Copper Markets in Crisis After a Year of Disruptions

From OilPrice.com

The global copper market has had quite the year. On September 8, approximately 800,000 tons of wet material flooded multiple levels of the Grasberg Block Cave mine in Papua, Indonesia, leading to the suspension of all underground operations. It was just one more event to add to the list of copper mining and supply disruptions for 2025.

According to reports, the wet material flood reached the level of the mine where a team of workers was conducting development activities, leading to two confirmed fatalities. Meanwhile, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has now declared “force majeure,” an inability to fulfill contractual obligations due to natural disaster, war or incidents beyond the control of the owner/operator.