2458]

@@PCLinke that's why they have a team of shysters working for them. how many treasury secretary are goldman alumni?

[@jayisjay2526]

2:13 - "Copper is the single best conductor of electricity known to physics..." No it's not. Silver is the best conductor. =/

[@definingslawek4731]

Maybe they cut him off before or after that clip. I doubt the head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs does not know this

[@xponen]

@@definingslawek4731 he is "selling" copper stocks. That's why it sounds over-the-top. Most likely Goldman Sachs is servicing their clients who own copper stocks.

[@cameronf3343]

Silver is quite literally the benchmark for electric conductivity and when ranking/comparing it, Silver is rated as a conductivity percentage of 100 and compared to it Copper is 97. I literally learned that in 5th grade science class. And then I used it in my electronics class last semester. Close, but not correct.

[@maka8551]

They never said it was the best

[@TheRainHarvester]

@@maka8551 2:13 "copper is the single best..."

[@Mrbfgray]

It wasn't "ppl ripping out copper wire and plumbing" it was cranksters.

[@treborkroy5280]

It was all types. Dont be dense.

[@voshadxgathic]

An old abandoned General Motors company was raided for copper during that time in my area. It had tubes as thick as your head which after stripping away protective layers, had copper wiring in their cores, that were about as thick as a common fluorescent tube bulb, and ran throughout the facility. Had to have been thousands of pounds of copper there in those tubes alone, never mind the other things that would've had copper like old computers. Wish I'd gotten in on that action at the time, but it probably saved me from getting some criminal charges.

[@clintoncroker2461]

Here in Texas we call em crackheads

[@manganiphiri4331]

My country Zambia gas been named as one of the top producers of copper.👍🏽

[@chadwick1037]

Let me in onnat

[@dhirushah8114]

But the Chinese own the copper it doesn't belong to your country anymore

[@manganiphiri4331]

@@dhirushah8114 that's some what true but then again the Chinese are everywhere.

[@jaybee4577]

@@dhirushah8114 That stupid, just because people have Chinese population in their country doesn’t mean Chinese own the country.

[@flagmichael]

In the wake of WW2, the building boom worldwide greatly increased the demand for copper. Worse yet, people's high expectations included private telephone lines. That meant a massive increase in telephone wiring, and the copper was just too expensive. That led to multiplexing voice on copper lines, which in turn led to the search that produced the transistor. The state of modern electronics strongly traces back to the post-war copper demand.

[@mounteverest284]

As a 30 year electrician. The green economy is a fugazi dream. A tesla takes 30kwh- 60kwh to charge in one night. In a average street are maybe 25 cars. The supply needs to be 750kwh - 1,5Mw to charge. The grit is not capable of that the copper wires are too small. You need to upgrade the entire word powernet. In the 30's there where all electric cars. The people changed to fossil feuls because electric driving was unsustainable at that time in the industrial revolution. Its impossible to going back. And to end this writing its only possible if we reset the entire system of living. We need fossil feul for our system to work. And there are no hands to make this happen. Who is goeing to put all the bigger copper cables in the streets? The youth is busy with fortnite and tiktok and they want all a computer job. No hands anymore. To end in the words of Klaus we need a great reset. Included climate lockdows. Its impossible to change the word withouth a fight. For now dream on Greta and the green economy.

[@joecummings1260]

You have to love the experts the media comes up with. The guy claims that copper is the best conductor. Sorry but NO, silver is the best conductor.

[@millennialmarktv]

"watches CNBC, goes straight to Robinhood to look for copper stocks😂"

[@id10t98]

my fave is SCCO, Southern Copper...glty!

[@prometheus5311]

Barrick gold.

[@BrentTJo]

Bought some FCX a little while back for this reason. I am big on the EV and solar power future so a dividend copper mining stock I thought would be a good hedge to balance out my portfolio with still good upside.

[@Shaun.Stephens]

This is what the ruling elite want you to do! That way it'll make it (very) profitable for them to fund new large mines, something us minions can't do.

[@lubnan08]

I just learned a lot. Thank you so much. Understanding the economy is so important

[@AnyFactor]

There isn't one tradable asset out there that didn't fall in the beginning of 2020 and later skyrocketed compared to its pre-2020 era average growth. Not a single asset. Metal and rare metal are nothing special.

[@oldcountryman2795]

_"As with many natural resources, the total amount of copper on Earth is vast, with around 1e+14 tons in the top kilometer of Earth's crust, which is about 5 million years' worth at the current rate of extraction. "_

[@asandax6]

We won't need that much there's going to be a point where copper already mined is much more economical than the obtaining ore

[@oldcountryman2795]

@@asandax6 Exactly/ Any "shortage" is artificial.

[@ultraderek]

@@oldcountryman2795 that’s not necessarily true. If you can’t get to it then what’s the use. Then again if the demand explodes exponentially then people will be looking into how to mine the stuff that’s out of reach.

[@sumguy718]

Well I guess I can add "Jeff Currie" to the list of people to never listen to.

[@professionalamateur1549]

😂😂

[@nokiot9]

Live in AZ about four miles from the largest copper mine in the US, ASARCO- they’ve been expanding like crazy over the last decade. And they have applications for new open pit mines but their land is directly against Tohono oodam land. Their next expansion will break directly into it and an awesome side effect will hopefully be millions of dollars flowing into that community at least for the sale or lease of the land.

[@nokiot9]

The land is largely desert scrub land that doesn’t support any endangered species, flora or fauna- but it will still be destroyed forever in the process of extracting the ore. The tailing mountains they’ve created and the massive scars in the land will never heal. They will be there forever.

[@greatcondor8678]

So get a dozer and fix it

[@fredhalldorson2081]

Great article. You guys always have informative info. Keep up the great work.

[@9jmorrison]

Vale, FCX, Rio all pay dividends and good to offset tech exposure, in my opinion

[@id10t98]

SCCO, Southern Copper is a good one too.

[@BrentTJo]

Yep, I'm heavy in tech/EV's/Solar so have some FCX etc. to act as "safer" dividend stock with still good upside.

[@thejflores1219]

Jeff Currie “known to physics 🤓” is wrong. Silver is the best electrical conductor. Though Diamond is the best thermal conductor by far. Diamond is considered a element since it’s only carbon.

[@ricois3]

He doesn't wanna talk about silver

[@sw8741]

In 2008/09 there were a few new copper mines that were almost ready to come online, when the economy crashed they were put into mothballs. Have they been commissioned? Right now CU is pretty high, almost 2008/09 levels but I'd bet that is mostly due to the supply chain being shut down due to covid not due to low capacity. BTW....when they show transmission lines, its not CU. The wire you see on transmission and distribution lines is ACSR, Aluminum Clad Steel Reinforced cable, no CU what so ever. They ain't building new transmission lines, substations or distribution lines with CU.

[@joejoe6949]

As a electrician I’m seeing the effect for the first time in 23 years we are using aluminum for are feeders.

[@Sparky-ww5re]

At the electric company I work for, and an electrician myself, same here. We are even going as far as using Aluminum 6/3 to power the electric Clothes dryer and electric range, as well as 4/0 aluminum for the service entrance, many of our homes are using 200 amp services, but we also build large homes with 400 or 600 amp services, with two or three 200 amp panels, respectively. We are sort of entering the same dilemma in the early 1960s to mid 1970s, when homes began using 12 and 10 awg aluminum NM for branch circuits throughout the home, a cause of many home fires.

[@andrew_koala2974]

Joe Joe Learn the difference between affect and effect. Undertake an extensive reading program to educate yourself and become fluent in the English language ALSO: The form aluminum is in common use in the United States; the form aluminium is used in Great Britain and by some chemists The American Chemical Society (ACS) officially adopted aluminum in 1925 ► *However, in 1990 The "International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) " accepted aluminium as the correct " international standard." THUS ALUMINIUM is correct and ALUMINUM is NOT correct. So for all the people in Retardistan, get your language correct as you are the worst in the world at language skills.

[@irfanvirji5319]

Surprised they didn’t talk about DRC having the largest mines in the world. Glencore, one of the worlds largest copper extractors have their mines there along with other companies like Chemaf.

[@shattaclevewright4379]

They won't EVER talk about certain areas in Africa and those Swiss registered companies that are making deals with corrupt officials and polluting the land. In time they will all be driven out. Right now they are running scared that the Africans in the diaspora and those on the continent will start linking up again so they are not going to open our MINDS for us to start thinking different.

[@jesscast5122]

The World's largest deposit is in CHILE.................or WAS......since the US has Plundered a lot of it After it MURDERED President Allende for refusing to sell the "National Treasure" to the US.......................

[@ironaleks7617]

Just another example of people in the financial sector just talking to talk even without knowing anything, copper is NOT the best conductor of electricity, silver IS, that is if we don't count superconductors...

[@melelconquistador]

But it is more likely to rust in contrast to gold, I believe copper is seen as the most practical and abundant.

[@alanmay7929]

Nonsense, copper is the most/widely used material for electricity conduction, silver is very expensive.

[@ironaleks7617]

@@alanmay7929 Yes, but that's not what he said :/

[@ironaleks7617]

@@melelconquistador Yes, different materials have different properties, but he said and i quote "Copper is the single best conductor of electricity known to physics as well as the periodic table". If we take it literally, it simply is not true. Now i don't know if they removed the context of the statement.

[@visceratrocar]

What about gold?

[@funnyfarm5555]

I remember buying 250 roll of 12/3 nm ten years ago for $38. Now it is $199. on the flip side I have a lot of copper scrap, but the scrap yard pinches our pennies and increase their profit. There is a lot of copper out there to be salvaged, but they need to make it worth our time. On another note, my son is an electrician for the state highway department and works on all kinds of traffic stuff. He told me the other day they have no recycling program and he had to toss 200 + # in the dumpster last month from upgraded equipment/wiring. The only hope to get it back into the recycle stream right now is for the homeless to get it out of the dumpster at night and scrap it. No he is not allowed to take it to the scrap yard and sell it.

[@icelandviking1961]

I saw this coming and started buy all my lead covered with copper.

[@Aelfraed26]

Silver beats Copper at both electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity.

[@jaynecobb3701]

Gold is even better than silver.

[@Aelfraed26]

@@jaynecobb3701 Pretty sure it isn't.

[@jaynecobb3701]

@@Aelfraed26 Silver has great electrical and thermal conductivity if it is not corroded. Gold does not corrode and maintains it's properties.

[@geoffmcgowan]

This is already an issue. Construction wholesalers [electrical, plumbing, refrigeration] have been feeling this shortage for awhile. It is bad and will only get worse.

[@heavydose4568]

That mine in Bisbee, AZ was shut down 40 years ago and is still dormant.

[@headpump]

Copper mines in Montana and Utah shut down also, many years ago, because Chile was dumping it for cheap..

[@bullrick3]

There is no copper inside of an automotive engine. At least a modern, internal combustion one. They are used in alternators, starters, and hybrid drives. (and wiring of course)

[@jeffwang6460]

Not entirely true, copper can be found in bronze valve guides, or used for some head gaskets, as crush washers for your oil pan, and depending whether or not you consider them part of the engine, in the spark plugs.

[@HanHattoriHanzo]

2:13 "Copper is the single best conductor of electricity known to physics as well as the periodic table..." False information Jeff Currie. Silver is the best conductor of electricity because it contains a higher number of movable atoms. One reason it's better is that it's significantly affordable (5 times cheaper) than silver.

[@MrKnutriis]

The price ratio of copper/silver is closer to 100 times - than 5 as you state. (Today's price 1oz silver $25.44 - one oz copper $0.27)

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Well, this has become the Shprtage of everything. Copper, Sand, Rubber etc.

[@groob33]

LOL... I was just thinking that. Every week this channel has a video about the next shortage. I think there is a shortage of video topics for this channel.

[@Upstatenyoutdooradventures]

There's no shortages there just creating them all lumber yards by me full all scrap yards full of copper just call go there

[@Trtevoorryu]

And common sense

[@mrr4717]

Lithium will end by 2040 , the main source of making battery

[@amateruss]

@@mrr4717 Then humans will have to think of another way to make batteries.

[@richardmasters8424]

My house is built where there used to be a pumping house for a copper mine in Devon, England.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

Lucky you - it must be a great site.

[@armandomontillero8379]

Everything is in shortage, everything cost more. Can we just assume or at least admit that there's a inflation? Because when I go to grocery some items are either not available or price of items gone up significantly.

[@Darjeelingla]

I’m whining here. Can We stop using the phrase: “going forward.” If this is a cultural fad - enough already. Thanks.

[@oldcountryman2795]

All right, did every one hear that? Going forward, no one is to use the phrase "going forward."

[@cwalke32477]

@@oldcountryman2795 well going forward, I'm going to continue using going forward

[@CL-gq3no]

@@cwalke32477, In the future, I'm going to try my very best to work the phase "going forward" into my vocabulary.

[@willengel2458]

@@CL-gq3no i actually like to hear people say, "going backward."

[@pixxelwizzard]

As we progress, I'm going to have to come up with better euphemisms.

[@hazmatcinemaxxx]

The supply will normalize. Copper is far from the only commodity currently way up in price because of the pandemic.

[@afterthesmash]

Which normalize? The old normal before we banned the carbon economy, or the new normal after we ban the carbon economy? What's normal in the bedroom? For my money, if you've only got one value of normal, you're not trying very hard.

[@dylanmccallister1888]

I live in arizona and its hard to imagine copper is somewhat hard to find. Various copper minerals are like half the rocks i can find on the ground outside. The rest being very mineralized rocks almost like granite

[@saltywetreefer3985]

My high school education sucked. I was told gold is the best conductor on the periodic table

[@kevinmagsy0312]

Because all things are electrified, which means mwssive production of motors

[@JavenarchX]

I just imagine all those forests being ripped up...

[@samsaasen4922]

If by forest you mean rocky dry tundra that can barely support an ecosystem then yes

[@kahaneck]

Jeff Currie is wrong, copper is not "the single best conductor known to physics" lol.

[@semco72057]

That is good for those who have the ability to mine for copper and get more to the places where it is made into the products needed. I wish we had more of it here in my state so it could be mined and I envy those on the West Coast who have it in large quantities.

[@laskey2175]

2:13 "copper is the single best conductor of electricity known to physics and the periodic table." Um.... no. Has he never heard of silver?

[@laskey2175]

When you tell lies and act like it's science it really makes you look bad.

[@Misaka-gt5yj]

If it's a businessman talking, he's actually talking about "affordable" yet profitable ones... not literally the "best."

[@frankgervais8864]

The way this world is going a tin of beans will be worth 10000 times more than a ton of copper in the coming years.

[@MrKnutriis]

LOL

[@xWhiteRice]

commodity prices may have moved more modestly, but big box store prices on romex(residential copper wire) have doubled in the last year. -an electrician

[@ventilator2999]

Actually, Silver is the number one conducting metal known to men and listed in the periodic table.

[@YouAskedForThis563]

Let's tell the truth: copper availability is more affected by forced lockdowns that shut down the supply than by lack of availability of the ore. That is why I had to postpone my prep and trade test until the college could obtain the materials.

[@twingreentrafficsignal9266]

... Clean scrap copper wire is over $3.00 a pound right now.

[@fordgrunt351]

Graphene conductivity can be up to 70% higher than copper ⚡️ Producing it commercially is one of main things holding it back.

[@sghai948]

Thank you CNBC 💐👍🙏🙏- truly it is great presentation overall .... . Good folks penning down their valuable comments here are quite right on their part ... Honestly, in industry we think in terms of ferrous metal industry & non ferrous metal industry - 'non-ferrous metals' such as Nickel, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Chromium, Manganese, etc. (.. Actually there was some mention of the term 'Dr. Copper' somewhere in the presentation..) Again, it's all due to the economy of metals and non metals in the industry. Truthfully, platinum, gold, silver are generally known as precious metals.

[@tanmaysinghal2732]

"Replacing C in the periodic table with Cu", was this an intentional pun!!!

[@stompysnake8233]

DUN DUN DUUUUN

[@ejonesss]

so this could mean higher scrap metal prices especially if mining is so bad for the environment and biden wants to go greener

[@akaMyThought]

Biden wants $15 minimum wage, I hope he doesn't pass that crap because the U.S. economy will tank, a gallon of gas will be 6 bucks and the all the prices of goods and food will double.

[@Fr00stee]

@@akaMyThought no it wont. $15 is basically nothing for most companies, you must be delusional if you think it will somehow double the cost of most products

[@manganiphiri4331]

It's already happening here in Zambia. There is a lot of theft and vandalism of copper cables and our local power utility company is in problems.

[@coldcrush5921]

@@Fr00stee if its only for big companies then that would be fine but for those smaller ones 15 can hurt quite a bit.

[@akaMyThought]

@@coldcrush5921 yes sir

[@ttmallard]

Another important aspect is by using hysteresis motor/generators one doubles the efficiency over a standard ones that are only wired to use half the output, not the collapsing field. I designed one of those as a lad 60yrs ago, before solid state ... a recent news was someone designed one, so there's two, I still have the timing diagrams. Cheers 🍺

[@Michael_Brock]

Silver is a better conductor, while gold has better corrosion resistance for contacts. Aluminium is a pretty fair conductor as well, only problem with aluminium is the massive energy cost to refine aluminium from ore (bauxite).

[@sterlingw33887]

Welp I guess we'll be melting down the statue of liberty pretty soon...

[@professionalamateur1549]

Might as well It's all bs

[@mattyrock2467]

lol

[@edwardbarnett6571]

Hybrids are great but a full electric car in a cold climate would not be very popular in America.

[@hbarudi]

They have a lot of Tesla in Norway which is a cold weather country, so why not in USA if they have the cash to buy Tesla?

[@MrKnutriis]

@@hbarudi Because in Norway the car is heavily subsidized by the government. Oh - technically it is not a subsidy, but the taxes on cars are insane in Norway, but electric cars are exempt and given all sorts of perks, like free parking, free toll roads, and on and on. It's how the Norwegian government wants to show how 'green' they are, rather than talking about their oil and gas production. So people in Norway love their Teslas in addition to their regular oil-driven car.

[@S3l3ct1ve]

@@hbarudi They buy them for a sunday showoff drive. Reality is a lot different. Majority of them use diesel home heaters to heat their homes through those long winter days. They know firsthand how unreliable electricity can get and when there is -20C outside, you dont want to take second chances...

[@jolyonwelsh9834]

High tension power lines generally use aluminium because of its weight. It has the highest conductivity to weight ratio of any metal.

[@kn9ioutom]

ONE OUNCE OF SILVER ! SPOT PRICE $20 ! PHYSICAL PRICE $40 !!!

[@visceratrocar]

All this is code for corperate planned scarcity. The same has been done with diamonds and is frequentlyd one with oil. It isn't about raw availability. It's about how much the copper industry is willing to sell and WHO they sell to.

[@victorhopper6774]

nonsense, corporations compete to turn a profit.

[@Dzevad75]

Aluminium conductor steel-reinforced cable (ACSR) is a type of high-capacity, high-strength stranded conductor en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium-conductor_steel-reinforced_cable

[@FranciscoRodriguez-be6ik]

Jeff Currie is dead wrong! Silver is the world's best conductive and reflective of all of the metals.

[@ultraderek]

“12% of all copper on earth has been mined throughout all human history. “ I find that hard to believe I bet it is way less than 1%. How thick is the earth’s crust? What’s the deepest we’ve dug? I bet we’ve hardly touched any of the earth’s mineral deposits.

[@rddrpar8349]

Everything is shortage battery’s wood ketchup toilet paper

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Rubber, Sand, etc.

[@Diniecita]

Right? Just an everything shortage. Mostly common sense.

[@oldcountryman2795]

But mostly common sense. Keep calm and carry on.

[@rddrpar8349]

@Erik Sala will actually

[@CatsRock11000]

@Erik Sala I think he means specific sands for construction. i wish normal sand could be used with concrete i think you need a special type that harder to find

[@BenjaminMarshallScienceMan]

Head of commodities research: "Copper is the single best conductor of electricity known to physics." That is so hilariously wrong. I don't think you deserve that job title.

[@BuckingHorse-Bull]

so do we buy put or calls on copper stocks

[@michaeldowson6988]

Good thing Canada dropped usage of copper coinage some years ago. There's a mining bonanza happening in Northwestern British Columbia that started a couple of years ago. Mine sites are bringing out gold, silver, copper and zinc in quantity.

[@tomallen6073]

As the world grows all commodities will become more valuable.

[@saxyvi]

I have an idea: Stop making pennies and nickels and round all prices to the nearest 10 cents or 25 cents. A nickel coin is 75% copper. (Pennies made after 1982 are only 2.5% copper, but it costs more money to make than it's worth.) Quarters are 91% copper, but I think everyone likes quarters and want to keep them around.

[@Namedeeznuts]

“Coin shortage” so I’m sure they’ve been doing this.

[@Foolish188]

Where would Congressmen get "Campaign donations" from if the Zinc companies didn't give it to them? Also Sugar.

[@saxyvi]

@@Namedeeznuts There was a coin shortage because some people are hoarding and not spending them. Also, for years many people throw away their pennies and many young people today throw away nickels.

[@saxyvi]

@@Foolish188 I would have to research your statement, but I do know that pennies are 97.5% zinc and nobody wants them. It costs 1.76 cents to make a penny and 7.42 cents to make a nickel. That's a total waste of money.

[@professionalamateur1549]

Hmmm interesting idea indeed

[@freetolook3727]

I know someone who stockpiled copper wiring and copper piping speculating that when the price of copper goes through the roof, he would make a killing.

[@ShakespeareCafe]

120 v house wiring is tremendously wasteful and inefficient. With LED lights you don't need thick copper wire going to every room in the house. Only high amperage equipment like stoves, washers and dryers need all that copper. Think about how wildly inefficient it is to charge your cell phone in every room in the house. Convenience wiring requires hundreds of feet of copper cable.

[@MrKnutriis]

Everything we do is wildly inefficient. But it sure drives the economy.