An essential element
Copper.
The metal behind what comes next.
Power. Mobility. Computing. Circularity.
Copper in numbers.
Global mine production
2024
Global refined copper usage
2024
Secondary refined production
2024
Source: ICSG World Copper Factbook 2025, p. 5 · Mine production preliminary ↗
Where copper goes
Building construction
Consumer products, cooling & electronics
Power & telecom infrastructure
Transport
Industrial equipment
Other uses
Source: 2024 end-use shares · ICSG World Copper Factbook 2025, p. 48; ICA ↗
S&P Global · 2040 outlook
Demand grows. Supply takes time.
Power grids, electric vehicles, AI and industry are driving copper demand.
10 million tonnes Potential annual shortfall by 2040 without meaningful supply expansion.
Annual highs · 1994–2026
LME copper: annual price highs.
Highest daily cash-settlement price each year · US dollars per tonne.
Sources: IWCC · 1994–2022 annual High Cash column, p. 1; Westmetall · 2023–2026 daily cash-settlement prices.
View every annual high and its source
| Year | High · US$/tonne | Source period / date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | $3,088 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 1995 | $3,233 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 1996 | $2,841 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 1997 | $2,719 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 1998 | $1,880 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 1999 | $1,846 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2000 | $2,009 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2001 | $1,837 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2002 | $1,690 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2003 | $2,321 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2004 | $3,287 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2005 | $4,650 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2006 | $8,788 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2007 | $8,301 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2008 | $8,985 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2009 | $7,346 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2010 | $9,740 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2011 | $10,148 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2012 | $8,658 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2013 | $8,243 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2014 | $7,440 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2015 | $6,448 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2016 | $5,936 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2017 | $7,216 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2018 | $7,263 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2019 | $6,572 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2020 | $7,964 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2021 | $10,725 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2022 | $10,730 | Annual high published in source | IWCC · p. 1 · High Cash |
| 2023 | $9,436 | 18. January 2023 | Westmetall · 18. January 2023 |
| 2024 | $10,857 | 20. May 2024 | Westmetall · 20. May 2024 |
| 2025 | $12,512 | 30. December 2025 | Westmetall · 30. December 2025 |
| 2026 | $14,850 | 17. August 2026 | Westmetall · 17. August 2026 |
Thermal conductivity at cryogenic temperatures.

Source: Jack W. Ekin, Experimental Techniques in Low Temperature Measurements, Oxford University Press (2006, 2007), Fig. 6.13. View chart.
Copper thermal conductivity
Source: Hust & Lankford · NBS IR 84-3007 (1984), §2.1; NIST Monograph 177, pp. 7-16–7-17. Thermal Conductivity and Electrical Resistivity of Very High-Purity Copper at Low Temperatures, ICEC 12 (1988), pp. 414–417.
Copper purity and RRR examples
| Copper | RRR |
|---|---|
| 5,760 | |
| 2,000 | |
| 2,000 | |
| 1,000 | |
| ≈100 | |
| 50 | |
| 40–50 | |
| <25 |
Hover a copper type to compare its reference RRR.
Keep the material in circulation
Recycling is already
part of the supply.
Secondary refined copper production reached 4.7 million tonnes in 2024. Additional scrap was melted directly into products, outside this figure.
Aeramine is developing high-purity, low oxygen copper from recycled feedstock.
- 01Recover
Recycled feedstock
- 02Refine
High-purity copper
- 03Reuse
New applications
Let’s talk