Copper exploration a hive of activity in the North West

Copper has been branded the ‘new oil’ and the rush is on. Lower grades and deeper deposits will become viable as demand swells, according to Queensland Resources Council policy director - economics Andrew Barger. Mr Barger is Master of Ceremonies at the North West MPX mining conference and expo, being held in Mount Isa over July 12-14. Demand increases would force the whole supply chain to step up a gear to meet new opportunity, Mr Barger said. Andrew Barger “As we hurtle towards a net zero world, you suddenly need an order of magnitude change in how much copper you need, for not just transmission lines, but electric vehicles, batteries, mobile phones, wind towers, all the new economy gear. “All these hidden uses for copper that people have suddenly realised at a time when copper grades are declining worldwide, it looks like the demand for copper is heading north. “And famously Goldman Sachs said that copper's the new oil. So, in terms of a commodity that tracks global activity and outlook, I think that's probably pretty right.” Conference and activity alignThe conference comes at a time when there’s never been more activity in the industry said Mr Barger.“I think what will be really interesting about this year's conference is you've got producers and big established producers actively exploring in the region. “Rio Tinto's pegged a lot of country. Anglo's very serious about exploring. Evolution's moving into the region in a big way and is interested in looking at assets. “So, there's a bit of a game changer, I think in that not only is capital flowing to the traditional explorers and small caps in the region.” The demand profile had changed, with some producers moving to vertically integrate to ensure access to copper, Mr Barger said. “That's an interesting dynamic too, where we're seeing companies like BMW, Tesla, Toyota, and Volvo, get very interested in their supply chain and wanting to know where their copper's coming from, and investing in metal producers.” “But at the same time as we're seeing that capital flow into the traditional smaller explorers, we're seeing big established producers with a big production footprint in Queensland spending some pretty serious money, time and effort doing greenfield exploration but also going back through the data and looking through the old records to see what they might be able to find. “I think there's a lot of optimism about the scrutiny that's being applied to the geology of the region.”Anglo American and Rio Tinto have pegged a million square kilometre and 770,000 square kilometre exploration leases respectively. Related: Tap world trends in mineral demand at North West MPX Explorers were employing the latest techniques and scouring old records for leads said Mr Barger. “They've definitely put some pegs in the ground and they're not just drilling. It's really high-end AI, remote sensing, all this exploration whiz-bang modelling technology is being deployed. “And I think that's interesting, because there's always been slightly dismissive perception of the region that the easy deposits with outcropping seams have been discovered. “But now, with exploration under deeper cover, of knowing where the seams might be running and modelling being able to predict where to put down new drill holes in the most prospective places, there's a lot of pretty heavy-hitting computer power being applied in the field.”The North West MPX mining conference and expo runs over 12-14 July. Click here to register. (Photo: 29 Metals' Capricorn Copper mine north of Cloncurry)

Copper exploration a hive of activity in the North West

Industry Queensland

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