Better late than never, much of the world is trying to head to a net zero future.
According to Perennial Partners equities analyst Ewan Galloway, the decarbonisation process needs to rapidly accelerate for many countries to meet their 2050 net-zero goal.
"The problem is that this requires metals production to nearly double right at a time when new projects struggle to come online due to a lack of investment and growing red tape," Galloway said on the Perennial blog.
Lithium has, quite rightly, been the poster child for investors looking to cash in on the demand for battery materials.
However, it's not the only mineral facing dire shortages.
Galloway urged investors to look at another resource that could provide handsome long-term returns.
10+ years for new mines, 7 years to restart an old mine
Copper, according to Galloway, is nicknamed "Dr Copper" for its ubiquity in infrastructure and electronics.
"Copper is ductile, antimicrobial, corrosion-resistant, and possesses excellent thermal and electrical conductivity.
"This means that regardless of how the world's industrial processes and electricity generation mix change over the next few decades, copper will be at the heart of it and crucial to lowering emissions."
Demand for this critical mineral is expected to double by 2035.
Adding to this tailwind for copper shares are the problems on the supply side.
"Supply growth has stalled due to a combination of underinvestment, increased regulation, and most importantly, a lack of large-scale economic deposits in stable jurisdictions," said Galloway.
"While secondary supply (recycling) contributes around 15% to 20% of current global production and has scope to increase, primary (mining) supply growth is sorely needed."
To meet the world's needs for net zero targets, production needs to expand by about 1 mega-tonnes per annum.
"This looks increasingly unlikely considering that the sector only averaged ~430ktpa from 2008-2020," Galloway said.
"Compounding this, the average time to develop a greenfield project has blown out to over a decade, with brownfield projects not much better at around seven years."
3 ASX copper shares for miners producing right here, right now
All this means that current copper producers are in the box seat to rake in earnings.
So which ASX mining shares are related to copper production?
The biggest specialist producer by some margin is Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR), with a $2.7 billion market cap.
Six out of 15 analysts currently surveyed on CMC Markets rate the stock as a buy.
The previous largest player, Oz Minerals, was bought out by BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) this year, making the Big Australian an option for copper exposure mixed with other minerals.
Another standalone copper producer experts sometimes mention is Aeris Resources Ltd (ASX: AIS).
According to Investing News Network, the company produced 51,500 tonnes of copper in the 2023 financial year. This compares to 84,056 from Sandfire.
