Copper Miners Face Short-Term Crisis Amid Sulphuric Acid Market Turmoil, IEA Reports

Published: Jul 17, 2026 20:29

Save

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that copper miners producing more than one-seventh of the world’s primary copper supply are now mired in turmoil in the sulphuric acid market, a crisis triggered by conflicts including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The agency notes that while the long-term supply outlook for copper has improved slightly, the metal still faces multiple severe challenges in the short term. In its newly released "Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026" report, the Paris-based IEA says that the short- and medium-term outlook for the copper market has sharply deteriorated over the past year.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

2 hours ago

EU Industry Chief Proposes Broad Ban on Waste Exports to Non-OECD Countries

The EU's industry chief Stephane Sejourne has decided to propose a broad ban on exports of waste, includingaluminium scrap, to non-OECD countries, a statement from Sejourne's cabinet said on Friday.Sejourne had been expected to present long-awaited trade measures on September 23, which would have only limited exports of aluminiumscrap."In the internal discussions, it appeared that the tool proposed could only cover around a half of the scrap export. As a result, the Executive Vice-President has decided to withdraw the proposal and to explore a proposal, independent from trade instruments," the statement said."We are now working on a delegated act under the Waste Shipment Regulation. This delegated act will ban exports of waste, including aluminiumscrap to non-O

2 hours ago

7 hours ago

Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Sep 07)

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 07 Sep , 2026

7 hours ago

8 hours ago

JCC Hongyuan Copper's $200M Expansion Project Aims to Boost Capacity to 550,000 mt by 2027

The 300,000 mt/year copper cathode expansion project of JCC Hongyuan Copper, a subsidiary of Jiangxi Copper Corporation, entered the pre-approval public notice stage of its environmental impact assessment on September 4, with a total investment of approximately 1.416 billion yuan. The project is planned to start construction in September 2026 and be completed in December 2027. Upon completion, JCC Hongyuan's total capacity will jump from 250,000 mt to 550,000 mt.

8 hours ago