Scrap Copper Prices

Scrap copper pricesi when you think of precious metals, gold, silver and platinum are probably the first ones that come to mind. However, what if we told you that copper scrap metal is fast becoming the next big metal?

So, why is the price of scrap copper prices expected to increase so quickly? In this article, we will explain why there is an increase in the demand and price of copper and what you can do to see the benefits.

First, let’s talk about copper of our day and age.

TRANSITION TO RENEWABLE ENERGY INCREASES COPPER DEMAND

As more and more governments realize the seriousness of today’s climate change, such as rising global temperatures and natural disasters, there has been a surge in news about the positive effects of renewable energy.

New sources are gaining more attention as we learn about new ways of converting to renewable energy. And one of these sources is none other than copper!

The role of copper in renewable energy has greatly increased as it is essential for the production of:

• solar panels
• wind turbines
• Electric vehicle (EV) batteries
• EV charging stations
• Other clean energy alternatives

With so many companies turning to renewable energy, it is estimated that copper demand will reach 8.7 million tons by 2030, increasing by up to 900% year-on-year.

COPPER CANNOT SUSTAINLY MEET ITS DEMAND

“Renewable energy is a good thing, right?” Yes like that. However, when the demand for a natural element increases, there must be enough supply.

Problem? For copper, we cannot meet these demands efficiently. Here is why.

DIFFICULT TO MAKE MORE COPPER SUSTAINABLE

To get more copper, you need to mine or mine copper ores. As we mine more and more copper, we begin to consume all easily accessible ore bodies. This leaves us only the hardest places to mine for more. These places include places such as the Arctic or the deep sea.

Not only is it harder to locate the uncovered copper, it’s also getting harder to extract it sustainably. This is because these ore bodies are of low grade and release toxins, a chemical element such as arsenic, which has the potential to cause cancer and harm the environment.

Besides this big problem, the copper mining business is also facing a lot of opposition.

OPPOSITION TO MINING LEADS TO LEGAL WARS

There has been a surge in public opinion against these mining projects, as it is difficult to mine copper sustainably. Also, political opposition from local and international governments is causing projects to be delayed or canceled altogether.

One reason for the backlash is that about half of the remaining ore bodies are close to Indigenous land or areas protected by biodiversity conservation. The only remaining copper ore bodies are those usually found in areas already struggling with a water crisis. This leaves the miner in competition with other industries for resources like water.

It is likely that we will see an increase in scrap copper prices as the miners cannot keep up with the demand.

COPPER SCRAP PRICES MAY RISE ( SUPPLY AGAINST DEMAND )

When there is high demand and low supply (in this case, a very hard-to-reach and environmentally demanding supply), prices will rise. For copper, a large supply gap of over 8 million tons is projected from today to 2030.

However, copper prices rose nearly 80% in 2021 and the rise is not likely to slow down anytime soon.

So what does this mean for you?

COPPER: THE scrap metal of the future While buying new copper is getting more and more expensive, there is a nice alternative: recycled copper scrap metal.

Recycling metal becomes more important than ever when there are limited resources.

You can trade in your copper scrap metal or buy recycled copper as a way to save your business money. This not only has a positive environmental impact, but also an economic impact. Read on to learn how copper scrapping can benefit you.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF RECYCLED COPPER

Recycling copper benefits the environment in several ways. For example, as we try to keep up with the demands for these metals, we can quickly deplete our resources and sacrifice the environment in the mining process. As mentioned earlier, most of the places left to extract copper will cause major environmental problems.

Also, when these metals are improperly disposed of and end up in landfills, they risk toxic exposure to vital elements we use every day, such as the air we breathe and the water we drink.

Fortunately, the recycling copper metal scrap yard near me keeps metal out of landfills and leaves our Earth’s wilderness unmined.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF RECYCLED COPPER

Did you know that recycling scrap metals like copper can save your business money with possible tax exemptions and reduced disposal costs? Not only that, it can also help the global and national economy!

Supply and demand will become more balanced as recycling efforts increase. Then we can expect a slowdown in the increase in the cost of copper.