Copper prices hit a fresh all-time high on Tuesday, topping $12,000 a ton, as a combination of mine outages, trade disruptions, and robust demand for the industrial metal propelled North American copper producers and developers higher.
On the London Metal Exchange, prices climbed as much as 2% to $12,159.50 a ton, extending a rally that has pushed copper more than a third higher in 2025, putting the metal on track for its biggest annual gain since 2009.
Concerns that US President Donald Trump could impose tariffs on the metal added to the buying frenzy, with surging US imports fueling competition among manufacturers globally.
The surge in copper prices boosted shares of major producers in North America, with Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX, XETRA:FPMB) rising 2.2%, Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF)’s US shares up 1.2%, and Teck Resources Ltd (USA) (TSX:TCK)’ US shares climbing 3.3%. Copper developers also benefited, as Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF) jumped 7.1% and C3 Metals Inc (TSX-V:CCCM, OTC:CUAUF) added 1.7%.
Frank Holmes, CEO of U.S. Global Investors (NASDAQ:GROW), highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in driving copper demand. “A conventional data center uses between 5,000 and 15,000 tons of copper. A hyperscale data center—the kind being built to run AI—can require up to 50,000 tons of copper per facility,” Holmes said. “That’s more copper than three conventional facilities combined. These massive facilities have an insatiable appetite for copper.”
Holmes added that the AI boom is about more than just computing power. “It also involves electrical infrastructure at a scale we’ve never seen before. That’s why copper has been on fire this year,” he noted.
The rally has drawn bullish forecasts from major banks. JPMorgan expects copper to reach $12,500 per ton in the second quarter of 2026, averaging around $12,075 for the full year, while UBS projects prices could hit $13,000 by year-end.
Despite soaring prices, Holmes said AI buildout is unlikely to slow. Data centers already consume about 1.5% of global electricity—roughly the same as the entire UK—and demand could more than double by 2030, much of it driven by AI, translating into over half a million metric tons of copper annually.
Supply, however, is facing structural constraints. The International Energy Agency has warned that copper could face a supply deficit as high as 30% by 2035. Wood Mackenzie projects global demand could rise 24% by then, reaching nearly 43 million tons per year, requiring $210 billion in new mining investment—far above the $76 billion invested over the past six years.
Even in the US, where the US Geological Survey estimates 48 million tons of identified copper resources, developing new supply is slow. The average time to bring a new copper mine online is 19 years, and projects such as Arizona’s $10 billion Resolution Copper are targeting 2030 for production after decades of planning.
“As I’ve said during previous copper cycles, we may need a telescope to see where prices are headed,” Holmes added.
“This time, with AI adding fuel to an already tight market, that telescope might need to be pointed even higher.”