Fraser Tabeart, the managing director of Alma Metals Ltd (ASX:ALM), discussed prospects for the copper industry and its flagship project in Queensland during an exclusive interview with Proactive.
With the global shift toward decarbonisation, the demand for copper in renewable energy and electric vehicles is set to soar, he said.
Tabeart acknowledged the challenge of meeting this demand.
"We’d need probably 20 deposits of the scale we think we have in Queensland to be found every year for the next five to ten years to even have a hope of meeting that decarbonisation trend."
Consequently, he predicted a rise in copper prices, making projects like Alma's highly attractive to mid-tier miners in the next one to two years.
Alma Metals, which relocated its operations to Australia from Africa, is currently involved in a joint venture with ASX-listed Canterbury Resources.
The flagship project is a “fabulous opportunity” according to the Alma boss.
Tabeart said: “It a very easy project to both get to and, if we can get it up and running, it'll be a very easy project to get the product out of.
“It's at the surface so we can map it by literally walking through the hills, looking at the rocks and collecting soil samples.”