Dormant Copper Mines Could Add Nearly 1 Million Tons by 2030

Expectations of a long-term copper shortage are prompting miners to revive dormant mines, which can often reach production sooner than new discoveries because they have existing infrastructure, known deposits and permitting histories. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates that restarts could add nearly 1 million tons of annual production by 2030, more than 4% of current output, though about half of that potential depends on politically uncertain projects in Panama and Papua New Guinea. Sibanye-Stillwater has approved a roughly $340 million restart of Tasmania’s Mt Lyell mine, idle for 12 years, and expects it to resume production in 2029 and eventually produce 26,000 tons a year. The revival of old mines may help bridge the supply gap, but projects still require years and substantial investment to deliver new copper.