Avoiding a climate crisis presents significant challenges, especially in transitioning power and transportation systems to renewable and clean energy. This transition will vastly increase copper demand, surpassing current production levels, and giving major stocks a big lift.
Copper’s exceptional conductivity makes it crucial for the energy transition. Copper is found in most appliances like toasters, air conditioners, microchips, cars, and homes.
- Interesting fact: The average car contains 65 pounds of copper, while a typical home has over 400 pounds.
Constructing advanced grids for decentralized renewable sources and stabilizing their supply requires extensive copper wiring. Solar and wind farms, which cover large areas, demand more copper per power unit than centralized coal and gas plants. Electric vehicles (EVs) use over twice as much copper as gasoline cars.
Meeting net zero carbon emission targets by 2035 may require doubling annual copper demand to 50 million metric tons. Even conservative estimates foresee a one-third demand increase over the next decade.
What more is the recent surge in copper prices starting early this year as you can see below. In May 2024, it reached almost $5 per pound in LME.
So, there could be no wiser move than investing in copper to ride along this rising demand. We believe so, too, that’s why we have considered some of the best copper stocks in 2024. Here are the top three copper stocks that would be worthy to add to your investment portfolio this 2024.
The World’s Largest Copper Reserve Holder: Southern Copper
Market Cap: US$85.24 billion
For investors seeking substantial exposure to copper, Southern Copper Corporation’s reliance on this metal can be appealing. The prominent Mexican mining company primarily focuses on copper production, boasting the largest reserves of the metal globally.
However, its operations extend beyond copper, producing valuable by-products such as silver, zinc, and molybdenum. This diversification, while significant, doesn’t overshadow its primary reliance on copper, which accounted for about 79% of the company’s net sales over the 3 years ending December 31, 2022.
Southern Copper’s stock has experienced notable volatility over the past few years. After a stellar performance in 2020, where the share price surged over 50%, the company saw a decline of more than 7% over the subsequent 2 years.
However, 2023 marked a recovery, with the share price climbing nearly 25% in the first nine months. And it further skyrocketed in the beginning of 2024 and reached the first-time high in May.
The recent uptick in copper prices has not only bolstered the company’s market performance but also enabled it to increase dividend payments significantly. At its current share price, the stock offers an attractive dividend yield of 5.4%, making it appealing to income-focused investors.
Strategic Investments and Project Development
Holding the largest copper reserves globally, Southern Copper is also operating top-tier assets in investment-grade countries like Mexico and Peru.
The company’s commitment to expanding its portfolio and reserves is evident through its significant capital investment program, exceeding $15 billion, planned for this decade. It aims to enhance and expand its operations across several high-potential projects, including:
- Buenavista Zinc, Pilares, El Pilar, and El Arco Projects in Mexico: These projects are crucial for the company’s growth strategy. El Arco, in particular, benefits from significant infrastructure investments aimed at enhancing its competitiveness.
- Tia Maria, Los Chancas, and Michiquillay Projects in Peru: These projects further diversify the company’s portfolio and strengthen its position in the global copper market.
Southern Copper’s operations in Mexico and Peru provide a strategic advantage due to the stability and investment-grade ratings of these countries. This geographical diversification into regions with favorable mining regulations and robust infrastructure supports the company’s long-term growth and sustainability.
BHP Group: Casting A Wide Net in Copper
Market Cap: US$142.99 billion
BHP Group is a world-leading resources company engaged in the extraction and processing of minerals, oil, and gas. As a major player in the global copper market, the Australian miner is committed to innovative practices and sustainability, aiming to supply essential resources efficiently and responsibly.
BHP owns and operates several copper mines in Chile and the Olympic Dam in South Australia.
Copper is BHP’s second-largest revenue generator after iron ore. This mineral segment plowed over US$16 billion into the company’s income in 2023, with 1,716.5 kilotons of copper production.
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The world’s largest mining company seeks to cast a wide net in copper with its exploration project in the high Arctic known as Camelot Project.
BHP launched this program early this year, covering the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The project aims to assess the potential for copper across six locations, spanning thousands of square kilometers. Exploration sites include Ellesmere Island, approximately 800 kilometers from the North Pole, Melville Island, Ellef Ringnes Island, and Axel Heiberg Island.
In response to the surge in copper prices, mining companies are scrambling to increase supply including BHP. The Australian mining giant recently announced a strategic partnership with Ivanhoe Electric to explore copper and other essential minerals.
Their collaboration aims to identify new sources of these critical resources, driven by the global shift towards clean energy and the electrification of various industries.
The exploration agreement with Ivanhoe Electric is structured in two stages. The first phase focuses on project generation, involving exploratory activities by both companies. If successful, the subsequent phase could lead to the formation of joint ventures to develop and operate mining projects.
More recently, BHP has made a bold move to expand its copper exposure by making a $39 billion bid for Anglo American. However, the offer was put off the table, delaying the company’s aim to cement its dominance in the copper market. Still, the Australian miner continues to explore significant copper projects and find ways to deepen its involvement in the sector.
Coppernico Metal: Pioneering Copper-Gold Exploration in South America
Coppernico Metals Inc. is an exploration company dedicated to generating value for its shareholders and stakeholders through meticulous project evaluation and exploration excellence. The company aims to discover world-class copper-gold and nickel deposits in South America, leveraging its experienced management and technical teams’ proven track record in raising capital, discovery, and monetization of exploration successes.
Coppernico is currently centered on two primary projects in Peru: the Sombrero and Takana projects. The company either owns or has the right to purchase up to 100% control of the concessions.
The Sombrero district, in particular, is a major focus due to its promising geological prospects. It features significant copper-gold values from surface samples and historical drilling, targeting skarn, porphyry, and epithermal deposits.
Takana hosts high-grade copper-nickel occurrences with multi-kilometer mineralization trends. Initial dialogues have already started with communities near the Takana project, showing promising signs for future access agreements in the coming months.
Strategic Expansion, Evaluation, and Listing Plans
In its quest to offer diversified upside for shareholders, Coppernico has evaluated numerous exploration opportunities across South America. The company has narrowed its focus to 15 priority projects, aiming to identify additional assets that complement the discovery potential of Sombrero.
Beyond Peru, Coppernico is also concentrating on exploration opportunities in Ecuador. The region has seen considerable success with several companies, including Solaris Resources, SolGold, Cornerstone, Dundee Precious Metals, and Lundin Mining.
The junior exploration company is an unlisted reporting issuer actively seeking listings on Canadian and U.S. stock exchanges. It plans to pursue a stock exchange listing application once it fulfills the requirements, a move that’s part of Coppernico’s broader strategy to enhance its visibility and attract a broader investor base.
In May this year, the company successfully closed its $19.37 million private placement financing. The financing included participation from Teck Resources Limited, a prominent Canadian mining company, under a subscription agreement.
With its robust project pipeline, strategic evaluations, and plans for stock exchange listings, Coppernico is well-positioned to capitalize on its exploration successes and deliver substantial value to its shareholders.
What Comes Next for Copper?
Copper’s pivotal role in achieving net zero emissions is increasingly recognized, especially in renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles (EVs). However, projections indicate a potential supply-demand gap, necessitating substantial investments in production and recycling to meet growing demand and sustainability goals.
Key industries driving copper consumption include equipment manufacturing, construction, infrastructure, and emerging sectors like EVs and green technologies. With the rising adoption of EVs, solar panels, and other clean energy technologies, copper demand is expected to double by 2035.
In light of ambitious net zero targets for 2035, industry estimates suggest that annual copper demand may need to reach 50 million metric tons. Even conservative projections anticipate a one-third increase in demand over the next decade, propelled by significant investments in decarbonization initiatives from both public and private entities.
Meeting this escalating demand presents challenges, such as declining ore grades and environmental concerns around mining. Addressing these requires significant investments, potentially driving copper prices higher.
Analysts predict continued price growth due to supply-demand imbalances and increasing demand from the green energy sector.
Uncertainties surrounding China’s economic recovery and the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy add complexity to future copper price trajectories. However, analysts remain optimistic about copper’s long-term prospects, driven by the energy transition and increasing demand from sectors like EVs and renewable power.
As nations compete for limited future copper supplies, securing domestic or friendly sourcing and refining capabilities becomes a strategic imperative. Strategic investments in copper production and recycling are crucial to meet growing demand and achieve net zero emissions amidst the expanding renewable energy infrastructure and EV adoption.
The post The Top 3 Copper Stocks of 2024 appeared first on Carbon Credits.
Most businesses that decide to act on their net-zero targets reach the same point of friction. Buying carbon credits has meant tracking down brokers, sitting through sales calls, and requesting a quote just to learn a price, sometimes with limited proof of what you are buying.
The earnings calls that quietly reframed climate from sustainability question to operating risk.
Three earnings calls in the last 18 months tell the story without any help from a press release.
Hershey, May 2024: cocoa price exposure compresses margin, and the company attributes part of the cost shock to West African weather. Olam, July 2024: coffee climate exposure quantified in the annual report. JBS, January 2025: supply chain climate disclosures expanded materially in response to investor pressure and regulatory expectation. None of these companies issued the announcement as climate news. They issued it as financial news. The climate-linked supply chain risk did not arrive with a sustainability framing; it arrived as a P&L line.
You are probably reading this article because you suspect the same thing is happening to your business. This piece walks through what is showing up on which earnings calls, how procurement and finance leaders are quantifying the exposure, and what serious corporates are doing about it before the regulator asks.
Where climate risk has already appeared in earnings
The pattern is consistent across resource-intensive sectors. A weather event compresses supply, the price spikes, the cost flows through the income statement, and the analyst on the call asks whether the event is anomalous or structural. Increasingly, the honest answer is the second one.
Cocoa is the cleanest example. The 2023 to 2024 West African harvest fell sharply on the back of erratic rainfall and disease. Cocoa futures more than tripled. Companies with concentrated West African sourcing absorbed the cost; companies with diversified sourcing absorbed less. The exposure was not climate as ESG topic. It was climate as cost of goods.
Coffee follows the same pattern. Brazilian and Vietnamese harvests have moved on weather more sharply across the last several seasons. Roasters with long-tenor supplier relationships and origin diversification have managed the volatility; roasters with spot-market exposure have not. Wheat, sugar, palm oil, beef: the same dynamic in different commodities, a pattern the IPCC AR6 Working Group II report projects will intensify across agricultural systems through mid-century.
What this means: climate risk is no longer a footnote in the 10-K. It is a line item the CFO has to explain on the call.
The three commodity exposures that hit margin first
For most companies with material Scope 3 exposure, three exposures dominate the near-term P&L risk.
- Concentrated single-origin sourcing in a climate-vulnerable region. If your tier-one supply for any material commodity sits in one geography, you have a concentration risk that climate amplifies. Diversification across origins is the obvious hedge, but it takes years to build and requires relationships you cannot acquire by tender.
- Supplier financial fragility under climate stress. Smallholder farmers, who supply a large share of the global cocoa, coffee, and palm oil market, do not carry the balance sheets to absorb yield shocks. When yields collapse, they exit. When they exit, your supply base shrinks, and the surviving suppliers raise prices. The risk is structural, not cyclical.
- Logistics and storage exposure to extreme weather. Hurricane disruptions to Gulf shipping, drought-driven Panama Canal restrictions, flooding in European inland waterways: each of these has moved input costs in the last three years, a pattern documented in Munich Re’s natural catastrophe data. The exposure shows up as a one-quarter event in the financial press but accumulates over time on the cost line.
TCFD and ISSB disclosure changes
The disclosure architecture has now caught up with the risk. The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, whose recommendations are now embedded in the ISSB’s IFRS S2 climate standard, requires companies to disclose climate-related risks across physical and transition categories, with quantification where possible.
For physical risk specifically (the climate-linked supply chain risk you are reading about), the disclosure must address both acute exposures (extreme weather events) and chronic exposures (gradual changes in temperature, precipitation, and growing seasons). The disclosure must address the time horizon over which the risk is material, the parts of the value chain exposed, and the financial impact under different scenarios.
The CSRD imposes similar requirements under European law, with double materiality (both financial and impact materiality) embedded in the assessment. The practical effect: your auditors and your investor relations team now need a defensible answer to the climate-linked supply chain risk question, and the answer needs to be quantified.
What procurement and finance can do now
Three actions matter near-term.
Map your exposure. Most companies do not have a clear view of which tier-one and tier-two suppliers sit in which climate-vulnerable geographies. Without the map, you cannot quantify the risk, and without the quantification, you cannot disclose it credibly. The map is the foundation, and World Resources Institute climate risk research provides useful public tooling to start.
Diversify and deepen, in that order. Diversification across origins reduces concentration risk, but the deeper move is to invest in the resilience of the suppliers you already have. Regenerative practices, agroforestry, soil health interventions: these reduce yield volatility under climate stress and protect your input cost trajectory.
Embed the climate spend inside procurement, not outside it. Treating climate risk as a sustainability cost line subordinates it to the ESG budget. Treating it as a procurement and resilience investment puts it in the budget that matters, which is the cost-of-goods budget that the CFO defends quarterly.
Nature-based supply chain investments are the asset class designed for exactly this purpose. They sit inside the value chain, they reduce climate-linked supply risk, they generate verifiable Scope 3 reductions, and they produce the documentation an auditor and a regulator can both test.
If you are quantifying climate-linked supply chain risk in advance of the next earnings cycle or the next disclosure period, the carbon and sustainability experts at Carbon Credit Capital can help you map your exposure and structure a Dual-Value Model response that addresses reduction, resilience, and disclosure-readiness in a single program. Schedule a consultation.
More and more small and medium-sized businesses are hearing the same question from their larger customers: What is your carbon footprint? That question now travels down entire supply chains, and it arrives next to tender requirements, certification criteria, and rising customer expectations.
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