Christmas has come early for the bank’s shareholders with the decision to slightly increase the 2024 dividend – despite a single-digit decline in the net profit and cash earnings.
Beating the market benchmark is never easy, with 72 per cent of Australian actively managed global equity general funds trailing the S&P World Index in the six months to June 30, 2024. Domestic equity funds performed slightly better, albeit against a significantly lower bar set by the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
What is behind the rise in the copper price?
The world is running out of available copper and that is causing copper prices to hit record highs. The copper price hit an all-time high of $4.9375 a tonne, which is a 125 percent rise from its March 2020 lows. It joins the list of essential commodities that have hit record highs since the pandemic began and there are several factors all contributing to its rise.
Supply chain disruptions at a time when supply is dwindling
Copper is an excellent conductor of electricity and is mainly used in electrical motors, wiring and just about anything that uses electricity. In fact, copper is used in all sectors of the economy, and its price is a leading indicator of the health of the global economy. A rising copper price suggests strong economic growth and vice versa. Australia is home to about 13% of the world’s copper resources which is second only to Chile (25%). The largest domestic resources are at Olympic Dam (SA) and Mount Isa (QLD). However, there has been a lack of new discoveries of late with only 1 billion tonnes of copper discovered since 1990. Roughly 69,825 tonnes of copper remain in warehouses around the world. The market went into panic mode during the war in Ukraine as Russia produces about 3.5 percent of the world’s copper.
To add to the headwinds, the pandemic created a raft of supply chain disruptions that led to a drop off in global copper supply at all points in the supply chain. Furthermore, the world’s biggest producer, Chile, started producing lower numbers of Copper due to water scarcity and staff shortages. Most of the Covid-19 issues have eased and the supply chain has returned to its former levels.
The clean energy transition
With the world actively shifting to renewable energy, it poses a big problem. Renewable energy is highly dependent on copper which is used throughout the production of electricity in wind turbines, solar panels, hydro, thermal and in electric vehicles. Copper helps reduce CO2 emissions and lowers the amount of energy needed to produce electricity.
According to Copperalliance, “In many renewable energy systems, there is 12 times more copper than in traditional systems. Copper is one of the best renewable resources. It is one of the few materials that can be recycled over and over again without a loss in performance. Renewable energy sources provide nearly one-quarter of the world’s power, and copper plays an important role in making it as efficient as possible with minimal impact on the environment.”
Unfortunately, it seems likely that the world is headed for a copper supply crunch. According to TheConversation, “Market analysts estimate the annual copper supply shortfall could be as high as 10 million tonnes by 2030 if no new mines are built. This means prices are on the rise, giving miners an incentive to bring new copper mines to market.”
Here are Copper stocks listed on the ASX
| Code | Company | Price | Mkt Cap | 1 Year |
| GCR | Golden Cross Resources Ltd | $ 0.09 | $10.2m | 389% |
| AZL | Arizona Lithium Ltd | $ 0.13 | $279.09m | 303% |
| SPQ | Superior Resources Ltd | $ 0.04 | $62.95m | 236% |
| AR1 | Austral Resources Australia Ltd | $ 0.55 | $134.87m | 175% |
| PTR | Petratherm Ltd | $ 0.10 | $22.48m | 100% |
| A1M | Aic Mines Ltd | $ 0.61 | $188.35m | 94% |
| AS2 | Askari Metals Ltd | $ 0.38 | $15.59m | 88% |
| MLX | Metals X Ltd | $ 0.47 | $426.42m | 77% |
| PNN | Pepinnini Minerals Ltd | $ 0.46 | $27.98m | 69% |
| WSA | Western Areas Ltd | $ 3.86 | $1.24bn | 58% |
| IGO | IGO Ltd | $ 11.82 | $8.95bn | 57% |
| SYR | Syrah Resources Ltd | $ 1.53 | $1.02bn | 49% |
| MEP | Minotaur Exploration Ltd | $ 0.21 | $110.52m | 39% |
| 29M | 29METALS Ltd | $ 2.62 | $1.26bn | 31% |
| ZIM | Zimplats Holdings Ltd | $ 27.52 | $2.96bn | 21% |
| AGR | Aguia Resources Ltd | $ 0.08 | $32.79m | 17% |
| AOA | Ausmon Resources Ltd | $ 0.01 | $6m | 17% |
| KMT | Kopore Metals Ltd | $ 0.04 | $29.24m | 17% |
| MRD | Mount Ridley Mines Ltd | $ 0.01 | $41m | 17% |
| WC8 | Wildcat Resources Ltd | $ 0.03 | $21.94m | 10% |
| HGO | Hillgrove Resources Ltd | $ 0.07 | $86.9m | 7% |
| BHP | BHP Group Ltd | $ 46.30 | $234.39bn | 6% |
| HAV | Havilah Resources Ltd | $ 0.27 | $82.1m | 4% |
| FEL | Fe Ltd | $ 0.03 | $25.83m | 0% |
| ENR | Encounter Resources Ltd | $ 0.15 | $47.58m | -2% |
| OZL | OZ Minerals Ltd | $ 24.34 | $8.15bn | -3% |
| NME | NEX Metals Exploration Ltd | $ 0.03 | $8.01m | -3% |
| RIO | RIO Tinto Ltd | $ 116.55 | $43.27bn | -7% |
| SFR | Sandfire Resources Ltd | $ 5.85 | $2.4bn | -11% |
| NCM | Newcrest Mining Ltd | $ 24.00 | $21.43bn | -13% |
| BMO | Bastion Minerals Ltd | $ 0.15 | $11.39m | -17% |
| AMI | Aurelia Metals Ltd | $ 0.32 | $395.86m | -22% |
| COY | Coppermoly Ltd | $ 0.01 | $19.75m | -25% |
| TLM | Talisman Mining Ltd | $ 0.16 | $30.04m | -26% |
| CZN | Corazon Mining Ltd | $ 0.03 | $15.87m | -26% |
| EVN | Evolution Mining Ltd | $ 3.61 | $6.62bn | -28% |
| TG1 | Techgen Metals Ltd | $ 0.16 | $6.75m | -30% |
| R3D | R3D Resources Ltd | $ 0.13 | $12.95m | -32% |
| CWX | Carawine Resources Ltd | $ 0.16 | $22.05m | -32% |
| HCH | Hot Chili Ltd | $ 1.21 | $135.95m | -33% |
| CHN | Chalice Mining Ltd | $ 5.61 | $2.09bn | -34% |
| IPT | Impact Minerals Ltd | $ 0.01 | $24.81m | -36% |
| LKY | Locksley Resources Ltd | $ 0.13 | $3.62m | -38% |
| CYM | Cyprium Metals Ltd | $ 0.17 | $96.02m | -41% |
| QML | Qmines Ltd | $ 0.22 | $14.63m | -42% |
| XAM | Xanadu Mines Ltd | $ 0.03 | $36.72m | -45% |
| LEG | Legend Mining Ltd | $ 0.07 | $187.35m | -48% |
| VMG | VDM Group Ltd | $ 0.00 | $6.93m | -50% |
| AIS | Aeris Resources Ltd | $ 0.09 | $272.61m | -50% |
| ARD | Argent Minerals Ltd | $ 0.02 | $19.42m | -54% |
| AUR | Auris Minerals Ltd | $ 0.03 | $11.92m | -57% |
| CLA | Celsius Resources Ltd | $ 0.02 | $21.99m | -57% |
| CVV | Caravel Minerals Ltd | $ 0.22 | $87.33m | -60% |
| RFR | Rafaella Resources Ltd | $ 0.04 | $8.62m | -63% |
| RML | Resolution Minerals Ltd | $ 0.01 | $7.42m | -64% |
| RCP | Redbank Copper Ltd | $ 0.03 | $18.93m | -69% |
| AML | Aeon Metals Ltd | $ 0.03 | $27.75m | -71% |
| HLX | HELIX Resources Ltd | $ 0.01 | $23.23m | -72% |
