How a Copper Crunch Is Looming Just as AI Boom Hits: QuickTake

Copper is one of the world’s most ubiquitous metals, used in just about everything that’s electrified: smartphones, refrigerators, electric vehicles, power grids and much more.

It’s a crucial material for the green technologies that can lower global carbon emissions, as well as the data centers at the heart of theartificial intelligence boom. But while demand for copper is growing, it’s far from certain that there will be enough supply amid recent production disruptions and the difficulties in building new mines and expanding existing operations.

The market has been hit by a slew of mine outages this year from ...