11:45 - 17.09.2024

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September 17, Fineko/abc.az. According to the forecast of mining company BHP Billiton, further development of artificial intelligence technology will lead to acute shortage of copper.

The Financial Times informs that increase in metal costs is conditioned by the rapid increase in the number of data centers and, accordingly, more energy-intensive operations. The company reports that by 2050, global demand for the resource will increase by 3.4 million tons, and the percentage of copper consumption by data centers will increase from 1% up to 6-7%.

According to BHP's forecast, global demand for copper will similarly dramatically increase from 30.4 million tons per year in 2021 to 52.5 million tons by 2050.

Copper is also a critical material in industries such as power cables, electric vehicles, and solar farms. Such high demand causes an aggravation of resource shortage.