Copper supply risks have “worsened considerably”, with the IEA warning that sulphuric acid shortages now threaten more than 15% of global primary output produced via SxEW, after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz cut roughly half of global seaborne sulphur trade and China banned acid exports through year-end. The DRC and Chile are most exposed, with about 1.5 Mt and 1.2 Mt of leached production and some sites down to 30–60 days of sulphur/acid inventory, while 2025 disruptions already removed 1.5 Mt of mined supply and pushed prices above $14,000/t. Despite project additions in the DRC, Zambia, Peru, Russia and Canada, the IEA still sees primary supply around 25% short of 2035 requirements, with ore grades down 40% since 1991 and copper needing roughly $310 billion of the $750+ billion mining and refining investment required to 2040.

Hitachi Construction Machinery and Pronto have signed an MoU to develop open, OEM-agnostic mine automation solutions built around Pronto’s tiered Autonomous Haulage Systems, which retrofit to existing haul trucks from any manufacturer. Pronto’s AHS has already hauled millions of tonnes in mixed-fleet commercial operations across three continents, while Hitachi contributes a large global installed base of mining equipment and long-running autonomy R&D. The partnership targets miners seeking fleet-agnostic automation that can be flexibly deployed from regional quarries to deep-pit mines without locking into a single vendor platform.

BMI now projects widening structural copper deficits reaching nearly 1.5 million tonnes annually by 2035, pushing prices to $17,000/t, with its upgraded 2026 outlook still below market consensus but turning more bullish than most banks from 2028. The Fitch unit’s long-range view implies sustained pressure on new sulphide project approvals, brownfield expansions and higher-grade resource discovery to offset declining head grades and ageing pits. Mine planners and project financiers may need to stress-test cut-off grades, capex and permitting timelines against a markedly higher long-term price deck.