The Worlds Copper Supply Is Suddenly Looking Scarce…….The World’s Copper Supply Is Suddenly Looking Scarce • Panama closure, Anglo American cuts have upended 2024 outlook • Copper was expected to be in surplus in the coming years By Thomas Biesheuvel December 11, 2023 at 12:59 PM EST Updated on December 12, 2023 at 8:26 PM EST A forecast surplus of copper going into 2024 has suddenly all but disappeared. The next couple of years were supposed to be a time of plenty for copper, thanks to a series of big new projects starting up around the world. The expectation across most of the industry was for a comfortable surplus before the market tightens again later this decade, when surging demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure collide with a lack of new mines. Instead, the mining industry has highlighted how vulnerable supply can be — whether due to political and social opposition, the difficulty of developing new operations, or simply the day-to-day challenge of pulling rocks up from deep beneath the earth. In the past two weeks, one of the world’s biggest copper mines was ordered to close in the face of fierce public protests, while a slew of operational setbacks has forced one of the leading miners to slash its production forecasts.