MTR the place to be17 Jul 2020 11:33
A dismal decade: We need more copper discoveries, right now
Of the 224 significant copper deposits discovered globally over the past 30 years, only 16 have been found in the past decade — and just one since 2015.
Those 16 deposits contain a paltry 8 per cent, or 81.3 million tonnes, of all copper contained in discoveries since 1990, according to S&P data.
“While there is still an abundance of undeveloped discoveries, most are smaller or low grade, with relatively few high-quality assets available for development,” S&P Global’s Kevin Murphy says.
“Over the next five years, only seven of the undeveloped discoveries are expected to begin production.
“Even when the additional exploration efforts are completed over the coming years, 2010-19 will remain the worst decade for copper discoveries that we have recorded.”
This is important, because plenty of people believe that growing demand for electricity grids, electric vehicles and appliances will widen deficits in the market.
We need to go back to grassroots
This lack of major discoveries is mostly the result of less ‘frontier’ exploration.
Since the 1990s, the industry has halved its share of copper budgets devoted to ‘grassroots’ exploration, with the 36 per cent allocated in 2019 near the low of 32 per cent set in 2009.
Companies are focusing more on established assets: juniors at projects with established resources, and majors at and around their mine sites, Murphy says.
“Although some new major discoveries have been found at late-stage projects and existing mining camps, the probability of finding new major discoveries at such projects is lower than at riskier, early-stage prospects,” he says.more....
https://stockhead.com.au/resources/a-dismal-decade-we-need-more-copper-discoveries-right-now/
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