A Better Cycle for Copper in the Next 10 Years, Says Vizsla Copper Exec Chair

Vizsla Copper (TSXV:VCU) Executive Chairman Craig Parry shared his insights on the copper market, explaining how growing demand for copper could lead to good fortunes over the next decade.

“What we're seeing is a global phenomenon — the electrification of the planet, the move towards electric vehicles — and this future-facing metal, I think, is set to do better than it did last cycle because of the size of that demand increase that's coming,” Parry said.

The company executive said that about a 30 percent increase in demand is coming by the back half of this decade due to serious supply-side constraints that have only gotten worse over the last 10 years of downturn in the mining sector.

“You've seen major copper mines go deeper, grades are coming down — they're struggling to keep up with production," he said. "And then you match that with permitting issues and challenges in raising capital and developing projects. And I just can't see how we can possibly keep up.”

Unfortunately, this downturn means that not many projects have advanced through the necessary phases of studies in need of development, Parry explained. “We're not going to see a big supplier response on any site anytime soon. And certainly, some of the bigger mines in the world are getting longer in the tooth. And so they won't be able to meet that coming demand either.”

Parry believes there are a lot of contributing factors to why we might not keep up with growing copper demand, including underinvestment in the sector over the last 10 years and a more difficult permitting process for mining projects.

“Our challenges are almost insurmountable on that front … I think the only solution we see will be higher incentive prices, and then maybe over the next 10 years we can start developing projects and meeting that growing demand. The opportunity is absolutely extraordinary. I think some great fortunes are going to be made out of the copper market over the next 10 years.”

Watch the full interview with Vizsla Copper Executive Chairman Craig Parry above.