The Copper You Need Is Stuck In A 30-Mile Traffic Jam
Big Take4 Nov 2022

The Copper You Need Is Stuck In A 30-Mile Traffic Jam

Here’s a random yet important fact: Copper is one of the very best conductors of electricity of all metals. And that matters, because as we move toward a world in which more and more things in our lives plug in or charge up–not just your phone, but electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines that will power the future–copper is in increasingly high demand. Worldwide, about 21 million metric tons of it are hauled up from the ground each year. And demand will soon double.

Some of the richest reserves of copper are found in Southern Africa. But getting it from deep underground and trucking it thousands of miles to buyers can be a harrowing journey.

Without more production or new mines, the world could be looking at shortages, and soaring prices for copper and the products that use it. Joining this episode are Santiago-based commodities reporter James Attwood, and Yvonne Yue Li, a metals and mining reporter in New York. They’ll explain what a coming copper shortage could mean for us all.

Reporter Matthew Hill also stops by to describe his visit to a huge mine in Zambia, where he descended thousands of feet underground to see copper being blasted from the rock–and talked to the truckers who risk their safety bringing it to port.

Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3fxYXrQ

Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK

Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(854)

The Iran Mine Threat Rattling Global Oil

The Iran Mine Threat Rattling Global Oil

Has Iran laid mines across the Strait of Hormuz? With attacks on gas and oil facilities across the Middle East sending energy prices soaring, a key to restoring global oil supplies is ensuring the Str...

19 Mar 14min

The Iran War Is the Fed's Worst Nightmare

The Iran War Is the Fed's Worst Nightmare

The Federal Open Market Committee announced this afternoon that it would hold interest rates steady. The decision comes in spite of spiking oil prices and new market uncertainty driven by the Iran War...

18 Mar 17min

Asia Is Bearing the Brunt of the Iran War Energy Crisis

Asia Is Bearing the Brunt of the Iran War Energy Crisis

From soaring fuel prices in Pakistan to a shortage of cooking gas in India, Asia is bearing the brunt of the energy crunch sparked by the Iran War. On today’s Big Take Asia podcast we look at how war ...

17 Mar 18min

Will Russia Be the Biggest Winner of the Iran War?

Will Russia Be the Biggest Winner of the Iran War?

As the war in Iran draws in more countries, it’s had unlikely benefits for one of Iran’s key allies: Russia. President Trump has eased some sanctions on Russian oil in his efforts to alleviate the oil...

16 Mar 16min

Weekend Listen: The Rise and Fall of an Alleged Scam Boss

Weekend Listen: The Rise and Fall of an Alleged Scam Boss

By any account, Chen Zhi's ascent was meteoric. At a young age he founded a real estate company in Cambodia, which quickly became the sprawling Prince Group conglomerate. But beneath this legitimate f...

15 Mar 19min

Your Streaming Subscription Could Be the Next Trade Battlefield

Your Streaming Subscription Could Be the Next Trade Battlefield

From online banking and social media to digital ads and AI subscriptions, digital services are the fastest-growing segment of global trade. Unlike physical exports, they’ve been subject to little regu...

13 Mar 17min

Iran War Spotlights the Pentagon’s AI Strategy

Iran War Spotlights the Pentagon’s AI Strategy

In the first 24 hours of US attacks on Iran, the scale of firepower more than doubled that of the US’ initial assault on Iraq in 2003 — an expansion made possible by the Pentagon’s embrace of AI. Just...

12 Mar 19min

Why So Many Private Credit Investors Want Out

Why So Many Private Credit Investors Want Out

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Brian Chappatta and Olivia Fishlow unpack the recent tumult in the world of private credit. How cracks formed in this $1.8 trillion market, how companies are t...

11 Mar 19min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
forklart
popradet
aftenpodden-usa
stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
fotballpodden-2
i-retten
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-ness
nokon-ma-ga
aftenbla-bla
hanna-de-heldige
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
bt-dokumentar-2
rss-dannet-uten-piano