The World Needs a Lot More Copper. But Will There Be Enough Supply? Copper is used in just about everything, smartphones, refrigerators, electric vehicles, data centers, power grids and much more. If it uses electricity, it likely has copper in it. The demand for copper is growing, but the supply is not certain. Several key copper mines faced operational setbacks in 2025, and a number of mining companies have lowered their production guidance. The biggest mines, that provided the copper for the past century, are showing declining production as the highest grades are depleted. New mines are not coming into production soon enough. And those new mines are generally smaller and lower grade ore. The best and easiest to mine copper deposits have already been found and depleted. Most of what remains is lower grade and in more difficult to reach locations. While we are not running out of copper, it does mean that it will become more expensive and supply probably won't grow enough to meet demand.(Wall Street Mav)