Viksit Bharat 2047 will have more urban and rural infrastructure, buildings, electric vehicles, renewable energy, and electronics and AI infrastructure. Beneath all this growth will be a less visible metal: copper. As India becomes greener, industrialised, and urbanised, the demand for copper is expected to surge sharply, from 3.0–3.26 million tonnes in 2030 to potentially 10 million tonnes by 2047.
India’s copper use relative to GDP remains low compared to most developed economies, including China and the USA. The country’s copper consumption for FY25 stands at 1,878 kilotonnes. But India is still in the early stages of economic development, where copper-intensive sectors are yet to reach their full potential. The next phase of growth will bring a significant rise in demand, deepening the challenge of securing the red metal.
The effort to secure future needs should begin now because the lead time is measured in decades, not years. It should be based on four fundamental pillars – mining, importing, refining, and recycling.
India’s 4-pillar copper strategy
First, India needs to develop domestic mines.
India has approximately 12.20 million tonnes of identified copper resources, of which 10.04 million tonnes are classified under the ‘remaining resources’ category. These untapped resources, mainly concentrated in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand, are the promise of the future. Developing a new copper mine takes 17.9 years after the initial discovery. To capitalise on resources in time, India needs to initiate exploration efforts now.
Second, India needs to secure trade in copper concentrates.
About 95 per cent of India’s copper concentrate demand is projected to be met through imports. India, therefore, needs to build a system around securing copper concentrate. The country must forge long-term diplomatic and trade partnerships with copper-rich nations such as Chile, DRC, Peru and Australia to ensure reliable and consistent supplies.
Over 50 per cent of the world’s known copper reserves are located just in five countries – Chile, Australia, Peru, DRC and Russia. This concentration makes supply security particularly important as India competes with other copper-scarce regions, including China and Europe, for the same limited pool of global copper supply. Copper diplomacy should be treated as an economic priority.
Third, India must expand processing and smelting capacity.
Expanding domestic smelting and refining capacity must be at the heart of India’s strategy. China’s experience shows how investments in processing and refining can become an industrial advantage.
India will need to add around 500,000 tonnes of smelting and refining capacity every five years to meet rising copper demand. A competitive domestic processing ecosystem will reduce dependence on copper cathode imports while enabling industries to benefit from valuable by-products of copper processing, including sulphuric acid and other metals.
Fourth, India needs responsible copper recycling infrastructure.
Recovering the metal at the end of its lifecycle and putting it back into productive use can complement primary mining. Unlike many materials, copper can be recycled repeatedly without losing its properties or performance, provided it is processed using efficient recycling technologies and high-quality processing methods.
India must adopt global quality standards for scrap collection, recycling technologies and testing to ensure that recycled copper meets the purity and performance requirements of industries. It should develop technologies through domestic R&D.
From copper deficit to copper advantage
India must work on these four pillars together to move from copper deficit to copper advantage.
China has spent the past two decades building its copper resource base not only through mining, but also by accumulating and refining copper already in use. While its domestic reserves below the ground are limited, China has built significant copper reserves in above-ground mines from products, infrastructure and equipment already in use.
India’s objective should go beyond securing enough copper for domestic consumption. It should build a copper ecosystem that supports manufacturing, creates jobs, strengthens industrial capabilities and positions the country as a competitive player in global copper value chains.
India has a window to prepare for the copper demand of the next two decades. The decisions it makes today will determine whether copper becomes a constraint on Viksit Bharat or an enabler of it.
The author is Managing Director, International Copper Association India.