Geopolitical uncertainty has increased significantly in the short term, and the long-term demand for copper will rise extremely strongly in the coming years. Both aspects are a strong tailwind for the activities of Abitibi Metals (TSX: AMQ, FSE: FW0, WKN: A3EWQ3).
Looking primarily at market capitalization, Abitibi Metals is one of the smaller companies in the mining and exploration sector. Nevertheless, the company has had the opportunity to present itself to a larger number of high-profile investors twice in recent weeks.
First, CEO Jonathon Deluce had the opportunity to present Abitibi Metals at the BMO Global Metals & Critical Minerals Conference in Hollywood, Florida. The conference is attended by numerous high-profile investors and therefore presented a good opportunity to introduce the company and its exciting story to interested investors.
It is rather unusual for such a small company as Abitibi Metals to appear at this renowned conference, as the attention here is mainly focused on the larger and medium-sized companies in the industry. The Abitibi team was all the more euphoric after the event, as they had succeeded in drawing the attention of a number of investors to Abitibi and its excellent prospects in Florida.
BHP is Absolutely Bullish on Copper
The gold price is currently on everyone’s lips, and after last week’s price correction, the $2,900 per troy ounce mark was surpassed again at the beginning of the week. But the market is also sending convincing signals for copper. The world’s largest mining group, BHP, expects copper demand to exceed the threshold of 50 million tons per year by 2050.
As BHP’s Chief Commercial Officer explained, not only a temporary but a permanent increase in copper demand above 50,000 tons per year is expected. Compared to current demand, this represents an increase of 70 percent. For an industrial raw material like copper, which is already in high demand, this is a significant increase in demand that needs to be met.
At BHP, they expect nothing less than that the energy sector, which today is responsible for only seven percent of global copper demand, will increase this share to 23 percent by 2050. The high demand is driven by copper’s exposed position in both conventional technologies and electromobility and the energy transition.
It is obvious that Abitibi Metals, like many other developers of copper projects, is electrified by this prospect. Rarely have the opportunities for developers of copper properties been as good as they are today. For Abitibi Metals, this massive increase in demand means that they are starting at the right time with the right metal and have an attractive future ahead of them, because the copper that the large corporations want to mine in the years after 2050 must first be found, and this is where the opportunity lies for Abitibi.
Louis Gariepy Takes Responsibility for Exploration
Abitibi Metals has long recognized this opportunity and its attractiveness for itself. That’s why the company is pleased to have gained Louis Gariepy as its new Vice President of Exploration. As a geologist with over 30 years of professional experience, he brings a wealth of experience, with the focus of his previous activities being the development of mineral deposits in Quebec and Latin America.
Before joining Abitibi Metals, Louis Gariepy worked for O3 Mining Inc. Here, too, his area of responsibility as Vice President of Exploration was the exploration of new deposits. That this task was solved very well is shown, among other things, by the fact that O3 Mining was acquired by Agnico Eagles Mines for nearly $200 million.
With him, Abitibi Metals has a strong team that will do everything to further advance the high-grade gold and copper deposits the company has. In 2025, the fully funded third exploration phase will be in the foreground, while the results of the drilling from the second exploration phase are still pending.
