Copper Shortage

The energy transition is devouring copper. Add to that the demand from the AI industry.

Advertisement – This article is distributed on behalf of Axo Metals Corp. and Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc., with which SRC swiss resource capital AG maintains paid IR advisory agreements. Producer: SRC swiss resource capital AG · Author: Ingrid Heinritzi · First published: May 19, 2026, 2:05 p.m. Zurich/Berlin

Solar parks, wind turbines, and charging infrastructure—they all require copper. Yet in many places, power lines are outdated or nonexistent, such as in the U.S. The development of new large-scale mines has stalled, and ore grades are declining. Additionally, the Grasberg mine in Indonesia is not expected to resume full-scale production until later than previously forecast. Since a mudslide in 2025, the mine has been operating at only 40 to 50 percent capacity. Consequently, production is expected to remain limited to a maximum of 60 percent of full capacity until mid-2027.

There are thus problems regarding production and mining in the global copper industry. According to experts, the copper market would need about ten new copper mines per year to meet rising copper demand. Currently, the price of copper has fallen slightly, due to weaker economic data from China, rising oil prices, and a stronger U.S. dollar. In the long term, however, it should be worthwhile to invest in copper. The industry heavyweight BHP shares this view and plans to invest heavily in new mines or perhaps even consider acquisitions.

The International Copper Study Group forecasts a 1.6 percent increase in mine production by 2026. However, the aforementioned risks in copper mining remain. On the one hand, there were additional production volumes in the first two months of 2026 compared to the previous year; on the other hand, copper concentrate production in Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo fell significantly. Production in Asia (excluding China) has declined, while it has risen in India. So the overall picture is mixed. Those looking to capitalize on stagnating copper supply and the existing increase in demand can do so by investing in copper companies.

Arizona Sonoran Copper Company (- https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/arizona-sonoran-copper-company-inc/ -) owns the Cactus Copper Project in Arizona. It has a very strong economic valuation. Arizona Sonoran Copper is set to be acquired by Hudbay Minerals. Arizona shareholders will receive 0.242 shares of Hudbay Minerals common stock for each share held. Shareholders who wish to remain invested in this highly promising project—and, above all, in the promising copper sector—should consider accepting this offer or switching to other promising copper companies.

Axo Metals (formerly Axo Copper) (- https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/axo-metals-corp/ -) owns the La Huerta copper project in Mexico. It covers approximately 11,300 hectares and is a new copper discovery in the promising Sierra Madre belt. The latest drill results are extremely positive (for example, 2.26% copper and 6.29 grams of silver per ton of rock, as well as a 4.2-meter interval grading 3.69% copper and 9.33 grams of silver per ton of rock). Just recently, the company acquired Sapuchi Minera and, with it, the advanced San Antonio gold project (total resources at San Antonio amount to 576,000 ounces of gold and 1.37 million ounces of silver with a grade of 1.20 grams of gold per ton of rock and 2.9 grams of silver per ton of rock in the “Indicated” category and 544,000 ounces of gold and 1.76 million ounces of silver with a grade of 1.02 grams of gold per ton of rock and 3.3 grams of silver per ton of rock in the “Inferred” category) in Mexico.

Current company information: Axo Metals (- https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/axo-copper-corp/ -) and Arizona Sonoran Copper Company (- https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/ arizona-sonoran-copper-company-inc/ -).

You can also find more information in our new Battery Metals Report at the following link: https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/reports/ansicht/batteriemetall-report-2025-04/.

Sources: Axo Metals, Arizona Sonoran Copper,

https://investor-magazin.de/0342kupfer-der-mangel-ist-schon-da-bhp-ptx-metals-und-solgold-wollen-profitieren/;

https://www.investor-sms.de/kupfer-erste-engpaesse-schon-2026-freeport-mcmoran-bhp-prismo-metals-gunnison-copper-und-glencore/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=copper-first-shortages-as-early-as-2026-freeport-mcmoran-bhp-prismo-metals-gunnison-copper-and-glencore;

https://de.investing.com/news/company-news/freeport-q1-2026-starke-ergebnisse-von-verzogerungen-in-grasbergmine-uberschattet-93CH-3441604;

https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/reports/ansicht/batteriemetall-report-2025-04/.

Pursuant to Section 85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) in conjunction with Article 20 of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) (EU) 2016/958, we hereby note that authors, employees, and affiliated companies of Swiss Resource Capital AG (SRC) may hold positions (long/short) in the issuers discussed. Compensation/Relationship: IR contracts/advertorials: Author’s own positions: none; SRC net position: less than 0.5%; Issuer’s stake ≥ 5% in SRC: no. Update Policy: No obligation to update. No guarantee regarding the German translation. Only the English version of this news release is valid.

Disclaimer: The information provided does not constitute a recommendation or advice of any kind. Please be aware of the risks involved in securities trading. No liability can be accepted for damages arising from the use of this blog. We would like to point out that investments in stocks and, in particular, warrants are generally associated with risk. The total loss of the capital invested cannot be ruled out. All information and sources are carefully researched. However, no guarantee is given as to the accuracy of any content. Despite the utmost care, I expressly reserve the right to errors, particularly with regard to figures and prices. The information contained herein is derived from sources deemed reliable but in no way claims to be accurate or complete. Based on court rulings, I am jointly liable for the content of linked external sites (e.g., Hamburg Regional Court, in its ruling of May 12, 1998 – 312 O 85/98) unless I expressly distance myself from them. Despite careful monitoring of the content, I assume no liability for the content of linked external sites. The respective operators are solely responsible for their content. The disclaimer of Swiss Resource Capital AG, available at: https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/disclaimer-agb/, applies additionally.