Telecoms operators could earn tens of billions of dollars over the next 15 years from selling copper recycled from older network cables, it has been reported.
Global telecoms groups will receive up to $720 million in 2025 alone from copper sales, according to TXO, a company that helps telcos recycle metal.
The figures were first reported by the FT. It quotes Rupert Wood, research director at market research firm Analysys Mason, who said: "While some copper cables will not be economically recoverable, the potential net one-off financial gains globally still run into many tens of billions of dollars."
Copper is a crucial material for electricity grids, wiring, and electric cars. However, as electrification efforts spur greater demand, its price has skyrocketed over recent years. As a result, S&P Global has projected that copper prices will reach $12,000 per metric ton in 2025.
Australian mining giant BHP has projected a 70 percent demand increase by 2050, representing an increase of one metric ton per year of growth until 2035.
The Fraunhofer Institute estimates that two-thirds of the 550 metric tons of copper produced since 1900 are still in productive use, offering significant opportunities to telecom companies operating large networks to capitalize on the demand for new copper supply chains.
In September, BT received £105m ($130m) as an upfront prepayment for the sale of surplus copper cables from its old network. BT also agreed to a deal with metals recycling firm EMR to support the extraction and recycling of copper cables from its network until 2028.
In addition, Swedish telecom firm Telia reported it expects to make €2 million ($2.1m) to €3 million ($3.1m) from copper sales in 2025.
In the US, telecom giant AT&T ramped up copper recycling efforts, using the money earned to reinvest in its networks. It has recycled more than 32,000 metric tons since 2021.
However, despite the revenue accrued from copper sales, due to the costs associated with the extraction and risk of theft, overall returns for telecom operators have been negligible.
“The regulatory and operational complexity of these projects is significant. A lot of time is spent ensuring that a legacy network can be decommissioned and extracted in line with regulations, after which a bespoke recycling process is required to ultimately produce a saleable commodity,” said Peter Barnes, a managing director at Macquarie’s commodities financing team.
Despite the concerns, the IEA projects that by 2030, only 80 percent of the copper supply will be met through traditional mining. As a result, copper recycling will likely become a crucial part of the metal's future supply chain.
Copper is one of the few materials that can be recycled repeatedly without any performance loss. Given the impacts of copper mining on local environments and its increasing inefficiency - miners typically need to mine at least 100 tons of ore to produce one ton of copper - the allure of recycling is only expected to increase for telecom providers seeking an alternative supply chain.