the London and other Metal Exchanges, where its price is set on a daily basis through market mechanisms.
Moreover, copper reserves are well distributed in many regions of the world, hence are not dependent on any particular country or economy, whereas the reserves of many rare-earth elements are often located in a limited number of countries. This can lead to price volatility and issues surrounding security of supply.
Even with the increased demand for copper due to the energy transition, the resources of copper on this planet, coupled with its recyclability, clearly support the long-term availability of copper for current and forthcoming applications.
While every material has its challenges, copper is an established commodity with a firmly established value chain, including a well-organised recycling chain.
The sustainability of copper is good and is continually improving. It’s a driver of the circular economy and serves as recycling motivator due to its intrinsic value (economics driven) and the fact that it serves as carrier metal (e.g. for precious metals), which enables higher value recycling.
Is there enough copper for the energy transition? It certainly looks as if there is.
● History of copper use http://j.mp/CuHistory
● Long-term availability of copper http://j.mp/CuLTAv
● Copper & recycling http://j.mp/CuRecycling
● London Metal Exchange: https://www.lme.com/
 U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, February 2017
 U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2016