A scientific journal article is proposing that if undeveloped nations begin increasing their use of copper wiring and tubing, even the full extraction of the Earth’s ores and increased recycling may not be enough to meet future demand.
According to a report from LiveScience.com Web site, the article’s authors considered metal stocks thought to exist as ore and metal in use by people today on the supply side and “an estimate what the global demand for copper and other metals would be if all nations were fully developed and using modern technologies” on the demand side.
The study’s findings: all of the copper in ore plus all of the copper currently in use that could be recycled will be needed “to bring the entire world to the level of the developed nations for power transmission, construction and other services and products that depend on the metal.”