Recent copper discoveries fail to alter downward trend

In the recent analysis of major copper discoveries by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 229 copper deposits were discovered over the 1990-2020 period, containing 1.12 billion tonnes of copper in reserves, resources and past production. Of these, only three were found in the past five years. The 4.6 million tonnes in the three deposits is well below the total discovered in most years. This, combined with no discoveries allocated yet to 2018-20, means that the downward trend in rate and size of major discoveries over the past decade continues.