Examining the Temporal Demand and Sustainability of Copper in China

A comprehensive study is carried out to determine (1) the annual historical demand and supply, (2) the annual prospective demand, and (3) the carrying capacity and future sustainability of copper resources in China. The results of the first analysis show that both the demand and the supply have substantially increased since 2000 after remaining relatively minute for the period from 1950 to 2000. By 2015, the per capita total and domestic demands had reached 7.6 and 5.4 kg, respectively. The annual demand prospects suggest that the copper demand will peak in 2030 and either stabilize or marginally drop thereafter. This was found to be the case for all population variants and demand growth rates that were considered herein, with the exception of the “stable scenario”. Under the considered scenarios, the domestic demand in the year 2050 is predicted to fall by 6.7–15 million metric tons (Mt), while the total demand will likely fall by 9.4–21.2 Mt. The projected drastic increase in the cumulative primary dema...