Copper Turns To Gold

In The Capital Cycle Podcast, Edward Chancellor interviews Alex Duffy, Marathon's emerging market fund manager, about the copper market. Duffy discusses the capital cycle in the copper mining industry, highlighting the impact of past overinvestment and subsequent underinvestment on current supply constraints. He emphasizes the importance of analyzing supply-side dynamics and taking a long-term perspective when investing in the sector. Duffy notes that despite concerns about demand from China's property market, the constrained supply due to limited greenfield expansion and increasing environmental considerations makes copper an attractive investment. They also discuss the increasing value of legacy copper assets and the potential undervaluation of companies like Southern Copper when considering their long-term reserves. The conversation touches on BHP's failed bid for Anglo-American, the differences between copper and other energy transition materials like lithium and nickel, and Marathon's broader investment strategy in copper across various regional portfolios.