Demand for copper is expected to grow as telecom groups around the world are expected to earn more than $10 billion in total from copper sales over the next 15 years as they remove old cables from their networks. Therefore, this field will receive further tailwinds.
Carriers are expected to receive up to $720 million from copper sales in 2025, according to TXO, which helps carriers recycle and sell the metal. UK-based BT, Nordic operators Telia and Telenor, and Australia’s Telstra are among the companies that have already booked to pay for recycled metals essential to the transition to clean energy.
Copper price increases are expected to reach approximately $12,000 per tonne by 2035, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights, as the industry moves toward the retirement of traditional copper wire as full-fiber broadband and wireless technologies are deployed. is in progress. , up from the current $9,170 per tonne.
Rupert Wood, research director at Analysis Mason, said: “While some copper cables may not be economically recoverable, the potential one-off global economic benefits are still in the tens of billions of dollars.” said. The consulting firm added that it expects most telecom companies to completely phase out the use of copper by 2035.
Prices for metals used in power grids, wiring and electric vehicles have been volatile, soaring to an all-time high of more than $11,100 in May.
Global demand is expected to rise 70% from 2021 levels by 2050, as the energy transition and grid build-up create shortages of the metal, according to mining company BHP.
David Evans, group head of asset recovery services at TXO, said: “Operators involved in copper recovery now not only reap significant financial benefits, but also have global stakes in resource sustainability. “We are also addressing the most pressing needs.”
He added that the expected surge in demand for the metal “comes at a time when the copper mining industry is unlikely to catch up, pointing to potential supply shortages and price increases.”
In Australia, Telstra has generated a total of A$211 million (US$132 million) in revenue from the sale of extracted copper cables in the past two financial years.
BT reported an upfront payment of £105m for forward sales of copper in the 2024 financial year. It has also agreed a contract with recycler EMR to support the extraction and recycling of copper cables from the network until 2028. The group has a separate program to take back old network equipment, reuse or recycle it, and resell it.
Sweden-based Telia has already received €25 million so far since it began phasing out its copper mesh, and expects to earn around €2 million to €3 million from copper sales in 2025. He said that it is expected that
Norwegian group Telenor plans to recover and sell around 250 tonnes of copper from the cable in 2025, expected to generate around €1 million in revenue under a revenue-sharing model with demolition contractors.
In the future, the company plans to sell approximately 68 million euros worth of copper, mainly from aerial cables and cables in buildings.
“Over the next few years, we will be able to step up our copper recycling efforts and put that money back into our network through resale,” said US AT&T Group, which said it had recycled more than 32,000 tonnes since 2021.
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For many carriers, the revenue generated was not important. Businesses must contend with the cost and complexity of recovery, as well as the ongoing threat of copper cable theft.
Belgian group Proximus made money on copper sales due to “significant” costs associated with cable extraction, low copper content and complex process of separating copper from other materials present He said the amount was “not material.”
Dutch telecom operator KPN is selling copper from decommissioned networks in a small-scale experiment and tracking market trends, but extracting underground copper networks is “not that easy” and requires “a significant It’s expensive,” he said.
Peter Burns, managing director of Macquarie’s commodity financing team, said the copper recovery process “has not been easy”. “The regulation and operation of these projects is very complex. A lot of time is spent complying with regulations to decommission legacy networks so they can be extracted, and then to finally produce salable goods. will require a bespoke recycling process.”
Additional reporting by Leslie Hook in London
