Synopsis: Copper prices have surged as demand from EVs, clean energy, AI, and infrastructure rises while supply stays tight. For Indian investors, global exposure to major copper miners is possible through the Global X Copper Miners ETF, which tracks leading producers across regions and offers an easy, diversified way to play the copper boom.
As the world moves faster toward electric vehicles, clean power, and AI, one metal is starting to matter more than ever. Prices are rising, supply is tight, and big mining companies are back in the spotlight. But for Indian investors watching this copper boom from afar, what’s the smartest way to tap into the world’s biggest copper miners without picking individual stocks?
Copper Boom
A recent report by Fidelity highlights the sharp rally in copper prices over the past year. The metal was trading below USD 9,000 per tonne in early 2025, but prices climbed steadily and touched an all-time high of over USD 13,000 per tonne by January 2026.
This surge has been driven by a mix of physical supply constraints, strong investment interest, and policy-led demand. Like most commodities, copper prices are shaped by the balance between supply and demand, and the market is currently in a sweet spot where demand is rising rapidly while supply remains tight. Several future-facing industries are major consumers of copper, including electric vehicles, renewable energy systems such as wind and solar power, and large data centres needed to support the expansion of artificial intelligence.
By 2030, AI and data centres alone are expected to use around 500,000 tonnes of copper annually, a sharp increase compared with earlier years. This new wave of demand adds to already strong consumption from infrastructure development, particularly in fast-growing economies like China and India. Copper remains essential for housing, commercial real estate, power transmission networks, and transport systems.
On the supply side, the outlook is far more constrained. The copper market is projected to face an annual shortfall of several million tonnes within the next 15 years. Production has already been affected by labour strikes in Chile and operational disruptions in countries such as Indonesia. As demand rises, miners are increasingly forced to extract lower-grade ore, which reduces output efficiency, raises costs, and increases environmental pressure. Developing new mines is also a slow process, often taking close to 18 years from initial discovery to full-scale production. As a result, supply is unlikely to catch up quickly, creating a prolonged gap between rising demand and available copper.
Where Is Copper Found?
A report by NASDAQ shows that Chile dominates global copper reserves by a wide margin. As of 2023, the country held around 190 million metric tonnes of copper reserves, the largest in the world. Peru ranks second, with copper reserves estimated at 120 million metric tonnes, accounting for about 12 percent of global reserves. In 2023, Peru continued to be one of the world’s top copper producers, sharing the second spot with the Democratic Republic of Congo, and reported national copper production of 2.6 million metric tonnes. Australia comes in third, with reserves of roughly 100 million metric tonnes, or around 10 percent of the world’s total. Despite its sizable resource base, Australia’s copper output remains significantly lower than that of Chile and Peru, with production of about 810,000 metric tonnes in 2023.
How Can You Invest In The Biggest Copper Miners?
One of the simplest ways to gain exposure to large global copper mining companies is through the Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX). This exchange-traded fund is designed to broadly track the price and return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Solactive Global Copper Miners Total Return Index.
Indian investors can access this ETF via international brokerage platforms that offer overseas investing options. The fund allocates at least 80 percent of its total assets to companies included in the underlying index, as well as to American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) linked to those companies.
The index itself represents a wide cross-section of global firms engaged in copper mining, offering exposure across regions and producers. It is worth noting that the ETF follows a non-diversified structure. Investors can also purchase fractional units of the Global X Copper Miners ETF, making it accessible even with smaller investment amounts.
At present, the ETF is priced at USD 82.23, or around Rs. 7,529. In terms of performance, COPX has delivered strong returns, rising by as much as 108 percent over the past year. Over shorter periods, the ETF has gained 36.57 percent in the last three months and 11.21 percent over the past month. Here are the top holdings of the ETF:
Lundin Mining Corporation
Lundin Mining Corporation is the second largest holding in the ETF with a weight of 5.45 percent. It is a diversified Canadian base metals mining company with operations and projects across Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. The company primarily produces copper and gold, giving investors exposure to both industrial metals and precious metal by-products.
KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.
KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. accounts for 6.25 percent of the portfolio. Founded in 1961 and headquartered in Lubin, Poland, the company is engaged in the exploration and mining of copper, nickel, precious metals, and other non-ferrous metals. Its mining assets are spread across Poland, Canada, Chile, and the United States. In the 2024 global copper production rankings, KGHM was placed at Rank 8, with output of around 730 kilotonnes.
Boliden AB
Boliden AB represents 5.29 percent of the ETF. The company operates across Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Germany, the United Kingdom, North America, and other international markets. Its business spans both mining and smelting, producing metals such as copper, zinc, nickel, lead, gold, and silver. Boliden sells most of its metals to industrial customers.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has a portfolio weight of 4.76 percent. The company operates mining assets across North America, South America, and Indonesia, with a primary focus on copper, along with gold and molybdenum. Its key assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia and multiple large-scale mines in the United States, Peru, and Chile. In 2024, Freeport-McMoRan ranked Number 1 globally in copper production, producing approximately 1,900 kilotonnes.
Southern Copper Corporation
Southern Copper Corporation makes up 4.69 percent of the ETF. The company operates across Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile, covering mining, smelting, and refining activities. Its major assets include the Toquepala and Cuajone mines in Peru and the La Caridad mining complex in Mexico. In the 2024 rankings, Southern Copper was placed at Rank 5, with copper production of around 974 kilotonnes.
Glencore plc
Glencore plc accounts for 4.75 percent of the portfolio. Headquartered in Switzerland, the company operates across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Glencore produces and markets copper along with other metals such as cobalt, zinc, and nickel, while also running a large commodity marketing business. In 2024, Glencore ranked 6th globally in copper production, with output of approximately 952 kilotonnes.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. has a weight of 4.90 percent in the ETF. Founded in 1590 and headquartered in Tokyo, the company operates across mining, smelting, refining, and materials manufacturing. Its product portfolio includes copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, precious metals, and a wide range of industrial and electronic materials, with operations in Japan and international markets.
Hudbay Minerals Inc.
Hudbay Minerals Inc. represents 4.87 percent of the ETF. The company is a copper-focused miner with long-life operations in Canada and Peru. Its operating assets include the Constancia mine in Peru, the Snow Lake operations in Manitoba, and the Copper Mountain mine in British Columbia. Copper is the primary metal produced, supported by meaningful gold output and a pipeline of growth projects in the United States and Peru.
Antofagasta plc
Antofagasta plc holds a 4.65 percent share of the portfolio. The company operates major copper mining assets in Chile and produces copper concentrates and cathodes, along with molybdenum and precious metal by-products. It also provides transport services to mining customers in northern Chile. In the 2024 copper production rankings, Antofagasta stood at Rank 9, with output of about 664 kilotonnes.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. rounds out the top holdings with a weight of 4.39 percent. The company operates long-life copper mines across multiple continents and is known for developing complex mining and processing projects. In 2024, First Quantum ranked 10th globally in copper production with output of approximately 431 kilotonnes, impacted by the suspension of its Cobre Panamá mine later in the year.
Conclusion
Copper is increasingly becoming a backbone metal for the global energy transition, digital infrastructure, and electric mobility, with demand growth clearly outpacing the industry’s ability to add new supply. For Indian investors, directly buying shares of overseas mining giants can be complex and fragmented. In this context, the Global X Copper Miners ETF offers a simple and diversified gateway to the world’s largest copper producers across geographies, asset types, and production scales.
While copper remains a cyclical commodity and mining stocks can be volatile, the long-term structural demand drivers, combined with persistent supply constraints, make global copper miners an attractive way to participate in the copper supercycle from India, without the need to bet on any single company or region.
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