Every Electric Vehicle, Every Solar Panel, Every AI Data Center Runs on Copper. The World Needs Far More of It Than Exists, Says Jim Rickards. Where Will We Get it From?
Former CIA Advisor Jim Rickards Has Released a New Free Presentation Examining S&P Global's Documented Copper Supply Crisis — and the Case for Why an Alaskan Deposit Could Be America's Most Strategically Significant Undeveloped Resource
Baltimore, MD, April 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Electric vehicles require nearly three times as much copper as conventional cars. A single utility-scale wind turbine uses up to 4.7 metric tons of the metal. An AI data center relies on copper wiring, cooling systems, and power distribution at every level of its infrastructure. Copper is not a niche industrial input — it is the material that makes the modern energy and technology economy physically possible. And according to S&P Global's comprehensive January 2026 study, the world is on course to face a severe and sustained shortage of it. Former CIA advisor and macro economist Jim Rickards has released a new video presentation examining the full scope of that shortage — and what he believes America's response to it should look like.
His presentation draws directly on S&P Global's study — 'Copper in the Age of AI: The Challenges of Electrification' — and examines what its findings mean for American resource policy, domestic energy security, and a significant Alaskan deposit that sits at the intersection of the supply problem S&P Global describes.
What S&P Global Found
The S&P Global study, published January 8, 2026, projects that global copper demand will rise 50 percent by 2040 — from 28 million metric tons today to 42 million metric tons — driven by four demand vectors: core economic demand, the energy transition, AI and data centers, and defense modernization. The study projects that global copper production will peak in 2030 at approximately 33 million metric tons before declining. Without significant new supply investment, the resulting shortfall would reach 10 million metric tons by 2040. S&P Global described that gap as 'a systemic risk for global industries, technological advancement and economic growth.'
AI and data center demand alone is expected to roughly triple by 2040, representing a combined 4 million metric tons of additional annual demand alongside defense spending growth. The average new copper mine takes approximately 17 years to move from discovery to production, S&P Global noted — meaning any supply response to today's demand signals would not arrive until the early 2040s under the most optimistic assumptions.
The Technology Connection Most People Haven't Made
Rickards' presentation makes a connection that S&P Global's data supports but that has received little mainstream coverage: the AI boom — which has dominated financial headlines — and the copper shortage are not separate stories. They are the same story. Every data center built to support artificial intelligence requires significant copper infrastructure. S&P Global projects that data center capacity will be roughly five times 2022 levels by 2040. That expansion requires copper. The copper needed does not currently exist in the global supply pipeline. And the United States, the country building more AI infrastructure than any other nation, is more than 50 percent import-dependent on foreign copper sources, according to USGS data.
America's Documented Answer
A significant deposit in southwest Alaska is documented in official resource filings as one of the world's largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits. Measured and indicated resources include 57 billion pounds of copper — along with 71 million ounces of gold. President Trump's Executive Order 14153, signed January 20, 2025, directed federal agencies to expedite natural resource permitting in Alaska. Executive Order 14241 designated copper as a critical mineral, with provisions expected to accelerate permitting for major copper projects. Rickards' presentation examines how these policy moves interact with the supply timeline S&P Global documents — and what they may mean for American resource security in the decade ahead.
What the Presentation Covers
- S&P Global's January 2026 copper demand projections — the 50% demand increase, the 10-million-metric-ton supply shortfall, and the 17-year mine development timeline
- The direct connection between AI infrastructure growth and copper demand — and why the two stories are inseparable
- The U.S. import dependency on foreign copper and what domestic production at scale would mean for supply chain security
- The documented resource scale of the Alaskan deposit and the regulatory policy shift created by Executive Orders 14153 and 14241
About the Presentation
The full video presentation is available for on-demand viewing at no cost. To access the complete session, click here.
About Jim Rickards and Paradigm Press
Jim Rickards is a macroeconomist, former CIA advisor, and bestselling author who has spent five decades studying the relationship between government policy, natural resources, and global financial markets. His research is published by Paradigm Press.
Derek Warren Public Relations Manager Paradigm Press Group Email: dwarren@paradigmpressgroup.com
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