Bloomberg reports copper surging toward all-time highs—and the driver is the same force reshaping everything else: AI infrastructure. Every data center, every power line, every electrical system enabling AI runs on copper. The AI boom is fundamentally a copper demand story.
A single large data center requires thousands of tons of copper for electrical systems, cooling infrastructure, and connectivity. Multiply by the hundreds of data centers under construction globally, and copper demand is accelerating just as supply faces structural constraints.
New copper mines take 10-15 years from discovery to production. Current prices signal future shortage that can’t be solved quickly. This is classic supply-demand dynamics with extended lead times—the kind of imbalance that persists for years.
Recycling helps but can’t close the gap. Substitution (aluminum, fiber optics in some applications) helps but has limits. The math points to elevated copper prices for the duration of the AI infrastructure build-out.
Investment Implications
Copper miners with existing production capacity and reserves are positioned for the AI boom regardless of which AI companies ultimately win. This is the “picks and shovels” thesis applied to infrastructure materials—owning critical inputs rather than betting on outcomes.
The second-order investment: copper price increases flow through to data center economics, affecting AI company margins and infrastructure investment timelines.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
