In recent weeks, copper prices have reached record highs across both Western and Chinese exchanges. This rally reflects an increasingly tight physical market. Large-scale supply constraints have emerged at a time when structural demand is only just beginning to accelerate. Disruptions at key mines, from geotechnical incidents to production delays, have significantly restricted available tonnage. At the same time, smelters are struggling to secure raw material, and inventory levels across major exchanges are trending lower.
Copper is central to electrification, from EV charging networks to power grid upgrades. These are the backbone of modernisation programmes across the globe. And while that demand was well-telegraphed, it is arriving faster than much of the supply base is equipped to handle. Refiners in China, the world’s largest market, are already reducing output as feedstock becomes harder to source. The result is a physical squeeze that is pushing spot prices to a premium.
Jubilee Metals Group plc (LON:JLP) is a diversified metal recovery business with a world-class portfolio of projects in South Africa and Zambia. The Company’s expanding multi-project portfolio across South Africa and Zambia provides exposure to a broad commodity basket including Platinum Group Metals, chrome, lead, zinc, vanadium, copper and cobalt.
