After years of little buying activity, the large copper mining companies are beginning to get their wallets out. At the end of March, the Canadian group Lundin announced the purchase of 51% of the Caserones copper and molybdenum mine in Chile, for US$950 million, from the Japanese company JX Nippon Mining, in Chile, for US$950 million, from Japan's JX Nippon Mining.

At the same time, the Swiss-based commodities giant Glencore made public an offer to merge with the Canadian Teck, in an operation valued at US$23 billion, which, at the time of going to press, had been rejected by Teck. Both companies have important copper operations and projects in Chile and Peru.

These movements are taking place in an environment in which short-term factors are combined -a current reduction in copper supply, mainly due to operational and political problems in Peru and Chile that are affecting production in both countries, the two largest producers of this metal in the world - a current reduction in copper supply, mainly due to operational and political problems in Peru and Chile that are affecting production in both countries, the two largest producers of this metal in the world- as well as long-term factorsa strong imbalance between supply and demand expected in the next decade.

Copper demand is expected to grow strongly in the coming years due to the importance of copper in the decarbonization of the economy demand for copper in the coming years to grow strongly due to the importance of this metal in the decarbonization of the economy and the development of electromobility.. S&P Global estimates that the demand for copper will more than double between now and 2035, when it will reach 50 million tons, an increase that significantly exceeds the supply projections of the industry.

It is an imbalance that, as the president of mining company Freeport McMoran told The Economist, cannot be solved by investment alone, due to the scarcity of opportunities to develop new feasible projects in the world. 

Among the alternatives to face this challenge is to promote exploration and development in areas that are already in production -such as what Teck is doing with the extension of the useful life of its Quebrada Blanca mine in northern Chile, or Lundin itself at its Candelaria mine in the Atacama region, and continuing to advance with the development of technologies for the recovery of residual copper in old tailings.