(Ecofin Agency) - Ivanhoe Mines Limited, the driving force behind this performance, keeps exploring in 2024. The DRC could become the leading supplier of copper, which currently records greater demand than supply.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) concentrates 65% of newly announced copper reserves identified worldwide in 2023, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence report.

This positioning is largely thanks to Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, which in November 2023 reported having discovered "inferred and indicated resources of 267 million tonnes containing 4.96 million tonnes of copper" at one of its deposits in the country. The company has since begun new drilling operations in January 2024, financed by part of the C$575 million ($420.8 million) raised in 2023 through a private placement loan.

The volume of new copper reserves found in 2023 (7.6 million tonnes) is the lowest since 2019. Meanwhile, the global demand keeps growing.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the supply-demand disparity to persist until 2050. IEA anticipates that an optimal energy transition (net zero) will require 40.7 million tonnes of copper in 2040, whereas the available supply will only be 14.8 million tonnes for raw copper and 30 million tonnes for processed copper.

With a decline in new reserve identifications in Latin America, and growing demand for copper, notably for the energy transition, the DRC has an opportunity to become the world's leading supplier of blister copper, ahead of Chile, which still dominates this segment. Copper, zinc, and cobalt generate 90% of the DRC's export revenues.

From a macroeconomic point of view, a possible increase in production, coupled with high prices supported by demand outstripping supply, should guarantee revenue growth for the Congolese government. However, the budgetary translation of this potential will depend on price trends and the government's ability to maximize the benefits of mining income.