On May 19, South Korean media "THE GURU" published an article stating that statistics show that China accounts for more than half of the global copper processing market.
According to reports by Canadian mining media The Northern Miner, China accounts for 53.1% of the world's copper processing capacity, leading by a significant margin.
China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Iran, and Indonesia form one group, far ahead of the US alliance group (the United States, Chile, Mexico, Peru) which accounts for 15.6%.
Russia, Kazakhstan, and Bulgaria form another group, accounting for 5.6% of processing capacity. However, even if all regions outside of China are combined, they still cannot catch up with China's individual market share.
In terms of individual countries, from 2020 to last year, China processed a total of 43,545 tons of copper. Next is Chile (8,849 tons) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (6,493 tons), with production not exceeding 10,000 tons each.
Copper is an essential metal for cutting-edge industries such as electric vehicles, batteries, and power grids. The ability to refine and process copper and extract it and convert it into industrial materials is becoming a key factor in determining economic strength and technological advantage.
Experts predict that "ensuring raw materials is important, but processing capacity itself will ultimately determine strategic advantages in competition for technological and industrial dominance."
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832515459961856/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the author's personal views.