While the total copper volume grew year-on-year by 4%, or 61 million tonnes, most of the increase was attributed to older discoveries, with deposits found during the 1990s accounting for 70%, or 43 million tonnes, of the growth, S&P’s analysis found.
Furthermore, only 14 of the deposits were from the past decade, accounting for only 46.2 million tonnes, or 3.5% of the total copper worldwide. Four of these deposits were made during the last five years (2019-2023), adding a measly 4.2 million tonnes.
Downward trend
These figures, as the S&P report notes, underscore the downward trend in the rate and size of major discoveries over the past decade.
Exacerbating the issue, copper exploration budgets have remained well below decade-ago levels despite surging copper prices, S&P adds. While the global exploration budget climbed 12% in 2023, this was still 34% lower than the peak of 2012, it estimates.
