WASHINGTON : According to the survey, the pace of the global energy transition is no longer dictated only by technological advances but increasingly by access to critical minerals. Metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earth elements have become strategic bottlenecks, influencing energy security, industrial competitiveness and even geopolitical power, especially as source countries impose trade restrictions on exports.
Copper, a key input for power infrastructure and clean energy systems, has seen rising price volatility amid mine outages in major producing regions such as Indonesia, Congo and Chile. The survey cautioned that these disruptions, combined with growing demand from the power sector and data centres worldwide and protectionist trade measures, could lead to supply deficits over the medium to long term.
Highlighting the scale of material requirements, the survey noted that a single one-gigawatt wind power installation requires about 2,866 tonnes of copper, equivalent to nearly 1,200 truckloads. Given declining ore grades, producing one tonne of copper typically involves processing 167 to 200 tonnes of ore, with many existing mines yielding less than 0.6 per cent and new projects averaging around 0.4 to 0.5 per cent.
Based on current estimates, generating the copper needed for one gigawatt of wind power would require processing nearly 4.78 lakh tonnes of ore, excluding waste rock, overburden and processing losses. In practice, total material moved is often two to four times higher once waste stripping is accounted for, pushing the figure beyond one to two million tonnes per gigawatt.
The Economic Survey warns of a potential global copper shortage due to increased demand from the energy sector and data centers, coupled with supply disruptions in major mining regions. As copper is crucial for power infrastructure, the survey highlights the challenges posed by declining ore grades and protectionist trade measures, which could exacerbate supply deficits.